GROW pathway · RE · Autumn 1 · Week 6

Compare festivals of light

Cover lesson · 40 minutes

Thursday 09:30–10:10. Match the week to the school calendar before teaching.

Pupil sheets PDF Editable PowerPoint Teacher plan & answers PDF

Stage 1 of 8 · 3 minutes

Arrive

Write one supported similarity and one supported difference.

Offer pointing, circling, drawing or scribed answers. Read cards aloud. No personal, family or faith disclosure is required.

Stage 2 of 8 · 5 minutes

Read the source

CLASSROOM COMPARISON CARDS — concise paraphrases of Hindu American Foundation and Chabad.org; retain each source’s identity.

D1. In this Hindu account of Diwali, diyas connect light with good overcoming evil and knowledge overcoming ignorance.

H1. In this Jewish account of Hanukkah, an added light each night recalls the traditional miracle of oil lasting eight days.

V1. Both accounts link light with religious meaning.

V2. Similar objects do not establish identical stories, beliefs or practices.

Stage 3 of 8 · 5 minutes

Watch a model

Both accounts give light a religious meaning (D1/H1).
Their explanations differ: Diwali’s stated theme and Hanukkah’s remembered oil story.

Point to the detail that supports the answer.

Stage 4 of 8 · 4 minutes

Choose

Which comparison is supported?A. Both use meaningful light, with different explanations.B. Hanukkah is simply another name for Diwali.C. The brightest display has the best belief.

Choose first. Give a reason before checking.

Stage 5 of 8 · 3 minutes

Check

Reveal the deciding clue

It identifies a similarity while retaining the sources’ different meanings.

Keep your first choice. If you change it, say what changed your mind.

Stage 6 of 8 · 12 minutes

Your evidence

Your tasks

Complete two rows: festival / source’s meaning / supporting line.
Write one “Both…” sentence and one “Whereas…” sentence.
Repair “All festivals of light are identical.” Use evidence from both cards.

Response 1Response 2Response 3

Writing stays in this open page only. It is not saved or sent. Copy what you want to keep before leaving.

Stage 7 of 8 · 5 minutes

Improve

Check your answer against the source. Show the detail you used.

Add evidence, improve a link, or mark a claim you cannot support.

One change or one question

Keep your first attempt visible.

Stage 8 of 8 · 3 minutes

Reflect

Give a difference without a ranking word such as better or worse.

One thing I can explain, and one next step

Teacher guidance

Preparation, access and misconceptions

Print the two main source cards and comparison grid. Keep previous weeks’ references available for David; no internet required to answer.

Offer pointing, circling, drawing or scribed answers. Read cards aloud. No personal, family or faith disclosure is required.

Watch for: A respectful comparison can name real differences. Respect does not require claiming every tradition is the same.

Use the matching pupil sheets for any map, table or writing frame named in these tasks.

Teacher key · task answers

Diwali: good/knowledge overcoming evil/ignorance, D1. Hanukkah: the oil miracle, H1.
Both link light with meaning. Diwali’s card emphasises good/knowledge, whereas Hanukkah’s recalls the oil story.
Both use light, but D1 and H1 give different explanations; similarity is not identity.

School plan and source references

GROW Weekly Autumn SOW: RE C65

These cover activities use the reviewed source cards and tasks from David’s matching download pack. They are a teaching version of the existing slots, with no additional coverage or qualification credit claimed.

Full RE lesson

Optional original-source links need the internet; the labelled teaching cards above are available offline.