Christmas and Easter, Common Religious Festivals for Pre-School Level 2

Class: Pre-School Level 2
Term: Third Term
Week: 8
Age: 3 years
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Health Habits
Curriculum Theme: Health Habits
Previous Lesson: Understanding different types of special days and celebrations.
Topic: CHRISTMAS AND EASTER: COMMON RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS
Subject Matter: COMMON RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS: 1. Christmas 2. Sallah 3. Easter. Weekly focus: Christmas and Easter: Common Religious Festivals.

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

Cognitive Domain

• Identify pictures related to Christmas, Easter, and Sallah.
• Name Christmas, Easter, and Sallah as common religious festivals.
• State one simple purpose or meaning of Christmas (Jesus’ birth), Easter (Jesus’ resurrection), and Sallah (celebration after fasting/sacrifice).

Affective Domain

• Show appreciation for different religious festivals.
• Participate joyfully in discussions about celebrations.

Psychomotor Domain

• Point to pictures representing each festival.
• Participate in singing a song about festivals.

Social Domain

• Understand that people celebrate different festivals with their families and communities.
• Share simple ideas about how they celebrate special days.

Reference Materials

• NAPPS National Unified Teaching Scheme for Pre-School Level 2
• Relevant Early Childhood Care and Education resources
• Picture books showing different festivals

Instructional Materials

• Picture cards or charts showing Christmas (Christmas tree, Santa, gifts), Easter (Easter eggs, bunny, church), and Sallah (ram, new clothes, mosque, food sharing).
• A calendar.
• Storybook about festivals.
• Video clip on common religious festivals for children.
• Flashcards of festival symbols.

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson helps 3-year-olds understand that people in their community celebrate different special days. Learning about Christmas, Easter, and Sallah promotes early social awareness, respect for diverse cultures, and the idea of community togetherness, which are important aspects of social health and well-being.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils can identify different special days like birthdays and understand that people celebrate with family and friends. They may have seen or participated in some celebrations.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

CHRISTMAS AND EASTER: COMMON RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS

Religious festivals are special days when people celebrate important events related to their religion. These days are full of joy, family time, and sharing.

Christmas

Christmas is a special festival when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It happens every year on December 25th. People celebrate by:

• Going to church.
• Decorating Christmas trees.
• Exchanging gifts.
• Spending time with family and friends.
• Eating special food.

Easter

Easter is another important Christian festival. It celebrates Jesus Christ rising from the dead. Easter happens in spring, and the date changes each year. People celebrate by:

• Going to church.
• Wearing new clothes.
• Having special meals.
• Some children look for Easter eggs.

Sallah (Eid)

Sallah is a very important festival for Muslims. There are two main Sallah festivals: Eid al-Fitr (celebrating the end of fasting) and Eid al-Adha (the festival of sacrifice). The dates change each year. People celebrate by:

• Going to the mosque for special prayers.
• Wearing new clothes.
• Sharing food with family, friends, and those in need.
• Visiting loved ones.

Key Words

• Christmas – A Christian festival celebrating Jesus’ birth.
• Easter – A Christian festival celebrating Jesus rising from the dead.
• Sallah – A Muslim festival for celebration and sharing.
• Festival – A special day or time of celebration.
• Celebrate – To do something special for an important event.

Our Festival Song

Tune: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”

Festivals are happy days,
Happy, happy, joyful ways.
Christmas, Easter, Sallah too,
Special days for me and you.
Families gather, laugh and play,
Happy, happy festival day!

Actions: Clap hands for “happy days”, make a circle with arms for “families gather”, hug self for “me and you”.

Watch and Learn About Festivals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI9xY_kXp4I

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Play-based Learning, Demonstration, Guided Practice, Songs and Rhymes, Picture Talk, Question and Answer, Repetition, Video Presentation.

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Engaging/Recalling

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils and asks them about any special days they celebrate at home, like birthdays. The teacher then introduces the idea of religious festivals as special celebration days for many people.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to questions about special days and listen attentively.

Learning Point: Pupils recall special days and are introduced to the concept of festivals.

Step 2: Presenting Christmas

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explaining/Visual Aid

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher shows pictures of Christmas celebrations (Christmas tree, Santa, gifts). The teacher explains that Christmas is when Christians celebrate Jesus’ birthday on December 25th and how people celebrate with gifts and family. The teacher points to December 25th on the calendar.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils look at the pictures, listen to the explanation, and point to Christmas pictures when asked.

Learning Point: Pupils learn about Christmas and its celebration.

Step 3: Presenting Easter

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explaining/Visual Aid

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher shows pictures of Easter (Easter eggs, people in church). The teacher explains that Easter is another Christian festival celebrating Jesus rising from the dead and how people go to church and have special meals. The teacher explains that its date changes each year.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils observe the pictures, listen to the explanation, and repeat “Easter” when prompted.

Learning Point: Pupils learn about Easter and its celebration.

Step 4: Presenting Sallah

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explaining/Visual Aid

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher shows pictures of Sallah celebrations (ram, new clothes, sharing food). The teacher briefly explains that Sallah is a special Muslim festival for prayers and sharing, and that its date also changes each year.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils look at the pictures and listen to the explanation, repeating “Sallah” when asked.

Learning Point: Pupils learn about Sallah and its celebration.

Step 5: Festival Song and Movement

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Singing/Movement

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher leads the pupils in singing the “Our Festival Song” with actions. The teacher sings slowly and encourages all pupils to join in the words and actions.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils sing the song and perform the simple actions.

Learning Point: Pupils reinforce learning through song and movement, connecting to the joy of festivals.

Step 6: Video and Discussion

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Media Integration/Discussion

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher plays the short video about common religious festivals. After the video, the teacher asks pupils to name one thing they saw related to Christmas, Easter, or Sallah.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils watch the video and try to name things they saw related to the festivals.

Learning Point: Pupils visually reinforce their understanding of the festivals.

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 4–5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher checks pupils’ understanding through short questions and practical tasks.

1. “Point to the picture of Christmas.”
2. “What do people celebrate at Easter?” (Accept simple answers like “Jesus rising” or “eggs”).
3. “What is the name of the Muslim festival we talked about?”
4. “Show me a picture where people are sharing gifts.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond orally and demonstrate the required skill where appropriate (e.g., pointing to pictures).

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Step 8: Conclusion

Time: 2 minutes

Teaching Skill: Summarizing/Reinforcing

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher praises the pupils for their participation and reminds them that Christmas, Easter, and Sallah are all special, happy times for different people to celebrate and share joy. The teacher emphasizes that we respect everyone’s festivals.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen and repeat key phrases like “happy days” or “share joy”.

Learning Point: Pupils reinforce the idea of respecting different celebrations and community.

Lesson Keywords

• Christmas – A happy time when Christians celebrate Jesus’ birth.
• Easter – A special Christian day when we remember Jesus rising.
• Sallah – A joyful Muslim festival for prayers and sharing food.
• Festival – A special day for celebrating.
• Celebrate – To have a happy party or special event.

Differentiation

• Support: For pupils who need extra help, use larger, very clear pictures. Focus on identifying just one festival at a time (e.g., “Show me Christmas”). Provide hand-over-hand guidance for pointing. Repeat the key names multiple times.
• Extension: For pupils who grasp the concepts quickly, ask them to describe one thing they like about celebrating any special day. Encourage them to name another special day they know, or ask them to sort the festival pictures into “Christian festivals” and “Muslim festivals” with guidance.