Diwali story unit · KS1 (Reception to Year 2)
The Brightest Diya
Learning objective: Describe how some families celebrate Diwali and why light and sharing are important to them.
Suggested story settings: Genre: Friendship · Length: 2 chapters · Time: 10–15 minutes · Story world: Diwali Lights Town
Talk questions
- How did Asha's family get ready for Diwali?
- What do you do with your family to celebrate special days?
Writing task
Draw a rangoli pattern. Write one sentence about Diwali: 'At Diwali, families ___.'
Word bank
- Diwali
- a festival of light celebrated by Hindu, Sikh and Jain families in the autumn
- diya
- a small clay lamp with a cotton wick, filled with oil and lit at Diwali
- rangoli
- a colourful pattern made on the floor or doorstep with coloured powder, rice or flowers
- festival
- a time of year when people get together to celebrate something special
- share
- to give some of what you have to other people, so that everyone can enjoy it
Success criteria (information report)
Reception to Year 2: I can write facts. I can use a heading. I can label a picture.
National Curriculum statements
- “being encouraged to link what they read or hear read to their own experiences” (Year 1, Reading – comprehension (statutory))
- “discussing word meanings, linking new meanings to those already known” (Year 1, Reading – comprehension (statutory))
- “writing about real events” (Year 2, Writing – composition (statutory))
Sample opening (written for litsee.com, to read aloud)
On Asha’s street, everyone was getting ready for Diwali.
“Will you help us?” asked Asha. She held out a tray of little clay lamps. “These are diyas. We paint them, and then we light them at Diwali.”
Ben painted his diya blue with yellow dots. Asha painted hers orange, like a marigold.
Next, they made a rangoli on the doorstep. They poured red, green and purple powder into a pattern of petals.
But then, pitter-patter, it began to rain. The rangoli went smudgy and runny.
“Oh no!” said Ben.
Asha’s grandad smiled. “Then we make a new one,” he said, “even brighter than before.”
Notes
Diwali story unit · KS2 (Years 3 to 6)
Lights Along the Street
Learning objective: Explain how and why Diwali is celebrated by different communities, using respectful vocabulary.
Suggested story settings: Genre: Friendship · Length: 2 chapters · Time: 10–15 minutes · Story world: Diwali Lights Town
Talk questions
- What did each friend's family do to celebrate? What was the same and what was different?
- Why do you think light is such an important symbol for so many festivals?
Writing task
Write a short diary entry from one of the friends about their Diwali evening, including what they saw, heard and felt.
Word bank
- celebration
- a happy event or party to mark a special day
- community
- a group of people who live near each other or share something important
- symbol
- an object or picture that stands for an idea, as light can stand for hope
- tradition
- a way of doing something that is passed down in a family or group for many years
- mithai
- South Asian sweets, such as barfi and ladoo, that families make and share at Diwali
Success criteria (diary entry)
Years 3 and 4: I can write in the first person and past tense. I can use time words. I can share thoughts and feelings.
Years 5 and 6: I can reflect on events, not just list them. I can keep a personal voice. I can keep my tense consistent.
National Curriculum statements
- “making comparisons within and across books” (Years 5 and 6, Reading – comprehension (statutory))
- “select and use appropriate registers for effective communication” (Years 1 to 6, Spoken language (statutory))
- “composing and rehearsing sentences orally (including dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures (English Appendix 2)” (Years 3 and 4, Writing – composition (statutory))
Sample opening (written for litsee.com, to read aloud)
Three days before Diwali, the street committee put Priya, Harjot and Nisha in charge of the lights.
“Fifty diyas along the front walls,” Priya read from the list, “and a rangoli at the end of the street, where everyone can see it.”
They worked all afternoon at Nisha’s kitchen table, pressing patterns into soft clay. Priya told the others that her family would put diyas in every window, because light reminds them that brightness always comes back after dark. Harjot said his family would go to the gurdwara for Bandi Chhor Divas, then come home for fireworks and food. Nisha explained that, for her family, Diwali was a quieter, thoughtful time, when they remembered Mahavira, a great teacher.
“So it’s the same night,” said Harjot slowly, “but not quite the same reasons.”
“And all of us light lamps,” said Nisha.
Then Priya counted the finished diyas again and frowned. There were only thirty-eight.
Notes
