Easter story unit · KS1 (Reception to Year 2)
Look High, Look Low
Learning objective: Follow and give simple directions, and describe signs of new life in spring.
Suggested story settings: Genre: Mystery · Length: 2 chapters · Time: 10–15 minutes · Story world: Easter Egg Garden
Talk questions
- Where did our hero look for the eggs? Can you give a friend a clue to find something in our classroom?
- How did the friends make sure everyone was included?
Writing task
Draw and decorate an egg. Write a clue for where it is hidden: 'Look under the ___.'
Word bank
- Easter
- a spring festival; for Christians it is the most important festival of the year
- egg hunt
- a game where painted or chocolate eggs are hidden for people to find
- clue
- a hint that helps you find something or work something out
- hatch
- to break out of an egg, as a chick does
- share
- to let other people have some of something, so that everyone has enough
Success criteria (instructions)
Reception to Year 2: I can write a 'How to' title. I can number my steps. I can start with a bossy verb.
National Curriculum statements
- “recognising and joining in with predictable phrases” (Year 1, Reading – comprehension (statutory))
- “give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings” (Years 1 to 6, Spoken language (statutory))
- “writing for different purposes” (Year 2, Writing – composition (statutory))
Sample opening (written for litsee.com, to read aloud)
It was the morning of the egg hunt in the Easter Egg Garden. The sun was shining and the daffodils were nodding.
But whoosh! A spring wind blew across the garden, and all the picture clue cards flew away.
“Oh no,” said Ruby. “How will we find the eggs now?”
Kai spotted a card stuck in the hedge. It had a picture of a yellow flower.
“Look high, look low, where did the eggs go?” they sang, and they ran to the daffodils.
There, between the green stalks, sat a blue egg with white spots. And nearby, in a nest, three fluffy chicks went cheep, cheep, cheep.
Notes
Easter story unit · KS2 (Years 3 to 6)
The Riddle of the Painted Eggs
Learning objective: Explain how Easter is celebrated and why it is important to Christians, and write riddles that use clues and wordplay.
Suggested story settings: Genre: Mystery · Length: 2 chapters · Time: 10–15 minutes · Story world: Easter Egg Garden
Talk questions
- Which riddle was hardest to solve? Which clues helped most?
- Why is Easter important to Christians? What other ways do people enjoy Easter?
Writing task
Write your own riddle for an egg's hiding place, with at least two clues and a question at the end.
Word bank
- riddle
- a puzzle written as a question or a rhyme, with clues to help you guess the answer
- tradition
- a custom or way of doing things that people have kept up for a long time
- celebrate
- to do something special and enjoyable for an important day
- Christian
- someone who follows Christianity, the faith of people who believe in the teachings of Jesus
- new life
- young plants and animals that appear in spring, such as buds, lambs and chicks
Success criteria (poem)
Years 3 and 4: I can write in verses. I can use a simile. I can use repetition for effect.
Years 5 and 6: I can use imagery. I can choose my form on purpose. I can end with a turn.
National Curriculum statements
- “discussing words and phrases that capture the reader’s interest and imagination” (Years 3 and 4, Reading – comprehension (statutory))
- “discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the impact on the reader” (Years 5 and 6, Reading – comprehension (statutory))
- “selecting appropriate grammar and vocabulary, understanding how such choices can change and enhance meaning” (Years 5 and 6, Writing – composition (statutory))
Sample opening (written for litsee.com, to read aloud)
The egg hunt was meant to start at ten. At five to ten, Mrs Osei from the bakery came running up the path, waving a handful of cards.
“Somebody’s been at the clues,” she puffed. “Every single one is a riddle!”
Jayden took the top card and read it aloud: “I start as a dot in a wobbly ball, with no legs, no arms and no tail at all. Look in the water where it’s quiet and cold: what will I be when the spring grows old?”
“Water,” said Mei at once. “So, the pond.”
“A dot in a wobbly ball,” said Jayden slowly. “Frogspawn! And by the end of spring, it’s a frog.”
They raced to the pond. Floating at the edge, beside a clump of frogspawn, was a painted egg and another riddle card, tied with a yellow ribbon. Mei looked back at the garden, full of blossom and birdsong. Whoever had set these riddles knew the garden very well indeed.
Notes
