1. Ask pupils to 'brainstorm' what people celebrate, eg fireworks night, Christmas, New Year's Eve, birthdays, having a baby brother/sister being born, weddings.
Ask: 'What do people do at these times?'
Ask pupils to say which events are celebrated by all, some, a few, no one in the class and how they felt at a few of these events.
Explore with pupils the reasons why some events are celebrated by some, but not all people and why some people celebrate in different ways.
Use a certificate such as that in the Diocese of Bath & Wells' Christmas Pack and ask pupils to fill in their own 'good news' in words and/or pictures. (2a)

2. Build on idea of celebrating good news by introducing them to different ways of giving good news, eg cards, telephone, letter, chat and e-mails. Help the pupils to dramatise particular good news situations using these methods, and ask them to suggest situations and to talk about the feelings of people who are celebrating. (2a)
Tell story of Teddy Bear, Piglet, Kitten and Me, and ask pupils to say what the good news was in the story. Parts of this story can be acted out too. (2d)

3. Remind pupils of the Christmas just gone and that its purpose was to celebrate the birth of Jesus, who, Christians believe, came to bring a new and better life for people. That was a long time ago, but people still remember it today.
Show pupils the Christmas story from the Animated Bible Stories video, and ask them why Jesus is a special baby.
Use activity sheets from Animated Bible Stories book to help pupils engage with the story, eg 'How many shepherds, wise men, animals, etc, are in the picture?' 'If you were Mary or Joseph what would you write on your postcard home?' (2b)

4. Tell pupils that Jesus was Jewish and introduce Purim as a festival he would have celebrated as he grew up. Jewish people still celebrate it today.
Tell The Story of Esther: a Very Brave Queen and ask pupils to say how they would have felt at different parts of the story. (2b,d)
Ask pupils to draw, write about or act out a time when they frightened, and someone helped them to be brave. (2d)

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5. Read Dorian Celebrates Purim and/or provide information about the festival from the Torah Tots website.
Show pupils artefacts relating to Dorian's account, eg gregger. (2c)
If you have access to computers and the internet, pupils could take turns at finding out about letters of the Hebrew aleph-bet by printing out and colouring in two or three letters from the Torah Tots website.

6. Give pupils different parts of the story of Esther to draw or colour in and join together to make a class 'Megillah' which includes pictures of artefacts used at Purim. (2b,c) Display the results.

7. Remind pupils of the story of the birth of Jesus and that they will be learning more about him next term, but for now they will be learning about how the story ends: the story of The First Easter.
Explain that it is a story of contrasts: good and bad, happy and sad, death and new life. Show the video, pointing out elements of contrast. (2b)
Use activity sheets from Animated Bible Stories book, eg matching pictures showing contrasts and inventing their own, eg seed and flower, night and day. (2d)

8. Remind pupils of the story of Easter, focussing on the events leading to Jesus' death and resurrection.
Ask pupils to identify parts of the story where people showed fear or bravery like in the story of Esther and to identify and attempt to explain puzzling aspects of the story.
Make a list of points and questions to ask a local Christian minister.

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9. On a visit to a local church, pupils identify, talk about, draw, etc, selected features of the church which relate to Easter, eg crucifix, Easter Garden, Paschal Candle. (2c)
Share the pupils' questions with a local minister and ask him/her to talk with them about Easter and what Christians do to remember Jesus at this time. (2b)
Around the church, ask pupils to look for sign of Spring. Later, ask them to make a collection of objects that are not living and objects that look dead but could come to life, eg seeds. (2d)

10. Remind pupils of the themes of Easter, such as joy, happiness, love and new life, and encourage them to reflect on similar experiences in their own lives.
Use dance and music to engage pupils in a class celebration of Easter, by expressing the story in a dramatised form.
Pupils can make use of their collection of objects in the drama. (2d)

11, 12. Tell pupils the story of 'An Egg for Babcha' and emphasise the elements of celebration and gift-giving. If facilities permit, help the pupils to make their own pysanka. Alternatively, use a simple retelling of the Easter story, eg by Brian Wildsmith, and ask pupils to use painted eggshells to make an Easter picture or design an Easter garden (see Animated Bible Stories book). (2b,c)

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