Description
What our Holidays: Easter lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Holidays: Easter is a high-interest reading comprehension lesson plan. As such, students will practice various close reading and comprehension skills. In addition, they will learn about the origins of this Christian holiday. This lesson is for students in 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade.
Classroom Procedure
Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the yellow box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand.
Teacher Notes
The paragraph on this page provides a little more information or guidance on what to expect from the lesson. It explains that you can teach this lesson in a whole-class setting or as an independent, small-group activity. You can use the blank lines to record any thoughts or ideas you have as you prepare.
HOLIDAYS: EASTER LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Introduction to Easter
The Holidays: Easter lesson plan includes three content pages. Every spring, millions of people around the world celebrate Easter. For Christians, Easter is the most important holy day of the year because it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead three days after He was crucified. This event is the foundation of the Christian faith and a message of hope, new life, and God’s love.
Unlike holidays that are celebrated on the same date each year, Easter falls on a different Sunday every spring. The date is based on the moon rather than a fixed day on the calendar. Some Eastern Christian churches celebrate Easter on a different Sunday because they use a different calendar to determine the date. In most of the world, Easter is celebrated on a Sunday between late March and late April.
The Easter Story
The story of Easter is found in the New Testament of the Bible. Christians believe that Jesus spent His life teaching people about God, showing kindness to others, and performing miracles. He was eventually arrested, put on trial, and sentenced to die by crucifixion, a form of execution used by the Roman Empire. According to the Bible, Jesus died on a Friday and was placed in a tomb sealed with a large stone. On the third day, His followers found the tomb empty. Christians believe that Jesus had risen from the dead, just as He had promised. For them, the resurrection is the foundation of their faith and the reason Easter is the most important holy day of the year.
Many Christian churches prepare for Easter during a season called Lent. Lent lasts for 40 days, not counting Sundays, and begins on Ash Wednesday. During this time, many Christians spend extra time praying, reading the Bible, helping others, or giving up something they enjoy as a way to focus on God. Not all Christian churches observe Lent, and traditions differ from one church to another.
Holy Week
The week before Easter is called Holy Week. It begins with Palm Sunday, which remembers Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem. According to the Bible, crowds welcomed Him by placing palm branches on the road as He entered the city. Later in the week comes Maundy Thursday, also called Holy Thursday, when Christians remember the Last Supper. During this meal, Jesus shared a final Passover meal with His twelve apostles before His arrest and taught them about serving others.
Finally, Good Friday remembers the day Jesus was crucified. Although it marks a sad event, Christians call it “good” because they believe Jesus willingly gave His life to save others from sin. Two days later, Easter Sunday celebrates His resurrection with joyful worship and thanksgiving. Many Christians attend special church services during Holy Week, especially on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Some churches also hold sunrise services on Easter morning to remember when Jesus’ followers discovered the empty tomb.
The events of Easter are closely connected to the Jewish holy day of Passover. Passover remembers how God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as described in the Old Testament. According to the Bible, Jesus and His disciples shared a Passover meal at the Last Supper before His crucifixion. Because of this connection, Passover and Easter are usually celebrated around the same time each year.
Easter Traditions
Many of the traditions people associate with Easter today are not religious. Decorating eggs, searching for hidden eggs, and receiving baskets filled with candy are popular customs in many countries. Eggs have long been symbols of new life, and many Christians also see them as reminders of Jesus’ resurrection. The Easter Bunny became popular after German immigrants brought stories of an Easter rabbit to North America during the 1700s. Today, children often look forward to finding colorful eggs and special treats on Easter morning.
For many families, Easter is also a time to gather for a special meal. Traditional foods vary around the world and may include ham, lamb, sweet breads, or other favorite family recipes. Some Christians choose lamb because it reminds them of the biblical description of Jesus as the “Lamb of God.” Families may also enjoy decorating eggs together, sharing candy, and spending time with relatives and friends.
One of the best-known Easter celebrations in the United States is the White House Easter Egg Roll. Children roll decorated eggs across the lawn of the White House while taking part in games and activities. The tradition began in 1878 during the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes and continues today, welcoming thousands of children and their families each year.
Easter Around the World
People celebrate Easter in many different ways around the world. Some communities hold large church services, while others celebrate with music, festivals, or family gatherings. The traditions may be different, but they all reflect customs that have been passed down through generations.
Whether people celebrate Easter as a Christian holy day, a family tradition, or both, it remains one of the world’s most widely observed holidays. For Christians, Easter is a joyful celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection and the hope it represents. For others, it is a time to enjoy springtime traditions and gather with loved ones. Learning about both the religious meaning and the cultural traditions of Easter helps us better understand this important time of year.
HOLIDAYS: EASTER LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Holidays: Easter lesson plan includes two worksheets: an activity worksheet and a practice worksheet. Each one will help students solidify their grasp of the material they learned throughout the lesson. You can refer to the classroom procedure guidelines to know when to hand out each worksheet.
EASTER EGG DESIGN ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
For the activity, students will design an Easter egg with colors, patterns, and symbols that remind them of the holiday. Their design may focus on the religious meaning of Easter, springtime traditions, family celebrations, or a combination of these. A list of symbols is provided as a guide. They can also use other symbols not listed. After they finish decorating the egg, they will complete the Symbol Key at the bottom of the page by explaining the meaning of at least five of the symbols that they included in the design.
HOLIDAYS: EASTER REVIEW PRACTICE WORKSHEET
The practice worksheet requires students to answer a series of 10 questions. These questions all relate to the content pages, so students will need to refer to them often for the answers. In addition, each question provides which reading tool the question corresponds to, such as text feature, vocabulary, or comprehension.
Worksheet Answer Keys
At the end of the lesson plan document is an answer key for the practice worksheet. The correct answers are all in red to make it easier for you to compare them with students’ responses. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.
