Places of Worship: a free KS1 lesson plan

Explore different Christian Places of Worship — a clear, engaging PowerPoint presentation designed for UK primary schools.
Pupils learn what makes a church special, how Christians worship, and the differences between Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, and other Christian groups.
Includes interactive classroom activities, prayers, songs, and discussion ideas.
Produced in the UK with no political bias or denominational slant.

This KS1 lesson plan covers:
•The church is not only a building, but a group of Christians meeting together.
•Christians can worship God anywhere, so a church building is not essential to worship.
• But if there is a dedicated building:
What is the focal point?
How are the seats laid out?
Are there any pictures or artwork?
• Pretend that the classroom is a church and run through some of the elements that make up a church service:
Say some short, set prayers.
Listen to a children’s talk.
Say a creed together.
Sing a song.
• What are Roman Catholic Churches, Anglican Churches, Methodist Churches, Baptist Churches, United Reform Churches and new, non-traditional, Christian groups?
• How to behave in a church service.

For a vast resource of ready to use PowerPoint lesson plans, songs, short cartoon clips, etc go to; https://notmanywise.uk/re-lesson-plans/

1. Pretend that the classroom is a church and run through some of the elements that make up a church service. Listen to a children’s talk. Sing a song. The differences between churches. How to behave in a church service. Also, you could use Worksheet 3. This has pictures of some things which may be found in a Church building. It also has a layout of a typical Anglican church.. Teachers note: Topics we will look at See more Free Lesson Plans at: https://notmanywise.uk Places of worship free lesson plan [ i ]

2. Does the design of a Church building create a certain atmosphere? How are the seats laid out? What is the focal point? Are there any pictures or artwork? Are there any distractions – noise or other things? [ii]

3. Set out part of the classroom like an Anglican Church The Vicar is in the vestry (a room next to the main church area). The musicians are playing some music. The congregation comes in through the porch and are greeted by the steward. The people sit on the pews. (Many churches don't have pews, they have ordinary chairs instead). The Vicar walks from the vestry and welcomes everyone from the front. The Vicar will now lead the Service. [iii]

4. [iv] 7. The Vicar could say a declaration: “Christ the light of the world, has come to dispel the darkness of our hearts. In his light let us examine ourselves and confess our sins.” Whenever a song or hymn is sung, everyone tends to stand up to sing them.

5. At certain points in the church service, a children’s song could be played and a children’s talk given. Also, there would be other songs or hymns that are sung. See examples on the resources page.

6. [iv] 9. A Creed can be said by the congregation (which is a declaration of faith). Many people stand up to say a Creed. This is an example of a Creed: “Let us declare our faith in God.” “We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.”

7. 10) The Vicar gives a talk (known as a sermon or message), which should be based on a reading from the Bible. In the past, this sermon was given from the pulpit, but often now the Vicar remains where he or she is. [ i ] [ v ]

8. [ i ] 11) The Vicar ends the service. Here’s an example prayer: “Be with us Lord, as we go out into the world. May the lips that have sung Your praises, always speak the truth; may the ears which have heard Your Word, listen only to what is good, and may our lives as well as our worship, be always pleasing in Your sight, for the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen ” 12) Everyone leaves the church. Often everyone goes to have a drink, biscuits and a chat! This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC [ vi ]

9. [vii] Roman Catholic Churches tend to be very ornate, they have a lot of visual things like statues and the services are very formal and set, being written in a book. Some Anglican Churches can be very similar to this, whilst others have fairly plain buildings and may have informal services. How different Churches do things:

10. [viii] The Methodist, Baptist, United Reform Churches (and others) tend to meet in buildings which don't have a spire or tower, and often the building is known as a 'Chapel’. The services are not read from a book, although many are very set by traditions, whilst others have informal services. Many new, non-traditional, Christian groups meet in schools and halls with very informal services. In other words, there are many different Churches which do the same things in different ways!

11. [ix] How should you behave in a place of worship? This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

12. All images under CC BY-SA-NC [ i ] File:Taney Church, Dundrum, Ireland.jpg - Wikimedia Commons [ii] https://pixnio.com/free-images/architecture/cathedrals-churches/anglican-christ-church-corner-stirling-highway.jpg [iii] https://www.gettysburgdaily.com/the-candlelight-program-at-gettysburg%E2%80%99s-christ-lutheran-church-the-stories/ [iv] Vicar (Anglicanism) – Wikipedia [v] 5 Tips To Help Parents Improve Their Children’s Academic Performance (romancemeetslife.com) [vi] Revive & Rejuvenate: Competition: Harvest Festival Bake-off! (reviveandrejuvenate.blogspot.com) [vii] church-altar-1351681789JjZ.jpg (1920×1440) (publicdomainpictures.net) [viii] Billingshurst Unitarian Chapel - Billingshurst Unitarian Chapel – Wikipedia [ix] 5206722465_b71e0a8357_b.jpg (1024×683) (staticflickr.com) Photo credits: