Year 3 Rites of passage: How do communities mark growing up? worksheet

“Baptism and dedication” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 3 religious education unit “Rites of passage: How do communities mark growing up?”, for children aged 7 to 8, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 25 to 30 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Baptism and dedication

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 3 · Religious education · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can describe how Christians welcome a new baby through baptism or dedication.

A Look back3 min

1.
Which stage comes straight after baby? Circle one.
childadultteenager
2.
Which season comes straight after autumn? Circle one.
winterspringsummer
3.
Which part of the day comes straight after afternoon? Circle one.
eveningmorningnight

B Watch me, then you4 min

Sam's little sister is going to be baptised at church. Here is what happens.

A small stone church with a wooden door and a stone bowl near the entrance

Watch me

Baptism is a Christian ceremony that welcomes a baby.

Parents and godparents promise to support the child's faith.

Then a priest sprinkles water on the baby's head.

Now you

1.
At a baptism, what is used to welcome the baby? Circle one.
watersandmilk

C Your turn8 min

Some Christians welcome a baby with a dedication instead of a baptism. No water is used. Parents promise to bring the child up in the Christian faith. Read each question.

1.
Which ceremony uses water to welcome a baby? Circle one.
baptismdedication
2.
Which ceremony uses no water? Circle one.
baptismdedication
3.
Join each ceremony to what happens at it.
baptismdedication
parents vow to bring the child up in faithwater is sprinkled on the baby's head
4.
Write each card in the right column.
water is sprinkled on the headno water is usedparents vow to bring child up in faithwelcomes the baby into the faith
Baptism Dedication Both

Say it out loud: Which words told you if the ceremony used water? Say what changed from the question before.

D Spot the mistake3 min

Ola says: “Every religion marks the same stages in a person's life, so everyone has a baptism.”

1.
Is Ola right? Explain in one sentence.

E Think deeper4 min

1.
Both baptism and dedication welcome boys and girls equally. Explain in two sentences why this matters to Christian families.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Baptism and dedication · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. child

2. winter

3. evening

B

1. water your child may have picked something that is not used in baptism. Ask: what does the priest pour or sprinkle on the baby's head?

C

1. baptism your child may have chosen dedication. Ask: does a dedication use water, or does the parent only make promises?

2. dedication your child may have chosen baptism. Remind them that baptism uses water on the baby's head.

3. baptism → water is sprinkled on the baby's head; dedication → parents vow to bring the child up in faith your child may have joined the two lines the wrong way. Ask: which one has water, and which one has promises only?

4. Both: parents vow to bring child up in faith, welcomes the baby into the faith · Baptism: water is sprinkled on the head · Dedication: no water is used your child may have put the water card in Both. Ask: does a dedication use water too? If not, only baptism belongs with water.

D

1. Look for: Says Ola is not right, because different religions and cultures mark different stages, and not everyone has baptism. your child may think everyone marks the same stages. Ask: do Christians always use baptism, or do some use dedication instead?

E

1. Look for: Gives a reason, such as every child matters to God, or every child belongs in the church family.

Words to use

Say“Tell me one thing that happens at a baptism, and one thing that happens at a dedication. What is the same?”

Instead of“Just tell them the answer, or say which religion is right.”

After the sheet

Fold a sheet of paper in half. Write Baptism on one side and Dedication on the other, then draw one thing each ceremony does and one thing they share.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

5 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Christian growing-up ceremonies(with a plan)
Growing up in Judaism(with a plan)
Changes after a Bar Mitzvah(with a plan)
Welcoming a Hindu baby(with a plan)
Same and different ceremonies(with a plan)

Every Year 3 religious education worksheet

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