Year 5 Muslims: What are the joys and challenges of being Muslim in Britain? worksheet

“Muslims in Britain Today” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 5 religious education unit “Muslims: What are the joys and challenges of being Muslim in Britain?”, for children aged 9 to 10, and takes about 22 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 19 to 24 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Muslims in Britain Today

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 5 · Religious education · about 22 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can explain how Muslims have been part of Britain for many centuries.

A Look back3 min

1.
Which building do Christians worship in? Circle the best one.
churchmosquegurdwarasynagogue
2.
Which building do Jewish people worship in? Circle the best one.
churchsynagoguegurdwaramandir
3.
Which holy book do Christians read? Circle the best one.
BibleTorahQur'anGuru Granth Sahib

B Watch me, then you5 min

Offa was a king in England in the 8th century. One of his gold coins has Arabic writing from Islam on it. What does it tell us?

A small brick mosque with a dome and a tall window, in a quiet English town street

Watch me

Offa's coin copies a coin from a Muslim land, with Arabic words about God.

So people in England knew about the Muslim world over 1,200 years ago.

Links between Britain and Muslims are very old.

Now you

1.
A mosque opened in Woking in 1889. What does this tell us about Muslims in Britain at that time?
2.
In the 1950s, many workers came from India and Pakistan, and many were Muslim. What building did they need to pray together?

C Your turn7 min

Match, order and sort the evidence from the lesson.

1.
Join each event to its date. The Shah Jahan Mosque is the mosque in Woking.
Offa's coinShah Jahan Mosque opensWorkers arrive from India and PakistanCensus shows 6.5% Muslim
20211950s18898th century
2.
Number these from earliest (1) to latest (4). Write the number in each box.
1. Census records 6.5% Muslim
2. Workers arrive from India and Pakistan
3. Offa's coin with Arabic lettering
4. Purpose-built mosque opens in Woking
3.
Sort each card into the right column.
Offa's coin with Arabic letteringPurpose-built mosque, Woking, 1889Census rise from 3% to 6.5%1950s workers from India and Pakistan
Shows a long history Shows recent growth
4.
Which fact best shows Muslims were in Britain before 1950? Circle the best one.
The 2021 census shows 6.5% Muslim.A Muslim place of worship was built in Woking in 1889.Many Muslims worked in British factories in the 1950s.

Say it out loud: Which of these events happened before 1900? How do you know?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Lou says: “Muslims only began living in Britain in the last hundred years, so there is no older history.”

1.
The timeline shows an early date. Write the event that goes with it, then say why it shows Lou is wrong.

E Think deeper4 min

1.
A census counts people living in Britain. Explain why its numbers do not show how long each family has lived here.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Muslims in Britain Today · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. church

2. synagogue your child may have picked the building for another faith. Ask which faith the building belongs to.

3. Bible

B

1. Look for: Says Muslims were living in Britain in 1889, long before the 1950s, because they had a mosque. If they are stuck, ask who would need a mosque. Then ask how long ago 1889 was on the timeline.

2. Look for: A mosque, or a place where Muslims pray together.

C

1. Offa's coin → 8th century; Shah Jahan Mosque opens → 1889; Workers arrive from India and Pakistan → 1950s; Census shows 6.5% Muslim → 2021

2. 1 Offa's coin with Arabic lettering · 2 Purpose-built mosque opens in Woking · 3 Workers arrive from India and Pakistan · 4 Census records 6.5% Muslim your child may have put the census first because it is the most recent number. Ask which event is oldest and start there.

3. Shows recent growth: Census rise from 3% to 6.5%, 1950s workers from India and Pakistan · Shows a long history: Offa's coin with Arabic lettering, Purpose-built mosque, Woking, 1889

4. A Muslim place of worship was built in Woking in 1889. your child chose a fact from after 1950. Ask which fact happened before the 1950s, then look at the timeline again.

D

1. Look for: Names Offa's coin with Arabic lettering from the 8th century, and says links with Muslims are much older than a hundred years. your child may not have read the label. Point to the 8th century on the timeline and ask what coin was made then.

E

1. Look for: A reason that the census counts people living here on one day, so it does not show when each family arrived.

Words to use

Say“Which of these events happened first? How do you know?”

Instead of“Tell them Muslims only came to Britain after the war.”

After the sheet

Make a family timeline at home with three dates from your family's history. Put them in order on a strip of paper, then swap who makes the next one.

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:

Many Kinds of Muslims(with a plan)
Many Muslim Family Lives(with a plan)
Dress and modesty today(with a plan)
Zakat and generosity(with a plan)
Contributions and challenges(with a plan)

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