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KS2 · Year 5 · Lesson plan

Charity and money — sharing and giving

A classroom-ready 45 minutes lesson plan with starter, main, plenary, differentiation, SEND adaptations, EAL support and assessment criteria. Free to use, no login.

Key Stage
KS2
Year group
Year 5
Age range
9–10
Duration
45 minutes
Subject
Maths / PSHE
Cost
Free

Learning aim

Pupils can describe what a charity is, explain why people choose to give to charity, and decide how a class might give a fundraised amount.

CURRICULUM National Curriculum links

RESOURCES What you'll need

LESSON Lesson structure (45 minutes)

0–5 min
HOOK
Tell the class: "Imagine our class held a bake sale last week and we raised £50. We want to give it all to a charity. How do we choose which charity?" Take 3 quick suggestions. Don't resolve — let pupils realise this is harder than it looks.
5–15 min
TEACH
Define charity on the board: "an organisation set up to help others — people, animals, or causes." Show three short profile cards: a UK food bank (helps families who can't afford food), an international children's charity (helps children in poorer countries), a local animal shelter (looks after abandoned animals). For each, build the language: "this charity helps ___ by ___".
15–30 min
GUIDED
Pairs are given all three profile cards and the decision worksheet. The worksheet asks: (1) Which charity would £50 help the most? (2) Which one feels most important to YOU? (3) How would you split the £50 if you wanted to support all three? Pairs discuss and record their thinking.
30–40 min
CHALLENGE
Display: "What if one charity says £50 buys 100 meals for a family. Another says £50 buys 20 children's books. A third says £50 funds one day's care for a rescue dog. Does that change your decision? Why?" Pupils discuss in pairs. Build the idea: giving choices aren't always about "which charity is biggest" — they're about impact, values, and personal connection.
40–45 min
PLENARY
Volunteer pairs share their decision and reasoning. Highlight that there's no "right answer" — but a good reason matters. Final reflection: "If everyone gave a little, what could a community do together?"

DIFFERENTIATION Adapting for all learners

Support (working below ARE)

Use only 2 charities (not 3). Provide a sentence stem: "I would give to ___ because ___." Focus on the values discussion, less on splitting amounts.

Stretch (working above ARE)

Add a 4th charity option: "Save for next year's class trip." Pupils must decide between charity giving and saving for themselves, justifying with at least two reasons.

SEND SEND adaptations

For pupils with autism: provide structured choice (pick one of three) rather than open-ended split. For pupils with EAL: use the picture-rich charity cards rather than text-heavy.

EAL EAL support

Vocabulary: "charity", "donate", "give", "fundraise", "cause", "impact". Sentence stems: "A charity is ___" and "I would donate to ___ because ___".

ASSESSMENT Assessment criteria

Pupils can: (1) define "charity" in their own words; (2) name two reasons people give to charity; (3) make a giving decision and justify it with at least one reason. Exit ticket: "If I had £10 to give, I would give it to a charity that ___ because ___."

HOME Homework pack

Four activities exploring giving and charities. ~20 minutes.

Charity finder

What pupils do: Find the names of 3 UK charities. Write each one and what cause they help (food banks, animals, hospitals, homeless people, etc.).

Expected output: A list of 3 charities with one sentence per charity.

Marking guidance: 1 mark per charity, 1 mark per cause. 6 marks total.

Why people give

What pupils do: Write 3 reasons why people might donate to charity. Each reason should be different.

Expected output: A list of 3 reasons.

Marking guidance: 1 mark per distinct, accurate reason. 3 marks total.

Gift Aid mini-investigation

What pupils do: Ask a parent or look it up: what is "Gift Aid"? Write a 2-sentence explanation.

Expected output: A 2-sentence explanation.

Marking guidance: 2 marks for a basic accurate explanation (charity claims tax back, donor must be a UK taxpayer).

Extension (optional)

What pupils do: Plan a fictional fundraiser for a cause you care about. Who would it help? What would you do? How would you collect the money safely?

Expected output: A short fundraising plan with at least 4 details.

Marking guidance: Up to 4 marks for a thoughtful plan.

Family discussion prompt (safeguarding-aware)

Ask a grown-up: "Have you ever given to charity? What made you choose that charity?" No need to share amounts.

SAFEGUARDING Classroom safeguarding

Note for teachers: Avoid asking pupils what their family donates to or whether they donate. Some families may give privately, religiously, or not at all — all are valid. Frame everything through the fictional class bake sale.

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