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
PSHE Association KS2 L21: to recognise that people make spending decisions based on priorities, needs and wants
PSHE Association KS2 L24: how data is shared and used, including charity websites
Citizenship KS2: roles of charities and voluntary groups in the community
RESOURCES What you'll need
Three charity profile cards (a UK food bank, an international children's charity, a local animal shelter)
Scenario: "Your class raised £50 at the bake sale"
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
Find out about one charity in your local community. What does it do? Bring three facts about it next lesson.
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.