Teaching elementary students about world religions is a great way to build empathy, reduce stereotypes, and foster global awareness. It also helps students who follow minority religions feel seen. Stories, crafts, and a focus on more concrete elements — like how people celebrate holydays — is an easy way to explore world religions in elementary classrooms while remaining both age-appropriate and constitutionally appropriate.

Diwali for K-5 Students

This ready-to-use lesson plan is all about Diwali, a major fall holyday in the Hindu/Indian traditions. Known as the Festival of Lights, it’s celebrated in various ways across the Indian continent, but the message of light-over-darkness is a constant theme.

Just remember: it’s entirely legal to teach about the world’s religions in public schools. But the content must be non-devotional and academic – neither promoting nor denigrating religious beliefs and practices.

The full lesson plan can be downloaded for FREE at World Religions 4 Kids, but read on for all the details!

The lesson plan is designed for students in K-5 classrooms and includes easy adaptations for lower (K-2) and upper (3-5) grade levels. It could also work with middle-school students, although it’s not specifically designed for them. The lesson pan includes:

• Brief background information on Hinduism, Hindu temples, and Hindu rangolis
• An illustrated story about how Diwali came to be
• A rangoli craft — with templates
• Two diya (oil lamp) crafts — with the necessary templates
• A fun game from India that can be played in the classroom

Each element is outlined briefly below.

Background Information

Although Diwali is celebrated by many people in India – including Buddhists and Jains – it is generally associated with the Hindu traditions. This brief section of the lesson plan offers easy-to-understand information about Hindu temples and rangolis.

Hindu temples are found throughout the world. Some are quite colorful and covered with images of deities (the gods and goddesses of the Hindu traditions). Others are all white. Many also include a towering structure at the entryway. The photos provided show a few examples, including one from the state of Delaware.

Rangolis are popular geometric/floral designs made on the ground, often in courtyards, for various Hindu/Indian holydays. They were traditionally made of colored rice or flowers. Today, they are often made with colored sand.

Illustrated Story

There are many different origin stories for Diwali. One of them is related to the Hindu/Indian epic called the Ramayana. In this story, Prince Rama and his brother rescue Rama’s wife, Sita, from an evil king. At the end, when Rama and Sita return home, welcoming lamps light their way, celebrating both their return and the victory of good over evil.

The Ramayana, with 24,000 verses, is one of the longest epics ever written. This story is WAY shorter and intended to be read during class time. Fun questions throughout are great for keeping younger listeners (K-2) engaged. More advanced questions for older students (Grades 3-5) are provided at the end. The illustrations were made by an Indian artist, Raman Bardwaj, who currently lives in the U.S.

Crafts

Rangolis

Rangoli crafts are fun and easy to do with kids. Any mandala-type coloring page can be used, but this lesson plan includes two – a simpler one for younger (K-2) students and a more complex one for older (Grades 3-5) students. They can simply color them, or you can provide colored sand and liquid glue with paint brushes. There are also suggestions for making it a group/class project.

Diyas

One of the main themes of Diwali is lights! Any form will do – lanterns, strings of lights, fireworks, etc. In fact, at my local temple, sparklers are a favorite.

Traditional lamps, called diyas, often had a teardrop shape and were powered with oil. Nowadays, they come in all shapes and sizes. The lesson plan includes instructions and templates for a diya made of paper. If you have access to the supplies, instructions for a clay diya are also included.

Activity

Finally, the lesson plan includes instructions and video links for a game played by kids in India. Called gutte, it’s somewhat like the U.S. game of “jacks” and is usually played with 5 stones. Any small objects can be used if you want to share it with your students.

Conclusion

As educators, we strive to prepare students for an increasingly interconnected world. Religious holydays — when presented in an objective, informative way — can serve as age-appropriate windows into different cultures while also serving as mirrors for those students/families who celebrate them.

Since it can be difficult to find accurate, non-devotional resources, this lesson plan is intended to fill that need. Be sure to let me know if you use it and how it goes!!

About the Author

Rev. Vicki Garlock, Ph.D. is the founder of World Religions 4 Kids, a company dedicated to improving religious literacy in children and their adults. She recently earned a Guinness World Records™ title for visiting the Most Places of Worship in One Month — 185 in the beautiful city of Chicago!

She is also the author of We All Have Sacred Spaces and ABCs of the World’s Religions, both of which received multiple awards. Geared to kids age 5-10, the books offer insights into numerous religious traditions in a single volume, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Sikhism.

Vicki earned her Ph.D. in Psychology with dual specialties in neuroscience and cognitive development. Over the years, she has written extensively for both The Interfaith Observer and Multicultural Kid Blogs. She also regularly works with educators (especially social studies teachers), parents, and faith communities around the country. Vicki and her husband live in Asheville and have two almost-grown children. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, X, or TikTok (@teachworldreligions).