What's included in the Summer Solstice Whole School Assembly PowerPoint resource and why is it useful?

Summer Solstice Whole School Assembly PowerPoint is a slideshow that explores the longest day of the year, which usually falls on 21st June in the UK. The content includes 10 slides with teacher notes, covering what the summer solstice is, why it happens, a day full of light, Stonehenge, celebrations around the world, nature and the seasons, a moment to appreciate light and follow-up activities. It links to science learning about seasonal changes.

Why the Solstice Happens

How the Northern Hemisphere tilts towards the Sun, giving us more direct sunlight, the most daylight and the shortest night, with questions such as "Why do you think having more daylight feels special?"

Stonehenge and Midsummer

How the stones at Stonehenge line up with the sunrise on the morning of the solstice, and how people in Sweden celebrate Midsummer with music, dancing and flower crowns.

A Moment to Appreciate Light

Signs of summer in nature and a calm moment of gratitude, asking "What do you appreciate most about summertime?"

How do our whole school assemblies work?

Our whole school assemblies are PowerPoint slideshows that follow a similar structure: an introduction, questions to get children thinking, the key points of the topic and reflection time. They're paced to suit a primary school assembly and work best on a whiteboard, projected out to the hall. You can use them:

• as a whole school assembly, from EYFS up to KS2
• as a class assembly
• as a teaching PowerPoint when you want to cover an event or topic in your own classroom

The majority of our assemblies include teacher notes and guidance to support delivery, and because they're pacey, you can adapt them to however long your assembly lasts.

Adapting the Assembly for Your School

Every assembly is editable, so you can add, remove or change slides to suit the needs of your school. We cover religious events, seasonal topics, values such as kindness, friendship and tolerance, science, history, PSHE, music, significant people and sporting events, so you can choose the assemblies that fit your school year.

Supporting Learning at Home

Families can carry the conversation on at home by asking children about their assembly: what they heard, how it made them feel and what they think about it.

You can explore more of our whole school assembly resources here.