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

Winter Solstice Whole School Assembly PowerPoint is a slideshow that explains why the winter solstice brings the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The content includes 10 slides, covering what the winter solstice is, the science behind it, its history, Yule, Stonehenge, festivals of light, winter solstice symbols and a reflection. It links to science learning about seasonal changes.

The Science of the Winter Solstice

How the Earth's tilt puts the Sun at its lowest point in the sky around 21st or 22nd December, opening with "Which season is this?"

History and Traditions

Yule bonfires and the Yule log, the stones at Stonehenge that line up with the Sun and other festivals of light such as Hanukkah, Christmas and Diwali, with the question "What do you think light symbolises?"

Symbols and Reflection

Why fire and evergreen plants are used as symbols of hope, ending with "How can we share warmth and light with others this winter?"

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.