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Year 2

The story of the Blind Men and the Elephant

I can retell the story of the blind men and the elephant.

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New
New
Year 2

The story of the Blind Men and the Elephant

I can retell the story of the blind men and the elephant.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The story of the Blind Men and the Elephant comes from ancient India.
  2. The story is a fable; a story with a deeper meaning.
  3. The story describes a group of blind men who each disagreed what an elephant should look like.
  4. Many people in India follow a Hindu worldview.

Keywords

  • Hindu - someone who follows the teachings and practices of Hindu Dharma

  • Blind - someone who is unable to see clearly

  • India - a country in the continent of Asia

  • Fable - a story that contains a deeper meaning

Common misconception

One of the blind men was correct and the others were wrong about the elephant.

All the blind men touched a different part of the elephant and so did not fully understand what an elephant was like.


To help you plan your year 2 religious education lesson on: The story of the Blind Men and the Elephant, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Have a toy elephant or maybe a picture of an elephant and get the children to look at the different parts.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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4 Questions

Q1.
A story told by Jesus with a hidden meaning is known as a ...
Gospel.
miracle.
Correct answer: parable.
Q2.
What word describes a promise between God and humans?
Correct answer: covenant
incarnation
commandment
Q3.
What do many Hindus throw during Holi celebrations?
flowers
Correct answer: paint
water
Q4.
What is the name of the Christian festival that celebrates the bringing in of crops?
Correct Answer: Harvest, harvest, harvest festival

5 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:Hindu,someone who follows the teachings and practices from Hindu dharma
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someone who follows the teachings and practices from Hindu dharma

Correct Answer:blind,someone who is unable to see clearly
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someone who is unable to see clearly

Correct Answer:India,a country in the continent of Asia
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a country in the continent of Asia

Correct Answer:fable,a story with a hidden meaning
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a story with a hidden meaning

Q2.
Where in the world are there Hindus?
only in India
only in the UK
Correct answer: all over the world
Q3.
How old is Hindu Dharma?
Correct answer: 4,000 years old
400 years old
40 years old
Q4.
Which of the following statements about what Hindus believe is true?
that you should only be kind to humans
that you should only be kind to animals
Correct answer: that you should be kind to humans and animals
Q5.
What can Hindus learn from the fable of the Blind Men and the Elephant?
that there is only one right way and everyone else is wrong
that there are no right ways, everyone is wrong
Correct answer: that everyone can be partly right, so we have to listen to each other

Additional material

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