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Year 4

Guru Nanak's teachings on serving others

I can understand Guru Nanak's teaching on serving others and not focusing on money.

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New
New
Year 4

Guru Nanak's teachings on serving others

I can understand Guru Nanak's teaching on serving others and not focusing on money.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Guru Nanak teaches that helping others is the real way to feel happy, not by having lots of money.
  2. Being kind and caring is better than just trying to get money.
  3. The story teaches Sikhs that being too greedy can make them forget to help others.
  4. Guru Nanak wants Sikhs to share what they have and help those in need, instead of just keeping things for themselves.

Keywords

  • Kindness - being nice and caring towards others

  • Greed - wanting more than you need

  • Serve - to help or give something to someone

Common misconception

Guru Nanak said that money is bad and that we shouldn’t have any.

Guru Nanak didn’t say that money is bad. He just taught that it’s more important to help others and be kind than to focus only on money.


To help you plan your year 4 religious education lesson on: Guru Nanak's teachings on serving others, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Role-play different scenarios where children can choose between helping others or focusing on money. You can also share stories of people in the community or famous figures who live by the values of kindness and selflessness.
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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.
What word in Sikhi means 'guide' or 'teacher'?
deity
Correct answer: guru
priest
Q2.
Who was the first guru for Sikhs?
Correct Answer: Guru Nanak, guru nanak, Guru nanak, guru Nanak, Nanak
Q3.
For how many days did the founder of Sikhi disappear?
2
Correct answer: 3
4
Q4.
What do Sikhs learn from the quote ‘There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim, there is only God’s path'?
Correct answer: that all humans should be treated equally
that Sikhi is the best religion
that you shouldn’t be religious

5 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to the definitions.
Correct Answer:kindness ,being nice and caring towards others
tick

being nice and caring towards others

Correct Answer:greed,wanting more than you need
tick

wanting more than you need

Correct Answer:serve,to help or give something to someone
tick

to help or give something to someone

Q2.
Which of the following is a teaching of Guru Nanak?
that money is bad so we shouldn’t have any
that money is really important and we should try and earn as much as possible
Correct answer: that it’s more important to help others and be kind than to focus only on money
Q3.
What is seva?
Correct answer: selfless service
a festival in Sikhi
a type of prayer
Q4.
Which of the following is not a way that Sikhs practice seva?
offering a listening ear
picking up groceries for people
Correct answer: having lots of money
Q5.
Which story teaches Sikhs that greed does not bring happiness, but rather than being kind to others brings happiness?
Correct answer: The Rich Man and the Needle of Heaven
The Poor Man and the Needle of Heaven
The Rich Man and the Needle of Earth

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