Title: Introduction to The 7 Days of Creation
Subject: God created the world
Brief Description: Stories from the Bible that are adapted for specific age groups. (This is a common practice for children who do not read or who do not understand advanced vocabulary.)
Grade Level: preschool -2nd grade
Goals/Objectives:
- Students will listen and respond to the story of creation derivative from the first chapter of Genesis.
- Students will cut and paste images under specific categories discussed during the lesson.
Resources:
- A printed copy of this lesson plan by Charlotte M. Yonge
- A Bible
Supplies Per Student:
- Magazines and pictures for students to cut from that represent animals, people, places and things that were created by God
- Washable white glue or paste stick
- Age appropriate scissors (rounded edges, easy grip handles)
- Five 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of copy paper folded in half and stapled together to make a ten-page book per each student.
The Main Activity: Listening to a Bible Story
Biblical Reference: Genesis 1:1-31
First Reading:
In the Bible we are told how God made this earth we live on. Sunday is the earth’s birthday, for on the first day of the week the Creation began.
The world was all one mass dark, empty, and shapeless till God made the light by His Word, and said that the light was good. Without light we could not live: even the very trees and flowers would die. When we have been in the dark, how glad we are to see light come back, even if it be only one grey line beginning in the sky! This shows how blessed is this gift. It was good, too, that we should have quiet dark night for rest and stillness.
The second great change enclosed the earth in an outer ball of air, which we call the sky or firmament. That is the deep blue into which we look up and up. The water rises up from the earth and makes the clouds that take such strange shapes, sometimes dark and full of rain to water the earth, sometimes shining white, or pink and golden with morning or evening light.
The third great change was, that water filled the deep hollows of the earth, while the hills rose up dry above them, with rivers and streams running down their slopes into the deep seas below. God did not leave the land bare and stony: He clothed it with green fresh plants and herbs, with leaves and flowers, and trees to give us their fruit or their wood, and filled even the sea with plants formed to live under water.
Questions:
- Who made the world?
- What was the first thing that God made?
- What is the book from the Bible that tells us about how the earth was made?
Quick Assessment: Observe and listen for understanding and general happiness among student participants. Encourage students to listen to the story as it progresses so that they will know the answers to your questions when you ask. This is an important technique used in classrooms everywhere that promotes comprehension in children. Take your time with the technique and make sure all of your students learn “how” to listen carefully. Smile as you go.
Second Reading:
Next, God allowed the rays of the sun to gladden the earth, and let it see the moon lighted up by the sun, as well as the stars far beyond our firmament. We count the months by the changes in the moon; and our earth s journey round the sun marks our years and seasons. We all rejoice in a bright sunny day, though the sun is too bright and glorious for us to bear to gaze at him; and how lovely the moon looks, either as a young crescent, or a beautiful full moon!
The waters began to be full of live things, that swam, or crept, or flew; fishes, and birds, and insects. By that time this world was nearly as we see it, and a beautiful home for us to live in. Then God made the four-footed beasts sheep and cows, horses, dogs, cats, elephants, lions all that we use or admire; and, last of all, when He had made this earth a happy, healthy place, He planted the Garden of Eden, and put in it the first man and woman, the best of all that He had made; for though their bodies were of dust, like those of the beasts, yet their souls came from the Breath of God. They could think, speak, pray, and heed what is unseen as well as what is seen.
Questions:
- What is there in the sky that God made?
- What is there on the earth?
- What do you see round you that He made?
- Can we make birds, or beasts, or flowers?
- Or could we make them live?
- Who makes them and us live?
- Where does all our food come from?
- Who gave us corn?
- What must we ask God to do for us?
- What must we thank Him for?
- Do you not think it would be pleasant to whisper to yourself, when you see a pretty flower, or a beautiful sky, or when the sun shines bright and warm, “Thank you God for being so good to me”?
Quick Assessment: Observe and listen for understanding and general happiness among student participants. Encourage students to listen to the story as it progresses so that they will know the answers to your questions when you ask. This is an important technique used in classrooms everywhere that promotes comprehension in children. Take your time with the technique and make sure all of your students learn “how” to listen carefully. Smile as you go.
Supporting Activity: Students will cut and paste pictures that represent all that God created in the first chapter of Genesis. Teachers should cut and paste or write by hand the Bible memory verse for this lesson on the front cover of each student’s booklet. Teacher’s may choose to number the order of the pages to correspond to the days of creation.
Step-by-step:
- Welcome the students into your room with warm smiles and enthusiasm.
- Seat students on a large area rug along with Sunday school volunteers.
- Sit on a low stool or chair and hold a Bible opened to the book of Genesis. Tell the children that the story your going to share comes from the Bible.
- Give the first reading. Make eye contact frequently with every child and smile. Ask the first set of questions and wait patiently for young students to respond.
- Give the second reading by the same method.
- Gather children around a low table to cut and paste the pictures representing the days of creation from the story after passing out the blank books one per child.
- If the students are very young you may not choose to remind them of the specific days or order of creation. Students in older grade levels should be able to remember more specific information. It is up to the Sunday school teacher to assess the aptitude of her students during the readings in order to determine how much of the story students have retained.
- Remind the children that their memory verse is included with their book so that their parents may “listen” to their own accounts of the lesson while looking at their new book.
- Close the lesson with the prayer included below.
Closing Activity: Prayer Time
There are many, many lessons to be learnt from this wonderful story. Let us try to take home one of them:
“Father let the ground below, the light above, the sky and sea, the sun and moon, the trees and flowers, the birds and beasts, and Your holy day of rest, remind us that they come from You. Help us to be very thankful for all the wonderful parts of creation that You have blessed us with. Amen”
Memory Work:
” In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
More Introductory Lessons to The Creation Story:
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