Developing an Indepth Lesson Plan
LESSON PLAN
A Paper
Presented to
Professor Blan, Theology Department
Oral Roberts University
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Class
CHRM 305 Teaching the Bible, MWF 9:50
by
Kristen Frost
March 30, 2007
Lesson Data
Facing Our Fears
Matthew 14:22-33
Having Courage
The student will demonstrate an understanding of having courage by naming and facing one of his or her fears this week.
Matthew 14:27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
Lesson Assumptions
Teaching Context
The current lesson is taking place on a Sunday morning at 9 AM. This class is geared specifically for five year olds. It meets every Sunday morning during this time. As the adults are attending their morning classes, the children attend specific classes depending on their age. This lesson takes place within a Sunday School classroom approximately 15 feet wide by 20 feet long. As we look around the room we see three beige walls and the fourth wall is covered with a mural of animals and landscape. The ceilings are nine foot tall with a smooth finish. On the ceiling are paintings of the sky including sun, moon, and stars. When the lights are turned off these objects continue to glow. The floor itself is divided into two areas by half of it being tiled and the other half covered by carpet. Sitting on the tiled flooring is a round table capable of sitting fifteen and of small proportions to allow small children’s feet to touch the floor while their elbows are capable of resting on the table. Also on this side of the room is a shelf area containing teacher and cleaning supplies which are located out of reach of the children. This counter space also contains a sink area. On the carpeted side of the room there is a corner with a television enclosed within a white cabinet and shelving neatly containing children’s toys. There are also a few pillows and blankets contained in a tub in this area. The opposite light brown wall holds a dry erase board. As you enter the classroom there are small lockers to your left for children to keep their belongings when they enter the classroom. The classroom contains a built-in sound system and lights that are capable of fading. There is also a small window in the door in which people are able to look in, yet children are not able to reach to look out. This is the basic setup of the room and tables and chairs are able to be moved according to the needs of the lesson.
Student Demographics
Currently this five year old class consists of one main teacher and a teacher’s aid leading on average ten students each week. With the exception of one set of twins each student comes from different backgrounds with differing upbringings and home life. This week there are ten students, six of which are boys and four girls. Each child in this classroom is five years old. The majority of students come from middle income families with the exception of two children whose families are of lower income and living in government housing. Six of the students are Caucasian, two are African American, one is Native American, and one is Korean. The Korean child was adopted as a baby and has grown up in the American culture. Each of these students was brought to the class by parents, friends, or relatives. Seven were brought by their parents, two by their grandparents, and one by a friend. All have experienced the church atmosphere but one student. This one child was brought by his friend from school and has never been to church before. Each of the students different backgrounds and experiences, even at such a young age, influence the way in which they learn in this environment.
Major Assumptions
Motivation of learners.
For the majority of five year olds they are attending class because that is where the authorities above them have brought them. They may not expressly know or show the motivation for which they are attending the class. Despite the fact that they usually do not have an option at this age there are some that come with certain motivations. Some of the children have been taught that this time is an important time of getting to know Jesus, so they come with this in mind. Some come with the anticipation of seeing their friends or a desire to have fun and eat snacks. Those people bringing the students have motivations as well that may range from truly desiring their little ones to grow in the Lord or as an option of someone to watch their children while they themselves are being taught in the adult classroom.
Prior knowledge of the learners about the topic/Biblical text.
Many of the students in this class will probably come to this lesson having already heard the bible story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. They may have even heard it taught with the same aim in mind. A few others may be hearing the story for the first time. The actual characters in the story, such as the disciples and Jesus, will also be recognized by many of the students but there may be a few who have not heard of them as well. With this in mind both types of students must find something meaningful in the learning experience.
Distractions for the learners.
The average five year old has an attention span of approximately five minutes. This fact opens up room for plenty of distraction. Some of these distractions may include one of the children irritating another, someone wanting to play or not follow instruction, a difficulty separating child from parents, or in the case of the new student feeling uncomfortable with his new surroundings. Some children bring their toys or dolls with them to class which can lead to being a distraction, which is the point of the storage lockers in the classroom. Quarrels among classmates such as the set of twins possibly having a sibling argument could become a distraction. Outside distractions may arise from people checking in on the classroom or parents dropping their children off late or picking them up early. The temperature of the room may also become a distraction because of the system not being under the teacher’s control. Through all of these possibilities it is important that the teachers remain flexible and utilize a lesson plan involving action and change to keep the focus and attention of the learners.
Lesson Plan
Classroom Preparation
For this lesson a few key items are needed in addition to the objects already found within the basic setup of the room. For the story itself these items include a set of ten costumes resembling clothes possibly worn during Jesus’ time, a compact disc with noises of wind and waves, a compact disc player which is already located in the room, and a set of chairs arranged in a manner resembling a boat. For a craft at the end of the lesson there needs to be precut construction paper, crayons or markers, and glue sticks. These are the items expressly needed in this lesson and the room itself is conducive to more activities if needed.
The Lesson
Hook
(Assemble class into a circle on the floor in the carpeted area of the room where everyone can clearly see each other and begin the lesson.)
Teacher: “I need three people to raise their hand to tell me what the word courage means to them.”
(Select a few class members to give their definition.)
Teacher: Give me one example of someone who has shown courage.
(Select a few class members to give examples.)
Teacher: “Today we’re going to take a look at what courage is and how we can have courage. One person who learned about courage in the Bible was Peter.”
Book
Teacher: “Can anyone tell me who Peter is in the Bible?”
(Select class member to answer the question.)
Teacher: “That’s right; he was one of Jesus’ disciples. We’re going to talk about a story today with Jesus, Peter, and the disciples. This story comes from the Bible and is found in Matthew 14:22-33.”
(Look up the scripture in the Bible and show it to the class.)
Teacher: “Each of you is going to become a character in this story and after I give you your character I need you to put on an outfit out of this box to help us pretend we are one of the characters.”
(Pick each student to be a specific character in the story. For the ten students in this classroom assign one to be Jesus, one to be Peter, and eight to be disciples. Help each dress in outfit and then return to original seat.)
(Proceed in reading the story and have teaching assistant aid children in acting out each section of the lesson.)
Teacher: “As I read the story I need each of you to listen closely so you can act out your important role in the story. Let’s pretend that we have been with Jesus as he was teaching a lot of people all day long. We just finished eating our dinner and Jesus tells the disciples to get into a boat and go to the other side of the lake. I need all of the disciples and Peter to go have a seat in the chairs over there. Let’s say that is your boat. (Guide children to the chairs that have been preset in tiled area to resemble a boat). At the same time the disciples were in the boat Jesus went up on a mountain to pray. (Have child playing Jesus go over to the corner and act like he or she is praying.) Okay disciples start paddling your boat across the water. As the disciples were going across the lake the wind was blowing at them. (Start playing wind and water noises from CD). Can you feel the wind and the waves? They were in their boat all night and when the sun was about to come up they saw something moving towards them across the water. Everyone look really hard, what do you think they saw? (Let children respond. Have assistant help Jesus character to start slowly walking across water to the boat.) Some cried out in fear, “It’s a ghost!” Let’s see some of the faces we make when we’re afraid. Then the person on the water spoke to them. Jesus repeat after me: “Take courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.” It was Jesus walking on the water! I need everyone to repeat after me what Jesus said: “Take courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.” We talked about courage earlier and in the dictionary it says that courage is being able to endure our fears. Jesus was telling the disciples to not fear. Peter wanted to be brave and said to Jesus, “Lord if that’s really you tell me to come to you on the water.” (Have Peter repeat after you). Jesus reached out his hand and said, “Come.” Peter started walking on the water, but he started noticing the wind. What do you think he started to do? (Give class time to respond.) He was afraid and he cried, “Lord save me!” Then Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. Even though Peter became scared Jesus was right beside him to help him.”
(Compliment class on specific things they did well participating in story and have them move back to their circle on the floor.)
Teacher: “In our story both the disciples and Peter were afraid. We sometime are afraid too. What are some times when you are afraid?”
Look
(Give students opportunity to share one thing that makes them afraid.)
(Through the following questions give students time to answer each one.)
Teacher: “In our story what was Peter afraid of as he was walking to Jesus? Peter was afraid because he saw the wind and started to doubt. When he started to fear he started to sink, but what did he do next? Yes, he cried to Jesus. Then what did Jesus do? That’s right he reached out his hand and caught him.”
Teacher: “If Jesus saved Peter in this story do you think he can save us when we’re afraid too?”
Took
Teacher: “Remember the things we said we’re afraid of earlier? What could we do when we start to become afraid?” Yes, we could ask Jesus to help us. That is true, and He can save us just like he saved Peter. We’re going to do a craft now so I need everyone to take their costumes and put them back in the box where we got them. As we make our crafts the teachers are going to come around and ask you what you’re afraid of and what you’re going to do when you start to become afraid this week. Let’s try to have courage when we become afraid and ask Jesus for help. Next week we’re going to ask everyone how they were afraid during the week and what they did we they starting feeling that way. Our memory verse for this week is Matthew 14:27 which says, “Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’” Practice it this week at home so we can all say it together next Sunday.
(Assemble the attached craft with the children to provide a tangible object for them to take home with them and remember what they learned during class.)
(If time allows, have class act out actions to the memory verse and practice it together as a group.)
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