What is taught must be in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus; (If your school is outside of Cambridgeshire: the S.C.A.A Model 2 syllabus has been included to help in matching this lesson plan with your local Agreed Syllabus).
Cambs Agreed Syllabus:
WR (Writings)
Enable pupils to:
be aware that the Bible is a collection of books which contains many different kinds of literature (e.g. gospel, history, laws, poetry, sayings, letters, prophecy), and is a translated text divided into two Testaments.
Pupils should consider this:
What books or stories have you read, or heard, which helped you?
How did they do this?
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S.C.A.A. Model syllabuses:
KEY TEACHINGS / FOCUS:
BIBLE
Different translations of the Bible, it includes many books, Old & New Testaments, & different types of literature.
AT1 Read two different translations of the same passage & talk about the contrasts between them.
AT2 Compare the experiences of people in biblical stories with their own experiences & feelings.
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RESOURCES:
[*1] A book written by one author.
[*2] A book containing short stories by different authors.
[*3] A Bible (preferably a modern translation, eg: The New International Version (N.I.V.), The Good News Bible, The Living Bible).
[*4] A history book, a poetry book, a song book, & a letter with an envelope.
STARTER:
Ask for a volunteer to look in the first book [*1] to find the author's name.
Then, a second volunteer to find the author's names in the second book. [*2]
And lastly a volunteer to find the Bible's authors. [*3] (Teachers note: Direct the child to the Contents page of the Bible, & to find the Book of Proverbs, then to find the Book of Joel. At the start of both these books it tells you who the author was).
Q. How many books are there in the Bible?
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(Teachers note: Direct the children to the Contents page. Old Testament (Old Covenant) 39 books, New Testament (New Covenant) 27 books = 66 books total
Many of these books were written by the same people. For example, the first 5 books of the Bible were almost certainly written by Moses. (Teachers note: About two thirds of the books of the Bible the authorship is definitely known; one sixth the author is probably known but it is not definite fact; & the last sixth the author's are unknown).
MAIN TEACHING:
As can be seen from the contents page, these 66 books are formed into 2 sections:
The first section is known as the 'Old Covenant' (or 'Old Testament')
A Covenant is an agreement between 2 people. Here is an example:
Ask for a volunteer. Then write out a 'Covenant' on the lines of:
"I ..............(child's name) do promise to listen to everything that ....................(teachers name) says, & not to be naughty, (etc),"
signed ................. (child's name)
"I .............. (teachers name) do promise to teach ...............(child's name), (etc),"
signed .................(teachers name)
The 'Old Covenant' was more serious than this, & it was for a life time. It was between the nation of Israel & God, but that doesn't mean that it is irrelevant to us now, because:
[a] Through these books it gradually builds up a picture of what God is like.
[b] The ceremonies of the Old Covenant were 'symbolic' of the New Covenant which hadn't come into force at that time.
To explain [a]:
Q. How do you describe what God is like when He is invisible?
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Tell the class that they've got to describe someone from their class to a school in Australia, but they can't send any photo's. (Teachers note: They can describe what the child looks like, but that doesn't tell us anything about their character & how this child would react in certain situations, so one good way is for the children to start telling true little stories about this child.)
From the children's stories about this child, the school in Australia would start to 'know' this child. This is how the Old Covenant (& indeed the whole Bible) deals with explaining about God.
To explain [b]:
Draw the McDonnald's sybol on the board, & ask what this is 'sybolic' of. The simple 'sybol' represents the whole McDonnald's experience.
A lot of the sybols within the Old Covenant represented different aspects of (different ways of looking at) Jesus Christ, even though these things were written from 400 to 4000 years before Christ.
The second section is known as the 'New Covenant' (or 'New Testament')
This covers the life of Jesus Christ & includes the New Covenant between himself & anyone who wants to become a Christian.
The 66 books are written in different styles & for different reasons:
Show the children the history book, poetry book, song book, & the letter with an envelope [*4], & explain the different styles of writing in them.
Q. Would you find these sort of books & letters within the Bible?
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The answer is that you will find all these types of books & even letters within the Bible.
There are 7 different styles:
1) HISTORY: This concentrates on the nation of Israel, & shows how God interacted with them.
2) GOSPEL: (The word 'Gospel' means "good news"). The 4 Gospels are the good news about Jesus Christ, & they cover his life, death & his rising from the dead. The 4 writers are: Matthew, Mark, Luke & John, & they all write as 'witnesses' in that they saw the things he did.
3) SONGS, POETRY & PRAYERS: Both songs & poetry may be to God, or to other people. It can put into words what we are feeling.
Q. Have you ever heard, or read, something which really expresses the way you are feeling? Has it helped you?
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It helps us to know that we are not the only person feeling like this.
Prayers are said to God. (Teachers note: The subject of prayer will be dealt with in a later Lesson Plan). Prayers can be asking God to forgive us of the wrong things that we have done, or it can be asking God for something, or it can be expressing our gratitude to God.
4) LAWS: For example: "You shall not steal." Exodus 20:15 (NIV)
Q. Do you think that laws like this restrict you, or protect you?
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Laws are not there to kill our joy! They make the world a better place to live in, if everyone obeys the laws. The Law within the Bible tells us what God expects from us.
5) WISE SAYINGS: For example:
"Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice." Proverbs 13:10 (NIV)
Q. Why should pride start quarrels?
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Q. Why is it wise to listen to advice (from sensible people)?
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These sort of sayings give wisdom. They help us to make the right decisions in our lives.
6) LETTERS: These were written by wise Christians to either individuals, or whole Churches. They contain encouraging things, helpful advice & correction.
7) PROPHECY: This tells people of things before they happen, either to warn people, or to prove a certain point. For example, many things in Jesus' life & death were given in prophesies 100's of years before it happened, to prove that He is the Son of God. (This is different from trying to predict the future by using palm reading, horoscopes, mediums, etc. The Bible condemns such activities, because it can manipulate & trap people.)
Different translations of the Bible:
Most of the Old Testament was written in 'Hebrew', which was the language of the Israelites.
Most of the New Testament was written in 'Greek', which was the most common language in the known world at that time.
Q. So what had to be done so that we could read it?
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The whole Bible had to be translated into the English language.
(1) One of the early translations was known as the King James Version & was completed in 1611. (Teachers note: The first complete English translation was completed in the late 1300's). The King James Version is not very easy to understand, because the English language has evolved since then.
Here is an example of the King James Version: Matthew 5:18 (KJV)
"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled."
Try to work out what it this verse is saying & then write it out in your own words.
(2) Here is a modern translation of the same verse:
"I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." The New International Version.
Q. What do Christians think of the Bible?
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They describe the Bible as being God's Word.
Even though different people wrote the Bible, they believe that it was God who spoke to them, therefore God can 'speak' to anyone now who reads it.
PLENARY:
The Bible contains many stories of ordinary people who do great things because God was with them, & there are stories of people in extremely difficult situations & how God helped them.
Look at a Bible story to show that people then, experience the same fears & feelings as we do now:
Jacob had deceived his brother Esau (pronounced "E - saw") & had fled from him. Esau had threatened to kill Jacob if he ever saw him again.
Many years later Jacob decided to return to where his brother lived. So he sent some messengers ahead of him to tell Esau that he was coming.
Genesis 32:6-11 (NIV)
"When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, "We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him."
In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well.
He thought, "If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape."
Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my father (= grandfather) Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, 'Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,'
I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups.
Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children...."
The next day Jacob gathered together lots of animals from his herds, & split them up into smaller groups. Then he sent them on ahead of him as gifts to his brother Esau, & he said to his servants:
Genesis 32:17-21 (NIV)
"Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds."
He instructed the one in the lead: "When my brother Esau meets you and asks, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?'
then you are to say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.'"
He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: "You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him.
And be sure to say, 'Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.'" For he thought, "I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me."
So Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp."
The next day Jacob looked up & he saw Esau coming with his 400 men! So he split his family into 2 groups, & then he went out to meet his brother, bowing to the ground 7 times as he got near!
But to his relief, Esau hugged him.
The years of hostility had disappeared!
Q. Were there any parts of this story that you could relate to?
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There are many stories like this in the Bible.
(Teachers note: There are two worksheets to accompany this lesson plan).