Scripture: Genesis 6-9 with emphasis on Genesis 6:8 – 8:5 and 9:8-17
Memory Verse: “Our
help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 124:8 (NRSV)
Offering: PC
Concepts:
Objectives:
Children will use pantomime (action and expression without any words)
and creative movement to interpret the story.
Procedure:
Welcome and Introductions:
1.
Greet the
children and introduce yourself. Wear
your nametag. Make sure the children are wearing nametags. If not, ask the
shepherd to supply a temporary badge. Remember you are interacting with a
different group of students each week that may not know you.
2.
Explain the
purpose of this workshop. Today we are
going to recreate the sequence of events that Noah experienced when God asked
him to build the ark. I want you to
think about how Noah might have felt during each section of the story and then
put those feelings into your actions.
Scripture/Bible Story:
Review the Bible
story. Either read aloud Genesis 6:8 – 8:12 and 9:8-17 during the first few weeks of the rotation
as children are learning the story or use the following questions and answers
to review to have the children recall details of the story, filling in with
information and verses from the Bible as needed.
Questions and Answers
·
Who can tell the first thing that happened in the
story? (God talked to Noah, told him to
build the ark)
·
How do you think Noah felt about that? (surprised,
scared, confused, sad because the world would be destroyed, etc.)
·
What happened next? (built the ark—to God’s
specifications, put the animals on two by two)
·
Then what?
(it rained)
·
How long? (forty days)
·
How long were Noah, his family and the animals on
the ark? (one hundred fifty days later the water started going down Gen. 7:24;
forty days later Noah opened a window Gen. 8:6; seven days later Noah sent out
the dove Gen. 8:10)
·
What do you think life was like on the
·
What appeared in the sky? (the rainbow)
·
What did the rainbow mean? (God’s promise that it
wouldn’t happen again Gen. 9:9-17)
*You may wish to record on a chart the sequence of events as children
answer the questions and retell the story to help with the pantomime
later. If time allows, add up all the
days on the ark with the children—compare it to the length of the school year!
Application:
Now we’re going to act out the story with pantomime actions. We’ll explore actions and movements for each
part separately and then we can put it all together to tell the whole story
start to finish.
1. Explore the
feelings Noah might have experienced when God talked to him. On a signal (clap or drumbeat) children use
face and body to show the feelings they suggested during retelling. Remind them to exaggerate and make their
actions and expressions bigger.
2. Explore actions
for building the ark. God’s directions
were pretty specific—what kind of wood to use, how big to make it. What actions could we use to show building? (measuring, sawing, chopping, hammering,
etc.) Decide where in the space the ark
will be and have everyone do their actions in that place.
3. Animals board the
ark two by two. Have children get
partners and decide on what kind of animal they want to portray. Practice making the shape of the animal and
traveling like the animal. Line the
animal pairs up in a place away from the ark and let one pair at a time travel to and enter the
imaginary ark.
4. Make the
rain. Use these hand actions to make the
sounds of the rain getting harder and then slacking off: rubbing palms
together, snapping, clapping, patting thighs, stomping feet, then patting
thighs, clapping, snapping and rubbing palms to finish.
5. Make the
rainbow: Let each child choose a
different colored scarf. Ask children to
suggest movements they could use with the scarves to create a rainbow. (swirling, waving, arcing overhead, etc. Also try traveling movements like leaping,
galloping, turning to get off the ark as they make the rainbow.) Line up in rainbow order to practice.
Now perform the whole story, without talking or vocal sound effects
because it is pantomime. We’ll use some
special music in the background instead.
Older
children: Let
them refer to the chart for sequence of events and use a drum or bell to signal
when to change to the next movement.
Younger
Children: Narrate the
story for the children as they act it out with the music.
Closure:
What do you think was the most amazing part of the story? (Reiterate that God’s power over all creation
is amazing.)
Reflection Time:
At 10:35 a.m. ask the
shepherds to pass out the journal page and pencils/markers. Suggestion: You may
wish to give the children a sticker or some memento to paste on their journal page
as a reminder of the story or activity.
Prompts for
journal writing: Draw a picture of yourself acting out a part
of Noah’s story. Write a sentence or two
telling why you liked that part.
At 10:45 ask the students to
close their journals and sit quietly for prayer.
Prayer: Dear God, help us to listen
to You and obey You like Noah did. Help
us remember Your amazing power and promise when we see the rainbow. Amen.
Tidy and Dismissal: Ask children to help tidy up.
Teacher preparation in advance:
1.
Read the
scripture passages and attend the Faith Quest Leaders Bible Study.
2.
Prepare
a closing prayer.
3.
Check
out the room before your first Sunday workshop so that you know where
everything is located. The bin with supplies is located in on the stage.
Supply List
Large chiffon scarves in rainbow colors
CD player
Music suggestion: “Storms in
Chart paper and
stand with markers or a portable white
board