Lesson ten - pages 20/21 The Road to Emmaus

AIM for the book

To bring to life the story of Jesus by exploring the way we use our senses.

Learning objectives

• To know the story of the road to Emmaus. This is one of the times that the Bible says that Jesus appeared to his disciples and friends after he had risen from the dead.
• To be able to reflect on how we recognize our family and friends.
• To understand that in the Holy Communion service (also called the Mass, the Lord's Supper, or the Eucharist), Christians believe they meet with Jesus in a very special way.

Background

Some Christians speak of a 'conversion experience' when Jesus has, they believe, spoken personally to them. Other Christians find this personal relationship in the Mass (also known as the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper) when they 'find' and 'experience' the presence of Jesus in the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine. Christians recognize the risen Christ in different ways. In this picture Jesus is shown walking along with his companions on the Emmaus Road. The story tells how they talk about the events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus' fellow travellers, however, fail to recognize him until, when they stop to eat together, Jesus breaks the bread. This brings to mind the Last Supper and recognition comes from this experience.

Bible reference

Luke 23.30-32

Ways of using the picture

• Explore with the children the familiar actions and habits they recognize in their family and friends.
• Discuss why people do not always believe what others tell them.
• Engage the children in a discussion about special occasions when they eat together with their family and their friends.

Key words

• Jesus
• Back to life
• Friends
• Know
• Road
• Broke bread
• Blessing

Activity one - guess who?

• You will need
  Blindfold
  Cloth bag
  Objects to go in bag, such as toy, book, scrunchy, hairband, pencil case.

• Start
  Explain that in the bag there are things that are special and belong to someone in this class. The children have to guess which person it is.

• Develop
  Child is blindfolded and dips hand into bag. Pulls out object. Feels it. Tries to identify it. Can ask questions of the class, such as: is it blue? They can say yes or no. Blindfolded child guesses person. Try and find out the person by asking questions, such as: does this belong to someone with long black hair, freckles and so on. Maybe they can feel the person's face. (This needs to be done with care.) Can they hear their voice saying 'Hello?' Once they have identified their fellow class member, he or she can be blindfolded and have a turn.

• End
  Was it hard or easy to recognize the person from the object, their voice, their face ...?

• Assessment opportunities
  How did the blindfolded child choose the right questions and eliminate others to help identify their classmate?
  Was it done in a certain order or at random?
  An alternative version to this is to draw the back view of someone, and get the children to guess who it is.

Activity two - can you keep a secret?

• You will need
  Art materials.

• Start
  Have you ever told someone a secret and then found out they hadn't kept it, but told someone else?
  How did you feel?

• Develop
  Get children to share the experience of someone telling a friend a secret. Later that week they find someone else in the class knows what is special to them.
  Do they feel trusted and a special friend if a secret has been shared with them? Have they kept it? Did they find it hard to keep?
  Perhaps they can write down their thoughts and reflections and illustrate them. Collect them together in a zig-zag book.

• End
  Look at the finished book together. What are their thoughts now?

• Assessment opportunities
  Discuss that sometimes they are not believed. How does this feel?
  People don't always believe it when others tell on them, Can the children give reasons for this?
  Reflect on the children's thoughts and feelings as they are expressed in word and picture. What does this show about them and their development?
  Can they show maturity in their actions by keeping a secret?

Activity three - sharing supper

• You will need
  Card and marker pen.
  Home corner area for drama with cooker, tea service, table, cutlery, tablecloth and so on.

• Start
  Do you have a favourite time when you eat together with your family and friends? Maybe a birthday, Christmas or Sunday lunch.
  Do you wear special clothes and have a special place to sit?

• Develop
  Children share experiences verbally. Write down different ones on cards, such as: 'My sixth birthday'.
  Divide the class into groups of about six. Each group chooses one of the cards, and acts out the scene. For example they might be a family celebrating Grandma's birthday. Each child plays a character.

• End
  Each group takes it in turn to act out their drama using the home corner materials.
  Then discuss with the children:

• Where were they in the stories?
• What part could they identify with?
• What was the best part of the story?
• What was the most important part of the story - and were the two the same?
• If anything was left out of the story would it make any difference?

Activity checklist

Activity one - guess who?

Blindfold
Cloth bag
Objects to go in bag, such as toy, book, scrunchy, hairband, pencil case.

Activity two - can you keep a secret?

Art materials.

Activity three - sharing supper

Card and marker pen.
Home corner area for drama with cooker, tea service, table, cutlery, tablecloth and so on.

Web site links

A short background to Easter can be found at:
http://www.worldbook.com/fun/tty/html/easter.htm
For some fun activities for children, try printing puzzles and pages in colour, sending a card, playing games and much more at Squigly's Easter Fun and Primary Games: Easter.

Alternative versions of the Road to Emmaus, by Diego Velazquez and Jacobo da Pontormo, can be viewed at:
http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/velazque/p-velazq31.htm
http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/pontormo/p-pontormo4.htm

© Lizzie McWhirter