Encounter Christianity: To Change the World lesson plan 1

Lesson one - pages 2-3 'Changing rooms'

Text from the book

Which room do you like best?
How would you like to change your room?

A fun way to start thinking about change with a bird's-eye view of two very different rooms.

Learning objective

To help pupils recognize each person has the power to bring about change with regard to themselves and to their environment.

Bible reference

Luke 19.1-10

Background

Change is an integral part of the Christian faith; Christians believe that through Jesus' life, death and resurrection he changed and transformed the relationship between God and human beings. People are transformed when they become Christians because they 'begin again'; they 'renew' their lives. In effect, they 'cleanse and renew' their way of life and move on; but it does require action on their part.

Ways of using the pictures

Discuss with pupils which of the rooms they prefer and why.
What changes would they like to make to their rooms or the classroom?
Do they believe they are tidy or untidy? What do the people they live with think?
How do the pupils feel after they have made changes to their surroundings?

Key words

Chaos
Mess
Order
Security
Comfortable
Preference
Conformity

Activity

Discuss with the pupils how they might change a classroom/area of the school. Choose a place in the school that would benefit from change. It could be that part of the school grounds becomes a wild life garden; or the creation of a ‘graffiti’ board.

Consider the needs and reactions of other people who would come into the re-designed area. Think with the pupils about creating atmosphere and space.

Learning outcomes

Pupils will have:

stated a preference for the ‘bedroom’ picture;
developed an awareness of place;
been aware of the affects of change on other people.

Extension work

Encourage the pupils to look at issues of ‘conformity’ and ‘preference’.

Use a Venn diagram to look at the class with regard to order and chaos; and who makes the mess and who tidies it up afterwards.

There could be a time of reflection on what the pupils consider is an important place.

Web sites

http://www.bbc.co.uk/changingrooms/

Many children will have watched their parents attempting a DIY task or two. The huge popularity of TV programmes, such as Changing Rooms, show how many people are keen to change their living environments. This web site provides web resources with fact sheets and design tips.

http://calvarychapel.com/children/site/pdf/New/Curr216.pdf

The teachers’ notes for the Encounter Christianity big book provides a bible reference based around the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. This PDF file provides wordsearches, quizzes and colouring pages on this popular bible story.

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