A2 Connect Infants Teachers Manual

OInfants A2

c nnectT E A C H E R ’ S M A N U A L

REVISED

2017

connectInfants A2

T E A C H E R ' S M A N U A L

A Christian Education curriculum for children aged 5 to 7 years.

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For the teacherWhat you will find in each lesson 4Music, drama, PowerPoints and PDFs 6Curriculum stance 7Training and support 7Five circles of learning 8Connect icons 9

Introduction – Having faith in God 10Lesson 1 Remember the Lord Acts 7 12Lesson 2 Jesus teaches about hearing God’s word Luke 8:4–15 24Lesson 3 Jesus teaches about real treasure Matthew 13:45–46 34 Lesson 4 Jesus teaches about the rich farmer Luke 12:16–20 46Lesson 5 Jesus teaches about loving God and one another Luke 10:25–37 54Lesson 6 Jesus teaches about the great party Luke 14:15–24 62Lesson 7 Lost and found Luke 15:11–32 72Lesson 8 The rich young man Luke 18:18–30 78Lesson 9 Jesus teaches about being really great Mark 10:35–37, 40–45 84Lesson 10 Jesus teaches that anyone can follow him Matthew 9:9–13 92

Introduction – Trusting and following Jesus 102Lesson 11 A follower learns about faith—Peter Matthew 14:22–33; 16:13–17, 26; 104 John 21; Acts 2–5 Lesson 12 A follower tells others about Jesus—Philip Acts 6:1–7; 8:26–40 114Lesson 13 Changed by Jesus—Saul Acts 9:1–31; 13:1–3, 46–47 124Lesson 14 Unstoppable—Paul and Barnabas Acts 14:8–20 134Lesson 15 Followers tell the good news—Lydia Acts 16:11–15 142Lesson 16 'I am with you'—Priscilla and Aquila Acts 18; Romans 16:3–4 152Lesson 17 Proud to be a follower—Timothy Acts 16; 1 & 2 Timothy; 162 Philippians 2:19–24 Lesson 18 Following Jesus—Philemon and Onesimus Philemon 172 Lesson 19 Good news for everyone—Christmas Luke 2 180Lesson 20 The Bible Society Various 188

Christmas assembly Matthew 1:18–20; 196 Luke 1:26–33; 2:8–16

Special lesson Dealing with grief Various 202

Teaching ideas Help with classroom management 208Helpful teaching techniques 210Teaching Memory verses 213Is your class different? 216Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students 217Understanding the student: the learning theory undergirding Connect 218Using appropriate language in the (S)RE/RI class 220What the Bible says about living as God's friends 221Christian Education outcomes 222

Contents

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LESSON

3kingdom where Jesus is ruling and he is king over all. But it will be at his return that his kingdom will be revealed to all. At that time, ‘everyone will bow down … and … everyone will openly agree, “Jesus Christ is Lord!”’ (Philippians 2:10–11).

The parables of the kingdom are extended similes where aspects of daily life are compared to life in the kingdom (Matthew 13:24ff). The hidden treasure and the precious pearl (Matthew 13:44–46) are specifically designed to reveal the value of the kingdom and the joy associated with being part of the kingdom. Membership is more valuable than everything we own. To be included in the kingdom, therefore, is an immeasurable joy and privilege and not a burden. Since the kingdom of God is so valuable, it is worth sacrificing everything to gain it.

These parables are not an instruction on what you must do to be saved (salvation is a free gift). Rather they highlight the inexplicable value of the kingdom, which is worth more than everything we own. Jesus is not expecting that we will sell everything we have when we become a Christian, but that there should be nothing that stands in the way of us accepting this gracious gift of life in the kingdom. If the demands and priorities of the kingdom threaten the security of our earthly existence, we must be prepared to sacrifice the latter (Luke 19:1–10).

Jesus calls both the individual who is diligently searching for spiritual riches (the pearl) and the person who just stumbles on the truth (the treasure) to give up whatever stands between them and the kingdom. The cost of the kingdom is great, but kingdom membership is without equal in value and rewards. This makes the cost of putting it first worthwhile.

LESSON AIM ■ To help students to understand that Christians

believe that loving and trusting Jesus is more important than anything else.

LESSON OUTCOMESStudents will learn about:

■ how Jesus sometimes used stories to explain how to become part of God’s family.

Students will learn to: ■ understand that Jesus taught people about

what it means to have faith in God ■ appreciate that the Bible teaches that God

wants us to trust Jesus and live as part of his family.

MEMORY VERSELove the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. Luke 10:27a (CEV)

» Bible backgroundThe kingdom of God (or kingdom of heaven) is a term which appears mainly in the Gospels. It refers to the reign of God through his King (promised long ago to David in 2 Samuel 7:16). In Mark’s Gospel (1:14–15) Jesus announces that the kingdom is near! Jesus’ message is described as the ‘good news about God’s kingdom’ (Matthew 4:23), while his miracles were a sign that the kingdom was near (Matthew 9:35). The kingdom of God was ushered in with Jesus’ first coming but will be consummated when he returns. Jesus’ kingdom is a present

Jesus teaches about real treasureMatthew 13:45–46

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■ You may be able to purchase toy treasure objects such as toy jewellery or toy coins from the local Variety store.

■ Photocopy the Visual aid on page 45 of the Speech bubble for revising today’s lesson.

■ Take care that the students do not think that eternal life can be bought. Emphasise that this is a gift from God through Jesus.

» Teacher’s prayerThank God for this term and for the opportunities that will arise throughout the coming semester.

Pray that the students will be interested in learning about God and Jesus and will be open to hearing and responding to God’s word.

» You will need ✔ Chalkboard and chalk or large sheet of paper

and marker pen ✔ A ‘treasure bag’ (see Before you start) ✔ A note stating ‘SHARE YOUR TREASURE’ ✔ Treasure objects such as toy jewellery or toy

coins (see Before you start) ✔ String of pearls (optional) ✔ Visual aids on page 30 of Jesus teaching

the crowd and pages 40–45 of String of pearls, Man looking at a pearl, Man selling his belongings, Man counting his money, Man rejoicing after purchasing the pearl and Speech bubble

✔ A CEV Bible marked at Matthew 13:45–46 ✔ Your Revision board ✔ Blu-Tack ✔ Activity books ✔ Materials for Taking it further (optional) ✔ Jesus teaching the crowd from the

Coloured Visual aid pack

OTHER RESOURCESIf your lessons are longer than the standard, you may find the following resources useful.

■ The greatest treasure (track 8) on Colin Buchanan's Practise Being Godly album or (track 5) on Colin's Favourites album.

BEFORE YOU START ■ If you intend to use an interactive whiteboard,

review the PowerPoint slide(s) for this lesson (see page 6 of this manual).

■ For the Way in, have a ‘treasure bag’. This can be a simple drawstring bag made from sparkling fabric, or alternatively, a brown paper bag or similar, decorated with gold and silver glitter or pieces of paper. Before the lesson, place the note inside the bag.

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He looked very, very closely at the pearl.

■ What might the man be thinking? (Accept responses.)

The man really wanted this pearl.

He wanted this pearl more than anything else he owned.

He asked how much the pearl cost.

When he found out the price, the man knew he didn’t have enough money to buy it.

So he went home and sold some of his things.

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Display the Visual aid on page 42 showing the Man selling his belongings.

But he still didn’t have enough money!

He really wanted this beautiful pearl. The man looked around at the other things he owned.

He sold even more of his possessions.

Did he have enough to buy the pearl now?

He counted his money to find out.

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Display the Visual aid on page 43 showing the Man counting his money.

But still he didn’t have enough.

He wanted that pearl more than anything else in the whole world.

The man looked at the gold ring that he wore everywhere he went.

It was the thing he liked the best of everything he owned.

■ What do you think the man might do next? (Accept responses.)

He wanted the pearl so badly that he sold the gold ring.

Now the man went back to the shop and bought the pearl.

■ How do you think the man felt after he had bought the pearl? (Accept responses.)

He knew he had something that was more important to him than anything else. He was very happy.

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Display the Visual aid on page 44 showing the Man rejoicing after purchasing the pearl.

The pearl was so important to the man that he had given up everything else to buy it.

» Way in Show the students the ‘treasure bag’ and tell them that it has a message inside it. Explain that you are going to hide the bag.

Choose a student to hunt for the treasure bag, then ask them to close their eyes as you hide the bag. The other students should watch where the bag is hidden.

As the ‘searcher’ moves around the room, ask the class to say whether they are getting closer or further away from the hiding place. They could do this by clapping. The closer the hunter gets to the hidden treasure, the louder the students clap.

When the student finds the treasure bag, they should open the envelope and read the message aloud.

Show the toy treasure (toy jewellery or toy coins).

If you found something wonderful, you would want to share the news with everyone, right?

We had some fun searching for treasure today, but the Bible tells us about another kind of treasure.

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Display the Visual aid on page 30 or Coloured Visual aid of Jesus teaching the crowd.

One day, Jesus told the people a story about a rich man who was looking for beautiful pearls to buy.

■ What do we know about pearls? (Accept responses. Pearls cost a lot of money and are used to make jewellery.)

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Display the Visual aid on page 40 of the String of pearls.

Alternatively you may choose to show the students some real pearls or costume jewellery.

One day, when the man was shopping, he saw a beautiful pearl.

The man looked at the pearl.

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Display the Visual aid on page 41 of the Man looking at a pearl.

He looked closely at the pearl.


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■ Who do you think God invites to be a part of his family? (Accept responses. Point out that God invites everyone to love and trust Jesus so they can become part of his family.)

■ Does God want us to be a part of his family? (Accept responses. Yes.)

■ How does someone become part of his family? (Accept responses. By trusting in Jesus, who died on the cross so our sins can be forgiven.)

At the beginning of our lesson, we found some treasure and the message said to share it with everyone. Jesus loves us and wants us to be part of his family—what great news! Even better than treasure! We should share that great news with everyone!Bible icon


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Distribute the Activity books and direct the students to Lesson 3.

Ask the students to write on the ‘chalkboard’, copying from the revision board what Jesus has taught us today.

Students may then complete all other activities on the page. Give assistance as needed.

You may wish to revise the Memory verse in the manner suggested last week.

This is how Christians talk to God. If you would like to pray with me please join me. If you don’t then please lower your head so we don’t get distracted while praying this short prayer.

» Concluding prayerThank you, Jesus, that those who trust in you become part of your family. Help us to trust in you and to remember that loving you is the greatest treasure. Amen.

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Read Matthew 13:45–46 from a CEV Bible.

Ask the students to put up their hand to vote for the answer they think is correct.

■ Why did Jesus tell the story about the man who gave up everything to gain the pearl? a) To tell people to buy pearls. b) To tell people to sell everything they own. c) To tell people that being a part of God’s family is more important than anything else.

Jesus didn’t want people to sell everything to buy pearls.

Jesus told this story because he wanted people to know that loving and trusting God is more important than anything else. He wants us to be a part of his family.

» Connections I have some treasures in my life, like ………….. and …………. and ………….. (name a few things like family, your home, and so on.)

■ What are some things that are important to you? (Accept responses.)

■ Is it wrong to have things that we treasure? (Accept responses. No.)

It’s not wrong to have things that we treasure, but Jesus tells us that we should love him more than any of these things.

Take out your Revision board and display. It should have the picture of Jesus displayed in the centre, saying ‘Jesus teaches us about having faith in God’. Alternatively, display the PowerPoint slides that are relevant for today’s lesson.

■ What did Jesus teach us about God today? (Accept responses. God wants us to love him more than anything else.)

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Add today's Speech bubble to the revision board and read it together with the class:

God wants us to love him more than anything.

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BIBLE EXPLORATION

Tell the students that you are going to read a part from the Bible that was written by a man named Paul.

Explain that at one stage of his life, Paul did not love Jesus and actually tried to stop people from following him.

Ask the students to listen to see how Paul’s attitude and belief had changed.

Read Philippians 3:7–9 to the students from a CEV Bible, then discuss the following questions.

• What does Paul think is the most important or valuable thing? (Knowing Jesus.)

• Why did God accept Paul as his friend? (Because Paul trusted that Jesus can forgive his sins by dying on the cross in Paul’s place.)

» Teacher reflections ■ Were the students able to understand that God

invites them to become part of his family?

» For next lesson ■ You will need a kilo bag of wheat, rice or similar

grain for a demonstration in Way in.

■ You will need a tray and three transparent plastic cups.

■ You will need to prepare some Visual aids.

» Taking it further

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SINGING

Love God (track 4) on CEP’s A2 Infants Music and Drama CD.

Supplementary songs are also suggested in Other resources at the start of the lesson.

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VALUABLE TREASURES

Examine the following list of ‘treasures’ with the students and put them in order of value:

• a diamond,• a house, • a car, • a million dollars, • a computer,• (add your own).

Discuss why being a member of God’s family is more valuable than any of these things.

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PRECIOUS STONES

Make a list of precious stones, such as rubies, diamonds, sapphires, and so on. Choose words to describe them and make a table to display your information. Find colour names to go with the stone names, for example ruby = crimson, scarlet; emerald = lime, olive, federation, and so on.

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Invite the students to act out the events in today’s Bible lesson.



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PRACTICAL TIPS FOR SONGS

• Ensure you know the song well before attempting to teach it.

• Allow the students to listen to the song while they look at the words in the back of the Activity book.

• Placing the words on the interactive whiteboard will enable the students’ attention to be focused towards the front of the room.

This allows you to maintain eye contact.

• The chorus is often the best part of the song to learn first.

• Play the song loudly enough so that the students feel comfortable singing along. Often they don’t want to be ‘heard’ while they sing.

• Have the students ‘whisper’ sing the song when it is new.

• Encourage students to sing but do not force them.

• If you sing with enthusiasm it is more likely that the students will too.

• Sing a favourite song before starting a new song.

• Play the song while the students are working in their Activity books. This will help them become more familiar with the songs.

• Vary your approach. Why not have half the class clap while the other sings, and then swap over?

• And finally, make this an enjoyable time of singing praise to the Lord!

Teaching songs

For many of us, the thought of teaching a song

to students can be quite daunting. Listed below are

some practical tips that will help make singing in (S)RE/

RI a rewarding experience for teachers and students.

A conscious attempt has been made to present the

students with songs in a musical style to which they

will relate. Also, we have chosen to sing about major

themes, such as ‘God is with his people’, rather than

about a specific story. The songs reinforce the

concepts being taught. This means the songs

tend to have fewer words to teach, allowing

the students to become familiar with

them quickly.

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A2 Connect Infants Teachers Manual

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