Who announced the birth of baby Jesus?
/ Key Stage: 1Year Group: 2 / Length of unit: 3 lessons
Cross-curricular links: Literacy; Art; Music
Lesson / Title of lesson / Main points of content / Bible references for Christianity units
1 /
INTRODUCTORY LESSON What is an angel?
/ Allow children time to talk with a partner about what they think an angel is, and what one might look like. Give groups of children a set of assorted Christmas cards and ask them to sort them out according to which have angels in. Ask children to also consider how they might feel if they met an angel – what might they say / ask? Using a good Children’s Bible, share the sequence of the events from the annunciation to the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:26-38). Children hold up their card at the appropriate part in the story. Write captions explaining what is happening & what happened before / after. Talk about the fact that angels bring messages from God.2 /
Why did an angel visit Mary?
/ Look together at paintings of The Annunciation, talking about any symbolism in the picture, and the thoughts / words / feelings of Mary. Add speech / think bubbles to photocopies of the picture. Look at the words of any songs that you sing in school about this event e.g. ‘Mary met an angel’3 /
EVALUATION LESSON
A baby is born!
/ Look at a range of birth announcements (children could bring in a copy of their own or any recent siblings if they still have one at home) Look at the common information given e.g. weight, place & date of birth etc. Then re-read the part of the story where the angels tell the shepherds about the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:8-20). What important information did the angels give to the shepherds? Write birth announcements reflecting that information.Notes / Background to the unit:
· All skills identified in these units are highlighted within the activities section in bold
· Where there are links with wider school issues such as SMSC, Every Child Matters and Community Cohesion (Co-Co), these are identified on each lesson plan.
· Children need to be made familiar with the sequence of events within the Nativity story. Most will have encountered it during their Reception year, but care should be taken to ensure that the parts of the story. This unit focuses on the events outlined in the gospel of Luke, and the angelic visitors within the story. The year 2 unit focuses on the visit of the Magi, so care should be taken to avoid an overlap.
· Lesson two is very much an AT2 lesson, so there are fewer AT1 learning outcomes for assessment purposes.
Unit title: Who announced the birth of baby Jesus? / Age range: Year 2
Lesson title: What is an angel? / Skills being developed: Reflection; Investigation; Expression; Interpretation; Empathy
Lesson: 1 of 3 / Cross-curricular links / wider school issues: Literacy (captions); SMSC
Learning Objectives
Through the learning experiences, pupils should learn: / Introduction:
· Reflection: Allow children time to talk with a partner about what they think an angel is, and what one might look like.
· Share ideas together
· Explain the role of angels in the Bible (see Learning Objectives) / Learning outcomes
e.g. what am I looking for / what can pupils do better now?
· the sequence of events of Jesus’ birth
· that angels give messages from God (SMSC)
· that angels announced the birth of Jesus, which shows what a special baby Jesus was
· Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God / ALL:
· be able to recognise an angel and use the correct word (i.e. not fairy!) (AT1 L1)
· be able to hold their card up at the correct point in the story (AT1 L1)
· share their thoughts about what they would do/feel if they met an angel (AT2 L1)
MOST:
· write a caption explaining the events shown on their card, using ‘religious’ vocabulary (e.g. correct names of people) and retell the sequence of events (AT1 L2)
· show sensitivity to the fact that people believe different things about angels (AT2 L2)
SOME:
· be able to draw conclusions about the purpose of angels’ visits (AT1 L2/3)
Main activities (including skills-based learning):
· Give groups of children a set of assorted Christmas cards and ask them to sort them out according to which have angels in. Each child to choose one card to bring to the carpet.
· Empathy: Ask children to also consider how they might feel if they met an angel – what might they say / ask?
· Investigation: Using a good Children’s Bible, share the sequence of the events from the annunciation to the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:26-38). Children hold up their card at the appropriate part in the story.
· Expression: Write a caption to accompany their card, explaining what is happening. Also ask them to set their card within its context e.g. what happened before / after.
· Interpretation: You should encourage more able children to draw conclusions about what an angel is and what it does, based on the two examples from the Nativity sequence of events. They could perhaps write a ‘dictionary definition’ caption in addition to the description of events.
Resources / Background
· You will need a selection of Christmas cards for this activity – some with angels on, others not. There should be one angel card for each child – it doesn’t matter if some are the same
· Angels are God’s messengers. In the Christmas story, they foretell the birth of Jesus in the message to Mary, and announce the fact that Jesus has been born to the shepherds. It’s a lovely touch that angels’ speeches often start with ‘Do not be afraid!’!!
Plenary/Extending the thinking:
· Children share their thoughts to ‘If I met an angel....’,
· Interpretation: Allow your more able children to take a lead in the discussion about what angels are and what they do (see Resources section)
· Explain that the next two lessons are going to look in more detail at two angelic visits and what they mean for Christians.
Unit title: Who announced the birth of Jesus? / Age range: Year 2
Lesson title: Why did an angel visit Mary? / Skills being developed: Reflection; Interpretation; Empathy; Evaluation
Lesson: 2 of 3 / Cross-curricular links / wider school issues: Literacy (captions); Art; Music; ECM; SMSC
Learning Objectives
Through the learning experiences, pupils should learn: / Introduction:
· Ask children to recall the events from the Nativity sequence where people had visits by angels / Learning outcomes
e.g. what am I looking for / what can pupils do better now?
· that angels give messages from God (SMSC)
· that angels announced the birth of Jesus, which shows what a special baby Jesus was
· that artists use symbolism in their pictures to convey deep meanings and beliefs (ECM3) / ALL:
· share their own thoughts and feelings about the painting (AT2 L1)
MOST:
· write about how Mary might have felt and give reasons why they think this (AT2 L2)
SOME:
· explain the significance of this event for a Christian (AT1 L2/3)
Main activities (including skills-based learning):
· Look together at paintings of The Annunciation
· Reflection: Allow children plenty of time to share personal responses to the painting (good for AT2). Use careful questioning to extend their thinking. Also allow them to ask any questions that they want to know answers to – other children might have their own really good answers. It’s important that children feel that at this stage, there are no wrong answers, and therefore they should show sensitivity and respect for the views and opinions of others.
· Interpretation: Discuss any symbolism in the picture (see Resources section)
· Empathy: Give children a choice of photocopies of the Annunciation paintings you’ve used and ask them to choose their favourite to write a caption for (art gallery-style) exploring Mary’s thoughts and feelings about the news that the angel gave her. You may also wish to give them copies of the angel’s words to help. Ask them to give you verbal reasons for their thoughts.
· Evaluation: More able children should be encouraged to think about the significance of this event for Christians within the context of the story – they might find it helpful to look at the words in the story from the Bible e.g. ‘the Son of the Most High’, his name ‘Jesus’ means ‘he will save his people’ – what does this mean? Add a caption to explain
Resources / Background
· You will need to make your room as dark as possible for the first part of this lesson. The National Gallery online has lots of examples of The Annunciation – try their ‘zoomable’ paintings, as you can get really close www.nationalgallery.org.uk
In art, angels are often pictured with:
· wings, showing their connection with heaven (which is full of winged cherubim and seraphim) and the means for them to get from heaven to earth!;
· a halo, showing their ‘holiness’
· white clothing – another symbol of holiness, also purity and peace.
· gold colouring – an expensive pigment, so only used to embellish the ‘important’ elements of the painting. Symbolises the presence of God and represents heaven
Plenary/Extending the thinking:
· Look at the words of any songs that you sing in school about this event e.g. ‘Mary met an angel’ or the traditional carol ‘Gabriel’s Message’. How do these words capture the event?
Unit title: Who announced the birth of Jesus? / Age range: Year 2
Lesson title: A baby is born! / Skills being developed: Reflection; Investigation; Expression; Empathy
Evaluation Lesson / Cross-curricular links / wider school issues: Literacy; SMSC; ECM
Learning Objectives
Through the learning experiences, pupils should learn: / Introduction:
· Look at a range of birth announcements (children could bring in a copy of their own or any recent siblings if they still have one at home)
· Talk about the common information given e.g. weight, place & date of birth etc.
· Reflection: why do people send out birth announcements? Who do they send them to? Why do children think that shepherds were the first to be told? / Learning outcomes
e.g. what am I looking for / what can pupils do better now?
· that angels announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds
· that the angels give important clues about who Christians believe Jesus is (SMSC)
· that Christians believe Jesus came to show God’s love for all people (ECM4) / ALL:
· talk about how the birth of a baby is announced today (AT2 L1)
· write a birth announcement for Baby Jesus, giving basic information (AT1 L1)
MOST:
· write a birth announcement including the important information about Jesus, using ‘religious’ vocabulary (AT1 L2)
· suggest what Mary might have thought about / kept as her ‘treasures’ (AT2 L2)
SOME:
· make links between different aspects of the story (AT1 L3)
· demonstrate the significance of Jesus’ birth in the ‘treasures’ they suggest (AT2 L3)
Main activities (including skills-based learning):
· Try to fill in a birth announcement for Jesus. Talk about the fact that there is some information about the birth that is just not known (because it’s maybe not that important!) e.g. the exact date; the time; his weight etc. Talk about the things that are important e.g. name, place of birth, and what the angels say about Jesus
· Investigation: Then re-read the part of the story where the angels tell the shepherds about the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:8-20). What important information did the angels give to the shepherds? Make a list.
· Expression: Write birth announcements reflecting the important information. This could look like a traditional birth announcement with slightly altered headings, or you could make it appear more of a ‘proclamation’. Ask more able children to think about whether there are other clues in the story that show Jesus’ connection with the poor (e.g. being born to a poor family, in a stable, wrapped in cloth strips etc.)
Resources / Background
· Shepherds were ordinary people (in fact, often considered outcasts of society) and the fact that they are told first highlights the ‘good news for all people’ part of the angel’s message – especially the poor. This is a frequent message throughout Luke’s gospel
The angel tells the shepherds that:
· Not to be afraid
· It’s good news for all people
· A Saviour is born- the long-awaited Messiah
· He’s born in Bethlehem (the City of David He’s wrapped in strips of cloth & lying in a manger
Plenary/Extending the thinking:
· Share work.
· Empathy: Look at verse 19 in Luke’s telling of this story. What do children think Mary might have thought about? If she could have kept three actual objects from this section of her life, what might she have kept?
· Share ideas together (NB more able learning outcomes – right)
Assessment sheet for RE Unit: Who announced the birth of baby Jesus? Year: 2
· write a birth announcement for Baby Jesus, giving basic information (AT1 L1)
AT2
· talk about how the birth of a baby is announced today (AT2 L1) / AT1
· write a birth announcement including the important information about Jesus, using ‘religious’ vocabulary (AT1 L2)
AT2
· suggest what Mary might have thought about / kept as her ‘treasures’ (AT2 L2) / AT1
· make links between different aspects of the story (AT1 L3)
AT2
· demonstrate the significance of Jesus’ birth in the ‘treasures’ they suggest (AT2 L3)
Names: / Names: / Names: