What Responsibility Has God Given People For Taking Care of Creation? Christianity

Name of Unit: What Responsibility Has God Given People For Taking Care of Creation? / Faith: Christianity
Key Stage In Which This Unit Should Be Taught: KS 1 / Recommended Year Group (if specified):
Previous Learning:
Who Made The Wonderful World?
Who Cares For This Special World and Why?
AT1 Learning about Religion
Focus: Beliefs, teachings and sources. / AT2 Learning From Religion
Focus: Values and commitments.
What This Unit Teaches:
V  The Christian Story of Creation is found in The Bible; what happens in the Story of Creation in The Bible
V  What Christians believe are God’s instructions to follow in caring for creation
V  To identify how to be good stewards of creation
V  The chance to think about some interesting and puzzling questions children would like to ask God about Creation
V  What the Biblical phrase “. . . Made In God’s Image” means for a Christian
V  How Christians care for the people God created
Key RE Vocabulary:
Creation, Christian, Christianity, God, Creator, Maker, Bible, Old Testament, Genesis, pollution, instruction, responsibility, steward, stewardship, care, Adam, Eve, natural world, environment, “God’s image”, special, unique, Church, belief, respect, Garden of Eden, value, kindness, Jew, Judaism, Torah. / Cross-Curricular Links:
Literacy; Numeracy; Science; Geography; Art and Design; Music; Personal, Social and Health Education; Citizenship.
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development:
Deep and reflective thinking, awe and wonder
Respect, responsibility and stewardship
Caring for others and the environment
Living and working with others and collaborative learning
Appreciation of cultural diversity as part of creation / Sensitivities:
Please be mindful that Muslim pupils have restrictions on what they are allowed to represent visually from God’s (Allah’s) creation. They therefore need to be allowed to work on representing what they feel comfortable with.
Please take account of and encourage children with low self esteem
and be aware of pupils who may be ‘unpopular’.
Please be mindful of pupils and their families who may be in similar circumstances to those people shown on the images as people in need.
Possible Further Thinking and Extension Activities: Creation stories from other religions and cultures.
Future Learning: Who Decides? (Bridging / Transition Unit)
Learning Objectives / AT1 / AT2 / Suggested Teaching Activities / Points To Note /
Lesson 1
Pupils should:
be able to talk about what happened in the story of creation from The Bible, describing what a Christian (and Jew,) would learn from it;
(AT1)
think about how the Creation story makes them feel about the world in which they live and are a part of.
(AT2) / ü / ü / What Does The Story of Creation
Teach Us About The World?
Introduction:
What do children already know about the Christian (and Jewish) creation story? Who made the world? How was it made? What was made when?
Read / retell the Christian / Jewish Story of Creation found in Genesis 1, using visual stimulus e.g. Reflective Story telling, video clip, song, etc.
Make sure that the pupils understand that it is found right at the beginning of The Bible, in the Book of Genesis in The Old Testament. As the first 5 books of The Old Testament are contained in The Torah, it is also the Creation story that Jews believe.
Discuss with the children what happened on each day.
Questions:
V  What did God create each day?
V  Why did God create His creation in the order that He did?
V  Why do you think that He created what He did on each day?
V  What do you think He was thinking when He created each part of creation?
V  What did He say about what he created?
Main Activity Ideas:
·  In groups, focusing on a different day of Creation, pupils should illustrate the different days of creation, using paint or collage material. Put all the pictures together to make a big class ‘Book of Creation.’
Include their thoughts to the following question in relation to the day of creation that they are representing: -
How does this make you feel about the world in which you live and are a part of?
·  In groups, each child to draw/ write about a different day of creation to put together to make a mobile (hanging from a wire coat hanger). Can they use the mobile to help them retell the days of creation? Which is their favourite? Which do they think was God’s favourite? Which is most important? Are there any parts of creation we don’t need?
·  Sequence images which show the different days of creation to make a booklet and write what God created each day. What did God think of His creation?
·  Create a postcard depicting an aspect of creation. Explain what it is, who made it, when it was made and why, and what you love about it. Who will you send your postcard to?
Plenary:
Muddle up the days of creation and see if the children can put them back in the correct order. What would have happened if God had made things in a different order? Would the plants grow without the sun? Could the fish swim without water? Why were people made last?
How do you think God feels about His creation? How would he like us to treat it? Do we always do that? / Resources:
The Bible at an age appropriate level eg The Creation story in a big book or
The Beginner’s Bible/ Big Picture Bible http://bibleforchildren.org/languages/english/stories.php
The Creation story animated Teaching Christianity at KS1 (Church House Publishing Seaman & Owen) pp.58-61
Video Clip of the Creation story
“Let It Be” From ‘Children of Eden.’
CD and available on Google.
(‘Godly Play’ resources for the Creation Story.)
Sensitivities:
Please be mindful that Muslim pupils have restrictions on what they are allowed to represent visually from God’s (Allah’s) creation. They therefore need to be allowed to work on one of the days representing what they feel comfortable with.
Learning Objectives / AT1 / AT2 / Suggested Teaching Activities / Points To Note /
Lesson 2
Pupils should:
know how Christians (and Jews) are instructed to care for creation from God’s instructions in the Creation Story;
(AT1)
be able to talk about how people have treated creation, linking what is important to me and other people. / ü / ü
ü / How do People Treat God’s Creation?
Introduction:
Watch a Creation montage showing different scenes of the natural world.
Questions:
V  What is wonderful about the world?
V  How do different parts of the world make me feel?
V  Is it the same as when it was first created?
V  What has changed and why?
Display an image (on the interactive whiteboard) of the world or a globe then a selection of images, e.g. pictures of beautiful sunsets, unusual and interesting landscapes, a stream, seagulls flying freely, etc. and talk about the beauty in the world (which Christians believe God created).
Then show some images of pollution, e.g. factory chimneys and littered streets, a river full of rubbish, seagulls covered in oil, etc. and compare and contrast the images. Generate a discussion with the pupils asking them to describe their observations, discuss how they feel when they see beautiful images in God’s creation and then when they see creation damaged or destroyed?
Discuss the differences.
Read Genesis 1: 26 and talk about how God gave instructions to the people He made to look after His creation.
Questions:
V  In what ways are people looking after creation?
V  In what ways are people not looking creation?
V  Who is doing what God asked?
V  Why do you think people either take care of or damage the earth?
Sort into groups things that people have done to damage creation, and things they have done to help/ improve creation.
Main Activity Ideas:
·  Children to be given a circle. On one side they can draw and colour Earth as God made it and on the other they draw how it is now.
·  Children could take time to reflect how God might feel about how the earth is now. These thoughts could be recorded as notes, narrative or as a poem.
·  Children write/ draw their favourite part of creation and then find where it is on a world map, to display in the class.
Plenary:
How do you think God feels about how the earth is now? Do you think people have done a good job? Look back at the list and reflect on where people have looked after creation, and where they have spoilt it.
What do you think we could do to make a difference? / Resources:
‘Planet Earth’ – BBC has beautiful and awe-inspiring images of the natural world;
Globe / NASA photo of earth
www.freefoto.com
has some useful images of pollution;
Bible retelling of the Creation story, particularly Genesis 1:26
Sensitivities:
Please be mindful that Muslim pupils have restrictions on what they are allowed to represent visually from God’s (Allah’s) creation. They therefore need to be allowed to work on representing what they feel comfortable with.
Learning Objectives / AT1 / AT2 / Suggested Teaching Activities / Points To Note /
Lesson 3
Pupils should:
be able to describe what believers learn about caring for the world from God’s command to Adam and Eve in the Christian (and Jewish) story of creation;
(AT1)
be able to link this with the way I think about and behave towards the world.
(AT2) / ü / ü
ü / How Should Christians Follow God’s Instructions for Taking Care of Creation?
Introduction:
Optional starter: listen to ‘We Are The World’ as a stimulus, thinking about the message contained within it.
Read Genesis 1:26 – 30 from the Bible.
Ask the class to focus on what God said to the first people (Adam and Eve) about caring for the world and all that is in it.
Questions to discuss in small groups:
V  What did God ask Adam and Eve to look after? (list the different aspects of creation mentioned)
V  Why did He say this?
V  Did Adam and Eve do their job?
V  Have the people after Adam and Eve done their job?
V  Have we?
Remind pupils about the phrase, which is often illustrated on posters, that says “For the best results, follow the Maker’s instructions.”
Think about a toy you have (eg a lego set, transformer, paddling pool). There are usually instructions with the toy to show how to use it properly. These are written by the person who created the toy, because they know how it’s supposed to work!
Christians believe that because God made the world, He knows best how it should be looked after.
Were these instructions from God just for Adam and Eve? If not, who else are they instructions for? Why?
What do you think “the best results. . . .” for our world would be? What would it be like if we were treating it how God would want?
Discuss with the class how we could, as a class, help to look after our classroom, our school environment, our local community, each other and our homes, so that we are caring for the world in the way God would want.
Main Activity Ideas:
·  Pupils to each draw up a Caring For Creation Charter with ten popular actions that they can think of and will commit to trying to follow to help look after creation. Share as a class and devise a class charter which everyone can sign. Remind the children that this is what Christians believe God wants everyone to do, not just a nice idea!
·  Ask the pupils to write a letter to an adult they know (or their grown-up self), explaining the need to take care of creation (using the Genesis story for reference) and asking how they have cared for creation during their life? The letter could provide some tips and hints for the adult.
·  Create posters to display around the school, encouraging the school community to take care of God’s creation, giving ideas and promoting care for the environment.
Plenary:
Why do you think God cares so much about his creation? Have you ever made something that you really cared about? What happened to it? (you might have something personal that you have made that you could share with the class, or an example of something they have made eg sculpture, lego model or clay pot). How would you feel if someone spoiled it?
How do you think God feels about the things that happen in our world which endanger animals, pollute seas or destroy forests? We can’t fix everything, but it is important to know that doing our bit at home or school can make a difference. / Resources:
‘We Are The World’
by Michael Jackson et al
- CD / YouTube;
Poster / Card of “Follow The Maker’s Instructions!”
(There will be examples on Google under the Images tab if you have not got a copy of this poster / card already)
Learning Objectives / AT1 / AT2 / Suggested Teaching Activities / Points To Note /
Lesson 4
Pupils should:
think deeper about the teachings of the Christian (and Jewish) Creation
Story by asking questions about creation and suggesting answers.
(AT1 and AT2) / ü / ü / What Would You Like To Ask God About Creation?
Introduction:
Show class a short film about Creation, such as BBC Bitesize ‘The World that God made’, a clip from BBC’s Planet Earth or ‘Cosmic Zoom’ video
Recap on the creation story with class contributing what they have learnt and understood. If you have made a class ‘Book of Creation’, you could use that to help here.
Main Activity Idea:
Class Teacher to use pictures of creation to stimulate questions.