YEAR 1, Term 1: THE CREATION STORY

Key Question: Who made the world? Key Concept:God as Creator

Lesson 1: What is God like?

Key question: What are some of the words that help us think about what God may be like?

  • Explain that in the Bible, pictures are often used to help people understand what God is like, and that over the next few lessons, we’re going to look one of them and think about what it tells us about God.
  • Show children a handful of jigsaw pieces. Ask them if they can work out the picture that the puzzle would show. Explain that this is a little bit what it’s like with God – there are lots of places in the Bible that tell people what his character is like, but it’s hard to get the whole picture until you have all the pieces.
  • Reflection: Collect words together that children think might describe what God is like (adjectives). You could write these on blank puzzle-piece shaped papers if you want to.
  • Expression: Ask pupils to draw an image they connect with one of the words on the list e.g. if they say that God is ‘big’, what would they draw that illustrates this?
  • In pairs, children share their idea, and talk about why they chose the image that they did.
  • Investigation: Encourage more able children to identify any stories they know from the Bible that tell them something about what God is like – especially if they can connect a story with the adjective they chose.
  • REMEMBER – do not encourage pupils to draw God as this causes offence in some traditions and does not necessarily add to a helpful understanding of what God is like.

Lesson 2: Creating

Key question: What does it feel like to create something that I am really proud of?

  • Ask pupils to select and show one creative piece of which they are most proud. This ‘show and tell’ opportunity may need to be spread over a number of days at key sharing opportunities.
  • As prompts, offer these statements: My creation is important to me because… My creation makes me feel… If my creation was damaged or destroyed I …
  • Develop these ideas with talk partners and in class discussion. Provide an opportunity to express these thoughts in a poem, or select key quotes from children to display which sum up the feelings of the class, displayed alongside their ‘creation’ or a photograph of it.
  • Take time to discuss the key words: create, creation, creative, created and creator’ in an inclusive way. Begin to distinguish between the idea of an ‘all-powerful creator’ and their own more limited powers of ‘creation’.
  • You might ask pupils to think about what they would like to create in the future – when they are 10, 20, 40 or 60 years old, what would they like to have made?

Lesson 3:The Creation Story

Key Question: What do Christians and Jews believe about how the world was made?

  • Recap your learning about creating and how you felt about the things you have made.
  • Discuss the world as a beautiful and wonderful place. Use photographs/digital resources.
  • Explain that different religions or faiths have different beliefs about how the world was created.
  • Share the Biblical story of Creation using the bible, Big Book, Godly play or digital resources. The story can be found in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. Explain that this story is special for Christians and Jews because it includes their belief that God created the world.
  • Make a class book, individual books or a collaborative display to illustrate the story of creation.

Lesson 4:The Garden of Eden

Key Question: What in our world do you find wonderful?

  • Find out what the children already know about trees, and look together at the connection between one tree, its blossom, its fruit and the seed. Take in a selection of as many different fruits as you can. Ask the children if they know what will be inside each fruit and then cut it open and show them the seed. Keep the two halves of each fruit for activities later. Discuss favourite fruits and talk about taste.
  • Tell the story of God placing the first people, Adam and Eve, in a beautiful garden, the Garden of Eden (Genesis chapter 2)
  • Provide pastels or coloured chalk and encourage the children to make observational drawings from one half of a piece of fruit. Do not let the children touch the fruit.
  • From the cut halves make fruit kebabs to be eaten at the end of the lesson.
  • Read ‘In the Beginning’ by Steve Turner and create a class dance to go with the story.
  • Answer and illustrate ‘What I find most wonderful about the world and why’

Lesson 5God as a Friend

Key Question: Why do Christians think of God as a friend?

  • Talk about favourite places outdoors.
  • Tell the story of Adam and Eve living in the Garden of Eden and God coming down to walk and talk with them in the evening. God wanted to be their friend and enjoy their company. They were allowed to eat the fruit from all the trees except one in the middle called The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
  • Talk about Adam’s job to look after the garden and name all the animals!
  • Explore with the children the idea of a great Creator being friends with the people he had made. Christians believe that, although Godcannot be seen, they can feel that God him with them. They believe God wants to be close to them, to be their friend and share the world he has made with them.
  • Make a model of the Garden of Eden thinking about how God meant the world to be and what sort of relationship God wanted to have with people

Lesson 6Thankfulness

Key Question: What are the ways in which we can show thankfulness?

  • Ask pupils to list the ways they say ‘thank you’. Thankfulness is not just something we say but show by our actions.
  • What are you thankful for in our world; what makes you smile and feel good?
  • Talk about the Festival of Harvest and how Christian people show their thankfulness to God by bringing fresh food to the church to celebrate another harvest. They thank him for the earth, the sunshine and rain and for all the food we enjoy.
  • Look at some of the Psalms in the Bible that express the Jewish thankfulness for and celebration of Creation. See Psalms 8, 33 or 96.
  • Pupils write and draw on a paper plate what they are thankful for and why, and decorate it using different colours and designs. These could make a wall display.