Lesson Plan - The Bible

Curriculum Focus: R.E.

Year Group: 5		 Getting ready to learn: A positive mind state: relaxed and alert:
Music – children enter to the march from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” – makes the link to archaeological discovery

Connect to previous learning: What do I already know? What do I want to know?

In small groups/pairs, discuss prior knowledge about the writing of the Bible. Share knowledge with the whole class and make notes on the board

Learning intentions: to know, to be able to do, to understand

To know basic facts about the origins and development of the Bible and recognise its status as the world’s best selling book

The Big Picture: What will I be finding out or learning about?

Introductory session before “Walk through the Bible” – Old Testament

Achievable steps: What are we going to do? How are we going to do it?

1. Look at clues to discover a mystery object. 2. Share what we already know about this object. 3. Decide what we want to find out.

Teacher input: engaging the learner and encouraging thinking through visual, auditory and kinaesthetic cues

(Sit in circle around sand tray with buried scrolls and Bible)

Children take turns to excavate and read out scrolls in order with progressively obvious clues about The Mystery Object.

Make notes of each scroll’s facts on board.

Main activity: children explore the learning and establish meaning through activities which take account of multiple intelligences.

  • Use Scroll facts to generate questions and choose different ways of recording them for class collection:
  • Mini-scrolls
  • Big question marks
  • Thought clouds
  • Mind map

Show you know: practise, rehearse and memorise key points. What have I learned?

Share a question with the class.
In small groups/pairs, tell each other three Bible facts.

Reflection: How did I learn? What do I need to know next?

Discuss how we learnt about the Bible.

The tone for the session was set in a very positive way as most children recognised the ”Raiders” march and began to connect it with the sand tray and its protruding scrolls. As the archaeological dig was formally introduced an atmosphere of eager anticipation descended and remained while, one by one, each scroll was excavated and examined. Children gradually began to realise the identity of the mystery object but enjoyed keeping this to themselves until the Bible was finally revealed.

This multi-sensory interaction stimulated our focused discussions about prior and desired knowledge and the enthusiastic response to the choices for recording the questions that had been generated. It was natural that, given the context of the teacher input and its connection to the Dead Sea Scrolls, a great majority of the children chose to create a scroll of their own.