Creation

Movie Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

The children will view a video featuring the poem “Creation” by James Weldon Johnson. Then they will compare the Biblical version and the poet’s version of the Creation story. They will create their own acrostic poem about Creation.

Scripture Reference:

Genesis 1:1 - 2:3

Memory Verse:

Revelation 4:11 (NLT)

Teacher preparation:

• Read the scripture passages and lesson plan and attend the Bible Study, ....
• Prepare a closing prayer.
• Learn the memory verse.
• To our teachers at RCC: The design of this workshop is very intentional. The activities and discussion questions for this workshop were designed to meet the goals of the entire rotation and the educational objectives of the Rotation Model (tm) at River Community Church. While we feel it is important to follow the serendipitous leading of the Holy Spirit, please do not change the lesson plan without consulting a Curriculum Planning and Writing Team member.
• Check out the room before your first Sunday workshop so that you know where everything is located.
• Preview the video. Be familiar with the places where the video should be stopped.
• Write the memory verse on a poster so that it is easily visible to the group during the memory verse activity.

Room set-up:
Students will sit in seats or on the floor facing the video/projection screen during the video. If possible, they should sit around tables during the opening activity and while writing their acrostic poem.

Supply List

• Video: God’s Trombones by James Weldon Johnson. Billy Budd Fills, Inc., 1994. (Available through amazon.com and other sources; your public library may also have it. Also check in this post below, for other additional sources link)
• TV
• Popcorn, lemonade, wet wipes, napkins
• modeling clay
• Bibles
• Memory verse poster
• Globe beach ball
• Optional: flipchart or whiteboard and makers
• Memento (optional): sun, moon or earth/globe stickers
• Shepherd Time: Acrostic poem form for creating poem

Lesson Plan

Opening:
Greet the children and introduce yourself. Wear your name-tag. (Remember you are interacting with a different group of students each week who may not know you.) Make sure the children are wearing name-tags. If not, ask the shepherd to supply a temporary badge.

We had an opening prayer during the gathering time, but you may open with prayer if you feel led to do so.

Explain the purpose of this workshop. Use kid friendly words to give a brief overview of what the children are going to learn and do.

Dig:

Begin by asking: “What does a creator do?” (Allow the children to respond.) “How many of you think of yourselves as creators?”

Tell the children you are going to give each of them a golf-ball sized piece of modeling clay and that you want them to create something using the modeling clay. Allow the children about one minute to make something with their piece of clay. If necessary, tell them to disregard the color of their clay and create whatever they want.

After one minute, ask the children to hold up their creations for everyone to see. Say: “Look at all the different things you were able to come up with in just one minute! How does it feel to create something good?” (Let the children respond.) Say: “The first story in the Bible tells us God created the world in seven days. He made something out of nothing, and it was all very good. Just now when you created something, you started with clay that you did not create. God created the world out of nothing! How do you think he did that?” (Let the kids offer suggestions.)

Tell the children that they are going to see a video that illustrates a poem that James Weldon Johnson wrote about God creating the world. Explain that this is Mr. Johnson’s interpretation of the Bible story in Genesis 1:1-2:3. After viewing the video they will read the Bible passage and compare Mr. Johnson’s version of creation to the account in Genesis.

Wipe hands and pass out popcorn and drinks.

Show the video without stopping. It is approximately nine minutes long. Ask:

• What did you like about the movie?
• What did you dislike?
• Was there anything in it that you thought was strange?
• What did you think about the artwork---the colors, the movement, the images?

Scripture/Bible Story:
Read the scripture: Genesis 1:1 - 2:3. (Encourage the children to use their Bibles in looking up verses. Make sure they know that ‘Genesis’ means beginning and that it is the very first book in the Bible.) Tell the children to listen while the passage is being read, to hear the reason God decided to create the world.

Application:
Now replay the video, stopping at the following points and asking the children the suggested questions.
STOP after “I’m lonely---I’ll make me a world.”
ASK: Look in the Bible passage we read a few minutes ago to see if you can find where God gives a reason for creating the world. Was it because He was lonely?

STOP after “And the light stood shining on the other [side].”
ASK: What part of creation is the poet describing? Is that the first thing that the Bible passage tells us happened in creation?

STOP after “Spangling the night with the moon and stars.”
ASK: What part of creation is the poet describing? How is the poet’s description of the creation of the sun, moon, and stars different from the Bible’s description of their creation?

STOP after “The cooling waters came down.”
ASK: How is the poet’s description of God forming the land and the seas different from the Bible account of the the same part of creation? (Genesis 1:9-10)

STOP after “And curled itself around His shoulder.”
ASK: Where is a rainbow mentioned in the Bible passage? Do you know when the Bible says God created the rainbow for the first time? (God does not create a rainbow until after The Flood: Genesis 9:13.)

STOP after “I’ll make me a man!”
ASK: Look at the Bible passage and see if you can find where God gives a reason for creating man. Was it because He was lonely? (The children should be clear about the fact that God did not create the world or man because He was lonely. See Background Notes for additional reflection on this topic.)

Reflect:
Pulling it all together (closing discussion):
I wonder why Mr. Johnson, the poet, did not write his poem about creation exactly like the Bible tells us it happened?

I wonder why God created the world? (Allow the children to reflect and encourage them to answer. You are not looking for right or wrong answers, just trying to get the children to think. This reflection should lead into the memory verse, as God created for His own good pleasure.)

Review the memory verse:
Instruct the children to sit or stand in a circle. Have the Bible verse written on a poster and displayed so that it is visible to the whole group. Hold a globe beach ball or other large soft ball and after saying the first word of the verse, gently toss the ball to another person in the circle. That person says the first word and the next word and then tosses the globe to another person. The next person says the first three words of the verse and tosses the globe. Continue until the whole verse (including the citation) has been repeated. Repeat the activity a couple of more times, then remove the Bible verse from the children’s sight to see if they can do the activity without seeing the verse.

At 11:50 a.m. ask the Shepherd to pass out the journal pages and pencils/markers. Suggestion: You may wish to give the children a sticker or some memento to paste in their journal as a reminder of the story or activity (perhaps a sun, moon, or earth/globe sticker).

Shepherd Time:
The children will write an acrostic with the word “created.” Instruct the children to write “In the beginning God” on their paper. Then have them write the letters of the word “created” down the left side of their paper. Instruct them to write a word or a phrase describing something God created that begins with that letter next to the letter. (Ex: C-clouds, R-rain, E-earth, etc.). Then have them write, “And it was good!” as the closing for the poem. If time permits, they may decorate their poetry page.

You may want to provide an extra activity or worksheet for children who finish their journal pages quickly, such as coloring sheets, crossword puzzles, word searches, games or provide picture-book versions of the creation story for them to look at. See the Workshop Leader’s Background Notes and rotation.org for ideas.

At noon, ask the students to turn in their journal pages and sit quietly for prayer.

Reflection:

Closing prayer:
Thank God for his creation and ask the children to name something they listed in their poem during the prayer. Also, thank God for creative poetry and the creative ability he has given each of us.

Tidy and Dismissal: Ask children to help tidy the room. Give any specific instructions for clearing the workshop room.
Give everyone the parent take-home flyer the first week of the rotation; give it only to children who were absent and have not yet received it the other weeks of the rotation.

Additional Suggestions:
You will need to decide how best to adjust the lesson for older and younger students. Keep the children active and involved in activity. Do what works for you and the children. Some ideas:
For all the children: After reading the scripture, consider having the children list the days of creation and what was created on each day. This will make comparing the poem/video and the scripture easier during the application portion of the lesson. You may list them on a flipchart for easy reference.

Older Children:
Have them leave their Bibles open after reading the scripture so they can look for the answers to the questions during the second viewing of the video.

Younger Children:
For classes composed primarily of pre-readers, show the children how to find the passage in the Bible (for example, “The book of Genesis is at the very beginning of the Bible. The word ‘genesis’ means‘beginning. and then have them do it. After everyone has found the passage, have them close their Bibles and listen while you read.

During the Application portion of the lesson, read the portion of scripture aloud that shows or contains the point on which you are trying to get them to focus.

Print copies of the attached acrostic form for Shepherd Time.

Younger children may need help spelling and writing the words of their acrostic poem. The Shepherd may choose to have the group brainstorm the names of items God created and then write them on a flip chart so the children may copy the words.

Resources:

• God's Trombones, Billy Budd Films, Inc. 1994.
• MacQueen, Neil. "A MANUAL for the "VIDEO ~ A-V" WORKSHOP” https://www.rotation.org/topic...-video--a-v-workshop
• Jan at FPC Napa. Posting rotation.org: “Creation/The Fall - games, video, art”
• Janmarshall. Posting rotation.org: “Creation”
• The Academy of American Poets, information on James Weldon Johnson
• God's Trombones by James Weldon Johnson. Copyright © 1927 The Viking Press, Inc., renewed 1955 by Grace Nail Johnson. Copyright © 1997-2003 by The Academy of American Poets,

A lesson written by Jamie Senyard from: River Community Church
Prairieville, LA