Joseph and His Brothers

Object Theater Puppet Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:
The children will dig deeper into the story to understand better Joseph and his father and his brothers’ feelings and motivations by using an object theater puppet show to re-enact the story.

Scripture:
Genesis 37, 39

Memory Verse:
Deuteronomy 7:9

Additional objectives for the Puppet Workshop
At the end of the session, the students will

• have considered the feelings which may have motivated actions in the story of Joseph and his brothers.
• have considered how jealousy can separate us from family and friends.

Bible Background is found here.

Preparation and Supplies:

• Read the scripture passages and lesson plan.
• Print the Object Theater PDF Script and practice reading the script with feeling.
• Optional: Print and learn the attached PDF Memory verse and sign language to go with it.
• Prepare a closing prayer.
• For how to do "Object Theater" check it out here over in our Puppet Forum.

• Picturebook or children’s Bible version of the story. (Use your favorite children’s picture Bible.)
• Household objects for Object Theatre: raid the junk drawer and use your imagination. Some ideas to get you started: spoons (wooden, plastic, stainless), plastic knives, cups, pencils, stapler, eraser, tools (hammers, screwdrivers, pliers), keys, batteries, salt and pepper shakers, a piece of colorful fabric, flashlight, bucket, shovel, blocks, cardboard or plastic stars, sticks, cottonballs, small baskets, plastic bottles, spools, dolls’ baby bottle, piece of burlap, ... (Make sure there are several things that you have at least 10 of that can be the brothers.)
• Flipchart or whiteboard and appropriate markers.
• Strong rope for tug-of-war warm-up activity.
• Memento: smile face or emotion stickers.
• Shepherd Time: blank plain and lined paper for older children; copies of attached form for younger.
• Room set-up:
  You will need a table for the objects and a table for the “puppet stage.”

Lesson:

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.

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

Explain the purpose of this workshop: Today we are going to look at the story of Joseph and his brothers and then re-create it in a new and unusual way.

Scripture/Bible Story:

Ask the children what they know about Joseph. If it is one of the earlier weeks in the rotation or many of the children are not familiar with the story, read the story of Joseph and his coat first from a picture book or picture Bible such as The Lion Storyteller Bible.

Read the scripture: Genesis 37: 2-11. [Help the children to use their Bibles in looking up verses. Remind them that ‘Genesis’ means ‘beginning’ and it is the first book in the Bible and includes the story of Creation, Noah’s Ark, Abraham, his son Isaac, his grandson Jacob and his great-grandson Joseph, about whom we are studying this rotation. It is in the Old Testament.]

After reading the scripture, ask:

• What do you think is important in this story?
• Who are the main characters we will want to include in a puppet show? [List them on a flipchart as the children name them. If they miss some people, don’t worry -- you’ll be adding them later.

Warm-up exercises - Theater Simulation Games:

(if time permits)
(adapted from 26 Ways to Use Drama in Teaching the Bible)

Conflict Tug-of-War:
This game will help the students literally feel the tension between Joseph and his brothers.
Choose two children who are about the same size — one represents Joseph and the other represents a brother. Have the two children play a game of tug-of-war and try to pull the other over a center line.
Let several pairs try this (as time permits) and then discuss:
∙ Did this help you relate to the feelings of tension between Joseph and his brothers?
∙ What caused that tension in the Bible story?

Silent Scream:
This game helps the students identify with the fear and horror Joseph felt.
Ask, “How do you think Joseph reacted to being thrown in the pit? Do you think he called his brothers to help him?” [Accept possible answers.]
“When his brothers did not help, maybe he screamed.”
Have the children scream without making a sound. Encourage them to use their entire bodies, not just their faces.
While they are doing this, say, “Scream out loud!” The sound should be deafening and they should dramatically feel the reality of Joseph’s fear. [This scream should be brief. Please be considerate of the other classes. Blink the lights if necessary to bring the class back under control.]

Preparing Students for Object Theater:

Ask, “What is a puppet?”
Accept all answers and then explain, “You have a lot of good ideas. Technically, a puppet is any inanimate (not alive) object that you, the puppeteer, animate — that is, you bring it to life by how you move and manipulate it.”
Pick up a spoon and show how you can make it walk along the tabletop, stop and talk to a screwdriver, and then get angry.

Show the children the collection of objects. Give them a few moments to pick up some and experiment with making them move, talk, hug, be happy, be sad, etc. These puppets have no moving parts, so actions and feelings are conveyed by how fast the objects are moving; how they move (glide, hop, jerk, ...); if they are upright, leaning or lying down; and so on.

Have the children sit down. Leave the objects spread out on the table so they can look at them. Tell the children to listen carefully as you read the script. Say:

• Check the flipchart as I read to see if there are any missing characters.
• You will need to decide what characteristics each person in the story has and how those can be symbolized by the objects we have.
• For example, think about the 12 brothers — do we have enough information in this story to have them be different objects, or should they all be the same?
• [older children only] Also, consider how the dreams can be made to look dreamy. [Perhaps turn off the overhead light and use the flashlight? or maybe everyone can hum ‘dream music’ in the background.]

After you have read the script, add any missing characters to the flipchart list. [You may need to prompt the children, or just add them for the youngest children.]

Tell the children, “You will be doing the casting for our puppet production. That is, you will be deciding how to use the objects on the table to tell the story. You have to agree on which objects to use for each of the characters in the story. You may also use some objects as props and pieces of scenery, but since the puppets do not have hands, we won’t worry about small props like the money the traders used to pay for Joseph. If you work together well, we will have time to do this more than once and you can try different objects in different parts.”

Go through the list on the flipchart and have the children decide which object will be each character and who will be manipulating it. Children can and may need to manipulate more than one character, especially the ten older brothers who will act mostly as a group. Remind the children to put the objects back on the table when they are not being used in a scene and that those not acting in the current scene should sit down and be the audience.

Act out the story!

Read the attached script. The narrator needs to watch the action and pause when appropriate to allow for acting out and improvising the story. The children may add dialog.

If time permits, discuss what can be improved or which objects/characters should be switched, and then do it again. (Trade parts if the children wish to do so.)

Pulling it all together (closing discussion):

• I wonder why the brothers were angry with Joseph?
• Have you ever felt angry at someone because they seemed to be the favorite (of either a parent or teacher)? Can you tell us about it?

• How did the brothers feel when Joseph told them about his dream? Do you think Joseph cared about his brothers’ feelings? Do you think he knew how they felt?

• Have you ever felt that someone else was your mom or dad’s favorite? How did that make you feel?

• What are some things we should never do, no matter how angry we are? [Talk about aggression as an inappropriate way to express anger or jealousy.]

• What are some appropriate ways to deal with anger? What good methods have you discovered?
• How can God help?

Closing:

End with a prayer:
Help the children pray for God to help them with family and friend problems.

Additional Suggestions:

All:

• Review the memory verse. Teach the children the memory verse using American Sign language (see attached instructions).

Big Classes:

• Divide the class into three groups: one group will act out the beginning, the second will act out the dreams and Joseph’s telling about the dreams, and the third can do the final portion. Those not “on stage” should sit down and be the audience. Remind them that the audience is important for feedback and encouragement and they should use the same quiet courtesy that they expect when it is their turn to be “on stage.”

Older Children:

• If someone is a VERY good reader and does not want to do the puppets, let him or her read the narrator’s part.

• Journaling: Think of a time you were jealous of your brother or sister. (If there are children with no brothers and sisters, suggest they think about a time they were jealous of a friend at school, in scouts, on the soccer team, etc. or maybe even a parent who went to Disney World for a conference while he/she stayed home.)  Write about or illustrate one of the following:
  What should I do if I feel hurt and jealous of my brother or sister or friend?
  What should I do if I think my brother or sister or friend is jealous or angry at me?
  Be as specific as possible. Rather than just write “pray,” maybe you would write “ask God to help me be kind, even if my brother can go to the game and I cannot.

Younger Children:

• Leave out the dream part of the script, at least for the first run-through. If interest and time permits, go back and do object theatre for the dreams and Joseph telling his family about the dreams.
• Consider having a smaller collection of objects for them to use for casting the puppet show.
• For classes composed primarily of pre-readers, show the children how to find the passage in the Bible and then have them do it. After everyone has found the passage, have them close their Bibles and set them aside to listen while you read.
• Journaling: [adapted from Bible Quest, Fall 2000]
  Work with the group to make a list of feelings and different actions to go with the feelings. Write them on the flipchart. (For example, happy: clap hands, angry: cross arms, excited: jump.) Make sure bad feelings such as angry and jealous are included. Then have the children stand and say, “When we are (feeling) , we (action), and God loves us still.” Go through the list a few times and have the group do the action for each. After a few rounds, give them the handout and help them copy one feeling/action from the flipchart. In addition to the suggested activity, children may draw pictures relating to today’s scripture or memory verse, list highlights of the day’s activities, or rephrase the memory verse.

Resources

• Hartman, Bob. The Lion Storyteller Bible. Colorado Springs: Lion Publishing, 1995.
• Hunter, Kurt. Puppets, Kids, and Christian Education. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2001. (Sample plans and info at http://www.huntermarionettes.com/rotation-model/ .)
• Huntly, Alyson, editor. Bible Quest: Fall 2000, Multi-Age (K-8) Leader’s Guide. Session 4: “The Favorite Son Becomes a Slave.” Cleveland: Bible Quest Publishers, 2000.
• Richards, Larry. Talkable Bible Stories. Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 1995. (Source for some of the discussion questions and Shepherd Time for older children.)
• Smith, Judy Gattis. 26 Ways to Use Drama in Teaching the Bible. Nashville: Abingdon, 1988.
• Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
• Riekehof, Lottie L. Talk to the Deaf. Springfield, Missouri: Gospel Publishing House, 1963.
• American Sign Language Browser: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
• Costello, Elaine. Religious Signing. New York: Bantam Books, 1986.

A lesson written by Amy Crane from: River Community Church
Prairieville, LA

Copyright 2003 Amy Crane. Permission granted to freely distribute and use, provided the copyright message is included.

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