Joshua and the City of Jericho

Art Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

The children will make simple relief maps of the Middle East to help them understand the Bible story and how it is connected to this story and other stories from previous rotations.

Scripture Reference: Joshua 1-6

Memory Verse:  Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Ephesians 6:10 (NIV)

Lesson Objectives for the rotation
(see listing above)

Additional objectives for the art workshop
At the end of the session, the students will

• know the geography of the land where the Bible story takes place

Teacher preparation in advance:

• Read the scripture passages and lesson plan and attend the Bible Study, ...
• Learn the memory verse.
• Confer with the Shepherd on age level adjustments needed each week (those included in the lesson plan and your own). Consider the “Stretchers” you can use, especially with the youngest children.
• 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.
• The bin with supplies is located in the Sunday School room. Purchase or request additional supplies from // by May 15.
• Prepare a sample map showing where specific landforms are in Israel and Egypt.
• Prepare index cards for memory verse activity.

Room set-up:
Set up tables and chairs. Cover tables with newspaper.

Supply List:

• 11 x 17 copies of maps of The Holy Land; use an internet search to find one that works for your church, such as http://www.bible-history.com/m...alestine_joshua.html
• Mat board cut to 11 x 17
• Markers
• Glue sticks and craft glue
• Sand
• Empty peanut shells
• Moss (from floral department, used to cover arrangement support)
• A copy of the Mustard Seed Ministries Joshua sample lesson plan, Art workshop.  (Source for Bible story and map instructions.)   NOTE:  free sample lesson is no longer available online; notes have been added to this lesson plan to help you teach without it.
• Index cards
• Tape/CD player and music
• Cultural Atlas for Young People: The Bible by John Rogerson or other Holy Land picture atlas
• Overhead projector
• Transparency of map
• Hair dryer
• White board, markers, & eraser for memory verse activity
• Memento: stickers (stars or God loves you or whatever seems appropriate)
• Shepherd Time: no supplies needed

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Introductions:
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 you may open with prayer if you feel led to do so.

Explain the purpose of this workshop: Today you are going to make a map! Making this map will help you understand where the important events we learned about during the few last rotations and the events of this rotation took place.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Scripture/Bible Story:
Tell the Bible story using the summary version found in the Mustard Seeds sample art lesson plan (this is a concise summary of the history of the Israelites from Abraham to Joshua that includes the promise of the land), tell the story in your own words, or find another retelling.

After telling the story, tell the children you would like for them to see where the book of Joshua is located in the Bible and read a portion that describes the borders of The Promised Land. Pass out the Bibles and instruct the children to turn to Joshua 1:1-5 in their Bibles. Tell them that Joshua is the sixth book of the Bible and it is in the Old Testament. Joshua is between the books of Deuteronomy and Judges. [We restate information about Bible organization in each workshop to be sensitive to visitors and new children in the class who may not have any knowledge of the Bible. We never want a child to feel like they do not belong because they do not know this information before they come to class.]

Either read the passage aloud (for younger children) or ask a volunteer to read the passage (for older children). Tell them to listen for the description of the borders of The Promised Land. As the descriptions are read, point them out on a classroom map or a map shown on the overhead projector.

Application:
Before they begin making their maps, show the children pictures of what the land looks like using photos (such as those in Cultural Atlas for Young People: The Bible by John Rogerson, pages 52-92). Select pictures to show the landscape of the area. Be sure to show them pictures of the deserts, the mountains, the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, and the farmlands, etc. (See the discussion in the sample art lesson plan from Mustard Seed under the section titled “Examining the Land” or see the map notes in the list below from Gloria Dei Lutheran.)

Each child will make a simple map of Israel. Give each child a map and a piece of mat board and instruct them to glue map to a piece of mat board using glue sticks. Using markers, the children will first color in their map using blue for the water, brown for the deserts, green for the forests and farmland, etc. They can refer to an example that the workshop leader has completed before class. After coloring their map they can add texture to their maps by gluing sand to the deserts, peanut shells for the mountains, and moss for the forests and farmlands.

The hairdryer can be used to help the glue dry more quickly so that the maps can safely be taken home today.

As the children work on their maps ask them:
How this land is alike or different from where we live?
I wonder why the Israelites wanted to live there? Would you like to live there?
What would be hard about living here? What would be easy about living here?

Pulling it all together (closing discussion):
Done as part of the map making -- See questions in “Application” section above.

Review the memory verse.
For younger children: Print the words of the verse and its reference on the white board. Instruct the children to sit in a circle. Read the verse aloud together and then play a game of Hot Potato, passing the white board eraser or marker as music is played. When the music stops, the child with the eraser erases a word from the verse. The class says the verse together again, reciting the erased word from memory. Continue playing until all words are erased. [From The Big Book of Bible Skills.]
For older children: Before class print each word of the Bible verse on a separate index card, scrambling the letters of each word. Give each student one or two of the word cards. Instruct the children to unscramble the word and write it on the other side of the card. Tell the children to read the verse in the Bible if they need help. Then work with the rest of the students to put the verse in order. Read the verse together after putting the words in the correct order. . [From The Big Book of Bible Skills.]

Shepherd Time:
In the Bible story the children heard about the Israelites going to a new land that God had led them to. Ask the children if they have had an experience of going to a new home, new school, new church, etc. Tell them you are going to ask them some questions and you want them to think for short time before they answer. Ask the following questions and wait about 30 seconds to a minute before you call on anyone to answer. If any of the children raise their hand quickly, tell them to put their hands down and use the time to think about their answers. You will let them know when you are ready to call on someone.

• What were some good things about the new place you were going?
• What were some things that didn’t seem so good about this new place?
• I wonder if God can help you when you are in a “new” place?

You may want to have on hand an extra activity or worksheet, such as coloring sheets, crossword puzzles, word searches, games. See the Teachers’ Background Notes, and rotation.org for ideas.

Before noon, ask the students to stop dicussing for a moment and sit quietly for prayer so they can leave when their parents arrive. Finish the discussion afterwards.

Closing:
Father God, thank you for the incredible earth you created and all the different kinds of landforms. Thank you for the Bible and how it helps us understand who you are and what you want us to do. Amen.

Tidy and Dismissal:
Ask children to help tidy the room. Give any specific instructions for clearing the workshop room.
Collect the journal pages before they leave, if necessary. Make sure their names and the date are on them.
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:
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 listen while you read.

See additional age-level suggestions in the lesson plan.

Resources

• The Big Book of Bible Skills, Ventura, California: Gospel Light, 1999.
• Mustard Seed Ministries. Joshua sample lesson plan, Art workshop. 2002. (No longer available. See Amy Crane's post below for details.)
• Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

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

Copyright 2004 Jamie Senyard. Permission granted to freely distribute and use, provided the copyright message is included.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.