Creation Story Video Workshop
Summary:
Watch the video God's Trombones then come up with BODY MOVEMENTS (or your own claymation art) to retell the creation story.
Note: The original God’s Trombones video contains 3 different stories. The "Creation" section runs 1:04 - 8:55 (total 7:51 mins). The voiceover is done by James Earl Jones who your students may recognize at the voice of Mufasa from the original Lion King movie.
See this post for details on the style of the poem and claymation.
Scripture Reference:
Genesis 1:1-2:3
Supplies List:
- God's Trombones video by Billy Budd Films, Inc. Will Vinton Studios https://youtu.be/jcHxNZIvfh4?si=A2XPo0QtJv5aNszN
- Computing Device connected to a large screen and the internet (YouTube)
or a Video player if you own/can find the original tape/DVD (it was quite popular back in the day) - Popcorn machine and supplies
- Water and Cups
- Bibles
Lesson Outline
Opening
Greet the children and introduce yourself. Let them know what they'll be doing today and what you hope they will learn.
Study
- Have the students turn to Genesis and read the story with you. Use the Bible that is in the classroom. There should be a Children’s Bible for younger children. If this is not their first rotation you may want to retell the story. Older children can take turns reading the verses aloud.
- Pass out popcorn and talk about how they should behave while eating it--sit, don’t throw, etc. Be sure to give out the water after the lights are back on.
- Explain the children they are going to watch a video that was created to illustrate a poem that a man named James Weldon Johnson wrote. The poem is Johnson’s retelling of the creation story that you just read. (You might want to mention that a very famous actor, James Earl Jones, narrates the video.)
- Suggest they watch the movement of the pictures and think how they could use body movement to illustrate the verses.
- Watch the video.
- Ask for their initial impressions.
- For example: How did this video make them feel?
- What did they like about it? What did they dislike?
- Was there anything in it that they thought was strange? any unfamiliar words? (If so discuss these. “Mammy” might be unfamiliar to some)
- What did they think of the artwork--the colors, the movement, the images?
- If there are areas that need to be viewed again you can stop the tape and discuss as you watch it the second time or can go back to it at any time.
- For older children you may want to mention the many images of God to stimulate discussion.
- Have the students come up with movement to illustrate the verses. If there are enough students you can divide them up and assign two or three to think of movements for certain verses. Then share these with the group. You may want to write something to help remember what movement went with what verse. The children will probably remember.
- Either read or ask the shepherd to read the narrative and practice the movements with everyone doing them. May need to practice the first two then repeat and add 3rd etc.
Closing:
Have the students perform the movements with the reading as though they were
performing it for their parents to see. Hopefully, we will have someone videotape this. If there is time they can watch their performance.
A lesson written by Jan Marshall from: Brenthaven Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Bentwood, TN, USA
