Rotation.org Writing Team
Parable of the Prodigal Son
"Slap Clap" Music and Movement Workshop
Summary of Activities
Students will use rhythm and music to retell and reflect on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. First, they'll learn a simple rhythmic beat that they will use to tell the story. Then they'll use percussion instruments to provide a beat to the fun music video “But Hey (He's Alive),” which will help them explore the complaint of the older son and consider their own place in the story.
Scripture for the Lesson
Luke 15:11-32 (NIV)
Memory Verse:
"But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." Luke 15:32 (NIV)
Lesson Objectives
See the Bible Background at Rotation.org for insights on this story and this set's complete list of objectives.
Preparation and Materials
- Read the Bible Background and Luke 15:11-32 (you might want to include verses 1-10 in your study).
- Mark spots for the kids to sit on the floor in a circle using tape, carpet squares, or poly spot markers.
- Write the Slap-Clap Opening questions on the whiteboard or a flipchart.
- Print or save the STUDENT version of the Prodigal Son Rhythmic Reading PDF (attached). The PDF can be shown on a large screen or copies can be provided.**
- Print optional TEACHER version of the Prodigal Son Rhythmic Reading PDF (attached) which includes the four discussion questions seen in the lesson plan below.
- Preview the music video “But Hey! (He's Alive)” on YouTube and prepare to show it on a large screen, or purchase the MP3 music file for $2 from the Bible songs website. (See this article about downloading the video for offline viewing.)
- Practice the "slap-clap" rhythm while reading the Rhythmic Reading until you are comfortable with it.
Collect a variety of percussion and rhythm instruments and "rhythm objects" (trashcan lids, plastic storage containers, buckets turned upside down, coffee cans, boom-whackers, wooden spoons, wooden dowels) -- the more fun and celebratory the better!
**Instead of printing copies, save and show the Reading PDF using a computer attached to either a large monitor, TV, or LCD projector. This same set up can be used to view the "But Hey" video and will make everyone's participation easier and more memorable.
Lesson Plan
Slap-Clap Opening
Welcome children as they arrive and have them join you in a circle cross-legged on the floor. Teach them the 4-beat hand clap pattern until they have picked up its rhythm. They will soon use it in the Rhythmic Reading exercise to learn the parable.
slap thighs
clap hands
slap thighs
clap hands
repeat
Tip: Keep the rhythm s-l-o-w your first time or two, especially for younger children. The faster you go, the harder it will be to speak words to the rhythm in the story slap-clap Rhythmic Reading.
Say: Now let’s play a game with this Slap-Clap rhythm. As we all slowly keep slapping and clapping the rhythm, I will ask a question and one of you will answer with a one-word answer in rhythm on the second clap. For example, if I ask, “Name | your | fave | fruit” using our four-beat rhythm, you would answer: "Slap | Clap | Slap | bananas!" and clap while saying "bananas" on the fourth beat. 
Write the following questions in big letters on the board for all to see and prepare for. Ask the questions using the four beat slap-clap pattern. The slower the rhythmic clapping, the more time the students have to think of a one-word answer to reply with on the fourth beat. If needed, keep slap-clapping between questions as you say something in rhythm like "Now | it's | Jason's | turn" or "That's | a | good | answer!"
Tip: You may want to write the name of the student who will be answering each question on the board so they have time to think of an answer. If you have more students or want to extend this exercise, ask some of the questions more than once.
- What | do | people | lose
- What | have | you | lost
- Place | people | get | lost
- Where | you've | been | lost
- What | "lost" | feels | like
- What | "found" | feels | like
Introduction to Using the Slap-Clap Rhythm for the Story
Say and Ask: Today we will hear a story that Jesus told about two brothers and a father. It is called the "Parable of the Prodigal Son." What's a parable? (A parable is a short story that uses twists and surprises to teach something important.)
Ask: Do any of you know what a "prodigal" is? (A "prodigal" is someone who lives a disobedient and wasteful life.)
Say: In Jesus' parable from the Gospel of Luke that we are about to hear, the younger "prodigal" son wastes all of the gifts his father had given him on wild living. And the surprise is that when he came back home, his father forgave him and threw a party for him. However, this made the older brother angry.
We are going to keep using the rhythm you have learned to tell the story, and in-between its verses, you are going to slap-clap this refrain. Let's practice it:
Who (slap) is lost (clap)
must (slap) be found! (clap)
Reading the Parable in Rhythm
Students will use the slap-clap rhythm that you just taught them to recite the parable using the Rhythmic Reading. Depending on the age and ability of your students, you can invite them to read the story in rhythm with you the first or second time that you go through it, or simply invite them to keep rhythm while you tell the story in time with their slap-clapping.
IMPORTANT NOTES TO TEACHER:
It's a good idea to have two leaders for this activity, one leading the slap-clap, and the other concentrating on saying the story out loud to the rhythm. You can also have some students read while the others provide the beat, or have everyone try to read and clap at the same time if you think they are able.
We recommend going through this story twice. The first time, go slowly through the entire story without pausing for discussion and keep the beat with the four-beat "slap-clap" rhythm. The second time through you will pause at the appropriate points to ask each of the "FOUR QUESTIONS" listed below. Then restart the slap-clap rhythm until everyone gets back in sync and resume telling the story.
Kids may tend to speed up the rhythm, so make sure the leader's beat is loudest. Feel free to pause the activity in between sections to reset the rhythm.
If you get off rhythm, keep slapping and clapping until everyone gets back in sync, and then pick up the story again. If they (or you) really mess it up, don't be afraid to say, "let's read and clap this section again." It's all part of the fun and challenge and will enhance their learning and memory.
*If they are reading the story with you as they slap-clap, you will need to provide them with copies of the story script -- or project it large on the wall or screen using an LCD projector or TV attached to your laptop, or project the PDF using an overhead projector. (A Word document is attached to this lesson in case you want to reformat the document into larger or smaller print or copy the text into PowerPoint.) For non-readers, you can also "line out" the words -- having them repeat what you just said as they keep the beat.
Four Questions to Ask about "Who Is Lost?"
Ask these questions after you and your students have gone through the whole rhythmic reading, or go through the reading a second time and pause as indicated after some of the stanzas for these discussion questions.
- Introduction (Luke 15: 1-2)
- Who is lost? The people Jesus told the parable to: religious leaders and the tax collectors and sinners (whom the religious people shunned because they considered them to be "lost").
- Ask: What does it feel like to be hated or excluded, put down or shut out? Why does Jesus care about the tax collectors and sinners? Does he care about the religious leaders, too?
- The younger son leaves with his inheritance (Luke 15: 11-12)
- Who is lost? The father loses his son—the father may feel lost, ignored, or rejected.
- Ask: What do you think God feels like when God sees us sinning and abandoning his ways?
- The younger son wastes his money, is hungry, and comes to his senses (Luke 15: 13-19)
- Who is lost? The younger son loses everything—he feels lost and hungry and alone.
- Ask: Other than his money, what has the younger son lost? (Perhaps his sense of hope and self-esteem. He's ashamed and probably thinks he's lost the love of his father, too.)
- Ask: What kind of things in a person's life can make them feel alone, lost, or abandoned? (Mean people, family break-up, death, failing at school, being bullied, feeling like God doesn't exist or doesn't care about them.)
- The older son responds to his brother's return (Luke 15: 25-32)
- Who is lost? The older son feels ignored and lost.
- Ask: Talk about a role reversal: How has the older brother just become the prodigal son? (He seems to have rejected [wasted] his father's forgiveness as well as the opportunity for reconciliation with his younger brother.)
Party Percussion Time! ~ What About You?
In this closing musical reflection, students use the percussion instruments you provide to play along improvisationally with the video.
Play “But Hey! (He's Alive)” using this YouTube video, or by downloading the MP3 music file from the artist's website for playback on a computer or the device you downloaded it to (like a cellphone). Lyrics are in the post below.
Following this "song-splosion" 
you will ask a few "What About You?" questions.
"What about you?" questions for reflection on the "But Hey" video:
- Jesus never told us what the older son did next. What do you think happened after his father came out and explained why he was throwing a party for his lost son?
- What would YOU have done when you heard that your brother's back? What would you have said to him? How would you have treated him?
- How good are you about forgiving people who have done bad things?
- How can Jesus help you be more forgiving like he is?
Close with a Percussion Prayer:
Invite students to suggest things they are thankful for today, including things they learned from Jesus' story. Then invite everyone to pick up their percussion instrument, bow their heads in prayer, and after each "thank you, God" phrase and "Amen!" have them joyfully play their percussion instruments for several seconds.
For a beautiful day, thank you God! (kids repeat that, then use percussion instruments)
For forgiving our sins, thank you God! (repeat, percussion)
For challenging us to be forgiving to those who sin against us, thank you God! (repeat, percussion)
For....
Amen! (repeat, percussion and more percussion!)
Adaptations
For younger students:
The notes in the lesson plan have several suggestions for non-readers. They can slap-clap along as you read, or you can have them repeat each line.
You can leave out the "Four Questions" and simply finish with your own simple questions or use these wondering questions as discussion starters:
- I wonder who was lost in this story?
- I wonder when the son realized he was lost?
- I wonder why the older brother was upset?
- I wonder which of the two brothers God wants you to act like?
For older students and those with more class time:
Ask: Who are you in the story? The prodigal who needs to confess his sins? Or the self-righteous older brother who thinks sinners should be punished instead of forgiven? Or the father who longs to forgive someone who hurt him?
Spend time at the end of the lesson discussing the video's message and how "not" to be like the older brother in our families and schools. Imagine what the older brother should have done. Imagine what kind of apology the younger brother could offer the older.
For fun and reinforcement, do the Rhythmic Reading a third time -- trying to go as fast you can while still keeping the beat and getting (most of) the words right. The kids will love this. 
For a shorter/simpler lesson plan:
Quickly introduce the slap-clap rhythm and go right into the Rhythmic Reading. Watch and discuss the video as a reflection without the percussion instruments.
Written by Tasha Blackburn, Dena Kitchens, and the Rotation.org Writing Team
Copyright Rotation.org, Inc.
