(WT) Story of Creation ~ Computer Software Presentation Lesson

Rotation.org Writing Team

The Story of Creation

An Interactive Lesson
using the free Awesome Bible Stories software

Summary of Activities

Students will see, hear, and respond to an interactive, animated retelling of the Genesis story, presented onscreen by the Awesome Bible Stories software.** After a quiz, they will re-compose the Creation scripture using a fun "talk back" feature in the software to help students express their understanding and appreciation of God's magnificent gift. And finally, they will use the "power-poem" module to express their praise by creating a poem prayer.

** The Awesome Bible Stories software is free to our Supporting Members for use in their Sunday Schools. You are also invited to share this software with members of your congregation for their personal use at home. Note: The software may not otherwise be uploaded or redistributed. Rotation.org is the official home to this and 18 other programs from Sunday Software's catalog.

Scripture for the Lesson

Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 (NIV)
Note: the software narrates this scripture using the NRSV.

Key Verse: Genesis 1:27 (NRSV)
"So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them."

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 scripture.
Download the Awesome Bible Stories software, install it, then preview the Creation Story presentation.
Print the teaching guide for the software (for the teacher) and be sure to read its opening Tech Notes.
Print the Creation Classroom Handout. Use it either as a handout for students or just as an outline for the teacher.
Print a copy of the screenshots of the Creation Story Pop-Ups, which shows the interactive study notes and other pop-up content found in the software. Highlight the pop-up notes you wish to address or ask questions about.
Decide how you will show and share the software with your students—either with multiple computer stations or presented through one PC connected to a large screen or projector. See the program's tech notes to make the program appear larger on your screen.

Lesson Plan

A quick note: You may choose to use the Creation Classroom Handout PDF as your lesson outline and student worksheet. It includes information for students to complete as they use the software (all of which can become points of discussion). The following lesson plan follows the handout but expands on some key points and has specific Writing Team-inspired ideas for using the Creation Power Poem activity found in the software.

Opening

Welcome your students and explain what they'll be doing and learning today.

Ask them to tell you as much of the Story of Creation that they can recall. Quickly suggest what they may have missed and let them know they'll learn the whole story in the software.

Dive into the Software

(1) Begin with the "INTRO" to the story, then play through each day's story. At the end of each day, you'll find pop-up study notes that explain important words and meanings. Go over the notes you have chosen to address/ask questions about. Some pop-up insights may simply be shared by the teacher rather than viewed in the program.

(2) After learning the story, take The Quiz about the story. If they get a low score, take the quiz again. Read questions and answers as needed and give hints where necessary.

(3) Open the Creation Power Poem activity to have students compose a Creation subject poem for the on-screen character, Gabby, to speak aloud to the rest of the class. See more on creating poems.

(4) Optional: Play the "Play the Days" game.

Closing Power Poem Prayer

Invite students to compose a "closing prayer" using the words of Creation in Gabby's Power Poem activity. Play it, and add your own prayers as needed. (Students may need a second try to express a prayerful rather than purely playful attitude.)

More About the "Creation Power Poem" Activity

Opening the Creation Power Poem activity reveals a palette of words students can select from to make Gabby speak their "Creation poem."

a star See the suggested Creation poem subjects and themes below for students to create their poem about. (For this lesson, ignore the suggested subjects in the software itself.)

If you have one computer, walk your students through the basics of how to select and playback words from Gabby's power words palette. Then pick one of the seven subjects/themes suggested below in this lesson plan for your group's poem. Have students take turns selecting words to construct the group's poem word by word or line by line in the activity screen. Play your presentations and follow up accolades with your insights.

If you have more than one computer running the software, decide whether or not you want all workstations to work on the same power poem theme at every station, or assign different themes to different stations. Once every station has created its poem, gather the class and go station to station to hear each station's poem. Offer comments and ask questions about student content. If time, do another round of composing a Creation poem.

Possible Creation Power Poem Subjects or Themes:
Write a very short version of the Creation Story that only uses 7 words. (This will force them to think of the "essential meaning" or take-away from the story.) Then try composing the "essentials" with only 3 words.
Write a poem emphasizing God’s excitement and joy at Creation.
Write a poem describing the image of God—God's character, heart, traits.
Write a poem in which God expresses his feelings for Creation and its creatures.
Write a poem emphasizing God’s feelings toward you and hopes for you.
Write a poem emphasizing your feelings toward God and Creation.

Adaptations

For Younger Students:

Use the Creation Classroom Handout PDF as a teacher's guide, i.e., don't distribute it to students.
Choose the pop-up notes more carefully and read them aloud.
Skip the Creation Quiz.
The "Power Poem" words are sounded out as you roll over them (they are only added to the poem when you click on them).
Let each student try their hand at playing the Day Ordering Game to help them remember the story.

For Older Students:

Spend more time on the Day Two and Day Four pop-up notes. They help explain how the story is true even though we understand how the universe and our world are constructed from a scientific point of view. These are very important concepts for them to understand!

For Those With More Class Time:

Return to the opening "intro" and discuss what Gabby says when he describes how God is the "Creator, Shaper, and Changer of Worlds, and human beings." How does God "shape and change" us?

Return to Day Six and further discuss what it means to be made in the "image" of God (character, likeness). Include comments from the Bible Background about the possible meaning of "dominion, rule, subdue" (plow, plant, farm).

For a Shorter/Simpler lesson plan:

Eliminate the Creation quiz activity and the Play the Days ordering game.

For At-Home Use:

To share these software programs with your church family, you will need to share your downloaded zip file either by uploading the zip file to your own private online storage or by sharing the zip file on a USB memory drive. Due to access permissions, links may not be publicly posted.

About the Pop-Up Study Notes

Clickable study notes appear at the end of each day's narration and animation. A complete list of all of them with screenshots can be printed from the attached document. The teacher can read these notes in advance and in class, share their insights as time, opportunity, and age group permits.