Welcome to the "Shepherd and Angels" Lesson Set!Rotation.org Writing Team
Shepherds and Angels ~ Luke 2
Lesson Summaries
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Welcome to the Shepherds and Angels lesson summary! Our Team has created seven terrific lessons for you about the angel's announcement to the shepherds of the good news of great joy! In addition to insights and activities that elevate the story, each lesson emphasizes life application, has age adjustments (K-6), is scalable to different class sizes, and several have notes on how to use the lesson activities in an intergenerational event.
Traditional Sunday Schools: Pick from any of the seven lessons, teach two or three! Each lesson ("workshop") is so different from the next that kids won't feel like you're repeating the lesson.
Rotation Model Sunday Schools: Pick four to six workshops for your Advent rotation. The Shepherds and Angels set was written to complement our other Writing Team Advent sets.
Scripture
Luke 2:1-20 with a primary focus on verses 8-18, the life-changing encounter between the shepherds and angel(s).
Memory Verse:
“Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."
Luke 2:10-11 (NRSV)
Bible Background and Lesson Objectives ~ Insights and teacher-friendly background notes and questions, designed to shine through this story's "familiarity" and provide your teachers with content they can share right in their lessons.
Art Workshop ~ In this detailed photo-instruction-assisted lesson plan, students are guided to create a unique light-reflecting fabric painting of "The Night Heaven Arrived on Earth." They'll use special fabric, certain types of glues, glitter, and yarn to create an impression of "that moment" when the good news of peace (salvation) was delivered on earth -- a moment and a story that is meant to be shared.
Bible Skills and Games Workshop ~ Students play through three "game stations" to learn the story and to explore concrete actions they can take to become messengers of the good news.
Cooking Workshop ~ Students bake shepherds' crooks and mix four special "scripture dips," then participate in a tasty scripted activity to remember and discuss important ideas and life applications in Luke's story. Simple quick recipes and great discussion prompts make this a yummy lesson for both student memories and hearts. Good Advent event too!
Computer Workshop for single or multiple computer "labs" and using "Fluffy and God's Christmas Adventure" software (being provided as a FREE DOWNLOAD to our Supporting Members). Students enjoy a humorous retelling of the story, take a quiz, explore Bethlehem, and discuss the meaning of the angel's announcement and shepherds' response. For use on one PC or many.
Drama Workshop ~ Students use a creative new technique called "Flat Lay" (aka Sideways Scene) to photograph their "poses" of key actions, reactions, and emotions from the story. The detailed technique in this workshop is something you'll enjoy using for many other drama ideas and skits as well.
"Bethlehem Live" Music Workshop ~ Students participate in a "live" TV show that features students singing two songs about the story, "Angels We Have Heard on High" and "Go Tell It on the Mountain," then being interviewed about the meaning of the lyrics in the song. This workshop features a fun "Live TV" setup, an "echo" version of the familiar "Angels" hymn, and a "sideways scene" presentation option for the life-applying "Go Tell It On the Mountain."
Video Workshop ~ We reviewed over two dozen videos to find THE BEST one for kids that faithfully tells this story and includes life application. And it's free online! After watching and discussing the animated video, students participate in a special "gifts" reflection activity. This lesson also includes a list of many of the videos we reviewed, including a list of short videos that could be used in children's worship or with other lessons.
Writers for this set: Pam Bryson, Carol Hulbert, Luanne Payne, Robin Stewart, and Neil MacQueen (Lead Writer).
Team Resource: Jaymie Derden
Lesson Editing and Proofing: Amy Crane
Learn more about our collaborative peer-reviewed process.
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What's different about Writing Team lessons?
Rotation.org's Writing Team is a group of experienced Christian educators working together to brainstorm and write lessons that go above and beyond in terms of creativity, variety, and level of detail.
- We write for teachers who WANT to be creative, whether they are using a traditional model or Rotation Model Sunday School.
- We are committed to exploring new techniques for today's kids (as this set amply demonstrates).
- We are committed to including adaptations so that our lessons can scale to different grades, class-sizes, and lengths of lesson time.
- Writing Team lessons are peer-brainstormed and peer-reviewed! The Writing Team process and content is overseen by our Board of Directors and led by Neil MacQueen.
