ultimate church visit

Transcription

1 zone outlines and scripts about the welcome session Overview The visit begins with a welcome session, to introduce the team, share the aims of the visit with the pupils, and find out what they know about The Salvation Army. The leader explains how the visit will work and prepares the pupils for the think tank session at the end of the visit. Points to note It is helpful if the same person leads the welcome and think tank sessions. Keep the welcome session fairly fast-paced, with the focus on the pupils sharing what they know (or their ideas) about The Salvation Army and your church. Think carefully about the language you use in this initial session, and throughout the visit. Pupils may not be familiar with church language, let alone Salvation Army language, so try not to overwhelm them with words they haven t heard before or may not understand (eg officer, corps, YPSM and other abbreviations). You may like to use the glossary to remind zone leaders of words to either avoid or explain. Setting up and practicalities If pupils haven t been put into groups before the visit (or even if they have) you could give out name and/or colour labels showing which group they are in, as they arrive. You ll need a safe place for pupils to put their bags and coats. Let them know that they need a pencil (or that pencils are provided) before they sit down in the designated area. Designate a space, preferably in the main hall, where all the children can sit together. This can be on the floor or on chairs, in rows or in a large circle. Invite pupils to sit down and look around the hall whilst they re waiting for everyone to sit down. Resources provided Ultimate Church Visit roller banner The Salvation Army is A3 card Pupil books (order from Schools & Colleges Unit) You may also need Pencil for each pupil (optional but it s good idea to have spare pencils available) Name and/or colour labels to denote groups Name badges for leaders/helpers Clipboards for zone leaders* * also available to loan or purchase from Schools & Colleges Unit (see Resources )

2 welcome session - key stage 1 Welcome and introductions (3 minutes) Welcome to The Salvation Army and to Ultimate Church Visit. Briefly introduce yourself and your team and give any necessary information about the building, safety etc. First impressions (7 minutes) If the visit is taking place in your Salvation Army hall, ask the children about their first impressions using some or all of the questions below. Include as many children as possible and encourage them to put their hands up to answer. How many of you have been to a church or place of worship before? What were the other churches/places of worship like? Does The Salvation Army look the same or different to those places? How? How many of you had heard of The Salvation Army before your visit today? Do you know anything about The Salvation Army already? What would you like to find out about The Salvation Army today? The Salvation Army is a Christian church and charity, which is an organisation which helps people. Aims (choose/adapt/add as necessary) Today you re going to be finding out what worship is like in The Salvation Army about how The Salvation Army helps others how The Salvation Army started How the visit will work (2 minutes) This is how the visit will work. In your groups you re going to visit zones which are set up around the church/hall. Every zone has its own leader. In each zone you will learn something different about The Salvation Army. Point out the different zones, especially if any are in different rooms, and explain which direction the pupils will travel. At the end of the morning/afternoon/day, we ll come back here for a think tank session and you will be asked to say at least one new thing you have learnt, what you enjoyed and anything the visit made you think about. Getting ready (3 minutes) Pupils can now get into their groups, and pupil books can be given out by zone leaders/helpers before they set off to their first zone. Make sure pupils write their name on their pupil book! Page 2 of 70

3 welcome session - key stage 2 Welcome and introductions (3 minutes) Welcome to The Salvation Army and to Ultimate Church Visit. Briefly introduce yourself and your team and give any necessary information about the building, safety etc. First impressions (2 minutes) If the visit is taking place in a SA hall, ask the children about their first impressions using the questions below. What is your first impression of this church? How is it the same or different to or the same as other places of worship that you have visited before? The Salvation Army is (5 minutes) How many of you had heard of The Salvation Army before your visit today? I d like to find out what you already know (or think you may know) about The Salvation Army. Hold up the The Salvation Army is card. I d like you to see if you could complete this sentence The Salvation Army is.... I ll give you one minute to discuss it in pairs before sharing your ideas with the class. Emphasise that there can be no wrong answers at this stage, as you are asking about their own ideas. During the feedback really encourage pupils by acknowledging their answers with positive phrases such as good suggestion, interesting answer or simply repeating what they have said. This should help pupils to feel more confident about contributing to discussions throughout the visit. Thank you for sharing all of your ideas. So what do we know about The Salvation Army? At this point clarify any strong misconceptions (eg we are a military army) and pick up on the correct answers they gave. The Salvation Army is actually a Christian church and a charity. Aims (choose/adapt/add as necessary) Today you re going to be exploring what worship is like in The Salvation Army about how members of The Salvation Army put their faith in action how The Salvation Army started Page 3 of 70

4 How the visit will work (2 minutes) This is how the visit will work. In your groups you re going to visit zones which are set up around the church/hall. Every zone has a leader. In each zone you will learn something different about The Salvation Army. Point out the different zones, especially if any are in different rooms, and explain which direction the pupils should travel. At the end of the morning/afternoon/day, we ll come back here for a think tank session and you will be asked to say at least one new thing you have learnt and what the visit has made you think about. Getting ready (3 minutes) Pupils can now get into their groups, and pupil books can be given out by zone leaders/helpers before they set off to their first zone. Make sure pupils write their name on their pupil book! Page 4 of 70

5 the zones Ultimate Church Visit is made up of nine zones, each one exploring a different aspect of the worship, life and work of The Salvation Army. 1. Bible zone 2. Worship zone 3. Community zone 4. International zone 5. Symbol zone 6. Music zone 7. History zone 8. Uniform zone 9. Homelessness zone In a typical half-day school visit three or four zones will usually be set up. These can be chosen by the teacher to fit in with the topics the class are studying, or by the corps. Each zone should last approximately minutes but can easily be adapted by using extra/fewer activities, depending on the time available for the visit. Some zones can also be extended and used as a whole-class session or workshop (see Adapting Ultimate Church Visit ). You may like to present some zones in this way at the school, as a follow-up to their Ultimate Church Visit. There are different activities in each zone, such as quizzes and games, DVD clips, drama and stories, discussion, exploring objects and art and craft. Each pupil has a pupil book to record things they learn. It also includes activities they can do back in the classroom or at home. All the different activities are designed to appeal to different learning styles and should keep the pupils engaged and motivated throughout the visit! Choosing your zones If possible, the Bible zone should always be part of an Ultimate Church Visit, as this helps pupils to understand that The Salvation Army s beliefs, mission and work are based on the Bible and on Jesus teaching. It also provides a good opportunity for quiet reflection, and contributes to pupils spiritual development. If pupils are studying a particular topic in their Religious Education lessons, you or the teacher may want to choose zones on a theme, for example, worship (Bible, Worship, Music and Symbol zones) or belief in action (Bible, Community, Homelessness and History zones). If you simply want to present a basic introduction to The Salvation Army, the Bible zone, Worship zone, and Community zone work well together. If pupils are studying the Victorians at some point in the school year you may like to include the History zone, or offer to take this zone into the school. You may decide to incorporate elements of some zones into other zones, in order to customise your visit. For example, some of the music activities could be added to the Worship zone, or activities from the Homelessness zone could be added to the Community zone (see Adapting Ultimate Church Visit ). Page 5 of 70

6 about the bible zone Overview The zone begins with a discussion about stories and special and holy books, and the importance of the Bible for Christians and therefore for members of The Salvation Army. Then pupils hear a parable, or story about Jesus, using a method of storytelling based on Godly Play (visit to find out more about this method). Pupils are encouraged to wonder about the story and its meaning, and then to respond by expressing their own feelings about the story through drawing or writing. The session ends by thinking about how members of The Salvation Army put Jesus teaching into practice, and the leader may share how they try to follow the Bible s teaching in their own life. Points to note See About Godly Play for an introduction to Godly Play and for tips about telling the story and the response time. The Good Samaritan story should be provided in a gold box this is essential to the telling of the story. The Zacchaeus story can be placed in a basket or on a small wooden tray, or alternatively you can use the gold box from The Good Samaritan story (which is helpful to reduce the distraction of what is coming next in the story). It s a good idea to arrange your pencils, pastels, crayons etc in separate bags or plastic boxes enough for pupils to take one each. This will help to maintain the calm, ordered atmosphere and may save time too. The Bible zone gives a lovely opportunity for the leader to talk about what the Bible means to them personally. This is a way of pupils experiencing faith first-hand, which is one of the benefits of visiting a faith community, and absolutely acceptable in this setting. Setting up the zone When setting up this zone try to create a kind of sacred space. If you have a prayer room, or you re able to set up something similar in another room, this would be ideal. The activities are designed to be fairly quiet, calm and reflective, so an environment which encourages this will be really helpful. Resources provided Bible zone A3 sign Display stand for A3 sign (blue) Godly play materials (choose): The Good Samaritan Zacchaeus Godly play scripts (download from CD-ROM) Mission Statement A3 card You may also need Mats/carpet squares for pupils to sit on* Basket or wooden tray for Zacchaeus story (alternatively use the gold box from The Good Samaritan story) Selection of good quality crayons/coloured pencils, pastels etc for response time A Bible/leader s own Bible * also available to loan from the Schools & Colleges Unit (see Resources section) Page 6 of 70

7 Adapting the zone Make the zone shorter: If time is limited pupils could complete their written/drawn response after the visit. Try not to rush the storytelling and wondering questions. Make the zone longer: Godly Play works best when it is calm and unhurried, so you could take a little more time over the wondering questions and give pupils more time for the drawing/writing response time after the story. You could also invite any pupils who want to, to share what they have drawn/written, although stress that they shouldn t feel they have to share. Use this zone as a whole class session: Godly Play can work with a class of 30 pupils sitting on the floor in a large circle if you have enough space you just need to make sure they can all see the story. You could add some extra materials for the response time such as clay and a few different materials for collage. Page 7 of 70

8 bible zone - key stage 1 Welcome pupils to the zone and remind them of your name. Aims In this zone we re going to: discover why the Bible is important to Christians hear one of the stories in the Bible Discussion stories (2-3 minutes) Once upon a time (pause). What were you expecting? (A story.) What kind of stories do you like best and why? Prompt with a few examples if necessary, eg scary, happy, sad, mystery, fairytales. Jesus and the Bible (2 minutes) The Bible is a special book for Christians. There are lots of different stories in the Bible and Christians read them to help them know how to live and what to believe about God. Lots of the stories are about things that happened in history and about people who believed in God and followed him. If you are using the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus, say - in the second part of the Bible there are stories about Jesus. Christians read them to find out what he was like, because they want to try to be like him. I m going to tell you a story about Jesus now. Alternatively, if you are using a parable, say - the Bible also has made-up stories which people told to teach important lessons. Jesus told these special kinds of stories - they are called parables. I m going to tell you one of Jesus parables now. Godly Play story (10 minutes) Invite children to sit on the mats in a circle and encourage them to become calm and focus on the story. They should put their pupil books and pencils etc behind them so that no one is distracted. Tell the story using the Godly Play materials. The story is followed by wondering questions. (See Godly Play scripts.) Response time (6-9 minutes) Keep the calm atmosphere as you invite the children to respond to the story. In your pupil book (page 2) I would like you to write or draw something which shows what the story was about, or perhaps how the story made you feel, or what it made you think about. It s your very own response, nobody else s. If possible, allow children to find Page 8 of 70

9 their own quiet space in the room to do this. Point out where to take the colouring pencils etc from and where to return them. (See About Godly Play for further suggestions and guidance on the response time.) Put the Godly Play materials back in the box and bring pupils back into the circle. Summing up (3 minutes) In this zone you have heard and thought about a story from the Bible and you have responded to the story in your own way. Why do you think the Bible is so important to Christians? Show the children your own Bible and explain simply why it is important to you and how you try to follow its teachings. Page 9 of 70

10 bible zone - key stage 2 Welcome pupils to the zone and remind them of your name. Aims In this zone we re going to: discover why the Bible is important to Christians explore one of the stories in the Bible find out how Christians in The Salvation Army try to follow the Bible s teaching Discussion special books (2-3 minutes) Do you have a favourite book? What makes a book really special? (Show the pupils a Bible.) This is the Bible a very important book for Christians. The first part of the Bible tells the story of God s people before Jesus was born, and the second part is about the life of Jesus and his followers, and about how the church began. Christians believe that the people who wrote the different parts of the Bible were inspired by God, and this is what makes the book sacred and holy, because God can still communicate with people today when they read the Bible. If you are using one of the parables say - one of the main ways Jesus taught people was by telling stories, called parables. Parables were stories with a meaning or a lesson, which helped people understand and really think about what Jesus was saying. I m going to tell you one of Jesus parables now. Alternatively, if you are using the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus, say I m going to tell you a story about Jesus which helps Christians to understand what Jesus was like and how they could try to be like him. Godly play story (10 minutes) Invite the children to sit on the mats and encourage them to be calm and focus on the story. They should put their pupil books and pencils etc behind them, so that no one is distracted. Tell the story using the Godly Play materials. The story is followed by wondering questions. (See Godly Play scripts.) Response time (6-9 minutes) Keep the calm atmosphere as you invite the children to respond to the story. In your pupil book (page 2) I would like you to write or draw something which shows what the story was about, or perhaps how the story made you feel, or what it made you think about. It s your very own response, nobody else s. If possible, allow children to find Page 10 of 70

11 their own quiet space in the room to do this. Point out where to find the colouring pencils etc and where to return them afterwards. (See About Godly Play for further suggestions and guidance on the response time.) Put the Godly Play materials back in the box and bring pupils back into the circle. Summing up (4 minutes) In this zone you have heard a story from the Bible and had time to think about the story for yourself. The Bible is very important to members of The Salvation Army it s part of our mission statement. Show pupils the Mission Statement card and read it aloud to them. How do you think members of The Salvation Army try to follow the teaching of Jesus in the story we heard today? Do you think it is easy or difficult to follow? Share how easy/difficult you find it to follow the Bible s teachings, and how the Bible is helpful to you in your life. Page 11 of 70

12 about the worship zone Overview In this zone pupils begin by thinking about the concept of worship and the special places and objects which help people to worship. Pupils watch a short DVD showing the features of a Salvation Army church (or simply look around the main worship hall) and then go on to explore the meaning and significance of the objects found in a Salvation Army church, using a set of picture/word cards. Older pupils can then arrange the objects in order of how important they think they are to members of The Salvation Army, which should promote some good discussion. Finally pupils watch another DVD clip showing examples of different types of worship in The Salvation Army. Points to note If you are considering teaching pupils a worship action song (extra activity), do check with the teacher first as some schools may not feel this is appropriate. There are two levels for the worship DVD clips. Level 1 is designed for Key Stage 1 and may be slower or include words on the screen. Level 2 is designed for Key Stage 2 or for children who may be more familiar with a Salvation Army church. There are no words on the screen so the activities will be slightly more challenging. As all Salvation Army halls are different (some having very few Salvation Army objects) there is always the opportunity in this zone to talk about what really makes a church is it the building? Setting up the zone If your visit is taking place in an SA hall it would be helpful if this zone was set up in the main worship hall, perhaps near to the mercy seat if you have one. Pupils will be looking at the different objects found in a Salvation Army hall and perhaps comparing these to objects found in other Christian churches. Bear in mind that this zone uses DVD clips which could distract pupils in other zones if they are located too close together. Resources provided Worship zone A3 sign Display stand for A3 sign (black) Worship definition A3 card 2 sets of worship objects matching cards (extra sets available) 2 sets of worship objects explanation cards - Key Stage 2 (extra sets available) 2 sets of worship objects Call my bluff cards - Key Stage 1 (extra sets available) ABC cards - for Call my bluff activity (download from Resource CD-ROM) DVD Clip 1: A Salvation Army church. DVD Clip 2: Worship (in The Salvation Army) You may also need TV/DVD player Football supporter s kit (eg shirt, scarf, match ticket and programme, football, novelty items) Worship action song Duggie Dug Dug CD/DVD or similar Other examples of Salvation Army worship (eg Congress DVDs from SP&S or Link DVDs from the Video Production Unit) Page 12 of 70

13 Adapting the zone: Make the zone shorter: Do the ordering activity as a whole group, and omit one of the DVD clips if necessary. Make the zone longer: Use the extra activities suggested. For Key Stage 2 you could discuss some of the objects in more detail, perhaps with a mini tour around the worship hall, and make comparisons between objects found in The Salvation Army and those in other churches. Whole class session: Most of the activities would work with a whole class, providing you can show the DVD clips. Request extra sets of the activity cards and divide the class into groups of four or five pupils for the small group activities. A PowerPoint show of the worship objects is included on the CD-ROM. Page 13 of 70

14 worship zone - key stage 1 Welcome pupils to the zone and remind them of your name. Aims In this zone we re going to: discover how members of The Salvation Army worship God find out about objects in a Salvation Army church and what they are used for What is worship? (2 minutes) What does the word worship mean? Show the worship definition card and read it aloud. When you worship someone you show how much love you have for them, and Christians worship God because they love him and because they believe that God is amazing and perfect! What places are special to you? (3 minutes) Can you think of any places which are special to you? Why are they special? For Christians, a church building can be a special place. It is where they meet together to worship God. Let s find out about what a Salvation Army church is like. DVD clip: A Salvation Army church (2-5 minutes) In the DVD clip you will see lots of objects which you might find inside a Salvation Army church, which help people to worship God. Your challenge is to see how many you can remember at the end of the clip. Show the clip (3 min 08 level 1, 1 min level 2), then ask the pupils to tell you what things they remember. (If you are in a Salvation Army worship hall you could ask the pupils to look around and tell you which things in the DVD are also in this worship hall. Alternatively, omit the DVD clip and simply ask the pupils what they can see around them in the church that is interesting or unusual.) Call my bluff (5-7 minutes) To find out what some of the different objects are for we are going to play a game called Call my bluff. I m going to show you a picture card and read out three different explanations. Only one of them is right the other two are wrong! You must decide which one you think is correct by holding up the a, b, or c card. Demonstrate how to use the cards and give a set to each pupil. As you go through each card, tell them the correct meaning and place the card on the floor. To save time, you could choose a selection of the cards, rather than using them all. Page 14 of 70

15 Most and least important (5 minutes) Now you can see all of the objects and you know what they are used for, I want you to decide which objects you think are most important to a member of The Salvation Army, and which are least important. Pupils could discuss this in pairs before sharing their answers. Ask pupils why they have chosen the ones they have. Members of The Salvation Army would probably have lots of different answers, but many would choose the cross and the Bible. Why do you think these might be the most important? (Some pupils may have already answered this question in their own feedback.) The cross reminds Christians of their most important belief that Jesus died to save people and that God brought him back to life. The Bible tells Christians what to believe, and has stories about Jesus and his teachings. In lots of Salvation Army churches the reading desk, where the Bible is read, and the cross are right in the middle at the front, showing how important they are. DVD clip: Worship (4 minutes) In this DVD clip you will see some of the different ways people worship in The Salvation Army. Show the next DVD clip (1 min 53) of different styles of worship. Ask some or all of the following questions about the clips: What different things were people doing in the clips? Have you ever been to a church or another place of worship? What did you see and do there? extra activities Using music/movement to worship (5 minutes) You could end this zone by showing or teaching the pupils an action song (eg Great big God) or showing a DVD of a worship dance/mime/song etc. Talk about the way we can show our beliefs and feelings through music and movement, and about how Christians believe God made our voices and our bodies so we can worship him in different ways. (A similar activity is also suggested in the Music zone.) Pupil book - drawing (5+ minutes) If you are in an SA hall, allow pupils time to draw one of the objects they have found out about, eg the mercy seat or the crest, using the notes and sketches page at the back of the pupil booklet. This would work well after finding out about the objects or right at the end of the zone. Page 15 of 70

16 worship zone - key stage 2 Welcome pupils to the zone and remind them of your name. Aims In this zone we re going to: discover how members of The Salvation Army worship God find out about objects in a Salvation Army church and what they are used for What is worship? (2 minutes) First we re going to think about the word worship. What do you think the word means? Show the definition card and read it aloud to help to explain further, acknowledging that the pupils ideas could also be right. People can worship God in lots of different ways, but in this zone we are going to explore how members of The Salvation Army worship God when they are in church. Who do these things belong to? (optional illustration 2 minutes) Just before that I want you to tell me what kind of person would own these things. Show pupils a football supporter s kit, taking one item at a time from a bag (start with les obvious items) and wait for pupils to guess. Now, could a football fan support their team without these things? Prompt if necessary yes they could, but these things help the fan to show that they are devoted to their team. In the same way, Christians have objects which help them to worship God and show others how devoted they are to him. They can worship God without them, because worship comes from your heart and your head, but sometimes it s helpful to have different objects. DVD clip: A Salvation Army church (2-3 minutes) In the DVD clip you will see lots of objects which you might find in a Salvation Army church, which help people to worship God. Your challenge is to see how many you can remember. Show the clip (1 min level 2), then ask the pupils to say how many they remembered. You could challenge the person who thinks they remembered the most to say what they saw. (If you are in a Salvation Army worship hall you could ask the pupils to tell you which things in the DVD are also in this worship hall. Alternatively, omit the DVD clip and simply ask the pupils what they can see around them in the church that is interesting or unusual.) Meanings of the objects/call my bluff/matching activity (5 minutes) Display the cards showing the objects. For each card, ask the pupils what they think the object might be used for in worship (some will be more obvious than others!) and then turn the card over to read the explanation. Page 16 of 70

17 Alternatively use the Call my bluff activity (see Key Stage 1) or the matching activity. These could be done as a whole group or in smaller groups. Ordering activity (7 minutes) Using the same cards (any of the sets will work) and working in two groups or pairs/threes, I want you to put the cards in order of how important you think the things are to members of The Salvation Army. You could arrange them in a diamond or triangle shape if you think some of them have a similar level of importance. Illustrate how they might do this. You must try to agree on the order, so you ll need to have lots of discussion with your partner/group. As pupils are discussing the order ask questions such as, do you think Christians could worship God without a flag? How about a Bible? If there was no reading desk, could the Bible still be read? If a Christian could only have one thing to help them to worship, what do you think it would be? To help pupils, remind them how each object is used and, if relevant, point out where it is placed in the hall. Once all the groups have completed the task, ask them to say which ones they think are the most important and least important and why they chose the ones they did. Different members of The Salvation Army may put them in a different order and have different opinions, but for many, the cross and the Bible would be at the top. You might be able to tell just by looking around a Salvation Army worship hall which are the most important objects: often the reading desk and cross are right in the middle at the front, showing the importance of the cross and the Bible. Pupil booklet (3+ minutes) If you can, allow time for pupils to record what they have learnt on page 5 in the pupil booklet. As an extension activity, if you are in an SA hall pupils could also sketch an outline of the main worship hall, using the notes and sketches page. DVD clip: Worship in The Salvation Army (4 minutes) Finally, we re going to find out about different kinds of worship in The Salvation Army. Show the next DVD clip (1 min 53). Afterwards, ask some or all of the following questions: What different things were people doing in the clips? Where were they worshipping? Did anything surprise you in the clips? How is it different or similar to worship in other Christian churches or in other places of worship in different religions? Page 17 of 70

18 extra activities Using music and actions to worship (5+ minutes) You could end this zone by showing or teaching the pupils an action song (eg Great big God) or showing a DVD of a worship dance/mime/song etc. Talk about the way we express our beliefs and feelings through music and movement, and about how Christians believe God gave us gifts and abilities so that we can worship and praise him in different ways. (A similar activity is also suggested in the Worship zone.) Page 18 of 70

19 about the community zone Overview The aim of this zone is to discover how The Salvation Army helps people in the community, through one or more of the following activities: playing a specially designed board game watching a DVD clip of community work around the UK and Ireland watching a presentation of your own community work using a story bag and objects which illustrate different aspects of community work following a picture trail using display boards depicting The Salvation Army s work Pupils also learn how members of The Salvation Army put their beliefs into action by looking at a Bible passage. They then think about ways they could help their community and show kindness to others at home and at school, by filling in a bookmark (Key Stage 2) or their pupil book (Key Stage 1). Points to note When you are deciding which activities to include in this zone, consider how much time you have, as well as the kinds of activities pupils have been doing in other zones, so they have as much variety as possible. There are a number of ways to play the board game, depending on the time available. It is important that the zone leader is completely familiar with the instructions for the game why not play it a few times at home or with the other zone leaders!? Setting up the zone If you re using the board game you ll just need a space big enough for the A1-size board and the pupils to sit around it. If you re using the display boards with the picture trail you ll need a much larger space. Bear in mind that if you use the DVD clip in this zone it may distract pupils in other zones if they are located too close together. Resources provided Community zone A3 sign Display stand for A3 sign (blue) Community board game DVD clip - Community work Story bag script (download from Resource CD-ROM) Matthew 25 A3 card Bookmarks for pupils Key Stage 2 (order from Schools & Colleges Unit) You may also need Photos, video, PowerPoint (template available) or objects relating to your own community work Large bag* and objects for story bag see script Display boards with picture trail cards (loan separately from Schools & Colleges Unit) TV/DVD player * also available to loan from the Schools & Colleges Unit (see Resources section) Page 19 of 70

20 Adapting the zone: Make the zone shorter: Play a short version of the community game or select some of the shorter activities. Make the zone longer: Play a longer version of the community game, and/or add some of the other suggested activities. Whole class session: A good way to organise a whole class session on community work is to begin with the DVD clip, followed by a presentation of your own community work or the story bag activity. Then look at the Matthew 25 verses (James 2:14-17 also works well and could inspire a mini skit!) and allow plenty of time for pupils to complete pages 3 and 4 in their pupil book. You could also set up the display boards and picture trail as an extra activity for pupils who work quickly. Finish with the discussion on helping others, using the bookmark or pupil book to write down ideas. Page 20 of 70

21 community zone - key stage 1 Welcome pupils to the zone and remind them of your name. Aims: In this zone we re going to: find out how and why members of The Salvation Army help others who are in need think about ways you could help people in your community CHOOSE FROM THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES: A. The SA in the community board game (15-25 minutes) To find out about how The Salvation Army helps people in the community we re going to play a game. Follow instructions for the game. Use some or all of the questions below to help pupils think about and discuss what they learnt during the game. What kind of people did you help in the game? How do you think those people felt? Was it possible to help everyone in the community? How did that make you feel? Do you think you would like to work or volunteer for The Salvation Army like the characters in the game? B. DVD clip: Every day (3 minutes) We re going to watch a short DVD showing different ways The Salvation Army helps people in the community, every single day. Afterwards I ll ask you some questions so I want you to try to remember as much as you can. Show pupils the community DVD clip (1 min 11). Ask pupils the following questions: What was happening at The Salvation Army at 7.00am? What happened late at night? Can you name two different kinds of people who were being helped? C. Community work in this church (5+ minutes) Design your own presentation (eg PowerPoint/objects/video/sketch) about the work of The Salvation Army in your own community. D. Story bag activity (8 minutes) Use a story bag, containing a selection of objects, and the story bag script (download from CD-ROM) to explore different ways The Salvation Army cares for and supports people in communities. This could be adapted to reflect your own community work. Page 21 of 70

22 Why does The Salvation Army help people in need? (3 minutes) Show the Matthew 25 I was hungry card and read it aloud, or invite pupils to read a line each. How is The Salvation Army following this teaching from the Bible? Christians believe that Jesus showed love to everyone, especially people others forgot about or didn t like. Jesus wanted his followers to help and love anyone in need too. What can I do? (5 minutes) I wonder what we can do to help other people. Find the Community Zone page in the pupil booklet and discuss together how the children can help others at home, at school and in their town (eg by raising money, donating clothes and toys, keeping the streets tidy). Point out that it is not safe for children to help people in the same way as adults, such as helping strangers, but there are still lots of safe things they can do. Now support pupils as they complete the page in the booklet individually. Encourage them to remember to do the things they have written down! Page 22 of 70

23 community zone - key stage 2 Welcome pupils to the zone and remind them of your name. Aims: In this zone we re going to: find out how and why members of The Salvation Army help others who are in need think about ways you could help people in your community CHOOSE FROM THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES: A. The SA in the community board game (15-25 minutes) To find out about how The Salvation Army helps people in the community we re going to play a game. Follow instructions for the game. Use some or all of the questions below to prompt a discussion about what they learnt during the game. What kind of people did you help in the game? How do you think those people felt? Was it possible to help everyone in the community? How did that make you feel? Do you think you would like to work or volunteer for The Salvation Army when you get a bit older? What kind of work do you think you might like to do (eg soup run, visiting prisoners, hospital patients etc)? B. DVD clip: Every day (3 minutes) We re going to watch a short DVD showing different ways The Salvation Army helps people in the community. Afterwards I m going to ask you what you remembered from the clips, so watch carefully! Show pupils the community DVD clip (1 min 11) and then check how many of the activities the pupils can remember. The activities you saw in the clips are happening every day, all around the United Kingdom and Ireland (and in many other countries too). C. Community work in this church (5 minutes) Design your own presentation (eg PowerPoint/objects/video/sketch) about the work of The Salvation Army in your own community. D. Story bag activity (8 minutes) Use a story bag, containing a selection of objects, and the story bag script (download from CD-ROM) to explore different ways The Salvation Army cares for and supports people in communities. This could be adapted to reflect your own community work. Page 23 of 70

24 E. Picture trail (10+ minutes) Using the display boards and picture trail cards (see resources list), pupils work in pairs or small groups, finding the pictures, answering questions and discovering how The Salvation Army helps people in the community. Why does The Salvation Army help people in need? (4 minutes) Show the Matthew 25 I was hungry card and read it aloud, or invite pupils to read a line each. How is The Salvation Army following this teaching from the Bible? Christians believe that Jesus showed love to everyone, especially to people others forgot about or didn t like. He made friends with poor people and sick people and with people who were lonely, even with criminals. Most of these people weren t really accepted by other people but Jesus saw them all as God s children - people God made. Jesus wanted his followers to do the same to love and to help anyone in need, and members of The Salvation Army today feel very strongly about following Jesus example and being like him. When we show love to people in need, especially those who seem unimportant, we show how much we love Jesus. What can I do? (5 minutes) I wonder what you or your class could do to help other people and make a difference in your community. Encourage pupils to share their ideas. Point out that it is not safe for children to help people in the same way as adults, such as helping strangers, but there are still lots of safe things they can do. (Prompt if necessary eg raise money, donate clothes and toys, keep the streets tidy, write to the local government, buy a wristband to support a campaign). Sometimes we feel like we can t make much of a difference on our own, but when we join together we can make a big difference. Also, we can make a difference in small but important ways, at home and at school and in our community. Give out a bookmark to each pupil. Encourage them to tick some of the suggestions on the bookmark and add their own ideas and remember to do the things they have pledged! Page 24 of 70

25 about the international zone Overview This zone takes the form of a speedy trip around the world, visiting (up to) five different countries where The Salvation Army is at work. In each country pupils think about what life is like, discover the difficult situations that people may face, and find out how The Salvation Army is helping. To reinforce and record what pupils have learnt, they complete a section of their passport for each country they visit. Points to note For Key Stage 1 there are postcards relating to the five different countries, and for Key Stage 2 there are DVD clips instead. Each country will take approximately 5-10 minutes to visit. For a 30- minute zone you should be able to visit between three and five of the countries. Remember to do your homework! Make sure you know where each country is on the map and familiarise yourself with some of The Salvation Army s work around the world by visiting and or by looking at the Year Book. Setting up the zone There is lots of potential for setting up this zone creatively! Here are some simple suggestions: Key Stage 1 - on one side, using a wall or screen/partition, create a kind of backdrop for an aeroplane, with windows, a door and exit sign etc. On the other side, arrange the props relating to different countries you are visiting. Display the postcards or put them in a large envelope. Key Stage 2 project the DVD clips on to a large plain wall or screen. Arrange lots of props from different countries (and perhaps suitcases and backpacks) around the zone to give an international, round-the-world trip feel. Bear in mind that the DVD clips for Key Stage 2 may distract pupils in other zones if they are located too close together. Resources provided International Zone A3 sign Display stand for A3 sign (blue) Passport for each pupil (order from Schools & Colleges Unit) Roll of Red Shield stickers (order from Schools & Colleges Unit) Names of countries on separate strips of paper - Key Stage 1 (download from CD-ROM) Postcards (Key Stage 1) DVD clips: International work (Key Stage 2) Props relating to each country: Inflatable palm tree - Sri Lanka Pig cut out Haiti Hat China Mustard seeds Zambia (check for mustard allergies prior to visit and keep seeds in packet) Emergency map card Music zone CD - Living water You may also need World map jigsaw/inflatable globe/soft globe* Bucket Tanzania Electric/foot pump for palm tree (or someone with lots of puff!) UK/Ireland or local map (Key Stage 2) Extra props and artefacts from around the world, suitcases, backpacks etc DVD showing worship in another country (eg Link 22) TV/DVD player/projector and screen/cd player * also available to loan or purchase from the Schools & Colleges Unit (see Resources section) Page 25 of 70

26 Adapting the zone Make the zone shorter: Just visit two or three countries. Make the zone longer: Include the map jigsaw as a starter and/or visit four or five countries. Whole class session: This zone would well as a whole class session for Key Stage 2, as the activities are based around DVD clips and group discussion. However, you may need to order extra stickers for the passports if you choose to use them. Page 26 of 70

27 international zone - key stage 1 Welcome pupils to the zone and remind them of your name. Aims: In this zone we are going to: discover how people live in different countries learn about the work of The Salvation Army around the world Getting ready (5+ minutes) Who has ever been on an aeroplane to go on holiday or to visit someone? Well, today we are going to go on a very special trip to find out more about the work of The Salvation Army in other countries around the world. First we need a passport. Hand out the passports and ask pupils to complete their personal details. Now we need a map of the world so that we can find our way to the different countries which we are going to visit. Challenge pupils to put together the world map jigsaw (or have it already assembled to save time) or simply use the soft globe. Let s choose which country we would like to visit first and then we can get on our way. Invite a pupil to choose a country from the strips of paper and ask them to read it out if they can. Off we go! (5-10 minutes per country) I think we re ready to go! Come on everyone, let s board our plane and start our journey to our first country. On the way to the country, encourage the children to lean to the side and back etc as you take off and turn around in your flight be as creative as possible! Use the questions below to encourage the children to get into role and wonder about the country they will be visiting. What do you think the weather will be like when we get there? Do you think life there will be the same as it is here in (insert local town or city)? Why or why not? What do you think could be the first thing we will see when we get there? What one question would you like to ask when we get to (insert country)? Well, it s almost time to land (improvise plane landing etc). We have arrived safely, thank goodness for that! Let s look together to see if we can find this country on our world map/globe. Pick out the prop relating to the country and ask one of the pupils to find the right postcard from a display or large envelope. Read the postcard aloud, or ask one of the pupils to read it. Ask the child to pause where indicated and reflect as a group on the following question. Is there anything you are surprised about, or which Page 27 of 70

28 makes you feel sad/happy/cross? Encourage them to share specific feelings. Now read the second half of the postcard. How do you think life is different now that The Salvation Army is working in their community? How would the person writing the postcard feel now? Pupils can now complete a section of their passport by writing or quickly drawing what they have learnt about The Salvation Army s work there. They can then be given a Red Shield sticker to stick in the circle. Now it s time to get back in our plane and travel to the next country. Repeat the activity for the other countries. In this zone we have learnt a lot about the work of The Salvation Army in different countries, but there is a lot that we haven t had time to talk about. Isn t it amazing to think that The Salvation Army is working in 113 (update as necessary) countries? Just think of all the millions of people they are helping all over the world. extra activities Worship around the world (2-3 minutes) We have one last stop to make, where we can see/hear how members of The Salvation Army in (insert country) are worshipping God. Show a DVD clip of Salvation Army worship in a different country. There is a good clip on Link 22. Alternatively play Living water on the Music zone CD. There are Salvation Army churches all around the world too and they all worship in different ways with different kinds of songs and music and dancing. However, we all worship the same God and believe the same things which means we re like one very big church family. Page 28 of 70

29 international zone - key stage 2 Welcome pupils to the zone and remind them of your name. Aims: In this zone we are going to: discover how people live in different countries learn about the work of The Salvation Army around the world Getting ready (5 minutes) Where is the furthest place you have travelled to? Well, today you re going to travel thousands of miles and visit some of the countries The Salvation Army works in without even leaving this room! Before we set off, we need a passport. Hand out the passports and ask pupils to complete their personal details. Now let s have a look at a map of the world to see where we re going. Challenge pupils to put together the world map jigsaw (or have it already assembled to save time) or simply use the inflatable globe. In which places do you think you might find Salvation Army churches, centres and projects to help people? Invite them to name or point to countries or continents on the map or globe. The Salvation Army works in 113 (update as necessary) countries around the world, including North and South America, counties in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and countries in Africa and Asia. We re going to visit just countries in this zone. Before we leave each country I want you to fill in your passport by writing down (or quickly drawing) what you learnt about what life is like and about The Salvation Army s work in that country. You can also collect a Red Shield sticker for each place you visit. Off we go! (5-10 minutes per country) China Barefoot doctors First we re going to visit China. Who can find China on the map/globe? Watch the DVD clip (1 min 42). What do you think it is like to live in a place which is so far away from the cities and hospitals etc? Why do you think people don t just move to the cities? How is The Salvation Army trying to help the villagers? Why do you think they are called Barefoot Doctors? (They travel by foot!) Support pupils as they complete a section of their passports and give out Red Shield stickers. Page 29 of 70