4 th /5 th Grade Sep 16 Noah and the Flood Bible Verse Noah did everything the Lord told him to do. (Genesis 6:22) Teacher Enrichment This is the third lesson in the Old School: Lessons from the Old Testament series which examines many well-known stories from the Old Testament. Each week will explore how God is revealed through the events and characters of a Bible story. This series will build a base of Old Testament Bible knowledge for children. The story of Noah is a familiar one to many of us. But the lesson goes beyond the familiar images of Noah building an ark, animals arriving two by two and a happy ending with a rainbow. At the beginning of Genesis, God has created everything, including humans, and deems all of it very good. Only a few chapters later, God is so angry with humans and their behavior, He is sending a flood to destroy the world. However, God s interaction with Noah reveals God s continued love for humans. God asked Noah to do a big, confusing, the neighbors are going to think we re crazy kind of thing. Yet Noah trusted God and obeyed. Noah s trust was tested when he spent almost a year on an ark with his family and A LOT of animals. Yet Noah continued to trust God through a scary and worrisome situation. Finally, Noah s trust was rewarded. God kept His promise to protect Noah. The flood waters receded and God sent that happy ending rainbow. The catch is, the rainbow appears after the storm. We will all face storms in life and will need to trust in God s promise of direction, love and protection. This lesson will teach children to trust God and help them understand that God always keeps His promises. Older children will explore their own arks; times when God has helped them find a way out of difficult situations.
Before Class Begins Place the Sign In sheet and a pen where parents can see it upon arrival. Place the Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards and pens where students can see them upon arrival. Check that you have supplies for this lesson: Arrival Activity, Noah activity sheet 1 per child What s Your Ark Worksheet 1 per child Cardboard squares 1 per child Yarn baggies 1 per child Place an arrival activity at each place on the table. Welcome SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards, Attendance chart, stickers, pens, Noah activity sheet, pencils, markers Greet each child individually as they arrive. Introduce yourself by name. Help children find or add their name on the attendance chart. Provide each child with a sticker to place in today s column on the attendance chart. Encourage children to complete a Joy or Concern card if they have a particular joy or concern they would like to express. Collect completed Joy & Concern cards. Encourage children to complete a Time or Talent offering card if they gave their time to God or used their talents to serve God or others during the previous week. Children should keep their own completed Time and Talent cards. If children bring monetary offering, they should keep it with them. Direct children to complete Noah activity sheet. Encourage conversation among the children and with you! Get to know the children in your classroom by asking about their week including school, activities and families. Introduce new children to each other and encourage friendships. Children s Worship SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards
The Children s Worship Leader will direct your class to come to Ruth Hall at 9:20 or 11:05. Bring the Sign In sheet and completed Joy & Concern cards to Ruth Hall. Hand the Joy & Concern cards to the Children s Worship leader as you arrive. Have children bring their completed Time & Talent cards and any monetary offering. If additional children arrive while in Ruth Hall, have parents complete the Sign In sheet and remind parents that pickup is in Room 110. Encourage children to participate in Children s Worship and provide re-direction if necessary. Assist the Children s Worship leader as needed. At the conclusion of Children s Worship, have children line up and return to Room 110. The Lesson SUPPLIES: What s Your Ark worksheets, Cardboard squares, Yarn baggies, tape, scissors SAY: Today we learned about Noah and the amazing story of the flood. But the real story was about trusting God to keep His promises. Noah trusted God and followed God s directions. God promised to protect Noah and his family and God kept His promise. SAY: We are going to get to do a fun craft today, but before we do that, I want each of you to take a moment to answer the question What s Your Ark? Think of a time when God provided the way out of a bad situation just like the ark was Noah s way out of the flood. Maybe there was a time when you needed someone to talk to and God introduced a new friend into your life. Maybe there was a time you were in physical danger and God provided safety. Maybe there was a time when you were the only person making the right choice and you were rewarded for doing so. Or you could write about something you are struggling with where you need God to provide a way out you need God to help you build an ark. Give each child a What s Your Ark worksheet. Allow 5-10 minutes for children to write.
While you are doing the craft project, ask if anyone would like to share their answers. SAY: When the flood was over, God promised to never destroy the earth again. What symbol did God put in the sky as a reminder of his promise? (Rainbow) Today we are going to make rainbow pompoms. These pompoms will help remind you that God keeps His promises. Whatever you wrote on your paper, God promises to help you and love you. At the end, you will have two pompoms. You can keep them both, or you can give one to a friend who might need a reminder that God keeps His promises. Give each child a cardboard square and a bag of yarn. Walk the children through the setup of their squares by demonstrating the steps: Lay one piece of yarn on top of the cardboard, running from left to right and placed halfway between the top and the bottom edges. Secure the yarn in place by putting a small piece of tape over the yarn near each edge of the cardboard. Turn the cardboard over and repeat the process with the other piece of yarn. Lay the long piece of yarn along the front of the cardboard square so that the yarn begins at the top and crosses over the yarn taped to the cardboard.
Holding the loose end of the yarn in place, wrap the yarn around the cardboard square, keeping the wrapped yarn toward the middle of the cardboard square. Continue wrapping the yarn until all six pieces of yarn have been wrapped. Remove the tape from the short piece of yarn on the front of the cardboard square. Tie the short piece of yarn around the wrapped yarn, pulling the yarn as tight as possible. Tie the yarn in a knot. Tuck one end of the yarn under the wrapped yarn and tie another knot. Turn the cardboard square over and repeat the tying process on the other side. Using a pair of scissors, carefully cut through all the strands of yarn along the top edge of the cardboard. You will now have a long bundle of yarn tied in two places.
Cut through the bundle of yarn halfway between the two ties, to form two pompoms. Fluff the pompoms with your hands and trim any long pieces of yarn. Closing Lead the children in a closing prayer. You may say your own prayer, ask one of the children to say a prayer or use the one below. God, Please help us when we face temptation. Thank you for always guiding us along the right path. Thank you for always loving us. Amen If time remains before parents arrive, encourage children to return to their Adam and Eve activity sheet if they did not complete it. Also encourage conversation between children and with you. This is another opportunity to build relationships with the children in your classroom!
What s Your Ark Worksheet