Grade 1 Lesson 1 Key Points The Bible is God s Word written by different holy people throughout history. God made everything, and all creation was good in the beginning. God made humans to be his friends, to know him and love him. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, but God sent his Son, Jesus, to save us from sin. Materials Wonderful Me (p. 47E) Children s Bible The Bible s Big Story God Made Our World big book Creation Story cards Catechist Prayer before the lesson: Lord, thank you for calling me to the ministry of catechesis. It is a great privilege and an awesome responsibility to echo your Word to others. Draw me closer to you, so that I may teach your wisdom and mirror your love by word and example. Amen. Remember to: Read through the Lesson in the Catechist Guide before class. Write your name on the board as you want to be called (e.g. Mr. Thaddeus, Ms. Rogers) Call each child by name Kneel or sit down to be at eye-level when talking or playing with the children Smile, use kind words, show patience Before class starts: Let students who arrive early color the Wonderful Me handout until class is ready to start. 1
[10 min] Invite Opening Prayer (p.47) Stand in a circle around the prayer table and lead the class in making the Sign of the Cross Everyone should use their right hand, even if they are left-handed. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit Amen. Read the Let Us Pray section to the class on page 47. Have the kids fold their hands in prayer. Pray the Our Father (p. 317). If any kids know the prayer, encourage them to join in. Lead all the kids in saying Amen at the end of the prayer. Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Invite the kids to close their eyes as you read the God s Word section on page 47 and end with the Sign of the Cross. [15 min] Introductions Introduce yourself. Talk about your interests or hobbies. Talk about a particular saint or prayer that you like, or why you like coming to Church or FLAME classes. Invite everyone to stand up and play the Line Up game. Each student tells the class their first name, and everyone else helps place the student in alphabetical order in a line. After all kids have introduced themselves, everyone end up standing in a line in alphabetical order Play the Line Up game again, only have kids line up in birthday order. Play a 3 rd time, lining up from shortest to tallest. 2
[10 min] God s Creation (p. 48-49) Show the kids a Bible and explain that the Bible is God s Word written by different holy people throughout history, who were inspired by God. The Bible has many stories about God s love for all of us. Tell the kids to open their textbooks to pages 48 and 49. o Ask What do you see in this picture? o Ask kids Where did the world and everything in it come from? Read the God Made Our World big book to the class. Ask: What happened on the last day of Creation? God rested. Ask: Why do we go to Church and relax on Sundays? Because God rested at the end of the week. [10 min] Days of Creation Activity Ask: Can you remember what happened on each day of the Creation Story? o Divide the group into 7 groups of 1-2 students and give each group one of the Creation Story cards. Read the section below and have the class figure out which order the cards should go in to tell the creation story. Invite each group to bring their card to the front of the class and tape it to the wall or whiteboard. Day 1: God made the light and called it Day. He called the darkness Night. Day 2: God made the sky which separated the water on the Earth from the water above it. Day 3: God gathered the waters into the sea and called the dry ground Land. Then God blessed the land, and it produced trees and plants. Day 4: God made two great lights: The sun to rule the day, and the moon to rule the night. He also made all the stars. Day 5: God filled the sea with living creatures and the sky with birds. Day 6: God blessed the land and made all sorts of creatures. Then God created Man and Woman in his image. Day 7: God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. God rested from all his work. [10 min] God s World (p. 50-51) Read pages 50-51 about creation. o Ask: What do you see in the picture? o Hand out blank paper and crayons and let the kids draw God s creation. 3
[10 min] Salvation History (p. 58) When God made the world, everything was good and perfect. But something went wrong: Satan came into the garden as a snake and tricked Adam and Eve into disobeying God. They chose to sin, and death and suffering entered the world. Humans were separated from God and could no longer be happy. But God had a plan to save us. He sent his Son, Jesus, to live on Earth to teach us about God s love, and he died on the cross to save us from our sins. God gives us many gifts, but his greatest gift to us is Jesus! Read page 58 about God s gifts. o Ask: What gifts are you thankful to God for? [10 min] Sending Prayer of Praise (p.64) Stand in a circle and lead the kids in making the Sign of the Cross and folding their hands for prayer. Teach the response Thank you, God! Read the prayer on page 64 and have the kids respond. Pray the Our Father (p. 317) Listen to God is a Part of my Life (Track 3) Tell the kids to go through Family+Faith on p.55 and 65 with their parents at home. 4
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