Resources

P3 - Beginning of School Year

These exemplar narratives follow the core learning chosen by the Taylor and Northern cluster groups/working groups and contained in the diocesan planning exemplars:
P3 Beginning of the Year short version (click to open)
P3 Beginning of the Year long version (click to open)

Liturgical calendar and wheels, St Bernadette's Motherwell

Exemplar narrative 1:

St Joseph’s Primary School, Cardowan:

Planned activities – Liturgical Colours:

To introduce liturgical colours, discuss the notion of New Year, new school year, and the church year.
Seasonal colour wheel linked to church colour wheel. Children make their own.
Four priest images to be coloured with the four vestment colours.
Focus on Ordinary Time which is green. Link this to what priest was wearing at the first school mass. Add an image of priest in green vestment to our wall display.
Discuss green in the environment. Mix paint to make the colour green and design something of their choice. Make class collage.

Planned activities – Bible:

Setting up the class altar. Sorting activity, differentiating what should and should not be on the altar.
Discussion of special and favourite books. Introduce bible as a special book that is sacred, precious and contains the Word of God.
Children bring in their own bibles to show. Select a story to re-write and illustrate.
Wall display – information about the bible in the shape of bible.
Prayer Time while placing bible on the altar with reverence.

Planned Activities – Commandments/Rules:

Read the bible story of The Commandments to the children.
The Commandments are God’s rules. Why do we have them?
Role play – act out nice and nasty situations and link these to God’s rules.
Make up Golden rules based on God’s rules.
What happens if we go off track? Children write sorry prayers and learn sorry songs as a class.
Each child makes a banner containing ‘Love God – Love All People’.

Bibles on class altar, St Bride's Bothwell

Exemplar narrative 2

St. Andrew's & St. Bride's Cluster Meeting Group.

Liturgical Colours. (RERC 1-18a)

Liturgical year - clothes peg dolls in vestments
Liturgical wheel
Dressing the holy space in liturgical colours.
Artwork in liturgical colour to display.
Visit church - children shown vestments.

Bible (RERC 1-12a)

Set out open bible on holy place and process to teaching area and back.
Visit church - priest explains where scripture is located and why it is so special.

Rules, commandments, love God, love my neighbour (RERC 1-21a)

Exercise1
Examination of conscience - pebbles in a jug of water.
Each child holds pebble as focus for thoughts. Play meditation music. Lead children through examination of conscience.
Each child, in turn, places their pebble in a jug full of water. The jug overflows. Discuss just as pebbles are washed by water, our sins are washed away when we say sorry.
The water overflowing symbolises Gods overflowing love for us.
Exercise 2
Class Rules - made by the children.
Class Contract - what do you expect of them and them of you. All sign.
Link class rules to important rules Jesus gave us.

Assessment Ideas:
Write:     Recount visit to Church where children discuss vestments with priest.
               Children can explain (write) the 2 greatest Commandments in their own words.
Say:       Explain colour choices.
               Re-tell a Bible story.
Make:    Make and label a diagram of the Church altar.
               Make scrolls/posters of class rules. (for display)
Do:         Match colour to appropriate liturgical season
               Present their own scene/play about being sorry.

Exemplar narrative 3:

St. Mary's, Caldercruix

Prayers to be revised: Hail Mary, Our Father.

What should we do when we pray (sign of the cross).

Set up the class altar - What should/shouldn't be on the altar.

What is the Bible? Who wrote it, discuss Old/New Testament.

Read 'The Ten Commandments'. Why did God give us rules?

How do rules effect our daily life. What rules do parents have?

Create class rules.

Discuss seasonal colours - make link to the Church.

Create vestments which link to colour wheel.

Evaluation:
Children enjoyed learning about the Bible. This linked well to learning about the altar. Children were very knowledgeable about what should and should not be on the altar.
Most of the lessons relating to the Bible were based around the class discussions about what the children knew. This was effective as I had a clear starting point to each lesson. Declan had a sound knowledge of the Bible and was able to peer teach using this knowledge.