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PLANNING
ISCP / PYP MODEL
Title: Jonah
Focus: Religious and Values Education – Bible strand
Teacher(s): Margaret Kimber, John Reddan
Level: Years 4,5
Proposed duration: 6-8 sessions
1.What is our purpose?
For the students:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To identify Jonah as a prophet
To locate the story of Jonah in the bible
To recognize that one can interpret the meaning of stories in the bible at different levels as one grows
To explain how some stories can contain meaning beyond the literal (the God of the people of Israel is
the God of all people and of the whole earth)
To recognize that some stories can contain truth without being ‘exactly word for word’ true (ie myth)
2.What resources will we use?
Bible – book of Jonah
Video – Jonah and the Whale
Book of fables
It’s ain’t necessarily so – Sting (relate to what is truth / concept of myth)
3.What do we want to learn?
TEACHER QUESTIONS:

Form …What is it like?
Who was Jonah?
What is a prophet? (messenger of God)
Where can you find the story of Jonah in the bible? (Book of Jonah – Old Testament)
What is the story of Jonah and the Whale (J and W) about? (God is the god of all people and the whole earth, not
just one small group of people … the people of Israel’s God is the god of all people)
What is a myth?

Function … How does it work?
How can a story have more than one meaning?
Does J and W contain truth? How?

Causation … Why is it the way it is?
Do all people interpret the same story in the same manner? Why / why not?
Is your interpretation of J and W the same as your peers? Why / why not?
Why does the story of J and W have such an emphasis on the belief of the one God of all people and the whole
world? (historical; context – many gods)
Why was Jonah reluctant to go to Nineveh? (he originally wanted the nation to be destroyed and he believed God
would forgive them if they repented)
Why was Jonah angry when Nineveh was pardoned? (his prophecy was undermined and he wanted God to confine
his love for the people of Israel)

Change … How does it change?
Can a story have more than one meaning?
Can a person’s interpretation of a story change as one grows? Why / why not? (eg Reception – Year 5 – Year 12)

Connection … How is it connected to other things?
What is the connection between the sailors on the ship and the people of Nineveh? (sailors originally worshipped
many gods / Nineveh was a city of many gods … both turned and followed the one god … the god of all people)

Perspective … What are the points of view?
Is J and W a true story? Why / why not?
What parts of the story do you think could be historically true? Why?
What parts of the story do you think are myth? Why?
Does a story have to be ‘exactly word for word true’ to contain truth?

Responsibility … What is our responsibility?
What are our responsibilities when things don’t go our way?
What are our responsibilities when we have a difference of opinion with others?
Do we have a responsibility to have an open mind? Why / why not?

Reflection … How do we know?
How can we understand / interpret the meaning of stories in the bible?
Can we know if a person’s opinion is ‘right’?
How do we know when we’re not happy?
Are we always able to identify why we’re not happy?
How do we respond when we’re not happy when things don’t go our way?
STUDENT QUESTIONS:
4.
How best will we learn?
1. Students complete pre unit understandings on Jonah and the Whale. (J and W)
2. Read to the students a mythical story / fable … (eg read ‘The Masalai and the Ten Boys’ – children
didn’t listen to advice … turned into porpoises) … students discuss and complete a read and retell
including the deeper meaning or lesson of the story. Indicate why story may have been told … comment
if all of story is ‘literally word for word true’ / part of the story that could be literally true and the notion
of a story not being literally word for word true but containing truth. Discuss and brainstorm similar
stories.
3. Students watch video of Jonah and the whale – notetake and discuss story and the role of a prophet…do
you think it’s literally true?? Contains truth?? Discuss literal reading of story / deeper interpretation and
meaning of story (ie God is the god of all people and the whole earth, not just one small group of people
… the people of Israel’s God is the god of all people - many gods were indeed being worshipped at the
time – not good!) Students represent story of Jonah and its meaning in storyboard form.
4. Students listen to “It ain’t necessarily so” … discuss in relation to Jonah and the whale. (relate to concept
of truth …ie not necessarily ‘word for word’ true but nonetheless containing a truth)
5. Students in groups locate and read in the bible parts of the story of Jonah and the whale (Jonah disobeys
God and runs away / Jonah’s prayer inside the whale / Jonah obeys God / Nineveh’s response / Jonah’s
anger and God’s mercy / Jonah’s lesson) … dramatise and sequence for class presentation
6. Students complete a personal written piece reflecting on their choices, actions and behaviours when they
are challenged with opinions and positions from which they may disagree and indicate how they feel and
respond.
7. Students complete post unit understandings on Jonah and the Whale.
5. How will we take action?
Students read and acknowledge bible stories with a more enlightened mindset and understanding in terms of
interpretation and meaning
Students model cooperative and positive behaviours when decisions and experiences don’t necessarily go as they
deem they should.
6.
How will we know what we have learned?
Student Work Samples:


Students complete pre / post unit understandings of Jonah and the Whale.
Students represent story of Jonah and the Whale and its meaning at different levels in storyboard form.
7. To what extent did we achieve our purpose?
(ISCP / PYP May 1996)