David and Goliath

Drama Workshop # 1 (Note: Two Drama workshops are provided.)  

Summary of Lesson Activity:

Videotape a drama of the Israelites facing a giant – how did they react? Who saved the day and how? What giants do we face? What is our protecting armor? (Note: 4th – 6th graders visited this workshop.)

Scripture Reference & Key Bible Verse & Objectives: 

Refer to first post in this lesson set.

Leader Preparation:

Read Bible Background and scripture.

Materials List:

• Bibles
• Video camera; Tripod; a way to hook the camera up to the TV
• Costumes – including helmet, sword, and shield
• Step ladder
• Large piece of fabric
• Roll of duct tape; scissors
• Shepherd staff
• A belt with a simple tie bag attached to it
• Scene clapper


  
  

Advanced Preparation Requirements:

• Familiarize yourself with how to operate the video camera. Have it set up, ready to use.
• For idea on how to create a step ladder giant refer to the photo on the right.
• Read Neil MacQueen’s videotaping hints.
• Cut several pieces of duct tape duct and make them into tape balls (make 5).


• On the easel write the words “trust in God.” Draw a large shield shape around the words. Cover up this page.
   

Presentation

Opening- Welcome and Lesson Introduction

Do: Greet your students warmly, welcoming them to the Drama Workshop. Introduce yourself and have the Shepherds introduce themselves.

Say: We are learning about David and Goliath. It’s a story that is great for drama – can you picture a boy named David facing a giant named Goliath? Everyone was afraid of Goliath but David was sure he could fight Goliath and win. 

First let’s review our Bible story.

Dig: Main Content and Reflection

Do: Distribute Bibles.

Ask: Who can tell me the names of the first ten books of the Old Testament?
Review the names up to the Samuels: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First and Second Samuel.

Do: Show them that if they open their Bible in the middle, they will usually land in the book of Psalms in the OT. Point out that First Samuel comes before Psalms, since we didn’t name Psalms. Let them flip through the first half of the Bible for it, referring to the list of books (hopefully in their heads!) or use the table of contents.  Show them the Leader's Bible with tabs. (Note these tabs divide the collections in the Bible: Law, History, etc.) 

Say:  1st Samuel is a "History" book.

Do: After they’ve found I Samuel, help them find chapter 17, verse 1 and tell them this is where the story of David and Goliath is told in the Bible.

Do: Ask the students to tell you what they know about David and Goliath. [This will guide you in knowing what to emphasize during the lesson.]

If necessary…
Say: Let’s review the parts of this story that we are unclear about.

Do: Retell them the story asking them to read whatever parts need reinforcement.

Remind students to use “Radio Reading” – punctuation marks mean you pause. A period means a longer pause. Goliath’s words would be loud and threatening; the frightened Israelites might sound squeaky.

Discussion:

Say: Before we act out this story let’s talk a minute about giants. Goliath was very tall so we say he was a giant. But the word giant can describe anything that is big – say, a giant problem. 


Ask: With that definition of a giant, I am wondering what giants do you sometimes face?

[Generate a few ideas –you may wish to write them on the easel – bully’s, tests in school, family problems, problems with friends… If possible, share a giant that you personally have faced in your life.]

Say: It’s pretty amazing that Goliath was killed using a slingshot. King Saul had offered David his armor and sword but David didn’t wear it!

Ask: He must have had a secret weapon, what do you suppose it was?

Show them the hidden shield you drew on the easel.

Say: David didn’t have a shield like King Saul but he had a special kind of armor – David trusted God to protect him. David told Goliath that it was not his skill, but God’s power and might, that would settle the battle.

Ask: What about for us; what can our armor or shield be against our giants [refer to the list that was made]? (allow all answers)

Say: Our armor against our problems, our giants, is to trust that God will help us. We call that, having faith. The giants may still seem scary but our faith in God helps us face them.

Enact the story:

Choose a student to be the first Goliath. Get him or her outfitted on the stepladder with props. Choose another student to be David, and one to be Saul. Everyone else can be either Israelites or Philistines.

Have them enact the story, using their own words for dialogue:

• Goliath threatening the Israelites (in a “Goliath” voice)
• Frightened response of Israelites (speaking in squeaky voices to accentuate their powerlessness)
• David’s response
• Saul offering David his armor (David very confident)
• David versus Goliath (Goliath and the Philistines making fun of the slingshot; David proclaiming that it was God who would make the victory)
• To “finish off” Goliath – have David name a “giant” in his/her life that God can help him or her with, and then toss a duct tape “stone” at Goliath.

Allow different students to play the different roles. Videotape the “takes.” If time is short, have subsequent takes only reenact the David vs. Goliath portion to save time. Leave enough time to replay the tape for viewing after the closing. (Or allow kids to get a snack and return for the viewing.)

Closing:

Say: David had a special kind of armor – David trusted God to protect him. He had learned to trust God as a shepherd. David told Goliath that it was not his skill, but God’s power and might, that would settle the battle. David had giant faith in God!

Ask for any prayer requests. Ask if anyone would like to lead the group in prayer.
Be prepared to say a prayer yourself, working in prayer requests. Use the Lord’s Prayer as the ending. A suggestion: “Dear God, We are glad to be here today. We love acting out stories from the Bible. We love to be able to learn about Bible heroes and their faith in you. Help us to live boldly – trusting that you love us, and call us your friends. Amen.”

If you have extra time:

Ask the students to enact a modern day version of the story – something with a bully perhaps.

Resources for the Drama Lesson:

• Faith Quest Lesson Sets at Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church. “David & Goliath.” 2003. Web.
• Heyward, Will. “David and Goliath.” Smyrna Presbyterian Church. Waynesboro, VA. 2002.(Info no longer published)
• MacQueen, Neil. "Goliath Visits our Video Workshop.” 2004. Web.

Field Notes from the Workshop Leader (2004): "what I loved was not once did anyone say there aren’t any parts in this play for girls. All 4 weeks the girls were just as eager as the boys to play a role."

 

Image in this post used courtesy of Neil MacQueen.

If you use this material, even in a modified form, please include the following reference:

Hulbert, Carol. "David and Goliath: Drama Lesson - 2008." Rotation.org. 2004, 2008. Web. Place URL where lesson found inside angle brackets<>.

A lesson written by Carol Hulbert in 2004, updated in 2008,

from First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Printed from https://www.rotation.org