David and Goliath

Movie Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Uses the video Dave and the Giant Pickle. Big Idea’s Veggie Tales.

Scripture Reference:

1 Samuel 17: 1-58

Memory Verse:

2 Samuel 22:2b-3 (NLT)

Purpose:

The purpose of this workshop is to increase the children’s awareness that when they trust God they can be certain that his purpose for their lives will be fulfilled and will be good.

Objectives for rotation:
(listed above)

Additional objectives for the Movie Workshop:
At the end of the session, the students will be able to

• name and describe the characters in the story.
• state the problem and solution.
• name difficult challenges and recognize that only God can help us.

Teacher preparation in advance:

• Read the scripture passages and lesson plan and attend the Bible Study, ....
• Prepare a closing prayer.
• Learn the memory verse.
• Learn the American Sign Language for the memory verse.
• Preview the video. Be familiar with the places where the video should be stopped for discussion. (Neil MacQueen’s “Two Most Important SHOWING TIPS: 1.) Use the PAUSE button. It’s your most powerful ‘video’ teaching tool. 2.) Don’t be afraid to view an important scene a second time. Kids (and adults) watch movies over and over all the time.
• Cue video to starting place (after all the previews).
• To our teachers at RCC: The design of this workshop is very intentional. The activities and discussion questions for this workshop were designed to meet the goals of the entire rotation and the educational objectives of the Rotation Model (tm) at River Community Church. While we feel it is important to follow the serendipitous leading of the Holy Spirit, please do not change the lesson plan without consulting a Curriculum Planning and Writing Team member.

Room set-up:

• Students will sit in seats or on the floor facing the video/projection screen.

Supply List:

• Video: Dave and the Giant Pickle. Big Idea’s Veggie Tales, 1993, ISBN #1571322701. (Available through discount retailers, amazon.com,...) About 30 minutes long.
• Popcorn, lemonade or water and cups, hand wipes.
• Flip chart or whiteboard (One side labeled “Challenges;” the other “How God Helped with a Solution
• Appropriate markers.

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Introductions:
Greet the children and introduce yourself. Wear your name-tag. (Remember that you are interacting with a different group of students each week who may not know you.) Make sure the children are wearing name-tags. If not, ask the Shepherd to supply a temporary badge.

We had an opening prayer during the gathering time, but you may open with prayer if you feel led to do so.

Explain the purpose of this workshop. Say: “Today we will watch Dave and the Giant Pickle. This video shows how a little shepherd boy named Dave feels when his big brothers head off to defend their country, leaving Dave behind with the sheep. ‘Big people do big things and little people do little things,’ they told him. Well, they are in for the surprise of their lives and so are you.”

Scripture/Bible Story:
Read the scripture: 1 Samuel 17: 12-18. (Encourage the children to use their Bibles in looking up verses. Remind them that 1 and 2 Samuel are Old Testament history books. The OT is stories of what happened before Jesus was born. First are the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) and then Joshua and Judges and Ruth, then 1 & 2 Samuel.)

Application:
Before beginning the video, talk about the differences between the Veggie Tale version and the Bible.

Tell the children: While you’re watching the video,

• notice what the king was like.
• notice how the characters treat each other. Would you want to be friends with any of them?

Pass out wipes, popcorn and drinks. Start the video.

Stop the video at the introduction to musical selection (“Silly Songs with Larry and discuss the movie thus far. [Ask the Shepherd to fast forward past the musical selection to where the story begins again. However, if time permits, you can show the Silly Song.]

Talking Points:

• Who was Dave? What qualities/characteristics has he displayed so far? How would you describe him?
• Name some other characters in the story. What qualities/characteristics are they displaying so far? How would you describe them?
• Name some ways people get us to do things we do not want to do.
• Answer this question only if you have not seen this video before, please: What do you think will happen next?

Say: “Now we will watch the rest of the video. Look for the challenge that is faced by Dave. Think of times when you faced a challenge and how God helped you face it.”

Begin second half of video. Upon completion of the video, use the following talking points to lead the children in a meaningful discussion:

• What was Dave’s problem?
• How did Dave find a solution?
• Did Dave solve his problem on his own? If not, how was Dave able to face such a giant foe?
• Was Dave expecting to be the one who would face the giant?

Any additional questions or comments about the video?

Reflect:
Pulling it all together (closing discussion):
“We can see how God can help us in many different challenging situations, even when we are not expecting it. Think about some challenges, some ‘giants,’ which you have defeated with God’s help.”

If time permits, complete the chart placed on the wall or stand. For younger children you will need to do the writing. For older children, they can take turns filling in the spaces.

You may want to give an example of a problem from your own life that seemed too big until God intervened. Example: the healing of a very sick child.

How has this video and lesson changed the way you might face your next big challenge even though you seem too young or little?
How can you get help when there are difficult challenges you are facing in your home, school, community?
Be ready to name challenge or challenges you are facing right now that we could pray about during our closing prayer.

Review the memory verse: Teach the children the first half of the memory verse using American Sign language (see attached instructions).

At 11:50 a.m. ask the Shepherd to pass out the journal pages and pencils/markers. Suggestion: You may wish to give the children a sticker or some memento to paste in their journal as a reminder of the story or activity.

Shepherd Time:
Prompts for journal writing: Write down 2 or 3 challenges that you are currently facing so that we can pray about them during our closing prayer. (If you can only think of one that is okay.)

This is meant to be a time of reflection and introspection. Writing about faith helps clarify lessons. Children may draw pictures, list highlights of the day’s activities, rephrase the memory verse, or respond to the question. The journal pages will be saved and given to the children at the end of the school year.

You may want to provide an extra activity or worksheet for children who finish their journals quickly, such as coloring sheets, crossword puzzles, word searches, games. See the Workshop Leader’s Background Notes and rotation.org for ideas.

At noon, ask the students to turn in their journal pages and sit quietly for prayer.

Closing:

“We will now close by praying about the challenges we wrote in our journal. Let’s sit in a circle and hold hands. I’ll go first, when I’m done praying, I will squeeze ___’s hand (child to your right or left). If you want to pray out loud please do so. Or you may pray silently. When you are done praying, pass the squeeze on to the person on your right/left. The prayer will go around the circle and end back with me. Okay?”

You should begin by praying for one of your own challenges. Remember to tell children that God hears all our prayers, even the ones we leave unspoken out loud, so they should pray silently if they are not comfortable saying their prayer out loud.

Tidy and Dismissal:
Ask children to help tidy the room. Give any specific instructions for clearing the workshop room.

Give everyone the parent take-home flyer the first week of the rotation; give it only to children who were absent and have not yet received it the other weeks of the rotation.

Additional Suggestions:
You will need to decide how best to adjust the lesson for older and younger students. Keep the children active and involved in activity. Do what works for you and the children. Some ideas:

Older children:

• Some should be ready to pray out loud. Try to arrange the circle so one of those “leaders” goes after you to set an example for the class. You may want to mention this prayer time to your “leader” before class.

Younger Children:

• For classes composed primarily of pre-readers, show the children how to find the passage in the Bible. After everyone has found the passage, have them close their Bibles and listen while you read.
• Focus only on the first half of the memory verse.

Resources:

• American Sign Language Browser: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
• MacQueen, Neil. "A Manual for the Video - A/V Workshop. https://www.rotation.org/topic...-video--a-v-workshop
• Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

David and Goliath

Memory Verse Sign Language

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.”
2 Samuel 22:2b (NLT)

LORD The sign KING is made with a L handshape. (Move your hand from the chest to the waist while crossing the body. The movement indicates the location of the royal sash worn by kings.)

ROCK The sign STONE is made with an R handshape. (The right hand taps the back of the other hand which is open. This movement is showing that something is hard.)

FORTRESS The horizontal left arm represents a wall around a fort and the V handshape (two fingers in V) moving from elbow to wrist represents eyes watching over the wall.

SAVIOR Sign “save” and add the “person” ending. Save: Cross the wrists as if the fists were bound and then pull them apart (palm forward, still fists) to show that a person has broken free from being tied up. Person ending: both open hands facing each other are brought down the sides of the body.

GOD The open right hand is raised to the heavens and then downward in a sign of respect.

ROCK The sign STONE is made with an R handshape -- crossed fingers. (The right hand taps the back of the other hand which is open. This movement is showing that something is hard.)

PROTECTION (Protect) The hands lock in a defensive position. The hands are blocking against an attacker. (Make fists and cross arms at the wrist.)


You can see the signs at the American Sign Language Browser: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm

A lesson written by Cathy Greenwood for River Community Church
Prairieville, Louisiana.

Copyright 2003 Cathy Greenwood. Permission granted to freely distribute and use, provided the copyright message is included.

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