Jesus' Birth Through the Eyes of Isaiah
Drama/Video: Newscast Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activity:

The older students will record a newscast script that reports on Isaiah the prophet that will help them understand that he brought God’s words to the people. The younger students will watch and discuss the newscast and create some fun commercials to go with it.

Scripture Reference:

Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6-7a

Memory Verse: Isaiah 9:6 (NLT)

Objectives for the rotation
At the end of this rotation, the students will

• be able to find Isaiah in the OT.
• know that God promised to send His Messiah, and He kept His promise.
• know that one of the ways God makes those promises known is through the prophets, God’s messengers.
• understand that Jesus of Nazareth IS the Savior, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, God-with-us, promised in the Hebrew scriptures.
• know the memory verse

Additional objectives for the drama/video workshop
At the end of the session, the students will

• Know that Isaiah, a prophet whose name means “God has saved,” speaks for God and gives the people hope.
• Know we can share this hope by telling the world of God’s promise fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Leader Preparation:

• Read the scripture passages and lesson plan and attend the Bible Study.
• Prepare a closing prayer.
• Learn the memory verse.
• Consider the age level adjustments needed each week (those included in the lesson plan and your own).
• 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 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.
• Check out the room before your first Sunday workshop so that you know where everything is located.
• The bin with supplies is located in the Sunday School room. Purchase or request additional supplies .
• Learn how to operate the video camera. Practice playing the video back on the television. See video setup tips here.
  
  

SCHEDULING NOTE: the oldest class should be in this workshop at the beginning of the rotation so they can tape the newscast for the others to watch.

Room set-up:
Put a table and two chairs set up as a news desk. You can put a large map of the Holy Land on the wall along with a banner with the call letters WRCC.

Materials List:

• Bible Times Costumes (bathrobes and head scarves are fine)
• A “microphone” for the interviewer. (A handheld microphone is also a necessity or a mike can be made with a toilet paper tube and a nerf ball!)
• Station call letters on poster board, masking tape
• Map for the “weather”
• Props for commercials: Clay jar or pot, picture of a camel or a toy camel, a pair of sandals, grapes, jewelry, tambourine, perfume bottle, bottled water, etc.
• Flip chart or whiteboard and appropriate markers
• Video camera and tripod (see video setup tips here)
• TV and cables to connect camera to tv
• Popcorn for viewing time (optional)
• Attached script printed out or on transparencies to show with overhead projector (FIELD TEST NOTE: this did not work for us in our setup -- the print was too small -- make sure it is legible) or cue cards
• Memento: Pencil stickers (So the children can understand Corrie ten Boom's quote “I want to be a pencil in the hand of God."). Prophets were pencils in God's hands!
• Shepherd Time: pencils (to give to the children), precut rebus pieces, glue sticks

Lesson

Opening- Welcome and Lesson Introduction

Greet the children and introduce yourself. Wear your name-tag. (Remember, you are interacting with a different group of students each week who may not know you.)

Explain the purpose of this workshop: We are going to take you back in time to help you get to know Isaiah and to understand his role as a prophet by producing/watching a newcast.

Scripture:
Read the scripture (Isaiah 7:10-14, 9:6-7a) from your open Bible.
Encourage the children to use their Bibles in looking up verses and read along.

Give the children some background information on Isaiah and his times.

Dig (grades 4 and 5 - newscast recording)

Gather the children around the news desk and ask them if they ever watch a news program. Tell them that today we are going to pretend that we are traveling back in time, all the way back to the time of Isaiah (approximately 2,500 years ago), and we are going to recreate a news broadcast. Explain that the call letters after the W stand for River Community Church. The focus of the broadcast will be community news. We will need a weather person, a sports person, and at least 2 news anchor people. We will also have a live interview with a local prophet, Isaiah!

Ask for volunteers to read the news and volunteers to place the correct transparencies on the overhead. (The script is attached to this lesson plan.) You will also need a camera operator. You need a director, too.

Read through the script and answer any questions, then LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION

Rehearse and then film. (If it is moving quickly, you may want to have the older children create commercials also.)

When you finish the filming, the students will want to see their production, so be prepared to hook the camera to a tv and watch. Serve popcorn if you desire!

Dig (K/1 and 2/3 - watch newscast and add commercials)

Show the newscast the older children taped to the younger classes.

Tell them that they are going to create a variety of commercials to be played during the newscast. Show them the items on the table (grapes, jars, camels, etc.). Have them vote on the first item they want to create a commercial for.

Ask them to think of commercials they like to watch. Ask them how they would sell the item they chose. The teacher should be the scribe and should write the script or key words with a marker on a flip chart to be used as cue cards. The students can go to the costume box and dress up, gather their props, rehearse their lines, and then LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION. The Shepherd should then film while the Workshop Leader holds up the cue cards. These commercials can be taped at the end of the older children’s newscast.

If possible, view each commercial before going on to write another commercial for the next item. The commercials can be FUNNY.

Reflect:

Pulling it all together (closing discussion):
Did you have fun making this news broadcast? Can you learn something and have fun at the same time? I hope you learned some things about Isaiah. Let's see how much you remember.

• What did his name mean? [May the LORD save.]
• When did he live?[before Jesus; when Ahaz was king in Jerusalem; around 740-680 B.C.]
• Name one of the King’s he brought messages to. [Ahaz, Ussiah, Jotham, Hezekiah]
• What did Isaiah tell everyone that the LORD promised? [Isaiah 7:14] Who is that child? [Jesus]
• What did he say Jesus would be called? [Immanuel]
• Do people always listen to and do what prophets tell them to do?

Review the memory verse.
(the students will learn the verse with movements so that their bodies will help their minds remember the words; accompanying movements are in italics; note that these movements are NOT ASL.)
Isaiah 9:6 [hold up 9 fingers, then 6]
For a child is born to us, [rock a baby]
a son is given to us. [hold out both hands palms up as if giving something]
And the government [hands on hips, stand tall and authoritatively]
will rest on his shoulders. [pat both of your shoulders]
These will be his royal titles: [hands circle head like a crown]
Wonderful Counselor, [start with both hands at mouth, reach them out with palms up as if giving something]
Mighty God, [hold both arms up to show muscles]
Everlasting Father, [both hands start at heart, reach and point out to sides showing eternity]
Prince of Peace. [hold two fingers up in a peace sign]

Talk about what the names mean and then repeat several times until all are comfortable with it.

Shepherd Time:

By 11:45 a.m. ask the Shepherd to pass out the journal pages and pencils/markers. Suggestion: You may wish to give the children a sticker of a pencil to paste in their journal as a reminder that prophets were and are "pencils in the hand of God."

Journal Activity:

Say: A woman named Corrie ten Boom said, “Prophets are pencils in the hand of God.” I wonder what she meant?

Ask: Does the pencil write the message or is it the hand that writes the message? The pencil is only a tool, isn't it?

Each child can then write in their journal how God might use them to be a pencil in His hand. What message does God want them to bring to the world? (You may have to ask them questions that make them think about how God might want them to be a message to others.)
Give each child a pencil to take home today!

This is meant to be a time of reflection and introspection. Writing about faith helps clarify lessons. In addition to the suggested activity, children may draw pictures relating to today’s scripture or memory verse, list highlights of the day’s activities, or rephrase the memory verse. 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 while they wait for their parents after worship.

Before noon, ask the students to stop journaling for a moment and sit quietly for prayer so they can leave when their parents arrive. Allow them to finish journaling afterwards.

Closing prayer:

Think about what God gave us at Christmas,
God gave us His Son, just like Isaiah said He would.
I pray that we will also think of what we can give Him.

What shall I give Him,
As small as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I'd give Him a lamb.
If I were a wise man,
I'd do my part.
I know what I'll give Him,
I'll give Him my heart.
by Christina Rosetti

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: Older children will need practice reading the script before filming, but they should enjoy playing all of the parts.

Younger Children: Younger children may need to have adults play the parts of the newscasters. They can hold cue cards and run the camera and write and act in the commercials.

For classes composed primarily of pre-readers, show the children how to find the passage in the Bible (for example, “To find the Gospels, open the Bible in the middle and then open the second half in the middle - you should end up in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Our passage is in Mark." and then have them do it). After everyone has found the passage, have them close their Bibles and listen while you read.

Resources

Great People of the Bible and How They Lived, Reader's Digest Publishing Co.

Camp, Anne. rotation.org lesson plan: Rotation.Org Writing Team Jesus' Birth Through The Eyes Of Isaiah Video Workshop.

Christina Rosetti's poem "What Can I Give Him?"

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.

A lesson written by Judy McIntyre from: River Community Church, Prairieville, LA

Permission granted to freely distribute and use, attribution is included.

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