Jesus' birth through the eyes of Isaiah and the Prophets

Games/Music Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

In this workshop children will play a game to learn about the songs and carols of Christmas and how we often sing words of prophecy to celebrate Christ’s birth. The children will play NAME THAT CAROL which is played according to the format of the old television show NAME THAT TUNE.

Scripture References:

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

Key Verse:

Isaiah 9:6 (NLT)

Workshop Objectives:

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.

Additionally, at the end of the session, the students will

• Know the history of some of the common Christmas carols.

Leader Preparation:

• Read the scripture passages and lesson plan.
• 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.
• You need to be able to play the treble clef melody notes to carols on a keyboard in order to do this lesson. If you can't do it, then you need to ask a friend who can read music to assist you with the lesson! Music will be provided! At most, you will only need to play 4 notes for each!
• These are the 10 carols to be used: Silent Night, O Holy Night, Joy to the World, Away in a Manger, What Child Is This, We Three Kings, Noel, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, O Little Town of Bethlehem, O Come All Ye Faithful.

Materials List:

• Small keyboard
• Hymnal with the Christmas carols or a music book such as Christmastime…for Singing
• 10 carol puzzle posters created from http://www.ssqq.com/archive/christmaspuzzle00.htm - you will need to look through the puzzles to find the ones you need. For example, #12 is a picture of a knight with holes in his armor -- the clue for "O Holy Night."
• CD player, Handel's Messiah CD (or a way to play it from the cloud)
• 10 fact cards for the carols (attached)
• Words to the carols (attached) cut apart to distribute as needed (make extra, as some will be used as part of the journal page during Shepherd time)
• 6 feet of banner or freezer paper and markers
• Easel
• Memento: musical note stickers (optional)
• Shepherd time: glue sticks and blank pages

Advanced Preparation Requirements:
Students can sit on the floor or in chairs.

• Set the 10 carol poster puzzles on the easel with four pieces of paper covering each poster (each piece of paper covers 1/4 of the poster).
• Set up the keyboard with the music folder.
• Have hand-outs of words ready to distribute when the students correctly identify a carol.
• Put the long piece of paper for the banner on a table, if possible.

Presentation

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: “This morning we are going to play a game that identifies the names of songs we sing at Christmas. The songs often contain many names for Jesus. We are going to listen for those names and think about what they mean.”

Dig- Content and Reflection

Bible Story:

First, let’s read a few words written by the Prophet Isaiah. Does anyone know what a prophet is?
Listen, as we hear the word of God:
Read the scripture: Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7a.
(Encourage the children to use their Bibles in looking up verses. Show the youngest children how you use the table of contents, but do not give them Bibles. Just read the verses to them. Help the other children look up Isaiah in the Table of Contents and find it in their Bibles.)

The Game:

Directions for playing NAME THAT CAROL:

• Have students gather where they can see the easel and the carol puzzle. Have a blank banner on the floor or a table and some markers so that students can write the names Jesus was called in the carols.
• The teacher says, “I bet you can name this carol in one note!”
• Musician plays the first note of the carol! Students guess! (Only call on one or two children.)
• Remove 1 of the four pieces of paper covering the puzzle poster! 1/4 of the puzzle is now revealed.
• Most likely, the students will be stumped and you can continue…!!!
• The teacher says, “I bet you can name this carol in two notes!” Play the first two notes and the students guess!
• Remove another of the four pieces of paper covering the puzzle poster! 2/4 of the puzzle is now revealed.
• The teacher says, “I bet you can name this carol in three notes!” Play three notes and the students guess!
• Remove another of the four pieces of paper covering the puzzle poster! 3/4 of the puzzle is now revealed.
• The teacher says, “I bet you can name this carol in four notes!” Play and the students guess!
• Remove the last piece of paper and the whole puzzle is now revealed.
• Using the four notes and the picture puzzle, students should be able to guess the name of the carol. (See the puzzle pictures at the website listed in the resources - they are plays on words. For example, there is a picture of a suit of armor with holes in it for “Oh Holy Night.")
• If not, play the song until the carol is guessed.

When the carol title is guessed, the teacher should hand out the song sheet for that carol. Students should sing the first verse of the carol with accompaniment if possible, and then the teacher should tell the story behind the carol emphasizing the prophecy words that are a part of the carol. Have the students write on a banner the names for Jesus they heard in the carol they just sang. As the names are written on the banner, the teacher should ask the children what each name means. Sing the song again if necessary to remember what names were used for Jesus.

Reflect:

Pulling it all together (closing discussion):

Some famous Christmas and Easter music was written by a famous composer, George Frederic Handel. The work is called Messiah. Does anyone know what the name ‘Messiah’ means? Messiah means “someone anointed with Holy Oil.” Holy oil was used to show that someone was special and ‘anointed’ meant that the oil was poured over someone. Have you ever had your mom put suntan lotion on you? Well, that is kind of like an anointing. The oil is poured on your skin and rubbed in. Jesus was anointed with oil (not suntan oil but holy oil) because He was special and He had a special job to do. He had come to earth to save us from our sins.

All of the words in Messiah are from the Bible, many from Isaiah’s prophecies. Listen as I play one of the choruses (which is when the entire choir sings) and see if the words sound familiar. [Play the Number 12 Chorus, “For unto us a child is born.”]

That’s right! Our Bible memory verse from Isaiah is part of the words in  Messiah.

Review the memory verse:
Play the chorus from Messiah again if time permits. Have the children listen for names for Jesus and add them to the banner if the names are not already on it.

Shepherd Time:

Pass out the journal pages and pencils/markers. Suggestion: You may wish to give the children a sticker (perhaps a musical note) or some memento to paste in their journal as a reminder of today’s activity.
Do you have a favorite carol of the ones we sang? [Review the names again, if necessary.] Choose one you would like to illustrate. I will give you a copy of the words to glue to your journal page. (If your favorite is one we did not sing, you may illustrate it too, but you will have to write the words yourself or dictate them to me.)

This is meant to be a time of reflection and introspection. Writing about faith helps clarify lessons. 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.

Closing:

Before class ends, 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:
Dear Lord, You are our King, You are our Counselor, You are Wonderful, You are the Prince of Peace, You are the Messiah, You are the Promised One, You are the Christ, and You love all of us so much that you would not only be born for us, but you would die for us, too. Thank you God for the awesome gift of your Son. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Lesson Adjustments for Younger Children:

You will need to decide how best to adjust the lesson for older and younger students. Keep the children active and involved in the activities. Do what works for you and the children. If needed for the younger children, the Workshop Leader can be the person to write the names for Jesus on the banner with bubble letters, and the children can then decorate the letters or color them in if time allows.

Resources:

Puzzle posters are from http://www.ssqq.com/archive/christmaspuzzle00.htm

Music and words to the carols are from Christmastime…for Singing, Brentwood Publishing, © 1981

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
Copyright Judy McIntyre. Permission granted to freely distribute and use, provided the copyright message is included.

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