Rotation.org Writing Team

Anointing of David

Bible Skills & Games Workshop 2

Link to Games Workshop 1

Summary of Lesson Activity

Students will play a Wheel of Fortune-style game to learn and remember story details. They will also play a "Gum" game during the study to learn about 1 Samuel and related books about the Kings.

Scripture

Passage: 1 Samuel 16:1-13

Key/Memory Verse: “For the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7b (NRSV)

Objectives for the Rotation

See Bible Background.

Additional Objectives for the "Bible Skills" 

Preparation

• Read Bible Background and scripture.
• Prepare a "Wheel of Fortune" spinner, and board to display the letter envelopes. (See important letter board suggestions below) 
• Write out the following phrases on 4x6 index cards. Store each verse's set of cards in a separate numbered envelope. Alternately, you can draw the letter-spaces on a whiteboard and write the correct letters on it (when guessed in the game).  (See suggestions below.)

Game Verses:  

Tips:  As you create each set, put them in numbered envelopes. Be sure to use the same translation on your index cards as you have in the classroom Bibles. 

1. Fill your horn with oil (Verse 1)  "Category Clue: God commanded Jesse"
2. Samuel went to Bethlehem (Verse 4)   "Category Clue: Travel notes"
3. Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah (Verse 6, 8 and 9)  "Category Clue: Jesse's Sons"
4. Are all your sons here? (Verse 11)  "Category Clue: What Samuel said to Jesse"
5. David, the youngest, a shepherd  Category Clue: "An unlikely king"
6. The Lord looks on the heart (Verse 8)  Category Clue: "Point of this lesson"
7. Rise and anoint him; for this is the one (Verse 12)  Category Clue: "What God commanded Samuel to do to David."

Bonus Quiz Questions If Needed:

  1. What does anointing mean?
  2. What was in David's heart that made him God's choice?
  3. What other things does God choose people to go do for him?

Materials List

• Game Wheel and Letter Board
• 4 x 6 Index cards 
• Large envelopes
• Markers
• Paper
• Pens
• Score sheet
• Pack of gum (one stick for each student)
• timer (30 seconds)

Lesson Plan

Introduce yourself and today's lesson plan by sharing with students what they'll be doing over the next 30 minutes, they will be studying the story of Samuel's anointing of David to be the new King. If this is later in the rotation, ask them what they know about that story already.

Opening: Guess About Me - Game

Have students take turns telling the class something about themselves that most people don't know. To prime their thinking, write down one of three categories to choose from. (For large groups, break into groups of three.)

Ask: How do you get to know someone really well?
The kids will have different answers. Quality time spent with someone is a good answer. Make your point, that God knows us really well, because he is with us always. God knows what we are thinking and can see into our hearts.)

Ask: What should we spend our time doing so that we get to know God?
Prayer, scripture, worship, service, learning to trust, feeling his presence,  ---these things helps us get to know God's heart as well.

Say: Today we are reading the story of the time when God told the Prophet Samuel to go "anoint" another king to replace King Saul who had not been a very good King. God wanted a king with a good and faithful heart, -a heart like God's.

Bible Skill: Gum Game

==Divide the class into two or three teams and have them sit at three different team tables for the next two games.==

Say: I have set my cellphone timer to *30* seconds. When I say "go" I want you to find the first book of Samuel, Chapter 16. You each win a stick of this gum when each of you has found that chapter. You may do everything to help each other after about 15 seconds, but you CANNOT say the page number out loud!

At the 10 second mark I will tell you if it's in the Old or New Testament.
At the 20 second mark I will give you another clue. (clue: There are two books of Samuel and two books about the Kings)

Ready? Go!  

If someone doesn't find the page, let them sweat it out, then make this point: "We know what was in your heart:  you tried and wanted to find the page. It's what's in a person's heart that matters most. Distribute gum and remind them to keep their page open.  (This is an example of delivering the lesson point before the study, -which you'll do next.)

As they are unwrapping their gum, brief them on where the Book of Samuel fits into the Old Testament. Use a wall-chart of Bible Books if at all possible.

(Image below is a chart by Rose Publishing - it comes laminated or un-laminated).
I've indicated where 1 Sam is in relation to the other OT books - if you have the laminated version you can draw on it with a washable marker on a laminated one.)

Say: The two books of Samuel tell us the stories of how the people of Israel switched from being ruled by judges (like Samson and Deborah), to wanting a king like all the other nations had. God sends Samuel, -the last judge, to select Saul as the first King, and when Saul isn't faithful, God sends Samuel to go find David, "a man after God's own heart," and anoint him to be the next king. David's story as King, and all the other stories of the kings are found in the First and Second Book of Kings, and many of them are repeated in 1 and 2 Chronicles (which means "History" of the Kings). These stories tell us how difficult it is for human kings to be the kind of leader God wants for his people. Eventually, they all fail, and that's when God starts sending the prophets to tell about the coming of a new promise, the hope for a new kind of king:  One who will be God with Us, Emmanuel, the Messiah. Do you know who that new kind of king will be? (Jesus!)

Reading the Story in Preparation for the Wheel of Fortune Game

Say: I am going to read very slowly through the story of 'God choosing David', once, and only once. Listen closely to each verse because as soon as I'm done reading the story, we are going to play a game like "Wheel of Fortune."

Play the "Wheel of Fortune" David Game

The teacher is the host. Assign a student to be "Vanna" -the one who turns the letters over. Vanna will need a copy of the Bible verse. Tip:  NUMBER the letters in each verse and on the Board, so that Vanna knows exactly which one to turn over, and doesn't make any mistakes, -OR- have the host point to the letter for Vanna to turn over.  

You're already divided into teams, so take turns having one player at a time spin for their team. Remind the other teams not to shout out answers until it is their turn.

It is important to play through the clue verses in the correct story order.

How to Play:  

• The "host" selects the first set of cards and has Vanna put them on the board. 
• One player on the first team spins the wheel. 
• If the spinner stops on a point space, the player guesses a letter. 
• Only consonants can be guessed on a spin.  All correctly guessed consonants are exposed by Vanna.
• If they guess a letter correctly, they get however many points are showing on the spinner, -adding it their score. If there are two or more of the letters in the verse, they get the points times the number of times the letter occurs in the phrase (just like on the show). (For younger children or shorter class times, you can skip the multiplication of points).
• If a team wants to buy a vowel, they can ask to buy an a,e,i,o,u but it costs them 250 points. 
• If they guess a letter correctly, they get to keep spinning.
• The player's turn continues until he/she solves the puzzle, guesses wrong, or lands on "Lose Turn" or "Bankrupt." "Bankrupt" means that the person or team loses all accumulated points and the other team takes a turn.
• If a player guesses wrong, the turn passes to the other team. The player/team solving the puzzle is the winner of that round, and the only one that gets points for that round. The winner is the one that has the most points at the end of the three rounds. (If time permits you may wish to play additional rounds.)

Reflect 

Give each student an index card and an envelope to take it home in.

On the envelope, have them write the memory verse for today:

"for the Lord does not see as mortals see;

they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

1 Samuel 7

Now Say:  Other lessons in our Anointing of David rotation have reflected on "the things God wants to see in our hearts."  Name some of the things you think God is looking for in your heart, and then write them on the card.  Put the card in the envelope and seal it up.

Write your name on your envelope and "1 Sam 16." Take it home, and put it in your sock drawer. The next time you feel "judged" by someone about your appearance, or feel left out, open the envelope for a heavenly reminder.

Close with prayer over the cards that God will be pleased with the good things he sees in our hearts. 

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS

Suggestions for How to Make a Game Spinner and Letter-Clue Board

Your Bible Skills and Games Workshop may already be outfitted with a Wheel spinner board and letter board for a Wheel of Fortune -style game. If so, adapt the letter clues and spinner board ideas to what you have.

If you need to make your Wheel and Letter Clue Board, here are a few simple suggestions. You'll use them again for other games someday, so think about making it nice and reusable.

THE SPINNING WHEEL

A game board can be made from a large sheet of foam core or out of wood. It needs to have four rows of eleven places to which 3" x 5" index cards can be clipped. Hooks or clips can be used for this purpose.You will need a game wheel or at least a spinner from an old board game adapted for this purpose.

There are several different "Wheel" spinner board designs you can find on the web. Yours can be as simple as a decorated round piece of foamcore poster-board with a spinner arrow attached to the center of it. Or for something a bit nicer, buy a plastic tabletop "lazy-susan" from your local Home goods store, and fix the round piece of foam core poster-board to it. Glue the lazy-susan to a larger piece of plywood and screw a wood piece to the plywood to act as the base to hold a pointer.  If you want to make the wheel "click" as it rotates, cut a 2" slot in the poster board between each section and fit a flexible piece of plastic it in so that the plastic 'clicks' when it hits the pointer as the wheel is spun. Adjust for effect. 

On the spinner mark one space with the words:

"Lose Turn"
"Bankrupt"
"Wild Card" clue (a card they can turn in to get a clue from the teacher)
and put arbitrary point amounts on the remaining spaces.

THE LETTER BOARD

The simplest temporary option is to use a chalkboard or whiteboard, and draw boxes for each clue. Not very exciting, but easy. 

For something a little more fun, GLUE two rows of felt pockets (approx 5" wide by 3" high) to a large felt sheet. The pockets should be large enough to hold the 4x6 index cards. Now "Vanna" can put the puzzle in the pockets for each round, and turn the cards over and insert back into the pocket to reveal the letter on the card. Hang the felt sheet to be your game board.  Tip: Draw your clue letters 2" above the card bottom so the letter can be seen above the pocket when the card is turned around.

For extra fun and meaning, Put heart decorations around the felt letter board, and on the back of the index cards.

Adaptations - Younger Children

Gum Game:
Non-readers can be shown where 1 Samuel is located, and what the letters "Samuel" look like, then tell them to close their Bibles and open when you say "go!"  

Wheel of Fortune Game:

For early readers, turn over certain letters to help make the verses easier to solve.

For non-readers, since they can't read or spell you'll need a different game to play. You can play a game of "one step forward, one step back"  where you ask questions about the story, give two possible answers, and they vote with either a blue or yellow card. Correct answers take one step forward. Incorrect one step back. Lay out a game course on the floor using carpet squares (or squares of something to make the floor fun). For less competition, play this in groups, having the group decide on the correct answer, and winning or losing as a group. Best yet, keep asking questions based on the story and "things God wants you to have in your heart" until they win and complete the story course!

Written by: Cindy Merten and Neil MacQueen for the Rotation.org Writing Team

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