Rotation.org Writing Team
Pentecost: Wind, Fire, and Faith!
Computer Workshop
Summary of Activities
After participating in a fun interactive reading of Acts 2, like Peter and the disciples on Pentecost, your students will define and express what the Gospel is. Using the language of either a pirate or a surfer, they will craft a new way to express the Gospel, and share it with their classmates, –letting the computer speak aloud their words.
"...the Big Kahuna wants us invite the Hoodads to the line up instead of kicking out!"
This lesson can be used with one or more computers. See the adaptation notes at the end of the lesson.
Scripture for the Lessons
Acts 2:1-8, 12-18, 36-47 ~ the story of Pentecost
(Teachers should read the entire story Acts 1:1-2:41)
Key/Memory Verse
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” -- Acts 1:8 (NRSV)
Lesson Objectives
See the Bible Background at rotation.org for this set's complete list of objectives, and lots of great "ways to explain this story" to your kids.
This lesson in the Writing Team's Pentecost Lesson Set takes a specific focus on WHAT the "Good News" is that set the Disciples on fire to proclaim it, and invite others to hear and believe it. Through the fun of playing with words in two different activities, students will "hear" (define/explain) and remember(!) the essence of the Gospel proclaimed at Pentecost and today.
Preparation and Materials
- Read the Bible Background and scripture.
- Select either Kid Pix 4 (or 3D) or Let's Talk software, be sure it's installed and working correctly, and try out the exercise.
- Printed copies of the Acts 2 Reader's Script.
- Printed copies of the Pirate and Surfer worksheet.
- Software: Kid Pix 4 (or 3-D) or Let’s Talk (Sunday Software). Let's Talk software is FREE to supporting members! Check it out here.
- Tissue paper, red [Optional].
- White board and appropriate marker and bibles.
A Note About the Software
Both Kid Pix 4 and Let's Talk have the ability to speak aloud whatever the kids type onscreen. Kid Pix 4 has illustrating tools that may be a nice for younger children to utilize --adding a Pentecost scene to either their pirate or surfer "Gospel." The illustrating tools, however, will be too distracting to older students, if not supervised! Let's Talk has the student create an onscreen talking character and focuses on "what to say." It does not have drawing tools. Non-readers will need help typing and can use either program with help.
Lesson Plan
Open
Welcome your students and explain how the lesson will unfold. Then assign one of the following languages and have those students try to read it. (They are phonetic.) They are all the same welcome.
Four Welcomes in Different Languages
1. Huānyíng guānglín wǒ de xu-é-shēngmen, jīntiān wǒmen yào xuéxí wǔ xún jiàodǎo wǒmen shènglíng yào wǒmen yǔ tārén de fāngshì, duì tāmen yǒu yìyì fēnxiǎng fúyīn de gùshì. (Chinese)2. Karibu marafiki zangu. Leo sisi ni kwenda kujifunza hadithi ya Pentekoste ambayo inatufundisha kwamba Roho Mtakatifu anataka sisi kushirikisha injili kwa wengine kwa njia ambayo hufanya akili kwao. (Swahili, one of the most popular languages in Africa)
3. Hola, Dudes. Today we're gonna shoot the curl on a heavy that schools us about the Big Kahuna wanting us to dive in with the Hoodads instead of kicking out or backing down, so that they can get sick and come shredding with us. (Surfer)
4. Welcome my friends. Today we are going to study the story of Pentecost which teaches us that the Holy Spirit wants us to share the Gospel with others in ways that makes sense to others. (English)
Note: The first 3 "welcomes" say the same thing as the English version.
Ask your students how much of the story of Pentecost they already know.
Outline the Pentecost story on the board based on what they remember, then give them clues as to what parts they might have missed and complete the outline. (Older students can be prompted to open their Bibles.)
Say: Sharing the good news is the first thing the Holy Spirit asked the disciples to do after Jesus had resurrected and gone back to heaven. It was so important to God for others to hear the Good News that he sent the Holy Spirit to help the disciples speak the Good News in many different ways.
Ask: What is the "good news" ? Write on the board the ideas and keywords students provided. They will refer to these later during software use.
(The Good News, or "Gospel" is that God so loved the world he forgave our sins on the cross, promised us eternal life with him, and wants us to be his ambassadors and helpers, sharing his message and showing his love.)
An Interactive Reading of Acts 2, the Story of Pentecost
How to read the story:
Distribute copies of the Acts 2 Reader's Script, then assign and practice "roles" in the story. As the teacher (or assigned students) read the story, those with assigned roles act out their parts whenever they are mentioned in the story. It is a very good idea to have a teaching assistant cue students. If you prefer, assign two roles per student for maximum participation. The script is attached to the end of this lesson at rotation.org The (!) in the script is the place for the teacher-reader to pause and prompt the characters to act.
Roles to Assign
- Disciples: At first they say “we’re afraid” but then they are amazed and excited.
- Peter: Peter never says a word, he just moves his arms/head dramatically in bold movements in time with the words of his speech.
- Holy Spirit/Blowing Wind: Seems to be making a lot of “wooshing” sounds.
- Crowd: Each person has to speak gibberish on cue, or in the case of the line "the crowd was utterly amazed" point at each character and have them try to out-do each other in saying "I'm utterly amazed." [Having an assistant prime the dramatic pump a bit will really help!]
- Naysayers: They don’t speak, rather, they just GROWL a lot, pose defiantly, shake their fist and wag their fingers whenever they are mentioned or the teacher is reading their lines.
Take some time to practice each role, then point at them quickly to see how fast they can react when it’s their character’s turn in the story. Give them suggestions. This will prepare them for the reading. In a verse that has some action, act it out.
After the creative reading, ask:
- How exciting do you think that day was for the Disciples? How scary was it?
- If you had been in that crowd that day, and responded to Peter's call and been baptized, how would you explain your decision to become a Christian to your friends and family that night when you got home? What would you say to them?
" Pentecost Pirates" and "Holy Surfers"
In this final exercise, students will try their hand at writing WHAT THE GOSPEL IS and what it means, in English and in a fun language different than their own. They have two choices which you can let them pick or assign them to do: "Pentecost Pirates" or "Holy Surfers"
Print the attached handout and give it to your students, then send them to the computer to use either Kid Pix 4 or Let's Talk. These two programs that can speak aloud whatever the kids type on the screen, student work together to create a three or four sentence summary of "what the Good News is or means" FIRST in plain English, and THEN in either pirate or surfer-speak. Work with them to get the English right, and make suggestions about pirate or surfer language. Attached to this lesson is a list of "Pirate" and "Surfer" vocabulary they can use.
If needed, have someone help them type. After everyone is finished, have the class go to each computer to hear each pirate’s or surfer version of the Gospel.
Closing
Invite the students to copy/print their pirate or surfer Gospel, and take it home with them. Kid Pix 4 has a print function, Let's Talk does not, but you can press the "printscreen" key (prntscrn) on your keyboard, then open a document and click "paste" to make the screen appear for printing.
Pray with your students that they would have courage of the Disciples, and power of the Holy Spirit to share the Good News through their words and actions.
Younger student adaptation and/or Non-computer adaptation:
Write out the pirate or surfer "Gospel" on large sheets of paper and illustrate.
Single Computer - Many Students Adaptation ...for those without a computer lab - using a laptop
Have students write out their "Gospel" and then have a typist quickly input their words into the Let's Talk software interface on the computer and play back for the class. Connect your laptop/computer to an LCD projector to project the software onto the wall for all to see.
Written by Neil MacQueen for the Rotation.org Writing Team
Copyright 2016, Rotation.org Inc.
Let's Talk image used with permission.
