(WT) Story of Creation ~ Bible Skills and Games Workshop Lesson

Rotation.org Writing Team

The Story of Creation

"Caring for Creation" Bible Games Workshop

Summary of Activities

Students will play two games to help them learn and remember the story of Creation. They will also prepare a "Creation Care Card Pack"—a set of game cards to take home to encourage more appreciation and caring for Creation in their family.

Scripture for the Lesson

Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 (NIV)

Key Verse: Genesis 1:27 (NIV)
"So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them."

Lesson Objectives

See the Bible Background at Rotation.org for insights on this story and this set's complete list of objectives.

Preparation and Materials

Read the Bible Background and scripture.
Prepare to print and/or show the "Shorter Version" of the Genesis scripture and the "Spot the Mistake" Student Edition game pages. See the Endnotes for ways you can share these documents with students.
Print one copy of the "Spot the Mistake" Teacher's Edition document. It includes some teachable insights to share as your students "spot the mistakes."
One marker for the teacher's use.
Packets of wildflower seeds suitable for your region, one per student.
Print a Creation Care Card Pack (one per student). Cut and fold these cards per the instructions on the first card in a set.
Collect coloring supplies.
For each student, a sheet of paper and tape to wrap the game cards and the seed packet for safe transport home.

Lesson Plan

Opening (2 minutes)

Welcome your students and explain what they will be doing and learning today. Tell them that today they will be playing several games about the Story of Creation, then they'll make their own caring for Creation card game to take home.

Scripture Activity: Spot the Mistake (15 min)

1. Read the Scripture

Display the "Shorter Version" of the Genesis scripture (or give it to students as a handout). Explain that—to save time—you are reading this version of Genesis that has been shortened from the story in the Bible. Let your students know that after they read it together, they'll be playing a game with a version of this text that has many mistakes in it for them to find!

Read the scripture. (We recommend you use the shortened version since that is the version that the "mistakes" version is based upon.)

2. Play the "Spot the Mistake" Game

First, remove from view the "correct" copy of the Genesis scripture. Then, show the "Spot the Mistake" Student Edition (either in the form of handouts to students or displayed in some manner as described in the Endnotes). Have your Teacher's Edition of the mistakes and teaching insights by your side.

Split into teams.
If projecting the text, have a student from the first team come forward to "spot one mistake" anywhere in the text by pointing at the mistake.
If they are correct, award their team a point. The teacher should highlight the discovered mistake on their Teacher Edition. If they are incorrect, you may give them a hint. Otherwise, their turn is over.
When they have correctly spotted a mistake, award them another point if they can tell you the correct word that should be in the text. If they get it wrong, let the other team guess. if both get it wrong, tell them the correct answer and move on.
Interject insights and questions between "spotting," using the information on your Teacher's Edition of the text.
End the game when you feel enough time has passed. Share any significant mistakes (and their insights) that students missed spotting.

Adjust gameplay and hints as needed to be helpful and keep the game moving.

See the "adaptations" at the end of this lesson for playing this game with non-readers.

Pictured above: Screenshots of the "Spot the Mistake" and Teacher Notes Handout

Game #2: Story of Creation Telephone Game (15 min)

This version of the "telephone game" uses key verses from the Genesis 1 story in the NIV translation. Substitute your preferred translation if needed. The first three are warm-ups and reminders of key verses. The last three are focused on the meaning of the "image of God."

Gameplay: Line up students so there are at least 4 people on a team. Put several feet between each student so they can't hear the message being whispered by others when it is not their turn to listen. The first person quietly hears the sentence/message from the leader. That person then walks to the next person in line and repeats the message word-for-word in a whisper. And so on... until the message reaches the last person who repeats it out loud for the whole group to hear. Correct as needed. Repeat for other phrases suggested below.

Some questions and comments are provided below. Adjust according to time and age group.

Telephone whisper	Questions/Comments to share
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."	God loves to create! God wants us to be creative! How do you suppose this changes the way we view ourselves?
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.	God spoke our world into being. What do you suppose this tells us about God?
And God saw that it was good.	How aware are you of the created world around you? What could help make you more aware? What part would you describe as "good?"
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness."	I wonder who the "us" is in "Let us make mankind"? (Have older students look up John 1:1-5.)
In the image of God, he created them; male and female he created them.	What does it mean that we are created in the "image" and "likeness" of God? Does God have arms and legs, a nose or hair? (The word "image" means something like "character" or "values.") What are some of God's values? We were created to love and take care just like God does!
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.	Why are we supposed to take care of Creation? God calls Creation "good." That is why we take care of Creation—because God called it good! We honor God's good work when we take care of the land, water, air, animals, and each other.

Game #3 "Creation Care Card Pack" Card Game & Reflection (10-15 min)

Distribute to each student a set of cut-apart cards in a "Creation Card Pack." Review the content of the cards with them as you wish, including how to play, then distribute coloring supplies to let the student illustrate the blank sides of each of the seven cards.

After they have finished illustrating the pack (in as little or as much time as you want to give them), have them wrap their deck of cards in a sheet of paper with the wildflower seed pack and tape the package closed so that they can safely transport the card pack and seeds home.

Close with a prayer of gratitude for Creation, and that the game cards and seeds will help our families think more about how we can care for God's Creation.

Adaptations

For Younger Students:

Spot the Mistake: Read the Shorter Version of the Genesis text to them slowly, telling them to listen carefully because you're going to be reading it again but putting "mistakes" into it to see if they can spot them! Read to them using the Teacher's Edition of "Spot the Mistake." When you come across a mistake, add a bit of emphasis on the mistaken word. If they don't catch the mistake right away, say "hold on a minute, what was that again? Is that right?" And repeat the mistaken word until they acknowledge it isn't the right word. Then ask them "what is the right word?" Simplify the teaching points as needed.
Telephone Game: Repeat the verse twice to the first person and have each person also repeat it twice to the person they are whispering it to. Shorten the verses as needed.
Creation Care Card Pack: Go over the cards in the pack and tell them how to play with their family when they get home. Caution them about opening the seed pack. Show them how tiny the seeds are so they aren't overly curious.

For Those With More Class Time:

Prior to reading the story add finding Genesis in the Bible.
Rather than using the shorter version of scripture, read the entire scripture from the Bible. (Explain that the "Spot the Mistake" game uses a shortened version.)
Discuss Jesus' role in Creation. Explore Colossians 1:15-18.
Add a game of Creation Story Charades using key phrases as the charade clue, like "Let there be light."

For a Shorter/Simpler lesson plan:

Skip the Telephone game. Spend a minimal amount of time illustrating the cards.

For At-Home Use:

Create more Creation Care Cards, including digging into the scripture verses.

Endnotes

Five Ways to Share the Scripture and Game #1 Handouts

Make paper copies (one per student) of both the "shorter" scripture passage and the "Spot the Mistake" game handouts.
Print enlarged versions of these PDF documents, using the print options: "Poster" and increase the "Tile Scale." Tape together the printed pages into a poster.
Plan to project these handouts on a large screen using an "old-fashioned" overhead projector (by printing the handouts on clear transparency sheets),
Save the handout files to your laptop and connect your laptop to a larger monitor or TV. (See the how-to here.)
Print one copy of each handout file. Project these handouts on a large screen using a "modern" document camera.

a star If you don't already own a modern overhead document camera projector, consider buying one for your program OR make one using your cellphone. See these simple instructions at Rotation.org.