Rotation.org Writing Team
The Story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz
"SunScool" Bible Story App Workshop
Summary of Activities
Students will read and play through the Story of Ruth and Boaz as found in the SunScool Bible Story App—a free downloadable program that works on tablets, smartphones, and most computers; comes in multiple languages; and has age-level adjustments. The app's activities reinforce key points, facts, and verses in the story. The lesson concludes with a Bethlehem "House of Bread" reflection.
Our Writing Team has created a navigation guide to help teachers quickly get up to speed with the app's many options and to help teachers decide which of the program's four levels is most appropriate for their situation.
Scripture:
The Book of Ruth
The scripture in the app is NIV.
Memory Verse:
Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. (Ruth 1:16, NIV)
As students work through the Story of Ruth on the SunScool app, the activities they encounter will have them focusing on many key verses, facts, and words in the story to help them remember and understand. Our memory verse (Ruth 1:16) is one of those verses.
Lesson Objectives
See the Bible Background at Rotation.org for insights on this story and this set's complete list of objectives.
Computer/Tablet Setup Notes
- The free SunScool app can be downloaded on any combination of tablets (iPad and Android) and Windows and Mac computers/laptops. Your device must be connected to the internet to download the app and the individual stories. Once downloaded, it is not necessary to stay connected to the internet during use.
- A pop-up security reminder will appear in Windows during installation; go ahead and complete the install.
- We have written the first-ever SunScool Bible App Navigation Guide and Teaching Tips. It includes a breakdown of the stories, including details about the activities presented in the app and teaching suggestions.
- We recommend connecting a computer/tablet to a larger screen or smart TV through a cable or airplay for viewing by a large group or to show the students how to use the app. (The lesson plan recommends doing the first part of the story together on one big screen, then splitting into groups to complete the other parts of the story on other devices.)
- Because this app is very interactive, we recommend that after the introduction, you split up into groups with no more than two students per tablet and two or three per laptop or computer.
- The app also runs on iPhones and Android phones. While their screens are small for classroom use, consider recommending the app to kids and parents for continued use at home.
- IMPORTANT: When using the app with a new player you will want to reset the app's progress/achievement tracking for the story. See our SunScool Bible App Navigation Guide and Teaching Tips for how to do that.
Preparation and Materials
- Read the Bible Background and scripture.
- Download, install, and explore the app from https://www.sunscool.org/.
- Download the Writing Team's SunScool Bible App Navigation Guide and Teaching Tips.
- Decide how many computing devices you will be using, assemble them in the classroom, download the free SunScool app and four Ruth chapters for each one, and test them. See the setup tips above.
- Pocket Pita Bread, one half for each student.
- An assortment of things students can spread on their bread, if desired (butter, honey, jelly, peanut butter).
- Spoons, paper plates, napkins.
The SunScool Bible App: "Ruth"
The app has all the scripture for the story, makes various points, and reinforces certain knowledge as you progress through it.
Your approach to using this app in class will depend on how many and what age your students are and how many computing devices you have downloaded the SunScool app onto. The following lesson represents an "ideal" approach to using the app. Adjust as needed.
Be sure to read the Writing Team's "SunScool Bible App Navigation Guide and Teaching Tips." It includes a number of insights into how the program works, how to skip forward where needed, and how to teach with software in general.
The app has dozens of stories. Pictured below is a screenshot of the four Ruth story chapters found in the SunScool app when you select Level 3. ("Chapter" titles and activities change depending on which level you select. Selecting Level 1 or 2 shortens the story to two chapters and the activities are simpler. Level 4 has different chapter titles, with more detailed story and activities.) The numbering on the screenshot below has been added to show you the four Ruth chapters on the app that you'll be covering in this lesson.
Lesson Plan
Opening
Welcome your students and explain what they'll be doing and learning in today's lesson.
Begin the lesson by gathering around one screen
Gather students around one screen and explain that everyone will go through the first Ruth story chapter together; and when finished, they'll split into separate groups, each with their own computing device, to complete the other three chapters and their activities.
- Show your students how to navigate to the Ruth stories on the main menu.
- Complete Ruth 1 "Wrong Decisions" together as one group. Show them how to move through the story and play the activities.
- Ask if anyone has any questions.
- Split into separate groups, each with their own device, to begin working through story chapters 2, 3, and 4.
Role of the Teacher
While the students are completing the stories and activities, the teacher should GO WITH THEM through the story and activities. Do not hover. Be an active participant. Sit between devices/groups so you can be at eye-level with your students and their devices. (If you have a large class, there should be several teachers so each can sit and guide a few small groups.)
- Ask questions.
- Provide hints and help.
- Encourage sharing of the screen and controls.
- The Navigation Guide and Teaching Tips has more suggestions to help you be a "guide by the side."
"House of Bread" reflection
Turn off the SunScool app and gather away from the devices.
Ask: Do you remember from the lesson the name of the town where Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz lived? (Bethlehem)
Ask: What other famous people were born there? (David and Jesus)
Ask: Do you remember what the name "Bethlehem" means? (House of Bread)
Give a pita pocket bread half to each student. Have them open their pocket and place their bread upside down on the table to make a "house of bread."
Explain that the word "Bet-lehem" in the Hebrew language of Naomi, David, and Jesus has a "secret meaning" too, because "house" in the Hebrew language can also mean "family" or "family tree" (lineage).
Ask: How can a family be like bread? (nourishing, helps us grow, protects us from starvation) Note: "Bayit" or "Bet" in Hebrew is the word for house. "Lehem" is bread, but it can also mean "food."
As you invite students to eat their house of bread with any of the spreads you have brought, ask: Houses and families also protect. What does your family protect YOU from? (Families provide, and also teach.) How is our church like a house of bread?
Ask: How can YOU be a "house of bread" to your friends? To those in need?
Close with a prayer that each of us would be as loving as Naomi, as committed as Ruth, and as generous as Boaz in our "houses" of bread.
Adaptations
For Younger Students:
Consider choosing either the Level 1 or 2 setting for non-readers. This will condense the Ruth story into two sections, offer simpler narration and activities, and offer more onscreen prompts.
If a teacher or helper is immediately present, they can help the students read, or click the "forward" arrow to bypass certain activities if necessary (particularly if Level 3 is used).
For Older Students:
Grades 5 and up can certainly use the Level 4 setting. Some 4th graders will do well with the Level 4 setting.
For Those With More Class Time:
Spend more time at the appointed "breaks" in the lesson plan. Spend more time exploring the metaphor of "bread, house, family," including the metaphor of bread and family in Communion ("this is my body," etc.).
For a Shorter/Simpler lesson plan:
Choose Level 1 or 2 based on your age group, or use the forward arrow to skip puzzles and get to the next story.
For At-Home Use:
For at-home use, give parents the link to the SunScool homepage so they can choose the version that works on their device(s). Because the program keeps track of which stories/puzzles the kids have completed, a teacher or parent can reward kids for using the app.
About the SunScool App
SunScool was created by Best Educational, an international ecumenical Sunday School curriculum ministry based in the U.K. Unlike many other Bible apps, SunScool has continued to improve its program. Indeed, several suggestions we made during the preparation of this lesson were included in their latest version! 
Written by Neil MacQueen and Luanne Payne
and the Rotation.org Writing Team
Copyright Rotation.org Inc.
