The Ten Lepers

Computer Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Uses the software program "Let's Talk" (Sunday Software).

Scripture Reference: 

Luke 17:11-19

Supplies List:

• "Let's Talk" software.

Leader Preparation:

• Gather the materials.
• Preview the software.
• Read the scripture ahead of time.

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

Open with a prayer.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

The healing of the ten lepers is another one of those great Jesus stories which has RICH DIALOG POSSIBILITIES to work with in software.

• What excuses might the 9 lepers have given for not going back to talk to Jesus?
• What might Jesus have said to each of those specific excuses?
• What did the 1 healed leper do AFTER he thanked Jesus? (Was 'thanking' enough?)
• Imagine what the 1 leper said to his parents, ...his friends.
• Imagine what that 1 leper told the religious authorities after thanking Jesus.
• Imagine what that 1 leper said to the OTHER 9 when he caught up to them!!
• Imagine YOU are the "leper"  ...what is your problem... your dis-ease?  How would a person ask Jesus for healing if they suffered from LONELINESS or SADNESS or BAD THOUGHTS in their head? This is a powerful question you can pose in several different ways. The kids will need help thinking through their options and wording.  
• What might Jesus say to you about your specific problem?  How does Jesus heal sadness? or loneliness?  or someone who is dying? (insert a problem here)    

Software Technique:

Whenever I encounter a story like this with rich dialog possibilities and questions that "could have been included" in the story, I tend to look at "Let's Talk" (Sunday Software).  Let's Talk software allows your students to create an onscreen animated character who will speak aloud whatever the kids type.

So....After my Ten Lepers Bible study with the kids, I would have them go to Let's Talk screen, create their character, and then POSE QUESTIONS to them (such as those I've listed above), either one at a time, or a different question to a different computer group, then give them 3 minutes to answer the question. Then we go to each computer to hear each group's response. Then I'd pose another question...and so on. 

For this story, I've use some of the questions found above. However, inevitably NEW questions come from the kids and I might use one of their raised questions or insights as my next question for their animated character to answer.

I might also simply have them RE-WRITE a new chapter to the story. For example: Imagine another leper decided to go look for Jesus after presenting himself to the priests. Where would he find Jesus?  How do WE find Jesus?   (This question is pretty deep. Remember the story of the Fourth Wiseman who went looking for Jesus and kept getting side-tracked by helping others?)

Closing:

End with a prayer.

NOTES:

Because Let's Talk software allows kids to have their onscreen persona answer FOR THEM, some will be more likely to open up, than if they had to say it themselves in front of the class.

For younger kids, you can collect IMAGES ahead of time of people who have a problem and imagine what that person could say to Jesus and what Jesus would say to those specific people and their problem.   You can collect these images from the internet, and paste them into documents ...and either have the kids type "captions" with each photo, and print, or have them write captions on the printed photos.

The story of the ten lepers is NOT found in Life of Christ CD. 

 A lesson written by Neil MacQueen

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Disclaimer: I created the software in question. My interest in teaching with software and subsequent software work grew out of my work with the Rotation Model.  I appreciate the Rotation.org Board encouraging me to post my lesson ideas here and encourage you to do the same.

These are the games that we are using for our rotation on Jesus healing the 10 lepers.  Two of these games are slight variations on the games posted by Salvation Stations—A Journey of Faith St. John Lutheran Church.  Admin - please feel free to delete if you feel they are too similar and need not be repeated on this post.

Jesus Healing the 10 Lepers

Games Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Children will hear the story of Jesus healing the lepers and explore themes and details of the story through games.

Scripture Reference:

Before playing games, read the Bible story in Luke 17:11-19.

A Note About Games:

A variety of game options have been included for your use. The amount of games you use as well as the type of game will depend on the age group you are working with, attention spans and the number of children in attendance.

Don’t worry about getting through every activity, instead focus on fully engaging in each learning opportunity that arises. If you finish quickly, repeat the ones that children enjoyed the most or lead children in “just for fun” games to fill time. Some sample fun games may include use of the parachute, balls or even just a round of tag.

A Note About Ages:

Younger students will need help understanding the teaching of each lesson. Spend time explaining concrete examples and have them repeat what they are hearing to ensure that they are absorbing what they hear.

By grade 2-3, students are more ready to add examples of their own but still may need clear explanations and encouragement as they try to understand and apply what they are learning.

Students in upper elementary are ready for more in depth conversation. Take advantage of this ripe age and see what thoughts, ideas, questions or concerns they can contribute to the conversation. Can they think of how each activity applies to life? 

Leader Preparation:

• Gather the materials.
• Read the scripture ahead of time.

Supplies List:

• A roll of toilet paper.
• Stack of blank paper
• Velcro marking tape
• A small jingle bell

Presentation

Opening- Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

Open with a prayer.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Game: Leper Tag

Objective:

Students will understand that lepers were believed to be very contagious and forced to stay out of communities.

Supplies:

• A roll of toilet paper

How To Play:

• Appoint one person to be “it” and give each of them a roll of toilet paper. Explain that a torn of piece of toilet paper represents the bandages that might have been used to cover sores of leprosy. The person who is “it”/has leprosy then chase after the other students—if they tag them, then the person who is “it” gives them a long strip of toilet paper — so that person now has leprosy. That person also become “it” and chases after other people. As people are tagged receive several squares of toile paper. By the end, most people will have received a piece of toilet paper/have leprosy.
• GAME VARIATION: If you have a limited space to work with consider having those who are “it” hop on one foot at a time as though they had lost a limb to leprosy. Students who are running away can only take three steps at a time and must freeze and count to a pre-set number between each set of steps. This variation can increase the difficulty, enjoyment and amount of time the game takes.

Discussion:

• What happened when the person who was “it” (and had leprosy) got close to another person? (that person became “it” and got leprosy as well). 
• In Bible times, people were afraid of catching leprosy, so they made lepers stay far away. They wanted to make sure the disease didn’t spread.

Game: A Fast Walk

Objective:

Students will discuss the leper who walked back to thank Jesus and explore possible reasons for remembering or not remembering to thank God for our blessings.

Supplies:

• A large stack of blank paper (30-40 sheets)

Instructions:

• Explain to students that they are going to compete in a walking race.
• You can have students race two at a time or have larger groups, whatever works best
• For younger students, consider having students race against a clock instead of competing against one another. Work together as a class to set a time record and then to beat it!
• Older students can compete against one another and you may even consider running several “heats” and then having your top competitors run for the top place in the final race.
• Repeat the game several times if having fun.
• To compete in the race, students must hold a stack of paper and set down one paper in front of them to step on. After they have taken a step onto the paper they must set down another paper. They continue in this pattern until they have made a path from one location to another. The first “walker” to get to the finish line wins!

Discussion:

• In our story we read about the Samaritan who came back to Jesus to say thank you. Do you think that Samaritan walked or ran? Why?
• Why do you think the Samaritan came back to say thank you?
• We might have thought that more than one person would have come back to say thank you! In fact, we could probably imagine all ten of the lepers feeling so thankful for this miracle that they raced back to be the first one to say thank you to Jesus. But that didn’t happen. Why do you think the other people didn’t come back to say thank you? Where did they go?
• Jesus noticed that only one person came back to say thank you too. You could say that the Samaritan won something very special for coming back. Jesus told him that he was “made well” for coming back and showing his faith in Jesus. What sort of prize did the Samaritan get for coming back?
• How quickly do we say thank you to Jesus for blessings in our life? Why do we sometimes forget to say thank you and what helps us remember to be thankful?

Game: Stuck Statues

Objective: Students will think more about what it might have been like to be a leper separated from their community.

Supplies:

• Velcro marking tape to create a rectangle on the floor, large enough for 3-5 students to fit snugly inside
• Alternatively you can use a large sheet or tarp to create a designated zone

Instructions:

• Explain to students lepers had to stay away from people for fear that the disease was contagious. Explain that the marked off area in the classroom is going to be the space where lepers had to stay so as not to come in contact with other people.
• Divide students into teams of 3 to 5 people and assign each team a number.
• Explain that all students must lay on the floor with their heads face down into their arms. 
• You will explain a scenario that lepers might have faced and give students a moment to think about the situation. You will then call out a team number and every member of that team must race into the quarantined zone and freeze as a statue depicting what a leper might do in the situation described.
• After they are frozen as statues, ask the team members to explain their pose to the class.
• Continue through the scenarios or until the students seem finished with the game.

Scenarios:

• You are feeling kind of lonely and want to go talk to your friend but you can’t go inside the town. What would you do if you could never see your friends again?
• Your sandals are falling apart. You want to go to the leather-maker’s shop and get your sandals repaired. What could you do if your sandals needed fixing and you couldn’t go in to town to the shop?
• You are really thirsty and would really like a cool clean cup of water from the well. Where would you get your water if you couldn’t go to the well?
• One of the big religious festivals is coming up. You would really like to go to the temple and celebrate this festival. How can you celebrate from a distance or do you even bother celebrating anymore?
• You are hungry. You would really like to buy some fresh food. Where would you get your food if you couldn’t go into town to buy it?

• The weather is getting colder and you need a new outer robe to keep warm. How would you get new clothes when your old clothes wear out? Or, how else might you stay warm?

• You had a job as a carpenter before you became sick. You are bored and would really like to do something—like work at your old job. Plus, you don’t have any money anymore. What kind of job can you do that would still keep you away from all people?

Discussion:

• You posed as statues stuck inside of a small box. I bet lepers often felt like that - stuck outside of their communities and unable to do anything that they had done before. Stuck in a really tough situation.
• Did this game help you imagine more what it might be like to be a leper? What new thoughts did it bring up in your mind?
• Why was it such a big deal that Jesus showed mercy and healed the lepers? How would it have changed their lives?
• We don’t have leprosy in Canada, but are there other reasons that people are pushed out of communities or left out of friendships. What might some of those reasons be?
• How might we include people who are feeling left out of community? How might be help people to feel loved and welcome so that they can experience the fullness of life that Jesus offers?
• What kind of changes might we see in the lives of people who are suddenly welcomed into community and loved when previously they had been made fun of, ignored, discriminated against or hated?

Game: Who's the One?

Objective

Children will play a game that helps them remember that what we see on the outside isn’t always an indication of what is on the inside. This lesson will help us understand the significance of the Samaritan being the only leper who came back to thank Jesus.

Supplies:

• A small jingle bell

Instructions:

• Choose one student to be the “investigator” and have them leave the room or hide their eyes along a wall of the classroom.
• Have the rest of the students gather around you. Select one student and hand them a small jingle bell to hold in a fist.
• Instruct all of the students to close their hands as fists and pretend to be holding the jingle bell. They are going to try and trick the investigator and make them think that they have the jingle bell.
• Line up all of the students along one wall of the classroom and have the investigator stand at an opposite wall.
• Give the investigator a moment to look at each student from a distance.
• You can help the investigator by giving increasingly helpful “clues” (have students raise both hands, have students drop both hands, have students shake both hands once, have students shake both hands several times, etc.) 
• Between each clue, allow the investigator to guess who has the jingle bell. The student chosen by the investigator must open their hands and reveal wether or not they have the bell. The round continues until the bell is found.
• The activity can be repeated to allow each student to have a turn as the investigator/bell holder.

Discussion:

• How easy or hard was it to find the person with the jingle bell? What gave you clues or helped you find them?
• Why do you think people would have guessed that the Jewish lepers might have been the ones to say thank you? (The Jewish people were known for being God’s people - they probably thought that they knew God better, worshipped him better and were even better people than other people. If they were so “good” than they probably would have remembered to do the good thing and say thank you!)
• Why do you think people were so surprised that the Samaritan said thank you? (The Samaritans were hated by the Jews. The Jews thought that the Samaritans

  didn’t worship God the right way or follow the right laws. It was very surprising that the Samaritan was the one who came and did the right thing and praise God for the blessing He had given.)

• The Bible tells us that the Samaritan became part of God’s family when He demonstrated His faith in Jesus. Being thankful to Jesus was a clue that something special had happened in the Samaritan’s heart. What clues can other people see in our lives that display that we are part of God’s family?

Closing:

End with a prayer.

A lesson from: Zion Baptist Community Church
Alberta, Canada

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

The story of Jesus Healing the Ten Lepers, One Thankful Leper in Luke 17 is one of the terrific presentations found in the SunScool Bible App for Kids.

You can find it for all four age levels under "Miracles" in the app's menu.

The App is free, ecumenical, and can be downloaded for use on tablets, smartphones, Windows, and Mac!    Get the download link and look up the story you need in our Outline of all 170+ stories in SunScool. That page also includes app helps.