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The New and Old Testament Hall of Fame |
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 The Bible is the best-selling book of all time, but not necessarily the best-known book at present. It has been fundamental in the development of European societies. And most of our values are based on it. Rediscovery of the Bible is an innovative opportunity for young people’s education.
Biblical texts bear some similarities to the fairy tales and legends that pupils – especially those of primary age – already know. In this way stories from the Bible could stimulate their curiosity in the New and Old Testaments, and improve their knowledge of the people who play an important role in the Bible.
The pupils' understanding of these people, and the values they stand for, allows for imaginative, creative activities that culminate in a "Hall of Fame", which could involve dressing-up as famous people from the Bible, an exhibition at school and a common gallery of both schools' work in the Twinspace. |
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Age group
5 - 12
Duration
1-3 months
ICT tools
Publishing tools: word processor, email, digital camera, scanner, videoconference
Gallery (PowerPoint presentation)
Model
Partnership of two or more schools. The number of teachers involved depends on the subjects involved. The kit suggests cross-curricular activities.
Subjects
Religious Education, Ethics, Art, Music
Objectives
• get familiar with Bible texts and their characters’ lives and values;
• develop critical thinking skills when looking for, selecting and organising relevant information on a chosen topic
• create short texts ;
• use basic ICT collaborative tools for publishing, editing, commenting and illustrating texts (depending on the exact age group);
• learn to communicate efficiently with both classmates and partners abroad;
• develop inter-cultural skills;
• improve creativity and artistic expression;
• get a background understanding of concepts such as justice, truth, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, loyalty, love, etc.;
Pedagogical value
In a rapidly changing and challenging world young people need to discover positive values that may guide their actions and help them to communicate with others. The Bible has offered ethical guidance for people of many generations and embodies many of the values of western European culture: the ultimate value of life, law, justice, love, compassion, help, joy, peace, etc. Pupils learn that other people and cultures are not opponents, but are our neighbours in a global community with positive common goals.
Process:
• Getting started
1.Teachers choose figures from the Bible and appropriate passages where they are best presented for younger pupils. They agree on the types of outcome: drawings, paintings, fashion show, short texts (writing or audio) etc.
2. They exchange views with the partner school/s and decide what outcome/which part is to be carried out by each group of pupils and agree on the intermediate and final deadlines.
• Collecting and sorting information
1. Teachers provide a list of people and topics from the Bible and let the pupils decide what is being “discovered” and who is being “adopted” by each pupil. Pupils get to know the relevant Bible texts and/or watch videos on these biblical stories.
2. Individually, or in small groups, pupils start the assignments. From the texts, they think about how to visually express the person they have chosen (drawing, clothes/outward appearance etc.).
3. The teachers of the subjects involved have to introduce basic rules of art to be used (symbols, colour etc.) and regularly need to monitor the sequence of tasks and give feedback individually or in class until a common satisfactory product is reached.
• Exchanging information
1. When more than one teacher is involved at each school there should be a project coordinator who is responsible for the contact between the pupils, especially the younger ones. The project coordinator also acts as liaison among the teachers and monitors the work process via email, chat and/or videoconference. He or she should remember deadlines and arrange necessary meetings.
2. The final outcomes are exchanged and displayed in schools and on the net as slide shows, video recordings, websites, etc.
3. Final contributions could be presented before an audience of parents, friends, community representatives. Other schools might be invited to this presentation.
4. This event could be video recorded and exchanged with the partner school.
Possible Outcomes
• Photo album of some famous figures in the Bible (with captions or subtitles)
• Slide show of the daily routine or key events in the life of Bible figures
• Interactive game with multiple-choice questions on biographical details of men and women in the New and Old Testaments
• Pictionary of well known Bible figures to be guessed online by the participating classes
• Passerelle/Walk of Fame with pupils impersonating people from the Bible (Adam, Eve, Abel, Cain, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Esther, etc.) They are first announced with a brief résumé of their lives before they enter, then the acting child should say a few lines to represent their way of thinking or acting
• A set of biblical musical compositions might be devised to be sung, played, mimed, role played, or danced to by some of the students presenting important sequences of the Old/New Testament
• a fictional trip to heaven to interview some of the people in the Bible about their dreams, fears, suggestions, victories, preferences, while they were on earth, offering some advice to those still living on this planet
• A calendar inspired by the Book of Proverbs might be designed and organised under topics such as: Parents and Children; Men and Women; Good Friends and Bad Friends
• A field trip in the local area to identify biblical art, symbols, and objects.. Pupils take digital photos and share them with their partner school.
• Every pupil should get a certificate mentioning the Bible character or Bible story or topic handled by him or her.
Options
The level of difficulty may vary: it can be as easy as drawing a small portion of a Bible story with smaller kids, or sending eCards with those who are able to send short messages in a foreign language.
Teachers can present pieces of art work that show the chosen people and how they were presented by famous artists throughout the history of art. Pupils can compare it with their own productions. Music that is related to the chosen figures and themes in the Bible can be discussed in class. Pupils can think of songs they know and that are related to characters, themes and values presented in the Bible.
Similar projects
The AcrosstheBible Project uses Bible texts as a starting point, to bring together several subjects such as English, art, handicrafts, ICT, photography and more to express the leitmotif of the Old and New Testament.
http://acrossthebibleportugal.blogspot.com/ (in Portuguese)
http://acrossbiblept.no.sapo.pt/HomePage.htm
http://www.acrossthebible.dk/participants.htm
http://www.acrossthebible.dk/tapestry.htm
Useful links:
To search Bible texts on the net in different languages and both standard and contemporary versions:
www.BibleGateway.com
Children of the world illustrate the Bible
www.bible2000.com
Biblical studies, movies and more
http://anduril.ca/movies/great.bible.movies.html
Movies – the Bible collection
http://www.christianvideoetc.com/46/cat46.htm?53
Cartoons on the Bible
http://www.cartoonstock.com/search.asp?x=a&keyword=bible&Category=Not+Selected&Boolean=Or&Artist=Not+Selected&submit=Search
Bible characters
http://shop.childrensministry.co.uk/index.php?cPath=28_74
Illustrated Bible stories
http://www.virtualchurch.org/kids.htm
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Last changed : |
15/02/2007 |
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