Key Inquiry Questions
What can I do to show I am loving like God?
What was life like in first century Palestine?
How can I show honour to Mary?
Do I make good choices?
What is the Rite of Reconciliation?
When did Jesus forgive?
Do I use my gifts to reach out to others and be welcoming and caring?
How do I say sorry and pray when I am sorry?
What is the Rosary?
Can I pray a decade of the Rosary?
Where can I pray?
How can I pray?
Why do I pray?
Wondering Questions
I wonder about God’s love for me and others
I wonder if I can be loving like God.
I wonder what life was like for Jesus.
I wonder about Mary.
I wonder if I make good choices.
I wonder about the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
I wonder what Jesus did to show forgiveness.
I wonder how I can use my gifts to be a sign of God’s love to others.
I wonder if I can show forgiveness like Jesus and be caring towards others.
I wonder about the Rosary.
I wonder where I can pray.
I wonder how I can pray.
I wonder why I pray.
Achievement Standards
By the end of Year Three, students demonstrate wonder at the mystery of God as creative, compassionate, loving and forgiving. They name significant people, places, events and stories from the Gospels. They identify cultural aspects that assist them to understand Jesus’ life and teachings.
By the end of Year Three, students explain the rite of reconciliation and understand that we can choose to be loving and forgiving like Jesus.
By the end of Year Three, students wonder and recognise how their gifts can serve the community by being welcoming, caring and joyous. They respond to stories of Jesus by relating them to their own lives.
By the end of Year Three, students can understand and say, individually and unison, the Act of Contrition and a decade of the Rosary (joyful mysteries). They participate in prayer every day and identify reasons for praying and places for praying.
Achievement Standard Elaborations
Beliefs
Knowledge and Understandings
When people are creative, compassionate, loving and forgiving they are like God.
CCC 356
Skills
I wonder if I can be loving like God
I wonder about God’s love for me and others
Students typically will:
Communicate an understanding that people are created and loved by God
Recognise that when love is shown to others, the qualities of God are shown.
What was life like in first century Palestine?
The Christian scriptures teach about Jesus. (The New Testament particularly the Gospels)
Knowledge of the cultural contexts of the Gospels assists the reader to better understand the life and teaching of Jesus.
Jesus was a Jew.
CCC 531, 532
I wonder what life was like for Jesus.
Identify people from the New Testament and from their own lives who live the Word of God.
Begin to analyse gospel stories by drawing on a growing knowledge of the cultural context in which the Gospels were written. e.g.
Village life in first century Palestine (see teacher background information)
Social structure – women, men, the poor, the sick, the children
houses, food, temple – religion
Geography – Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee
Make connections between their own lives and the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament Scripture.
The Bible is the inspired Word of God and it should be treated with respect.
CC 103
Narratives about Jesus are found in the Gospels .
CCC 101
Jesus is present in the scriptures.
CCC 124
Name significant people, places, events and stories in the New Testament.
Show reverence when reading and handling the Bible.
Identify by name the four Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
How can I show that I honour Mary?
Honour Mary as Mother of Jesus and our Mother.
I wonder about Mary
Participate in setting up of an altar, in honour of Mary, in my classroom- especially during Advent and the months of May and October.
Learn the words of the Hail Mary by heart and through prayer and reflection.
Sacraments
Knowledge and Understandings
Do I make good choices?
What is the Rite of Reconciliation?
The Sacrament of Penance is the communal celebration of God’s love and forgiveness.
The Sacrament of Penance is a celebration of choice to live as followers of Jesus.
All people have the freedom to make choices.
The choices made can help people to grow in their relationship with God and others.
CCC 1422-1442
Skills
Students typically will
Explain the significance of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.
Understand the rite of Reconciliation includes:
Listening the Word of God
Acknowledging and confessing sins,
Being truly sorry and trying not to sin again.
Praying
Explore what is involved in making decisions.
Identify and illustrate occasions when people can choose to become more like God. e.g. loving, compassionate, merciful.
When did Jesus forgive?
Jesus teaches us about healing, forgiveness and reconciliation.
CCC 588, 1421
When we are sorry for bad choices Jesus understands, forgives us and invites us to a new way of living .
CCC 545, 549, 589
Discuss and understand Jesus healed and forgave people through gestures as well as words.
Explore the parables of:
The lost Sheep
Zaccheaus
through Godly Play and participate in wondering.
Lent
Easter
Advent
Christmas
Morality
Knowledge and Understandings
Do I use my gifts to reach out to others and be welcoming and caring?
Use of personal gifts to serve the community.
Ways to respond to Jesus’ teaching.
Skills
I wonder how I can use my gifts to be a sign of God’s love for others.
Students typically will:
Identify personal gifts
Recognise the gifts of others
Relate stories from the New Testament to their lives.
The Church is a believing community that witnesses to Jesus’ life by welcoming, caring, serving and celebrating.
CCC 533
Identify occasions in scripture when Jesus cared, welcomed, served people.
Jesus blesses the little children. Matt 19: 13-15
Jesus calls the disciples (all Gospels).
Jesus visits Martha and Mary. Luke 10:38-42
Compare Jesus actions to actions we see today in the class, school, family, community that reflect what Jesus would do.
St Joseph cared for Mary and Jesus.
Explore scripture that shows the care of Joseph towards Mary
in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke (infancy narratives)
The boy Jesus in the Temple. Luke 2: 41-52
Name some of the characteristics of St Joseph.
Prayer
Knowledge and Understandings
How do I say sorry and pray when I am sorry?
Traditional prayer – know a number of traditional Catholic prayers and develop an understanding of the meaning of these prayers:
Act of Contrition
Skills
Students typically will:
Participate regularly through recitation the prayers that have been learned in Prep-Year2.
Understand the Act of Contrition, when it is prayed and why.
Identify that the Act of Contrition is said during the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
What is the Rosary?
Can I pray a decade of the Rosary?
The Rosary – Praying the rosary is a meditative prayer practice in the Christian tradition.
CCC 2678, 2708, 2617
Pray a decade of the Rosary (Joyful)
Say, individually and in unison, a decade of the Rosary using Rosary beads and meditate on the mysteries individually using visual clues to assist.
Our Father
Ten Hail Marys
Glory Be
Prayer of Fatima (optional said by teacher)
How to pray, when to pray, ways to pray, and why people pray.
Members of the Church pray often; every day.
CCC 2659,2660, 2743, 2691
Identify and provide reasons for praying.
Evaluate ways of praying.
Explore feelings about and attitudes towards personal and communal prayer
Reflect on experience of prayer.
Engage in a personal action plan to promote more meaningful prayer.
Experience daily prayer times in the class.
Prayer is a way people communicate with God and God communicates with people.
Prayer is a living relationship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Faith is lived through prayer and action.
CCC 2744, 2745, 2609
Make connections between prayer and the experience of God in people’s lives.
Describe how praying develops people’s relationship with God.
To be aware how attitudes and actions are influenced by praying.
Formal and informal prayer.
Plan, lead and participate in prayer services using formal and informal prayer in the classroom.
Participate in spontaneous prayer, daily prayer in the classroom, meditation, grace before and after meals.
| Beliefs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge and Understandings | Elaborations | Suggested Scripture |
| God is creative, compassionate, loving and forgiving. When people are creative, compassionate, loving and forgiving they are like God. | Identify relationships as a source of God's love. Describe events that indicate God's presence in others. Talk about and listen to experiences of love. Use film, art, music to explore images of people being God-like i.e sharing caring, compassionate. Using digital camera find examples in the school. Label and display. | |
| The Christian scriptures teach about Jesus. (The New Testament particularly the Gospels) Knowledge of the cultural contexts of the Gospels assists the reader to better understand the life and teaching of Jesus. Jesus was a Jew. | Create a table to highlight the differences in the life of Jesus in the Gospels to your own life eg food, clothing, jobs, tools, houses. Use Google Earth to explore the places Jesus visited. eg Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth use a Bible Atlas or Bible Map Guide to look at distances between towns. Construct a model of a typical village or house in Jesus' time. Create a tasting table of foods that were typical at Jesus' time. Create a visual map of places in Palestine that Jesus visited. eg Jericho, Nazareth, Find images of people and clothing from first century Palestine and try to have some available for students to wear in dramatic play. | Infancy narratives The boy Jesus in the Temple Luke 2: 41-52 Blind Bartimaeus Matthew 20:29-34 Mark 10:46-52 Luke 18:35-43 |
| The Bible is the inspired Word of God and it should be treated with respect. | Have an adult Bible placed in a special place in the classroom. Ensure the class set of Bibles and children's own bibles are always handled and treated with respect - how it is held, moved etc. | Parables: The Lost Sheep |
| Narratives about Jesus are found in the Gospels . | Relate stories from the New Testament. Retell a scripture story from the point of view of one of the characters influenced by Jesus eg Zacchaeus, Blind Bartimaeus. Use cartoon scripts to show the words and actions of Jesus. Wonder about the scripture story using the Godly Play strategies. | Narratives: Zacchaeus Luke 19:1-10 Miracles: Blind Bartimaeus. Matthew 20:29-34 Mark 10:46-52 Luke 18:35-43 |
| Jesus is present in the scriptures. | Talk about experiencing Jesus through relationships Examine some textual features (eg characterisation, setting, plot, events, imagery) of the Gospel stories to identify and discuss the different ways in which Jesus is portrayed. | |
| Honour Mary as Mother of Jesus and our Mother. | Identify the loving choices Mary made. Design and create a sacred space for Mary in the classroom. Select appropriate images of Mary for display in the room. |
| Sacraments | ||
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge and Understandings | Elaborations | Suggested Scripture |
| The Sacrament of Penance is the communal celebration of God’s love and forgiveness. The Sacrament of Penance is a celebration of choice to live as followers of Jesus. | Reflect upon and recount examples of forgiveness and healing. Participate appropriately in liturgies of reconciliation and in the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Have students follow the ritual outline of the sacrament of Reconciliation and apply it to stories in children's literature eg Miss Lilly's fabulous pink feather Boa. | |
| All people have the freedom to make choices. The choices made can help people to grow in their relationship with God and others. ccc1422-1442 | Construct a consequences chart depicting possible life implications from the good or bad choices we make. Name actions appropriate to discipleship. Create a character map of a disciple of Jesus. Collaboratively construct scenarios based on a "what if..." strategy. e.g what if everyone was kind, forgiving, smiled, etc, | Construct a consequences chart depicting possible life implications from the good or bad choices we make. Name actions appropriate to discipleship. Create a character map of a disciple of Jesus. Collaboratively construct scenarios based on a "what if..." strategy. e.g what if everyone was kind, forgiving, smiled, etc, |
| Jesus teaches us about healing, forgiveness and reconciliation. ccc 588, 1421 | Collaboratively construct scenarios based on alternative choices made by characters in scritpure and children's literature. Locate and share examples of individuals living out Jesus' call to care for others from a variety of texts. newspapers, literature, TV, songs. | |
| When we are sorry for bad choices Jesus understands, forgives us and invites us to a new way of living . ccc 545, 549, 589 | Create a feelings graph for each character in a story that involves choices between right and wrong - use scripture and children's literature. |
| Morality | ||
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge and Understandings | Elaborations | Suggested Scripture |
| Use of personal gifts to serve the community. | Identify personal gifts. Construct a 'Wall of Fame" in the classroom that identifies the actions of students as an example to others as ways to behave. Collaboratively brainstorm ideas about relating responsibility in order to create a classroom code of behaviour. | |
| Ways to respond to Jesus' teaching. | Relate stories from the New Testament to their lives. Wonder about Jesus' actions in welcoming the little childern. Identify ways you can be a welcoming class. Display these ideas in creative visual arts form. Identify other occasions in scripture when Jesus cared, welcomed, served people. Jesus blesses the little children. Jesus calls the disciples. Godly Play: Following Jesus. Jesus calls the Twelve Disciples p 79 Jesus visits Martha and Mary. Compare Jesus' actions to actions we see today in the class, school,family, community that reflect what Jesus would do. | Jesus blesses the Little children Matthew 19:13-15 Jesus calls the disciples all Gospels Mark 3:7-19 Matthew 10:1-4 Luke 6:12-16 Jesus visits Mary and Martha Luke 10:38-42 |
| The Church is a believing community that witnesses to Jesus’ life by welcoming, caring, serving and celebrating. | Create a cityscape collage using newspaper print and pictures to depict social consequences of just and unjust actions. Interview key role holders in the local church community retrieving information on a 5 Ws +H chart. Develop and share representations of their perceptions of people in the Church community. eg Priest, Parish secretary, sacramental team members, altar servers, cantors, readers and ministers of Eucharist, care and concern groups etc. | |
| St Joseph cared for Mary and Jesus. | Creat a peoplescape that symbolises the qualities of St Joseph as a role model for the church community. Explore scripture that shows the care of Joseph towards Mary and Jesus in the Gospel ofMatthew and Luke (infancy narratives) the flight into Egypt. Look at the dangers that journey would have included- geography, enemies, use giant paper bag puppets to retell the story. The boy Jesus in the Temple. Luke 2: 41-52 Name some of the characteristics of St Joseph in a character map. | The infancy narratives The boy Jesus in the Temple Luke 2: 41-52 The flight into Egypt Matthew 2: 13-15 |
| Prayer | ||
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge and Understandings | Elaborations | Suggested Scripture |
| Traditional prayer – know a number of traditional Catholic prayers and develop an understanding of the meaning of these prayers: Act of Contrition | Participate in classroom daily prayer by saying in unison The Hail Mary and The Lord's Prayer. Have these traditional Catholic prayers displayed in the classroom for constant viewing. Have students decorate prayers as palm cards for personal use. Look at the words and using decoding skills to develop an understanding of the words in the prayers - eg words such as hail, thee, blessed art thou, fruit of thy womb, When Teaching and Learning about Reconcialition, look at the Act of Contrition and discuss how it is used in the Sacrament of Penance. Write their own "sorry" prayers. Use these prayers in the daily prayers of the class. | |
| Rosary – Praying the rosary is a meditative prayer practice in the Christian tradition. CCC 2678, 2708, 2617 Pray a decade of the Rosary (Joyful) | Complete a KWL on the Rosary. Look at some Rosary beads and identify the ten beads as when ten Hail Marys are prayed. Using craft materials (clay, beads, knots in string) make a decade of the rosary. Ask a parishioner/APRE/ parent to come in and talk to the students about their memories of praying the Rosary. Look at a variety of visual images of the joyful mysteries. Can they identify the scriptural context of the images. Ask wondering questions about the scripture to allow empathy to develop . Model praying the rosary - decade only Use freeze frame strategy to act out the joyful mysteries - take digital photos to display. | The Annunciation The Visitation The Nativity The Presentation Finding Jesus in the temple. |
How to pray, when to pray, ways to pray, and why people pray. Members of the Church pray often; every day | Invite students to compose their own prayers using examples as a guide. Display their prayer compositions in the classroom or use them in a school or class liturgy. Play with Prayer Forms (Expressions Book 1 Prayer and Celebrations). see p 36 and Teaching Resources (Prayer Yr 3-Yr 6) on this website Sing songs of thanks to the tune of Hot Cross Buns - Thank you God Thank you God For my lunch and for my friends Thank you God Make a prayer wheel spin the wheel and ask students to write or say a prayer of that type. |
List of resources for Year Three Sample Units
Year Three list of Resources
THE SAMPLE UNITS BELOW ARE TO BE MODIFIED AND ADAPTED TO YOUR OWN TEACHING STYLE AND THE LEARNING NEEDS OF YOUR STUDENTS.
I wonder how people lived in First Century Palestine
PDF document
I wonder how people lived in First Century Palestine
Word document
I wonder about praying
PDF document
I wonder about praying
Word document
Reconciliation
PDF document
I wonder how I can be more like God
PDF
Reconciliation
Word Document
How can I be more like God
Word document
Year Three-Review and Balance of Coverage of Knowledge and Understandings
Advent Teaching and Learning Strategies Year Three
| Knowledge and Understandings | Activities | Resources |
|---|---|---|
| Advent is a preparation time before Christmas. It begins a new year in the Church’s calendar. There are always four Sundays in Advent but not always four full weeks. | Advent calendars Collect a variety of calendars or ask the class to bring in calendars from home. Ask the children to be detectives and see if anyone can find the word Christmas on a calendar. Ask the children to be detectives and see if anyone can find the word “Advent” on a calendar. Hopefully on a Catholic calendar, they will find the word Advent several times. Ask how many Sundays have the word Advent written on them. Count how many days have the word Advent. You could make a large class calendar for Advent to count down the days. The picture on this site can be cut up into 24 pieces. They could number each piece of the puzzle on the back and then each day the student could glue one more piece onto the puzzle http://lds.about.com/library/bl/puzzles/christmas_advent_calendar.pdf Some of the scripture readings in this sample are a bit difficult so you might like to use your own or just focus on the activity suggested for each day on this calendar: http://www.loyolapress.com/assets/advent/children-advent-calendar.pdf (Note for teachers: There are usually several commercial Advent calendars available for sale. Be aware that many of them will emphasise Santa and snow etc. Most of these calendars count 24 or 25 days beginning on the first of December whether or not this is the first day of Advent.) | To know, worship and love Book 3 p 142 Columban calendar “Christmas time is near” – Antoinette Jameson As one voice for kids |
Christmas Teaching and Learning Strategies Year Three
| Knowledge and Understandings | Activities | Resources |
|---|---|---|
| The birth of a baby is a wonderful event for a family. Family and friends are very excited and everyone wants to see the new baby. Mt 2:1-12 After Jesus was born, wise men set out on a journey to look for this special child. They came from the east. They were called “Magi”. They followed a bright star. On their way they visited King Herod. They said they wanted to worship the new king. King Herod was not happy. He said, “When you find him, let me know where he is so I too can go and worship him,” The star led the wise men to Bethlehem where they found Mary, Joseph and Jesus. They gave Jesus their treasure of gold, frankincense and myrrh. In a dream God warned the wise men not to tell Herod where Jesus was. Herod was jealous of Jesus and wanted to hurt him. The wise men returned to their own countries by another route. | Share the story of Jacob’s gift where Jacob, a carpenter’s young apprentice in Bethlehem learns when you give a gift to one of God’s children you give a gift to God. The story of the star and the journey of the star-watchers has been retold in The Lion Storyteller Christmas Book I wonder · Why families feel happy at the birth of a baby · Who might visit the family when a baby is born · What kinds of gifts people might bring to a new baby · How the wise men knew that Jesus was a special baby · Why the wise men brought him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh · What gift would you bring Jesus if you were one of the wise men · Why Herod was unhappy about the birth of Jesus Create a star and hang it in your home during the Christmas season. You could also watch the DVD Once upon a stable – in this animated film a group of animals – a cow, a mouse, a horse, a pig and a rooster learn they will have an important guest in their stable. They wonder what sort of a gift to give to the King and learn some valuable lessons along the way. | Max Lucado (1998) Jacob’s Gift Bob Hartman (2000) The Lion Storyteller Christmas Book pp 30-36. “What could I give” – Gerry Holmes from the album Christmas in the shed – Leigh Newton |