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Christianity - The Bible - Y3/4 LKS2 (Spring 1A)

What is a sacred text? 

Is the Bible a Best Seller? But before you answer that question tell your partner...What is your favourite book? Why?

Can they think of a book which has sold more copies than Harry Potter? Explain that the Bible is the best selling book of all time.  

What do you think is the best selling book in the whole world? That does include Africa, Australia, Canada, Britain....Which book do you think it could be?

The 3 best selling books are

2021 The best-selling book of all time is the Christian Bible. It is impossible to know exactly how many copies have been printed in the roughly 1500 years since its contents were standardised, but research conducted by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 2021 suggests that the total number probably lies between 5 and 7 billion copies.
www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/best-selling-book-of-non-fiction
 
 
What is in the Bible and who wrote it? 

Look at a variety of different types of books and examine how they relate to the different books in the Bible.  Discuss contents- Finding out about different literature in the bible:  poetry, songs, laws, history, prophecy, gospels, biographies, proverbs stories, prayers and teachings. Compare child’s favourite book to the Bible- how is it different?

Collect different types of books or pieces of writing from the school library and home that also be found in the Bible, e.g. song book, instruction manual, recipe book, poetry, story, prophecy, history. Consider the characteristics and similarities and differences in their use compared to the bible.

HOMEWORK Design a new dust cover for the school Bible (if unable too design a Bible cover for personal reasons, design a new dust cover for your favourite book).

Worksheet - Fill in the missing details on the fact sheet

This session we are discovering.... How do you find particular verses in the Bible?

Pick a story to explore with the class that can be found in each of the Bibles which you are working with, e.g. a parable or a miracle, story of Jonah. Children to work on paper to compare the story in each of the Bibles which they have on their table then swop Bibles with another table.

Discuss how the text and use of language changes according to when the Bible was published and who was meant to read it.

Have a look at a particular verse which they class pick from a selection and search for it on different Bibles on Bible Gateway. Why do they think different Bibles write things slightly differently?

Why are there different kinds of Bible?   Bible in another language if available.

Children to highlight areas which they recognise and make connections to prior learning. Explain that there are two main languages used in writing the Bible, Hebrew for the Old Testament and Greek for the New Testament. There is also a third language called Aramaic which was used for a few chapters. Aramic was a popular day to day language used in Israel during Jesus’ time so he may have also spoken it.  

Using the following chart to show the two parts of the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, as being those written before and after the birth of Jesus. including some of the different literature found in the Bible as discovered last session.

 

What does the Bible mean to a Christian?

What is wisdom? It is about how you apply your knowledge. Who would you turn to for advice who you consider to be wise?

In groups look at 5 of the Bible Wisdom Quotes.

I wonder what do they mean and can they think of a situation when that wisdom would be useful for them.

Then look at the full list. Select your favourite quote then tell others in your group why you picked it. Here is one example...

 

How is art used in the Bible?

Look at works of art depicting Bible stories. Discuss what they show, what they might mean and what feelings they suggest. Who are the people in the picture? What are they doing? How are they behaving towards each other? What might they be saying to each other? Which Bible story is the picture describing? What are the main colours? What do the colours add to the picture? Is it possible to take anything out of the picture and leave the same meaning? What do you feel when you see the picture? 

 

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/biblical-art.htm

http://www.johnaugustswanson.com/default.cfm/PID%3d1.2-26.html

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