Charlotte Mason WORKS

Late Saturday night, I made it home from the Charlotte Mason Conference and have had not had anytime to breathe, much less blog. Why? My church asked me to be the "storyteller" for Vacation Bible School today and Wednesday. The program they selected is Beach Party: Surfin' through the Scriptures. When I previewed the lesson from the Bible Storyteller Book, my stomach lurched because it included a script with actors, props, and sound effects--definitely not my cup of tea! I called the VBS coordinator, and she told me all we had time for was the simplified story version in the back of the manual. Hmmm . . . I have to do a short lesson from a living book . . .

Suddenly, the rebellious, subversive part of the brain that told me to homeschool my kids and do whacko things like the gluten-free, casein-free diet kicked in. The Bible is the most popular living book of all time! I decided to be brave and write a lesson plan using the actual text of Judges 6:36-7:21 as my guideline. Yes, a bona fide lesson plan in the spirit of Charlotte Mason, keeping in mind the daily narration lesson design "Is Sequencing and Ordering the Curriculum Important for Scaffolding Learning?" covered in the article in the Winter 2007 issue of The Review.

The first thing I did was consult the sample lessons in Appendix V of School Education by Charlotte Mason and Carroll Smith's ideas on how to scaffold a lesson. I turned to Volume 3 pages 238 through 239 for the Old Testament example. The first challenge was that I was planning a lesson for four different classes and would have to scaffold each one differently: K-3/4/5, 1st-2nd grades, 3rd-4th grades, and 5th-6th grades. While I lacked a shared understanding with the class, I tried to imagine what children in each age group might already know. I also had to keep in mind that children take time to adjust to oral narration so I decided to find other ways to reproduce what they are learning. If I taught these children year-round, my goal would be to teach them to narrate. I have enough sense to know two days does not a narrator make.

How did it go? TERRIFIC! Charlotte Mason WORKS!!!!!

The oldest class made wonderful connections such as the 300 remaining men made them think of 300, which is an R-rated movie based on the wonderful story of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans guarding the pass at Thermopylae to slow down the Persian army. They also chuckled at the chain link fence in the picture that represented the dry fleece. I thanked them for pointing it out because I knew that meant they were thinking. The 3rd-4th graders noted that trusting God helps you to obey Him. The 1st-2nd graders could not believe that Gideon's army won even though they only had trumpets and jars. Five or six told me that the story of Gideon was great--they just loved it--I could see it in their bright, eager eyes. Even the rowdiest bunch, the youngest class, gave thoughtful responses that we should obey God just like we should obey our mothers, fathers, and grandparents.

Here is my lesson plan:

Subject: History
Time: 15 minutes

Objective:
1. Interest the children in the story of Gideon and his trumpet so that they may not forget it.
2. Give them an admiration for Gideon as one who trusted in God and obeyed Him.

Material (Thank You Google Image Search):
1. 8" x 10" photographs of a shorn sheep and fleece
2. 8" x 10" printed pictures from the story of Gideon

Lesson for 3rd-4th and 5th-6th Grades:
Step 1. Ask the children if they know what fleece is. Respond to their answers and show this photograph of a shorn sheep.

Step 2. Since most children know the story of David and Goliath, emphasize the physical weakness of Gideon's character. Point out that Gideon lived before David was born and had no knowledge of that story to give him courage. Let them know the reason for Gideon's fleece test was that he did not understand why God picked a weak person to lead the army.

Step 3. Briefly describe the situation with the opposing forces, the Midians. Point to the camp represented in the mural on the classroom wall and the rocks surrounding it.

Step 4. Hand out the five pictures to children. Ask them to form small groups, one picture per group. Let them study the pictures and talk about them for a minute.


Step 5. Before reading the Bible, tell the children that they are to pass the picture just described when I pause. Read Judges 6:36-7:21, pausing for the scenes in each picture. Point to the mural for the scenes involving the camp.

Step 6. Have the children tell what the theme obedience has to do with the story of Gideon.

Lesson for K-3/4/5 and 1st-2nd Grades:
Step 1. (K-3/4/5 Only: Lead the children in singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and have them stop at "its fleece was white as snow.") Ask the children if they know what fleece is. Respond to their answers and show this photograph of a shorn sheep and the fleece.

Step 2. Since most children know the story of David and Goliath, emphasize the physical weakness of Gideon's character. Point out that Gideon lived before David was born and had no knowledge of that story to give him courage. Let them know the reason for Gideon's fleece test was that he did not understand why God picked a weak person to lead the army.

Step 3. Briefly describe the situation with the opposing forces, the Midians. Point to the camp represented in the mural on the classroom wall and the rocks surrounding it.

Step 4. Orally narrate Judges 6:36-7:9. After telling the wet fleece versus dry ground, ask them if they would have obeyed God. Then, have them anticipate the next test by telling it is the opposite of the first. Have them anticipate whether or not God wants a bigger or smaller army. Have them stand up and act out the downsizing of the army by having the children on the green rug represent the terrified soldiers and all but three sit down after the water test.

Step 5. Orally narrate Judges 7:15-7:21. Before telling the final scene, set the stage by pointing to the mural and showing where the Gideon's army will be standing. Have them anticipate what kind of weapons they will need. Surprise them with the answer trumpets and jars. Wrap up the scene with Gideon's tactic and have them anticipate how the Midian army reacted.

Step 6. Have the children tell what the theme obedience has to do with the story of Gideon.