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4-part LESSON PLAN
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE EARTH STORY: In Session 1 (or in previous weeks), the children are introduced to a sense that today's science-based understanding is our world's newest creation story. Like all previous creation stories it gives us an awesome sense of how things came to be and how we ourselves came to be. It also helps us feel that the actions we choose to take today will affect how the story continues on into the future. This is also the first creation story ever that was put together by people from all over the world working together — and this story continues to evolve as scientists make more discoveries.
2. TIMELINE: In Session 1, a single-page timeline is passed out to the kids. Younger children are given a timeline (LEFT) of 23 events, beginning with the Big Bang. Older children are given a timeline of 28 events that continues onto the back-side of the paper. (The two timeline versions are printed on different colored paper and can be downloaded here.)
3. BEADS SELECTION: In Session 1, children visit a long table that has bowls of beads labelled by post-it cards (photo ABOVE LEFT). These stations correspond with the names and sequence on the timeline. Obviously, procuring the beads (Jan makes some herself from sculpey clay, as in the beads for "Sun") takes a good deal of advance preparation, as does laying out the stations in the classroom.
4. BEADS STRINGING: In Session 1 (or 2) the children begin stringing their beads in order, using the timeline to guide them. See photo ABOVE RIGHT.
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Jan Ross's preparation time included:
(1) purchasing inexpensive beads (including the small spacer beads that separate the larger events beads), (2) collecting representational small objects for some events (such as the green dinosaur, left, into which she drilled a hole), and (3) fashioning some beads from sculpey clay. Right: Close-up of 3 sculpey beads Jan made — Sun, Earth, and "Future" bead (red, with question mark). |
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Long tables are essential for setting out bowlfuls of beads station by station: a bowl of beads for kids to choose "Big Bang", then another bowl for "Galaxies", and so on. Once the beads are gathered, the kids sit or stand at another table while stringing them in sequence.
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The light green paper (3 photos above) is a brief list of timeline events, which the children use when choosing and then stringing their beads. Older kids have 27 events/beads on their list; younger kids have 23 (with simpler descriptions).
More Children's Curricula
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