| Year Levels Focus: | God is the giver of all life. God’s Holy Spirit is experienced in the people and world around us. (TCREK009) |
| Aims: |
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| Content Statement: |
Students will be encouraged to wonder about God as Mystery. They will learn that Christians believe that God is one: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Students will explore that God is the giver of all life. They will be supported to grow in appreciation that, coming from God, creation itself is good and wondrous. They will have the opportunity to experience the mystery of God’s Holy Spirit present in people and in the world around us. Students will reflect on our loving God, always present, and the invitation to respond in love and live in harmony with others and all of God’s creation. |
God is mystery. We can never fully grasp the meaning of this mystery. The only way we can talk about God (i.e., do theology, which literally means “God talk”) is in metaphor and by analogy with what exists. Since we human beings are living beings, “persons” who “exist”, our most complete metaphor for God is that God too is a personal, living being—although God is infinitely more than that. As St Thomas Aquinas said, “God is the subsistent act of ‘to be’ itself”. God is not so much “a” being as God is the very act of being.
The Christian faith asserts that this mystery (of being-in-itself at the heart of all being) loves all beings into being. In that sense God is “creator”—God loves us into being. And because this mystery loves us, it has a “name”, it is “personal”, it has an identity by which it relates to us, reveals itself to us, and it can therefore be (in some measure) known by us (i.e., to the extent that we are capable of knowing it).
What this means is that all theology (“God talk”) is very limited when it comes to saying anything definitive about God. The most that we can do, when speaking of God, is to speak by analogy and in metaphor. As St Thomas Aquinas put it: “We can never know what God is; we can only ever know what God is not”. Or, as St Augustine said in one of his sermons, “If you understand [it], it isn’t God”.
Apart from speaking of God analogically as personal, among the most important metaphors we use to speak of God is to say that “God is love”. Now, because God is love, “God” is a verb (a “doing word”) more than a noun (the name of something). Love is something that happens between the one who loves (“the loving Father”) and the one who is loved (“the beloved Son”), united by the love they share (“their Holy Spirit of love divine”)—for which the metaphor is “Holy Trinity”, the “three” who are one in the love that unites them.
In GNFL this understanding of God is developed with the aid of these theological emphases:
- The Catholic way to speak of God is by analogy and in metaphor.
- Almost all of the books in the Bible speak of God in metaphor; and almost all Catholic theology (of the academic kind) speaks of God by analogy.
- This way of speaking of God is in our terms (in human images, ideas and language) but it is on God’s terms (the way that God wishes to reveal himself to us).
- Christians use the word “God” because we have no better one with which to point to the mystery we are trying to talk about.
- Using this poor little word saves us from falling prey to a delusion that by using bigger and more impressive words we’ve actually “got” God, that we “grasp” who and what God really is, for example, “The Supreme Being”, “The Absolute Reality”, “Pure Essence”, “Transcendent Ground of Being”. While all of these more exalted terms may have their uses, when it comes to actually defining God, all these abstractions are just as inadequate as the far more earthly biblical metaphors like “fortress and rock” (2 Samuel 22:2), “mother hen” (Matthew 23:37) and “gate for the sheep” (John 10:7).
- No definition of God’s essence or nature is possible—except perhaps the paradoxical one that deconstructs itself, and is therefore no definition at all: “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14).
- The “Christian God” is not just another god among other gods.
- The “Christian God” is rather the Christian way of speaking about this Mystery, which we experience as loving us and which is revealed in Jesus—that’s what makes it specifically Christian.
- The central Christian statement of faith is: “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16); and that love is revealed in Jesus, who loved you and me and everyone so absolutely that he gave his life for each one of us personally and for all of us collectively.
URL link to Theological Conversation chapter (PDF).
- God is Mystery, a source of wonder, the giver of all life.
- All of life, made by God through love, is good and wondrous.
- God’s Spirit is present in all people and in the world around us.
- God’s plan is for us to live in harmony with him and with all he has created.
- God is love and invites us to respond in love.
God is the giver of all life. God’s Holy Spirit is experienced in the people and world around us. (TCREK009)
Students will be encouraged to wonder about God as Mystery. They will learn that Christians believe that God is one: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Students will explore that God is the giver of all life. They will be supported to grow in appreciation that, coming from God, creation itself is good and wondrous. They will have the opportunity to experience the mystery of God’s Holy Spirit present in people and in the world around us. Students will reflect on our loving God, always present, and the invitation to respond in love and live in harmony with others and all of God’s creation.
TCREI004
Responding to questions about religious ideas, events or rituals and recording our thoughts and feelings (TCREI004)
- developing questions about the Mass, its meaning, structure and symbols
- at a class/parish Mass making a photo story of the parts of the Mass using information and communications technology (ICT), and sharing this with parishioners at a morning tea
- brainstorming questions about how to pray, and inviting people from the parish to tell us how they pray
- remembering that whenever we pray, Jesus is praying within us through his Holy Spirit uniting us with God the Father in love
- researching the story of our parish church: using a photo time line, make a noticeboard display for the front office to tell the story of our parish
- using the “Explain Everything” app or equivalent to devise a question for God and give an answer in images and text drawing on Scripture or church teaching
TCREI005
Listening to and viewing stories from the Scriptures, and discussing characters (TCREI005)
- gathering Scripture quotations around a series of themes and making a class mural, story maps or a class big book
- using glossaries to learn the meaning of religious and theological terms
- choosing verses from the Psalms that inspire thanksgiving prayers
- exploring the first creation story (Genesis 1) as though it were a ritual (which it was!) and bringing out the symbolism in the numbers 3, 6 and 7 (first 3 days mirrored in the second 3 days; 6 days of creation; the 7th day, the Sabbath, as containing all time—past, present and future)
TCREI006
Expressing personal responses and ideas in various ways (TCREI006)
- creating Godly play dolls
- sharing Godly play with other classes
- creating artworks that reflect spiritual ideas or religious questions
- ritualising biblical stories and noting how they are full of symbolism
TCRED004
Cultivating a spirit of reflective silence and stillness, and naming important ideas or questions (TCRED004)
- using an icon or cross, inviting written prayers for the world on sticky labels and placing them under the cross or icon (to include in class prayer)
- asking hard questions and posting them on a “Mood Wall” in the classroom
- writing reflective responses to lines of Scripture (e.g., “be still and know that I am God”, “Speak Lord, I am listening”, “Come, follow me”, “ ‘I have called you by your name, you are mine’, says the Lord”)
- using Christian meditation to practise openness to God’s love
- expressing gratitude following meditation, e.g., by singing songs of thanks and praise
- learning to listen in silence and stillness to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, minds and bodies, leading us to discover God’s loving purpose for us
TCRED005
Listening to and responding to others’ ideas and thoughts, and wondering and asking questions about ourselves and how we are connected to God and our world (TCRED005)
- examining individually and in small groups questions and thoughts about God
- being open to the Holy Spirit by listening to each other share ideas, thoughts and feelings in circle time
- singing songs that give thanks to God and acknowledging the connectedness of all things in his Holy Spirit
- resting in silence, pondering how God loves us and wants us to know him embraced by his Holy Spirit
TCRED006
Sharing some ideas and helping design plans of action that might lead to making loving choices towards improving specific situations at school or beyond (TCRED006)
- sharing and discussing how classroom rules and attitudes encourage, protect and guide everyone for the good of all
- constructing posters and signs to build a culture of gratitude in the classroom
- pondering how to be more loving, generous, forgiving, joyful, patient by relaxing into the loving embrace of the Holy Spirit
- creating affirmation paper bags / envelopes to affirm when others have made loving choices towards us as their response to God’s love for them
- exploring ways that the mystery of God’s love, the life-giving presence of the Holy Spirit, is revealed through the community of faith in the Church (e.g., by exploring, using the web, Pope Francis’ humility and kindness)
- creating a blessings meter or a gratitude box in the classroom to encourage kindness, positive attitudes and gratefulness
By the end of Year 2, students can identify God’s Holy Spirit as giver and sustainer of all life and recognise that his love for us is revealed in the Person of Jesus, the centre of faith for Christians. They can acknowledge that we experience God’s loving presence in prayer, in Scripture, in themselves and other people and in the world around us. They are aware that we are invited to grow in relationship with God and to care for ourselves, others and all of life. They can identify the Gospels as the Good News about Jesus, telling us about Jesus’ life and the people who believed in him. They can reflect on Jesus’ example in making loving choices that show care and respect for all life. They can describe the Church as a believing community that celebrates Jesus’ presence in the sacraments and witnesses to him by sharing his love. They can recognise the Sacrament of Baptism and identify its symbolic elements as the basis for the Christian life and as an invitation to live in friendship with Jesus.
Students can reflect on and respond to experiences of prayer, engagement with sacred texts and stories, their own experiences, people and the world around them and record observations, thoughts, feelings and ideas. In diverse ways they can express their emerging understanding of and engagement with religious events and rituals. They can practise stillness, reflect on their connection with God and their world and develop a response to apply at the personal level, within and beyond the school setting.
Pre-unit assessment
Invite students to draw and explain in words what God is like.
Learning Hook
A mystery bag of items that give hints about what God is like.
Surface
(Giving language, facts, and basic concepts structure to lead into deeper learning)
Key Vocabulary: mystery, wonder, creation, reverence
What can I know about God? What is God like?
Support students to list ideas, and to wonder, about God, to identify and describe a range of qualities and personal feelings.
- Invite students to describe a special person or pet. Note that most descriptions like this include what the person/animal looks like, how he/she/it acts, how we feel with him/her/it.
- Prepare cards, each with a statement, for example, God is always with us, God walks around, God is everywhere, God works, God sleeps, God listens to me, God makes the sun rise, God is in the wind, God has his own home, God is in my grandma etc. Ask students to respond “yes”, “no”, or “not sure” to each card and to sort them into groups accordingly.
Build a list of what the students say God does, how God acts. Note that there is not a statement for what God looks like.
- Encourage students to ponder, to raise questions. Lead to a statement of wonder, for example, God is Mystery, a source of wonder. Provide opportunity for students to quietly sit with the statement.
- Recall the sign of the cross as a statement and a sign of God’s oneness and presence. Discuss how it tells us something about God and reminds us that he loves us.
- Grace and Joy Arts, What Does God Look Like? (YouTube), or similar, could be useful. Develop a list of the “wonderings” questions mentioned in the clip. Encourage further wondering and questions.
- Discuss ideas about God, including God’s being life-giving, forgiving, caring, loving, listening.
- Use jigsaw pieces, with individual statements written by students, to build a class collage of “My God is …” (Understanding Faith [UF], Unit 17, Part 1, p. 3, chart: “What People Have Learned about God”). Summarise in song: KWSCM, God Is Good All the Time (YouTube).
Deep
(Learning experiences that lead on from beginning experiences to questioning more deeply and exploring ideas in different ways to lead to making connections between faith and life)
Where and how can I see and know God?
Support students to categorise and explain where and how we experience and relate with God: in the created world, in the wonder of human life, in people who love and care.
In and through the created world
- List a few of my favourite things/places. Invite students to discuss their favourite parts of nature and explain why they have chosen each one, when they go there, feelings when in that place.
- Invite students to illustrate/make a slideshow of favourite places/ways in which they see or experience God.
- Draw on Marg Hutchinson, Psalm 104 (YouTube) or a similar resource, or a chosen picture storybook or a meditative walk, listening tour, touch trail, aroma roam, or a mindful tasting time to nurture a reflective spirit.
- Encourage wonder statements; nurture wonder and awe.
- In response to reflective experience, introduce the “Glory Be” prayer: “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen”. Present and pray this prayer as a part of our Christian prayer tradition and in acknowledgement of God’s mystery and oneness.
In the wonder of human beings
- Investigate the wonder of the human being and the gift of human life. See Interesting Facts about the Human Body, Happy Learning English (YouTube) and picture storybooks; nurture wonder and awe.
- Draw out the preciousness of life itself through a photo gallery of people in all stages of life (or through a classroom visit by the special wonder of a little baby and a senior member of a family).
- Invite students to discuss what is in each image. What does each show about human life? Is one part of life more important than another? Is one person’s life more important/valuable than that of another?
- Reflect on God’s love shown and experienced at all stages of life. (Songs: Carol Jean Kinghorn & Carey Landry, Thank You God for being so Good; John Burland, God Loves Me, God Loves You)
Through the people who love and care for me
- Examine experiences of being loved and cared for.
- Develop awareness that in these experiences we experience the love of God. Refer back to Grace and Joy Arts, What Does God Look Like? (YouTube) or similar resource. Engage in prayer: nurture being with God and being thankful for his love experienced through others.
- Refer back to the “Glory Be” prayer. In a simple way, refer to Father, Son, Spirit: the Trinity of Love.
- Revisit the sign of the cross prayer, a prayer speaking of God as a Trinity of Love and discuss that God made us from love and for love.
What is God’s loving plan for me?
Enable students to interpret various presentations about God's plan and to develop a summary or illustration to share their understandings.
- Resources: Archbishop Desmond Tutu and D.C. Adams’ book, God’s Dream—also on YouTube, uploaded by Bible Bedtime or Mimi; slideshow to Bryan Sirchio’s Dream God's Dream (YouTube).
- Also: song by Kids Worship, God Has a Plan for Me (Jer 29:11) (YouTube). Invite students to listen to the song, analyse its words and sketch thoughts about its message. Reflect on the love inspiring God’s plan. Paraphrase and illustrate the song’s quote from Jeremiah: “I have loving plans for you, plans for joy and life and hope”.
- “Each of us carries a piece of God’s heart within us and when we love one another the pieces of God’s heart are made whole” and “God smiles like a rainbow when you help His dream come true”.—Tutu and Adams, God’s Dream.
- Design a creative response to the ideas in these quotes or other ideas from the book.
Transfer
(Learning experiences that help students engage with deeper understandings that can be applied in their own lives)
How can we help to make God’s plan / “God’s Dream” (cf. Tutu and Adams’ book) come true?
Support and challenge students to organise responses about God, to select qualities of God, explain their choices and plan ways to reflect those qualities in their daily life.
Note: in GNFL, students explore images of God such as air, breath, wind; water; light, sun, lantern, fire, flame in Years 3 and 4. Here the focus is on building a list of qualities, characteristics.
- God’s plan reflects his nature: unlimited love. Consider words to describe God (see UF, Unit 20, Part 1, pp. 3, 9, in particular). View Vimeo, God Is, by Geoff Schultz, for another store of words. From these qualities, support students to discuss and present ideas about God, for example:
| I am loving (like God) when I … | OR | God always loves. I can love like God when I … |
| I am life-giving (like God) when I … | OR |
God always gives life. I can give life like God when I … |
| I am listening (like God) when I … | OR | God always listens. I can listen like God when I … |
| I am forgiving (like God) when I … | OR | God always forgives. I can forgive like God when I … |
|
I am creative (like God) when I … |
OR | God always creates. I can create like God when I … |
Resources
Burland, John. God Loves Me, God Loves You. YouTube.
Grace and Joy Arts. What Does God Look Like? YouTube.
Happy Learning English. Interesting Facts about the Human Body. YouTube.
Hutchinson, Marg. Psalm 104. YouTube.
Kids Worship. God Has a Plan for Me (Jer 29:11). YouTube.
Kinghorn, Carol Jean & Landry, Carey. Thank You God, for being so Good. YouTube.
KWSCM. God Is Good All the Time. YouTube.
Schultz, Geoff. God Is. Vimeo.
Sirchio, Bryan. Dream God's Dream. Slideshow. YouTube.
Tutu, Desmond, and Douglas Carlton Adams. God’s Dream.
Tutu, Desmond, and Douglas Carlton Adams. God’s Dream. Waypoint Preschool. YouTube.
Understanding Faith. Unit 17, Part 1, p. 3. Online Subscription.
Understanding Faith. Unit 20, Part 1, pp. 3, 9. Online Subscription.
* Unless otherwise noted, items listed under “Resources” are books.