GRADE 3 Lesson – Unit #1/ EQ#1 (Our Sunday Visitor)

Catechist Preparation: Pray and reflect on God’s Divine Love.

Grade 3 Rev. 8/25/16
Unit #1: Who is Jesus Christ?
EQ #1:What do you know about the life of Jesus Christ on earth?
Emerging Theme(s): Divine Love; Holy Family
Textbook Resources: Alive in Christ by Our Sunday Visitor, 2014
Suggested Scriptural Connection:
  • Mark 10: 46-52 (Jesus Helps a Blind Man to See)

Assessment Evidence: By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to create---as a class, as a small group, or as an individual---a Venn diagram comparing the life of Jesus Christ with their lives (to connect Jesus’ humanity with ours).

Vertical Alignment:CFLFF Learning Targets/ Catechism of the Catholic Church/ The Catholic Vision of Love

Grade 2 / Grade 3 / Grade 4
UNDERSTANDINGS: Learners will understand that…
Key Targets -
  • (U1) 2.1.1.6 – Jesus is the model of love and goodness. (CCC#459; 520) [CVL]
  • (U2) 2.1.1.1 – Jesus is God and man. (CCC#464; 469; 480)
/ UNDERSTANDINGS: Learners will understand that…
Key Targets -
  • (U1) 3.1.1.5 – Jesus, in faithfully following his Father's will, is the perfect example of God's love. (CCC#73; 541)
  • (U2) 3.1.1.3 – Jesus is a person who lived historically and is alive now. (CCC#514-15; 518; 618; 658; 669; 679)
/ UNDERSTANDINGS: Learners will understandthat…
Key Targets -
  • (U1) 4.1.1.4 – Jesus is the perfect image of God, sent to show divine love and goodness and to affirm the human potential for good. (CCC#241; 299; 689; 1701) [CVL]
  • (U2) 4.1.1.2 – Jesus, by his life and teaching, taught people how to love Godand others. (CCC#535-559; 561) [CVL]
Supporting Targets -
  • (U3) 4.1.1.1 – Jesus exercised a ministry of healing. (CCC#1151; 1503; 1505)
  • (U4) 4.3.7.4 – The corporal and spiritual works of mercy illustrate Jesus’ love for the poor and needy. (CCC#2447)

Grade 2 / Grade 3 / Grade 4
KNOWLEDGE/ SKILLS: Learners will know that/be skilled at…
Key Targets -
  • (K1) 2.1.1.4 – Jesus had a human family. (CCC#1655)
  • (K2) 2.1.1.3 – Mary is the Mother of God. (CCC#466-467; 469; 493; 495; 509; 721)
/ KNOWLEDGE/ SKILLS: Learners will know that/be skilled at…
Key Targets -
  • (K1) 3.1.1.2 – Jesus was born a Jew. (CCC#597)
Supporting Targets -
  • (K2) 3.1.1.1 – Christians call Jesus, Lord; this title indicates divine power. (CCC#449; 455)
/ KNOWLEDGE/ SKILLS: Learners will know that/be skilled at…
Key Targets -
  • (K1) 4.1.3.5 – Mary is God's Mother. (CCC#495; 509; 721; 1187; 1192; 1195)

Lesson Sequence

Materials Needed:

  • Bible: The Catholic Children’s Bible (St. Mary’s Press), pp. 1549-1552
  • Grade 3 PCG [Our Sunday Visitor, Alive in Christ], Chapter 3 (“Families Teach Love”)
  • CD player
  • Songs of Scripture, Grades 1-3 CD, Track 4 (“Love God”)
  • Visual of a Venn diagram
  • Art paper and markers

Opening Prayer

[K2]

  • Ask learners to quiet their minds and hearts as we pray together.
  • Pray the Sign of the Cross (PCG 320)
  • PCG 73 – “Let Us Pray”
  • Lord Jesus, you are our Lord, for you alone give us life and show us your divine love each and every day. Help us to see how you loved others so that we may be helpful to our families and friends.
  • Pray together the Glory be to the Father(PCG 321)

Engage

[mental warm-up; personal connection]

  • PCG 73 – “God’s Word” and “What Do You Wonder?”
  • Conclude with: What did you hear God say to you today? OR Where did you see God in your life this week? Share responses and connect each to Divine Love.

Explore

[pre-assessment of faith concept]

[K1 & U2]

  • So, who is Jesus Christ? [Big Idea] (Pause for answers to discern what learners already know.)

To deepen their understanding, select from the following pictures in the text(or gather others online or in the room) to illustrate the life of Jesus on earth. Catechist will ask learners what they see Jesus doing in these pictures.

  • PCG 23-birth of Jesus with mother Mary
  • PCG 5-Jesus in the temple as a boy
  • PCG 73-Jesus and family
  • PCG 97-Jesus blessing the giving thanks
  • PCG 98-Jesus sharing a meal with friends (the disciples)
  • PCG 109-Jesus praying
  • PCG 125-Jesus working miracles and telling parables
  • Transition: We know about the life of Jesus on earth and will find out more about him intoday’s Scripture. Jesus called people to follow him. He wanted us to love each other in our families to help us learn to love other people as he did. He did many things when he was here on earth.
  • Catechist will act as scribe and draw a class web of what the students think they already know about Jesus and his life on earth from the pictures viewed above and/or other known facts about the life of Jesus. The web will have the name Jesus in the middle with responses coming out from the center of the web.
  • Summary/Closure:Jesus was born into a Jewish family and is the Son of God who became man to tell and show us how to love others. He lived on the Earth for 33 years. He showed God’s love when he talked and healed others, shared and blessed meals, told stories called parables, and he taught us how to pray. [NOTE: Catechist might keep this class web and return to during the Unit #1-Who is Jesus Christ?- evaluation session, adding more responses to the web.]

Essential Question [visible as a mental anchor]

[focus; frames the lesson]

[An Essential Question is one that is shared at the beginning of a lesson and then is revisited at the end of the lesson. It is your focus as CATECHIST; it keeps you “on track” so that you delve deeper into faith concepts important for lifelong learning. For your LEARNERS, it is their “cognitive bookend,” their goal for learning to self-evaluate their understanding of the lesson’s concepts.]

  • Share (and post) this lesson’s Essential Question: What do you know about the life of Jesus Christ on earth?

Explain& Check for Understanding

[direct teaching, infused with Scripture, & group work]

[U1 U2]

  • Jesus shows us how to love others and help those in need. We learn about many kind things that Jesus did when we read the Bible; the Word of God divided into chapters and verses. (Show a Bible and review the table of contents; remind learners of the Bible lesson done previously.)
  • Jesus shows us how to love others and help those in need. We learn about many kind things that Jesus did when we read the Bible.
  • Scripture: Mark 10: 46-52 (Jesus Helps a Blind Man to See)
  • Focus for Listening: Listen as I read this Scripture. Be ready to answer these questions: What does Jesus do in this story? What do Jesus’ actions tell us about Him?
  • Read aloud the Scripture [The Catholic Children’s Bible, St. Mary’s Press, pages 1549-1552]
  • Next, pose the above questions. Discuss.
  • To summarize and debrief, read aloud “Understand It!” [The Catholic Children’s Bible, St. Mary’s Press, page 1551]
  • Checking for Understanding – Now, what do you know about the life of Jesus Christ on earth? Ask learners to turn & talk with a partner and summarize in their own words what we learn from this Scripture passage. Catechist should walk around and monitor responses and, if appropriate, add a few to the class web.
  • Summary/Closure;In the book of Mark, we learn that Jesus showed his love for a blind man who believed in him. This story is just one example in the Bible where Jesus helped the poor to show them divine love. We are all asked to love and care for others to bring God’s love to our world, especially those in our family and at school.

Evaluate

[individual accountability]

  • Return to this lesson’s Essential Question. Ask learners if they can now answer it. Of course, they can and did when designing the class web. To extend their understanding to show Jesus’ humanity, a concept embellished in grades 4 & 5, facilitate the following activity:
  • Learners will each be given a piece of construction paper to create their own personal Venn diagram comparing the life of Jesus with their own life. The catechist may give selected prompts to support the learners successfully completing their diagram.

Suggested prompts:

  • Where was Jesus born? Where were you born?[Model this first example.]
  • What did Jesus do as a boy? What are some things that you do?
  • Tell about Jesus’ family. Tell about your family.
  • Did Jesus love his family? Do you love your family?
  • What did Jesus do with his friends? What do you do with your friends?
  • What kind of stories did Jesus tell his friends? What kind of stories do you tell your friends?
  • Students will share their Venn diagrams with others (time permitting).If sending products home so learners may share/explain to parents, snap a few pictures to share examples with other catechists.

Extend & Enrich(If time allows…)

[OPTIONAL connected concepts or details for individual inquiry outside of class]

  • PCG 73 - “Optional Activity/ Chapter Poem: “A Family” along with suggested online activities.

Debrief/ Self-Reflect

[mystagogy; transfer beyond the lesson]

  • Summarize the lesson to bring closure: In today’s lesson we learned about the life of Jesus on earth and how he showed love to others, the blind man, his family, etc. We are to follow his example by loving our family and friends and everyone we meet.
  • We created a Venn diagram comparing the life of Jesus with our lives. With whom will you share your diagram? What will you tell your family about how Jesus lived his life here on earth?

Closing Prayer

  • PCG 80 – “Let Us Pray” / Prayer of Petition
  • Say: Blessed Trinity---Father, Son, and Holy Spirit---help me to reflect your love and to caregenerously for the needs of others. Help me to follow Jesus’ life on earth and to love my family the way he loved his.
  • Pray the Sign of the Cross.

Family Connection

[to be communicated to parents]

  • CFLFF ADULTLearning Target(s) comparable to this lesson –
  • MA 3.1.7 - Jesus models, commands, and empowers his disciples to follow his Way of Love.
  • MA 1.3.2 - The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity: one God exists as a Trinity of persons existing in perfect and eternal communion with one another. This is the central mystery of the Christian faith and is known only because of God’s self-revelation as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  • MA 4.2.12 - TheScriptures are the livingWord ofGod which speakstoChristians,whoare calledtoread,reflect,meditateandpraythe Scriptures.
  • MA 1.1.1 - Jesus Christ, one person in two natures, is the center of all life and faith.
  • Session 3: Family + Faith: Living and Learning Together (PCG81)
  • “Children at this Age” – How they understand the family as domestic church
  • “Consider This>” – electronic devices
  • “Let’s Talk>” – living a holy life

Systematic Catechesis (2016-2017)