Free Sunday School Lesson for Grades 2-3
Bible School Lesson On Caring for Creation for Second, Third Grade
Oct 13, 2009
There are clear differences between the creation story in Genesis 2:18-23 and the account in Genesis 1. In the Genesis 2 story, believed to be hundreds of years older than the Genesis 1 version, man is created before animals. Sunday School teachers can use this story to reinforce the ideas that God created the world for all and he wants people to take good care of the world.
Sunday School Teachers Can Begin the Lesson by Introducing the Creation Story
Sunday School teachers may read the creation story (Genesis 2:4-9 and Genesis 2:18-23) from a children’s Bible and then ask the learners:
- What things did God create?
- How did God form the humans?
- Where did the humans live?
- How does it make you feel to think about God creating everything?
- How do you think the earth looked when it was newly created?
- What do you think about God creating the first person from soil?
- What do you think it was like for that first human?
Sunday School teachers should ask the students to imagine the story together. Teachers should ask the learners to sit comfortably and close their eyes, inviting them to quietly think about what happened in the Bible story.
Teachers can then ask some imagining questions, telling the learners that do not need to respond to the questions aloud, but they are to think about the questions quietly. Sunday School teachers should pause between the questions, giving the children time to focus on each image. As the children listen, teachers can say something like the following: "Imagine that you can see the earth and heavens before God created anything else. What do you see? Hear? Smell? What do you see when God put the first person into the garden? What does the person do in the garden? Why do you think God created a garden for the first person?"
Sunday School teachers should have the learners open their eyes and invite them to tell any thoughts they had while imagining creation. Teachers should encourage participation by explaining that there are no right or wrong answers and affirm all contributions.
Sunday School Teachers Can Continue the Creation Lesson With Themed Activities
There are several additional activities that religious educators can try as they teach the lesson of Genesis.
In a poster-making activity, Sunday School teachers may ask the learners what they think it means to be a caretaker and encourage them to think about all the ways they can help take care of God’s creation. Teachers can give students a few minutes to think, then invite them to share their thoughts with the group, encouraging them to think of things that they can accomplish such as picking up litter, using less water, and turning off the lights when they leave a room.
Sunday School teachers should then suggest that students choose some of these activities to accomplish them this week and invite them to make a poster titled: “This week I will…”. Sunday school teachers can hand out markers or crayons so the learners can illustrate their posters.
In another new creation activity, Sunday School teachers should explain that creation did not end with the stories from Genesis; God continues to create. Teachers can encourage the children to talk about some of the new creations in God’s world and urge them to think of themselves as part of God’s magnificent creation story.
Sunday School Teachers May End the Creation Lesson With Sharing Time
Teachers can have the children sit in a circle and ask them questions like:
- How do you feel differently about creation after having heard the Bible story?
- What did you learn from the story that you didn’t know before?
- How do you think God felt about the creation?
- How do you think God wants us to relate to creation today?
Sunday School teachers may choose to close with a prayer like this one: "O God, we thank you for all of your wonderful creations. We thank you for…. (invite children to name things God created) O God we thank you for all our friends and companions. For… (invite children to name a friend) O God, help us to care for your creation. I will (children can name something they will do for God's creation)."
Sunday School teachers should remember that the theme of this lesson is “God created the world and asked humankind to take care of it.” This instruction, caring for the earth, should be nurtured in God's children because they will soon grow up and become the earth's next caretakers.
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