SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

RE LESSON PLAN
Primary

LESSON ORGANISATION

Unit of work: Loved and Forgiven Salvation topic: Penance Human person Topic: Power of
Love
Year Level: 4 Students’ Prior Knowledge: (include faith situations/
Key Understanding: previous lessons/Units)
B2 Jesus forgives sins through the sacrament of Penance.
In year two, students have explored:
Learning Point(s): • The moral conscience ⟶ doing what is
B2.1 Records the meaning of sin. loving and good allows people to stay close
to God.
• Sometimes people find it hard to do what is
right and disobey God, this is called a sin.

Spiritual and Religious Capabilities (that may potentially be covered in the lesson)

Prudence Justice Fortitude Temperance Faith Hope Charity

eg Right choices eg Right eg Inner strength eg Moderation eg Prayer eg Reconciliation eg Service
relationships

General Capabilities (that may potentially be covered in the lesson)

Literacy Numeracy ICT Critical and Ethical Personal and Intercultural
competence creative behaviour Social understanding
thinking competence

Cross-curriculum priorities (may be addressed in the lesson)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia Sustainability
histories and cultures

Lesson Objectives (i.e. anticipated outcomes of this lesson, in point form beginning with an action verb)
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Identify what a sin is, and different examples of sin in life.

• Recognise that forgiveness is important in strengthening our relationship with God.
• Work in small groups to create a information placemat about forgiveness.

Teacher’s Prior Preparation/Organisation:
 Provision for students at educational risk:

• Laminated picture of God • Learning difficulty: pair student with a more
• Whiteboard and magnets capable student to work with in placemat
• Helium balloon with long string activity. Students who have trouble with
• Five washing pegs with sin labels: articulating words into writing are welcome

to draw their ideas on the placemat.
o Dishonesty
o Selfishness • Physical disability: assist student to
o Bullying participate in the group work by setting him

o Greed up at a table and his group work around him.
o Envy
• Placemat Worksheets
• Coloured pencils and markers
• Lead pencils
LESSON DELIVERY attach worksheets, examples, marking keys, etc. as relevant
Time Motivation and Introduction: Resources/References

1. Invite the students down to sit on the mat facing your chair and

the whiteboard.

2. Introduce the topic of the lesson to students.

• “Today we are going to refresh our memories on the meaning of

sin and the importance of forgiveness in our lives.”

3. Present to students a laminated picture of God. Discuss with students: Laminated picture of God
• “Who is God?”
• Remind students that it is God who created us, and that when

we pray, we are talking to God.

4. Attach the laminated picture of God to the top of the whiteboard with a Whiteboard
magnet. This is to symbolise that God is in Heaven, while we (His
people) are below, on Earth. Discuss: Magnet

• “Where do we recognise God as being?”

• “Even though we are far away, how can we connect with God?"

5. Now present to the students a helium balloon with a long string

attached. Helium balloon

with long string
• “This balloon I have here represents each and every one of

us in the world.”
• Hold the balloon in your hands and say:
• “We, the people, are way down on Earth.”

6. Explain that even though we are far away from God, He can still hear
us through our prayers.
• “When we pray, our prayers are sent to God and in turn, we
become closer to God. This is also the case when we act with
love and in kindness with one another.”
• Release the balloon so that it floats to the ceiling near the picture
of God on the whiteboard, representing us moving towards God.

7. Pull the balloon down from the ceiling so the string is held in your hand.
Explain to students the concept of sin:

• “Sometimes in life we do find it hard to do what is right and


make wrong choices. What do we call these wrong choices?”
• Show the students five pegs with different sin labels attached Five washing pegs

(e.g. dishonesty, selfishness, bullying, greed, envy). Invite five with sin labels:
students to attach these pegs to the string of the balloon.

Explain each sin as it is attached. Dishonesty
• “When we sin, we are adding a kind of baggage to our lives.” Selfishness
Bullying
8. Once all five pegs are attached to the balloon, release the string from Greed
your hand allowing it to float upwards, demonstrating that it no longer Envy
floats completely up to the ceiling.

• “This baggage of sin in our lives weighs us down. As we can


see, this hinders our relationship with God.”
• I wonder what we can do in order to repair our relationship

with God?
• Allow students time to think before sharing any answers.


9. While holding the string of the balloon, invite five students to remove

one peg each from the string. Explain that in order to be free from

sin, we can ask God for forgiveness (relate to Sacrament of Penance).

10 10. Once all pegs are removed, let go of the balloon letting it float
minutes upwards once more explaining that our confession of sin allows us to
be forgiven and repair our relationship with God.
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Time Lesson Steps (Lesson content, structure, strategies & Key Questions): Resources/References

10. In groups of four, students will complete a placemat activity. Each

student writes their responses to the focus questions in a section of

the placemat. Placemat worksheets
• Questions: Coloured pencils

• What is a ‘sin’, and what are some examples? and markers
• How is our relationship with God effected by sin?
• How does the Sacrament of Penance restore our Lead pencils
relationship with God after we have sinned?
• How can we avoid sin in our lives?

11. Each group then discusses the responses of each group member.
10
minutes 12. Invite all groups down to sit in a circle on the mat to discuss the
questions as a whole class. Encourage the students to add any new
information to their placemats if not recorded already.

13.Lesson Closure:(Review lesson objectives with students)

14. With all students still sitting in the circle formation, recite the following
forgiveness prayer line by line, following the teacher’s lead:

Dear God,

Just as you so generously forgive me,

Help me also to forgive others
And not keep any form
Of hate, anger or revenge
10 Within my mind.
minutes
Bestow the power of love
Upon us all
And just as I forgive
So too will everyone.

Amen.

Transition: (What needs to happen prior to the next lesson?)

15. Before the commencement of the next lesson, ensure that all
placemat worksheets have been glued into the appropriate workbook,
and all writing equipment has been packed away.

Assessment: (Were the lesson objectives met? How will they be

assessed?)

• Did the students understand how the baggage of sin can hinder our
relationship with God and how this can be improved through
forgiveness?

• Strategies:
- Observation of student contribution in class discussions and
group work.
- Checklist to record students capabilities to answer the questions
in the placemat activity.
 RESOURCES

Peg Labels

Dishonesty Selfishness Bullying

Greed Envy

Placemat Activity Worksheet

What is ‘sin’ and what are some How can we avoid sin in our lives?
examples?

FORGIVENESS
How is our relationship with God How does the Sacrament of Penance
effected by sin? restore our relationship with God after
we have sinned?
Assessment Checklist

Correct recognition of sin as any Understands

deliberate thought, word or action forgiveness as a way in
against the Law of God, and able to which to strengthen our
provide examples. relationship with God.