Unit title	Year	Background notes
Why did Jesus use stories to challenge people?	3	In this unit, pupils will explore the power of stories to challenge people to think about the way they lead their lives. In this context, a number of parable stories Jesus told will be explored to see how they challenged people at the time and can still do today. Link with QCA unit 2B, Why did Jesus tell stories?

Key questions	Concept/s	Learning outcomes	Suggested activities	Resources
What stories really make you think?	Story Layers of meaning Message	To understand that stories often contain inner meanings and messages To understand that parables Jesus told were a way of teaching people about God and how to live their lives	· Begin a story with the words ‘Once upon a time’ and then stop. Ask what the children were expecting. Discuss what a story is, who tells stories and why people like them. Give each child a speech bubble to write down one comment about stories, and display · Share what stories have really made them think. The teacher can share an example of a story that has affected him/her deeply. Explain how Jesus told stories, called parables, to teach people about God and how they should live their lives · Take an onion and peel off the layers. Explain how they are going to hear a story that has layers of meaning. Tell the story of the Prodigal Son (explaining ‘prodigal’), with a focus on how the father behaved towards his son and his forgiveness. Ask children to respond to the story in two sections: a) describe what happens in the story; b) what is the deeper layer of the story – what was Jesus trying to teach about life and God?	Onion Luke 15: The Prodigal Son NB Some call this the parable of the Loving Father Priestley, J, Bible Stories for the Classroom and Assembly: The New Testament, RMEP, 0-900274-54-9, pp80-84
What is the challenge in the story of the houses built on rock and sand?	Story Meaning Message	To experience a parable told by Jesus To be able to link the themes in the story with themes in their own lives	· Sing together the song ‘The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock’, with hand movements · Read a version of the parable and write it in their own words, describing what happens · Thinking of the deeper layer idea, explore together what it is teaching about life and God · In pairs, work on a role-play that shows a Wise and Foolish person. Show how the foolish person makes a bad decision, perhaps because of his impatience, greed or failure to listen to people who know better. Show the role play to the class, making sure that there is a conclusion at the end that shows what we can learn from the story	See useful websites below
What is the challenge in the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector?	Story Meaning Humility	To experience a parable told by Jesus To be able to use the themes within the parable to create another story	· What qualities are there in people we admire? Share ideas as a class, whether these are family members, sports personalities, pop idols, religious figures etc and describe some of their qualities, stressing how different this can be from appearance · Write a description of the qualities of a special person, giving examples of how their personal qualities are shown in their behaviour · Listen to the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, again looking for the meaning of the parable. What is Jesus teaching about how to behave? What was wrong with the Pharisee’s behaviour and attitude? What qualities did the tax collector show? · Tell a modern story using the themes of humility and righteousness, in words or as a cartoon strip. It could, for example, show someone who is showing off about their football skills or about how perfect their children are	Luke 18: 9-14
What is the challenge in the story of the lost sheep and the lost coin?	Story Meaning Lost and found	To experience a parable told by Jesus To be able to understand the deeper themes in the story and draw links with their own lives	· On the top half of an A4 sheet in silence, ask pupils to draw a picture of what the word ‘Lost’ means to them. They can add some words on the bottom half of the sheet that makes sense of the picture · Share the pictures and see if there are any common themes. Discuss: what does it feel like to be lost? · Listen to the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. What are the stories saying about losing things? · What is the deeper message of the story – what does lost and found mean in the parable? · Create another picture called ‘Found’ to contrast with the first picture	Luke 15: 4-10
What is the challenge in the parable of the mustard seed?	Message Meaning Symbol	To understand that objects can carry symbolic meaning	· What words come into our head when we think of trees? What ideas come into our heads? Discuss · Look at pictures and paintings of trees – what do they make us feel? Many religions and cultures have the idea of a Tree of Life – what could that mean? · Look at Jesus’ words from Luke 13, that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. How can the Christian idea of a perfect world be a tree growing from the tiniest of seeds with birds in its branches? What could that mean? · Investigate images of the Tree of Life eg from Celtic, Jewish, Islamic traditions, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom, using ICT · Work together as a class to make a Tree of Life for the classroom, with pupils’ thoughts about a perfect world displayed around it, or on the branches	Luke 13: 18-19 See useful websites below

Useful websites

http://www.ebibleteacher.com/children/songs.htm For the words of The Wise Man Built His House upon the Rock

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/waltdisneyworld/index All about the Tree of Life in Disney World

http://www.deveuve-kelly.com/deveuve-kelly-studio/suz/notecards/notecard-images/tree-of-life.jpg Image that children would like of animals, birds people in a tree

http://asianart.com/jewels_of_the_caucasus/large/cauc-kazak-023.jpg A beautiful Caucasian Kazak rug

http://faculty.washington.edu/vienna/wien_images/artwork/tree_of_life.jpg Tree of Life by Gustav Klimt

http://www.tapestries.com/images/V-Tree_of_Life.jpg Amazing tapestry

http://www.religious-icons.com/woodsculpt/woodimages/wtreeoflife.jpg Tree of Life Greek Orthodox icon

http://www.crystalinks.com/celticmandala.jpg Beautiful Celtic Mandala in tree of life form

A glossary of religious and cultural terms used in this planning grid

Kingdom of God	A term used by Jesus, and by Christians ever since, to mean what life would be like if God were ruling over people’s lives. As such, the term ‘kingdom’ is not referring to a geographical place but to a type or quality of living
Parable	A parable literally means ‘a story thrown with a twist’. Parables are not sweet, gentle stories as they are often portrayed. Rather, they were meant to twist their way into the thinking of those who heard them in order to encourage a change of values and orientation
Pharisee	At the time of Jesus, there were a number of Jewish groups that adopted different positions towards their Jewish faith. The Pharisees were Jews who wished to take their Jewish way of life very seriously. Unfortunately, as we see in the Christian Gospels, their very seriousness could turn in some individuals into pride and religious arrogance
Tax collector	Israel at the time of Jesus was enemy-occupied – by the Romans. It is easy to imagine, then, the hatred toward Jewish people who worked for the Roman authorities, by collecting taxes, for example. Furthermore, tax collectors were not paid for this work: they made their money by collecting more than had to be passed over to the Romans. This left room for greed and exploitation. Imagine the natural revulsion, then, when Jesus used a tax collector as a symbol of virtue!