Noah & the Flood--Arcade

Scripture: Genesis 6-9 with emphasis on Genesis 6:5-8:22

Memory Verse for this rotation: “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”—Psalm 124:8

Concepts to be learned by children:
* God’s power over all creation is amazing.
* God makes and keeps promises.
* God communicates with people.
* God desires for us to be kind, obedient, and faithful.
* God takes care of all creation.

Materials:
• Doughnuts & water for participants (found in the kitchen)
• Memory verse prompts
• Bibles
• Item to grab as “buzzer” of sorts/Serve as a “talking stick”
• Questions for game—see end of this lesson plan
• White board —for score keeping
• Marker—for score keeping
• Eraser—for score keeping
• Ark and Noah/Animal Marker for Younger Students
• Journal page—one per student
• Glue sticks to adhere Journal Page
• Journals (Shepherds have)
• Pencils for journals (Shepherds have)
• Crayons for Journaling

Objectives:
* Students will review the story of Noah & The Flood
* Students will practice finding the story in the Bible.
* Students will play a trivia game reviewing the story.
* Students will participate in a reflection/closing prayer time.

Presenter Preparation:
Prior to Sunday Morning:
1. Read the scripture passage and do the Leader’s Bible Study
2. Read through the lesson plan provided and ask Stacy about any questions you have.
3. Plan your opening and closing prayers, if you decide not to use those provided.
4. Consider the age group you’ll be working with each week and any adjustments you’d like to make to the lesson.

Sunday Morning:
1. Retrieve doughnuts, a pitcher of water, cups, and napkins from the kitchen
2. Be sure the room is set up as you desire
3. Look through supply box to familiarize yourself with its contents
4. Do any other preparations you feel necessary.
5. Know that we are thankful you are teaching!

Procedure:
A. Welcome & Introductions at approximately 9:50 a.m.
1. Have the appropriate number of snacks available for each of the participants prepared before they arrive.
2. Greet the children and introduce yourself, wear a name tag if possible. Shepherds have name tags for the children in their bags. If necessary, ask the shepherd to supply children without tags with a temporary badge.
3. Open with a brief prayer. An example might be: God, we thank you for your son, Jesus, who became like us and lived on the earth. Please help us to learn more about Jesus today. Amen.
4. Give the students their snack

B. Story Review/Telling from the CEV Bible at approximately 9:55 a.m.:
1. Review how to find stories in the Bible. (They have done this in past years. This is the only workshop doing this during this rotation.)
a. Pre-K-2nd grade show them where the story is located in the Bible. Explain that it is in the Old Testament, in the very first book.
b. Grades 3-6th—make sure everyone has a Bible. Help the students to find Genesis. Explain that “Genesis” means “the beginning”. Remind them that the Bible is made up of books, which are divided into chapters and verses. After they’ve found Genesis, help them to see that the first digits are the chapter (6) so they find Chapter 6, then that the second numbers are the verses (1 and on).
c. Some people believe the story of Noah is history, meaning it really happened, while some people think it is just a story that was told in ancient times. When you get home today, you can ask your parents what they think. Keep in mind that whether it really happened is not as important as what the story teaches us about God.
2. Read the story
a. PreK through 2nd graders: you may read from the Bible, or use the kid-friendly version below, if you like.
b. Grades 3-6th—go ahead and read the story from the Bible, pausing to allow them to chime in on key words as they follow along. (It is possible to have the children read, but this often leads to other children not listening.)

The people on earth had become so cruel and violent that God regretted making the world and decided to destroy all the creatures living on earth. Noah was the only good person who lived right and obeyed God. Noah had a wife and three sons. Their names were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. His sons also had wives.
God said to Noah, Get some good lumber and build a gigantic boat three stories high with a roof. I’m going to send a flood that will destroy everything that breathes. But I promise that you and your family will be kept safe. I want you to bring on the boat two of every kind of animal and bird and reptile, a male and female of each, and bring enough food for all the people and animals on the boat.

Noah did everything God told him to do. After the ark was built, Noah and his wife; his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and his sons’ wives went into the ark. They took with them two of every animal on earth. Seven days later it started to rain. The sky opened like a window, and rain poured down without stopping for 40 days and nights. The water got deeper and deeper until the ark was floating high above the ground. Even the highest mountain peaks were deep beneath the water. All the people and animals on earth were drowned. Only the people and animals on the ark survived the flood.

After the rain finally stopped it took 150 days for the waters to go down enough for the ark to come to a rest on a mountain. Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a raven, and it just flew back and forth over the water. Then Noah sent out a dove, but the dove found no place to stand and it returned to the ark. Noah waited seven days, and again sent out the dove. This time the dove came back to him with an olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had gone down. Then he waited another seven days and sent out the dove again; and it did not return.

When the waters were dried up, God told Noah, “Go leave the ark. You and the people and the animals with you can go live on the earth, have babies, and fill the earth again with people and animals.

Noah built an altar and offered sacrifices to God. (Noah brought seven pairs of some animals on board the ark, but you don’t need to go into this unless the kids ask where he got the animals for the sacrifices.) And God told Noah, “I am going to make a solemn promise to you and to everyone who lives after you: I promise never again to cover the earth with a flood.”
This promise is called a covenant. As a sign of this covenant, God said, “The rainbow that I have put in the sky will remind you that I will keep this promise forever. “ When we see a rainbow, it reminds us of God’s promise to care for creation and to love and care for us.

C. Application:
1. This story is one with a lot for us to remember…let’s play a game to help us remember the important parts of the story. First, I would like to explain to you how the game works.
A. Explain the rules of the game…
Older children (3-6th graders):
1. Group them into teams
2. The first person in the line will be the person answering. Each person gets one question in which they may be the “answerer”, when that question is over they go to the end of the line and the next person becomes the “answerer” for the group. The group may assist the person with the correct answer, if needed.
3. Explain that when the person who is answering for each team during the question knows the answer they may grab the item in the middle and then answer
4. You do not need to keep score, however, if you would like to: If the team gets the questions right they get one point. Should they give an incorrect response, the other team may “go for the steal” and answer the question. If the second team answers correctly they get a point, if they are not correct they do not get a point.
TIPS: Try not to let one knowledgeable or fast-handed student dominate the game. IF one child is answering EVERY question for the group try to mix up the groups if you play more than once OR announce that anybody who answers five questions correctly will be “retired” as a permanent champion and gets to help read questions or be the scorekeeper.

Younger children (PreK-2nd graders):
1. Play the game as a large group
2. You’ll read a question and they, as a group, can discuss with their shepherd what they think the correct answer is.
3. Encourage them to take turns speaking and saying the answer outloud. You may use the object that the older kids used for grabbing as the “talking stick” for this game…anyone who has it can speak, others must wait until they have the “talking stick” to talk.
4. If they get the answer correctly you move them a bit closer to the ark. You can decide how much they should be moved…maybe based on difficulty of question, how many children knew the answer, etc.
TIPS: With this age we greatly discourage competitive play and want to inspire a sense of collaboration—“We all did it!”. If you have students that are having a difficult time concentrating, it might be great to have them take turns moving the animals/Noah closer to the ark, or assist you in other ways.

B. Play the game, using the questions found at the end of this lesson.
C. Great game playing. I am so impressed with how much you remember from the story! Let’s put everything away now so it is ready for next week. Have the students assist you in tidying up.

D. Reflection/Closing beginning no later than 10:18 a.m.:
1. Let’s try saying the memory verse together: You may use the prompt cards provided in your box. “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”—Psalm 124:8 You may repeat as many times as you like, stopping to have the repeat pieces of the verse as you see fit. You may also ask them how God helped Noah and discuss the application of the verse to the story.

OPTIONAL: If time, you may utilize the children’s journals to reflect on what they’ve learned. Journals are carried by the shepherds; they also have pencils. Utilize the Journal page provided for the different age groups. Use a glue stick to help them affix the paper to their journals.

4. Close with a prayer. Encourage children to offer petitions, if they’d like. It is helpful that with younger children you give them a prompt to go off of: Example: “Is there any person you’d like to ask God to bless” or “What is something you’re happy God created?” “Where is a place you go where you would like God to help you be good?”. Using the last prompt, here is an example of a closing prayer: Lord, thank you for your love and care for the world and everything in it. Help us to be kind and obedient like Noah. We especially ask you to help us be obedient when we are at __kids can say places they go each week ____ Amen.

E. Tidy and Dismissal:
Be sure that they find a responsible person and that everyone has found one such person before you depart. Please take all supplies and put them in the box and return the box to the white cart found in the hallway. If you have any questions, concerns, or need additional supplies, please contact Stacy during the week (507-626-0356 or stacyathope@yahoo.com) or put a note in her mailbox, which is located by the office. Thanks!

THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR FAITH WITH OUR YOUNG PEOPLE!

Questions for the Game
You can chose if you’d like to provide them with multiple choice from the start, or only provide them with multiple choice if they seem to be having trouble. The correct answers are italicized.

Why was God unhappy with the people living in the world?They were perfect
They were cruel and violent
They were cowardly and weak.

Why did God choose to save Noah from the flood?
Noah lived right and obeyed God.
Noah was a good carpenter and could build a sturdy ark.
Noah was a brave and mighty warrior.

Who besides Noah did God decide to save from the flood?
Noah’s parents, his brothers, and his brother’s wives.
Noah’s wife, his sons, and his sons’ wives.
Noah’s family and his best friend’s family.

What were the names of Noah’s sons?
Shem, Ham, and Jacob
Shem, Ham, and Japheth
Bob, Sean, and Larry

What was Noah’s wife’s name?
Naomi
Sarah
Mrs. Noah (Bible doesn’t tell us her name)

What did God tell Noah to do to escape the flood?
Take your family and go to the top of the highest mountain.
Get some good lumber and build a huge boat.
Teach everyone in your family how to swim.

What kinds of animals did God tell Noah to bring onto the boat?
A male and female of every kind of animal and bird and reptile.A male and female of every animal that lives on the land or in the sea.
A male and female of every animal that eats plants.

What else did Noah bring on board?
Some books and games to pass the time.
Extra lumber in case the ark needed repairs.
Food for all the animals and people.

How long did it rain without stopping?
Forty months
Forty years
Forty days.

After the rain stopped and the water went down, where did the boat come to rest?
On a mountain
On the beach
In Noah’s yard

What was the first bird that Noah sent out?
A raven
A dove
An Owl

What happened when Noah sent out the raven?
It flew back with an olive branch.
It just kept flying around.
It didn’t come back.

After the raven, Noah sent out a dove three times. What happened the first time?
It came back with a worm in its beak.
The dove could not find a place to land, so it flew back to the boat.
It flew away

What happened the second time Noah sent out at dove?
It returned with a green leaf form an olive tree.
It just kept flying around.
It returned with at stalk of wheat.

What happened the third time Noah sent out the dove?
It just flew around.
It couldn’t land, so it returned to the boat.
It did not return.

When the earth was completely dry, what did God say the people and animals should do?
Clean up the mess on the boat and get out of there
Use lumber from the boat to build a fire and offer sacrifices.
Go live on earth, have babies, and fill the world with people and animals again.

When Noah left the boat, what did he do?
He went and had a nap
Had a big party to celebrate
Built an altar and offered sacrifices to God.

What did God promise to Noah and those who came after him?
Never again tell Noah what to do
Never again send rain
Never again to cover the earth with a flood.

What did God use as a symbol to remind us of that covenant?
A dove
A rainbow
The cross