Religion Curriculum Unit: I wonder about Lent

Notes for this ResourceThis resource is intended as a unit of work to be implemented during the Lenten Liturgical season which allowed the students to explore and become familiar with the events of Holy Week from Palm Sunday to the crucifixion. Teachers may have to revise these events with students before moving to the events of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Teachers are reminded that this Lenten Unit is an exemplar resource that models the linear teaching of content according to the Achievement Standards for all Levels.

As always, you are expected to engage with the suggestions this resource contains, make choices and adapt and apply the activities to suit your own school situation.

There are a number of activities listed in this unit for students in year levels from Prep-Yr 10. Teachers are invited to talk with their colleagues to choose which activities are most appropriate for particular students and year levels.

In determining the content to teach you must first decide on the Achievement Standard you wish to demonstrate and choose teaching and learning activities that will teach the content required for achievement of the Standard.

When time is limited, your guiding principle is, as it is with all good education, less content, taught more richly and deeply.

Quantity should never supersede quality1.

1 Dr Margaret Carswell

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

The season of Lent

Lent is a period of preparation in the Church’s Liturgical Year that orients the community towards Holy Week and the Season of Easter. It is a time of prayer, fasting and good works. It is also a special time of solidarity with those who are entering their final period of preparation for initiation into the Christian community at Easter. The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and concludes on Holy Thursday

Evening (the Vigil of Good Friday). Ash Wednesday is designated as an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence.

Colour: Purple

Duration: 6 weeks

Start: Ash Wednesday

Finish: Holy Thursday (prior to Mass of the Lord's Supper)

Themes: prayer, fasting, repentance, almsgiving.

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Suggestions for Staff meeting on the content and focus of this unit.Using the Worlds of the Text with 3 keys for Meaning.

Begin with the text - World of the Text➔ Read the text from the bible and identify its literary form. Knowing its literary form directs you to the kind of truth it carries

and, therefore, how you are to interpret what you read.2 ➔ look at where the story occurs in the whole of the Gospel.

Look behind the Text - Worlds behind the Text ➔ when reading the text identify words, practices, places etc that will help develop an understanding of the time the author

wrote and the time the author was writing about.Use three keys for meaning - World in Front of the Text

➔ 3 Keys for Meaning➔ What is the author trying to say about :

◆ 1 God◆ 2 People◆ 3 Our ideal world 3

Keys can be purchased from: https://www.frenchknot.com.au/products.php?c=&p=5344 or other home design stores.

Resources Note:“The Bible Doctor” website developed by Dr Margaret Carswell http://www.thebibledoctor.com/ Loyola Press: https://www.loyolapress.com/ Caritas Australia https://www.caritas.org.au/Harding N. (2007) Lent people & places. Kevin Mayhew Ltd, Buxhall: SuffolkGodly Play books by Jerome Berryman.Active Reading Skills (Learning Links to Parables and Miracles p 17)

2 Dr Margaret Carswell3 Carswell

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Ask Questions Make ConnectionsWho is involved? I wonder why ….What are they doing? Why? What caused ….What do they really want? Why? I think ….What is the situation or the problem? This is similar to …Who is telling the story? Why? This is important because ..How is the story constructed? Why? What do they mean by ….What is the source of the tension? What I find confusing is … What will happen next is ….

I can relate to this because …. Predict SummariseWhat will happen next? What happened?Why do you think that? What is essential to tell?What effect will that have on the story What was the outcome?or the characters? Who was involved? Why did this happen?

Is that a detail or essential information?

Clarify SynthesiseAsk questions. Three important points are ….Re-read what you do not understand. These are important because … What comes next …. The author wants us to think … What interested me most was …. This means that ….

Liturgical Year Term: 1 1-2 week unit as well as Years: Prep - 10

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A,B,C. ongoing activities throughout the Lenten season.

Knowledge & Understanding…

Prep - Yr. 2

Students know:

● Jesus died in Jerusalem (CCC 423, 495, 533)

● Jesus made God’s love present on earth through his actions, words

and gestures.

● the world reflects the presence and goodness of God.(CCC 1145,

1147)

● that the Church celebrates Jesus’s life through special seasons in a

liturgical year.

Yrs. 3- 6

Students know:

● The Christian scriptures teach about Jesus.

● Jesus lived and preached a message of hope. (CCC 1817-1819)

● Narratives about Jesus are found in the Gospels.

● the Bible’s referencing system is structured according to book, chapter and verse.

● Our Church remembers, celebrates and gives thanks for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. (CCC 1358-1361)

Skills…

Prep-Yr. 2

Students

● recall simple stories about Jesus and his actions towards others.

● know a narrative tells a story and retell a narrative.

● display a sense of wonder and awe of the world.

● recall and retell the story of Jesus’ life death and resurrection

Yrs. 3-6

Students:

● Begin to analyse gospel stories by drawing on a growing knowledge of the cultural context in which the Gospel were written.

● Locate geographical places associated with Jesus and the Holy Land.

● become familiar with and identify some features of text organization- namely book, chapter, verse

● Name the liturgical season of Lent and name the colour used by the Church for Lent - Purple

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● The church celebrates Jesus’ life, death and resurrection in the many feasts and seasons of the liturgical year.

Yrs. 7-10

Students know:

● The Incarnation and Resurrection of Jesus are foundational beliefs of Christianity

● the Bible writers drew on the oral tradition and the writings of others to compile their works.

● The New Testament writers wrote for particular communities

● Prayerful reading of the Scripture leads us to discover and know ourselves more deeply as to develop our relationship with God.

Yrs. 7-10

Students:

● Reflect critically on the meaning of the Life, death and resurrection of Jesus in lives today.

● Formulate ideas about the relevance and consequences of these foundational beliefs for Christian believers today.

● identify various genres in the Bible

● discuss the challenges that faced the writers and audiences of the New Testament.

Year Level Achievement Standards:

Prep

Students know who Jesus is and recall simple key concepts and stories about Jesus’ life. Students respond to a simple retelling of events in Holy Week.

Students recognise that the Bible is a special book that is treated with respect.

Yr. 1

Students recall scripture stories of Jesus' birth, death and resurrection.

Students recall biblical information about Jesus and how he cared for people

Yr. 2

Students explain that the Bible is important to Christians. They know that a narrative tells a story about Jesus and parables are stories or riddles that

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Jesus told to help teach people about God and they can retell a narrative or a parable. They compare and contrast some of the cultural and social background of the Gospels with ours e.g. family, food, housing, and transport.

By the end of year two, students recall scripture that shows Jesus as loving and just

Yr. 3

They name significant people, places, events and stories from the Gospels. They identify cultural aspects that assist them to understand Jesus’ life and teachings.

Students respond to stories of Jesus by relating them to their own lives

Yr. 4

Students locate texts within the Bible by book, chapter and verse. Students identify and reflect upon key parables from the New Testament.

Yr. 5

Students read, recall and wonder about key healing miracles and how Jesus responded to people in need in first century Palestine. Students examine the Bible and identify Biblical texts such as narratives, parables and miracles. They locate the lands of the Bible and name some significant geographical locations in Jesus’ time.

Yr. 6

They listen, read, and recount key scripture that tells of the early Christian communities.

Students research key figures in the Bible, for example, Peter.

Yr. 7

By the end of year seven students will describe the structure and identify some of the genres of the Bible. They examine some of the social and cultural practices of Judaism in the time of Jesus and express personal interpretations of Jesus as teacher and healer

Yr. 8

By the end of Year Eight students research people from the Bible who have been transformed by their encounter with God.

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Yr. 9

Students demonstrate their understanding of the Christian teaching of Jesus overcoming death in the resurrection.

Yr. 10.

Students ask the question ‘who is Jesus, in light of the Paschal Mystery, scripture, the Incarnation and the resurrection of Christ.

Scripture that will be the experienced in the Liturgical season of Lent:Year A, B, C.

Ash Wednesday: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Week one: Year A Matt 4:1-11 Year B Mark 1:12-15 Year C Luke 4: 1-13

Week Two: Year A Matt 17:1-9 Year B Mark 9:2-10 Year C Luke 9:28-36

Week three: Year A John 4:5-24 Year B John 2:13-25 Year C Luke 13:1-9

Week Four: Year A John 9:1-41 Year B John 3:14-21 Year C Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Week Five: Year A John 11:1-45 Year B John 12: 20-33 Year C John 8:1-11

Holy Week:Palm Sunday: Year A The passion Matthew: 26: 14-27:66 Year B The passion Mark: 14:1-15:47 Year C the passion Luke: 22:14-23:56

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Triduum:Holy Thursday: John 13:1-15Good Friday: John 18:1-19:42 The passion narrative

World of the Text World behind the Text World in front of the TextAsh WednesdayAlmsgiving, prayer and fasting will be pure expressions of the ‘greatest commandment of the law’ (Matt 22:37-39), the dual commandment of love of God and one’s neighbour. Any reward that will accrue will come entirely from the boundless generosity of the ‘Father who sees in secret’.4

The word ‘reward’ had a very specific meaning in business – it meant ‘paid in full’ – and was often applied to purchase of a slave. In the passage, Jesus is effectively saying, their account has been settled; their fate has been determined. Because they choose to twist religious practices to their own benefit they have sealed their fate – that is their reward! Their ‘reward’ can only be changed by a dramatic change of heart; turning back to God and doing their works for God’s sake, not their own.

Ash WednesdayThe Gospel, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18, features three instructions of Jesus taken from the Sermon on the Mount: instructions on almsgiving, prayer and fasting – all practices traditionally associated with the Lenten observance of the Church. It is important to see that the instructions in these three areas are part of a larger sequence in the sermon in which Jesus is commending to his disciples the ‘surpassing righteousness’ that should distinguish the community of the Kingdom (Matt 5:20). The pattern of life that Jesus positively commends is contrasted with that of other religious leaders (especially the scribes [‘hypocrites’]) whose performance of such deeds of piety is governed by outward show designed to impress other human beings and earn their admiration. For Jesus what is central is the relationship with God. Since each of these practices bears upon that relationship alone and since God sees all things, even the most hidden, let them be conducted in as secret a manner as

Ash WednesdayThe tradition of marking the forehead with ash on Ash Wednesday can be traced back to the ancient Jewish action of dusting oneself with ash as a sign of repentance and mourning for wrongful actions. It was a public declaration of the acknowledgement of the wrong and the commitment to turn one’s life around and try not to make the same mistake again. It still remains a public declaration that during the period of Lent those who wear the cross of ash are going to attempt to turn around their lives and re-focus themselves more fully on God.What do you think is meant by the expression, ‘your left hand must not know what your right is doing’?What effect is achieved by the repetition used in the passage?Why might the passage emphasise secrecy?In what ways does the passage challenge you as we enter this Lenten period?How might you use almsgiving, prayer or fasting

4 Brendan Byrne (2019) Liturgy Help Commentary https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/events/weekL0/NAWLEWEI/ComBreByrNew

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Holy ThursdayThe first three verses form a detailed introduction both to the foot washing scene and to the whole of the rest of the book. The long opening sentence (v.1) really serves as an introduction to the Supper sequence as a whole. It reminds us of the immanence of Passover, the festival in which Jesus will die as Passover Lamb. When Peter objects to Jesus washing him, this reflects his objection to Jesus going to the cross. Neither he nor the others have yet understood what it is that Jesus has to do and why.

Good FridayThe following sequence is part of any telling of the death of Jesus:

A betrayal and arrest on the mount outside the city

A Jewish trial A Roman trial Death by crucifixion with two others at

Golgotha Burial by disciples in a nearby tomb.

possible. That way, none of the benefit will be deflected away from God to lesser ends such as gaining for oneself the admiration of others. 5

Holy ThursdayJesus’ washing the feet of his disciples was quite unusual. This common ritual was usually done by slaves or by women upon arrival at the house. Here it was done by the one who enjoys divine origin and who was Lord and Teacher of those at table. What looks like self-abasement is really an expression of Jesus’ love. He was willing to empty himself of all divine privilege and assume the role of the slave; he was willing to empty himself of his very life in order to win salvation for all. Peter saw the humiliation in Jesus’ behaviour, but he did not grasp its real meaning. Jesus had to explain that he was giving himself completely to those present and charging them to give themselves completely to others.6

Good FridayEvery year the Passion reading on Good Friday is from the Gospel of John. Each evangelist has his own theological emphasis when narrating the account of Jesus’ arrest, trial and crucifixion. John is no different.If we step back from the text and see the iconography of the scene as John has narrated it, he has recreated the Genesis creation story. This is John’s theology of the Cross – it is a moment

to shift your focus from self to God?9

Holy ThursdayWhen Jesus washes the feet of his disciples, at one level he is simply observing one of the rules of hospitality. It was an obligation on a host to provide water for guests to wash the dust and dirt from their feet. Jesus goes one step further and actually washes their feet himself – in effect, he assumes the role of a household servant. Small acts of kindness and service for another person honour that person and demonstrate our respect for them. When we perform such acts we are being Christ-like ourselves but we are also acknowledging Christ’s presence in the other.Q. Why might the gospel of John be the only one to depict this foot-washing event?Q. Who are those in the community most in need of being served?Q. Who are those in the community most in need of being given opportunities to serve others?10

Good FridayQuestions for AdolescentsQ. Which part of the Passion narrative particularly focuses your attention?Q. What events in your own life can you associate with the events of the Passion?Q. Why do you think the four gospel accounts of the Passion are so closely similar?

5 Brendan Byrne (2019) Liturgy Help Commentary, https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/events/weekL0/NAWLEWEI/ComBreByrNew 6 Dianne Bergant (2019) Liturgy Help commentary, https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/events/weekTR/N00HOHOI/ComDiBer 9 Greg Sunter (2019)10 Sunter G. (2019) Liturgy Help commentary, https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/events/weekTR/N00HOHOI/RefGreSun*

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These elements are generally used to form the structural divisions of the passion narrative. The fourth Gospel will be faithful to the tradition and will present each incident through the lens of its own unique Christology. At the beginning and the conclusion of the trial before Pilate, the narrator adds details that emphasize the Passover context. When Jesus is handed over to Pilate, the “Jews” do not go inside to ensure they are not defiled as unable to eat the Passover meal (18:28)At the end of Pilate’s inquisition, the evangelist adds the following detail. “Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon” (19:14) This detail of the day and time gives a sacrificial significance to what is occurring. At the same time that the lambs are being handed over to the priests for the Passover sacrifice in the Temple, Pilate is handing over Jesus to “the Jews” who are demanding his death.

of a new creation. Here there is no emphasis on sin or atonement as found in the Synoptic Gospels, instead the Passion in John is Jesus’ ‘exultation’ or ‘lifting up’ in glory, and in this moment, a new creation is born.7

The gospel of John is sometimes considered ‘anti-Semitic’ because its portrayal of ‘the Jews’ is rather negative. Use of the term ‘the Jews’ is very evident in the Passion narrative where other writers might have used ‘the Jewish authorities’. This gospel was written at a time when the Christian community had been exiled from the Jewish faith and what had once been close bonds were dramatically broken down. The language of the gospel is indicative of the social situation at the time of its writing rather than at the time of Jesus. We must be careful to understand the context of the writer.8

Q. What are the elements of the Good Friday liturgy that set it apart from other celebrations?Q. How do you understand the expression, ‘There’s no Easter Sunday without Good Friday’?Questions for AdultsQ. In what ways is Good Friday both a solemn day and a ‘good’ day?Q. When you listen to the Passion narrative, what images or emotions surface for you?Q. What is the ‘good news’ for our lives that we can take from this seemingly hopeless story?Q. What artistic image of the crucifixion do you find most powerful?

Learning momentsConduct an online image search and gather a varied collection of images of the crucifixion. Create a gallery or slideshow of these images and for each image add a prayerful reflection or insight that is evoked by the work of art.Research the meaning that lies behind the different shapes and depictions of the cross.Create your own ‘Stations of the Cross’ reflection with images, scripture quotes, prayers and reflections.11

7 Mary Coloe (2019) Liturgy Help commentary, https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/events/weekTR/N00HOGOI/ComMaCol 8 Sunter, G. Liturgy Help, Good Friday commentary 11 Greg Sunter, 2019, Liturgy Help commentary, https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/events/weekTR/N00HOGOI/RefGreSun*

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Learning and Teaching Sequence

Activity/Experience/Differentiation

Resources

ICLTs Assessment

Tuning In Ash Wednesday:

Teacher Background

Ash Wednesday is always the first Wednesday of the Lenten season and marks the beginning of Lent. The distribution of blessed ashes is typically done before the altar and, depending on the custom of the parish, people will hear the distributor say, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel” or “Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return.” The atmosphere in the Church is quiet and the observance solemn. People reflect on how quickly human life can pass. All are reminded of the need for repentance.

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Ash Wednesday Readings

The readings for Ash Wednesday offer a number of important images that help children understand the meaning of this experience. The first reading calls us to repentance but also emphasizes that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in kindness (Joel 2:13). In the second reading, Paul reminds us that the world sees the presence of Christ in the way we act. So, be reconciled to God today! (2 Corinthians 5:20—6:1). We are called to be the love and change we wish to see in the world. In the third reading, Jesus reminds us that the sacrifices and prayers called for in Lent are between God and us. It is insincere for us to show off contrite actions to win the praise of others—let others only see how our sacrifices and prayers help us love them.

Children and Preparing for Lent

Ash Wednesday begins a wonderful season of reflection and preparation. Receiving the ashes as a member of the church community helps children recognize that they are an important part of the Catholic community and are united with the Church in its Lenten preparation.12

Teacher Background

You have always learned that Lent commemorates the 40 days that Jesus spent praying in the desert before his public ministry. If, however, you actually count the days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, you’ll realize there are actually 46 days! What? Yes, there are 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Because each Sunday of the year, however, is a grand celebration and commemoration of the Resurrection of Jesus, we don’t count them in the 40 days of penance. There are six Sundays between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. So, by subtraction, we are left with 40 days.

Prep-Yr. 2

Ash Wednesday dialogue

https://vimeo.com/315318954

Joe Paprocki shares a conversation between two students that can be a sample for how Catholic children can explain why they are wearing ashes on Ash Wednesday. Read the complete dialogue that inspired this video at catechistsjourney.loyolapress.com/2009/02/whats-that-on-your-forehead-helping-

12 What’s with the ashes (2019) https://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/liturgical-year/lent/ash-wednesday/whats-with-the-ashes

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

kids-explain-ash-wednesday/.

Prep-Yr2

Complete the maze worksheet. This worksheet can be accessed form the Liturgy Help website: see your APRE for Log in details. This worksheet is on the Children’s worksheet age of Ash Wednesday:

https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/date/2020Feb26/0/CHWorksheets 13

13 Liturgy help website: Liturgyhelp.com.au The resources on this website can only be accessed by members. All Rockhampton Diocesan Primary schools have full membership of this website. Please see your APRE for details.

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All year levels

Project Compassion Ash Wednesday Liturgy

All year levels

Access stories, videos, teaching materials and activity ideas for your schools or classroom and help bring this year’s project compassion theme to life.

https://lent.caritas.org.au/page/schools#classroom

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Living Lent Daily:

Yr. 3-yr10

https://youtu.be/s32BlCyiURc

What’s your destination? What’s your plan? Fr Mike Schmitz

https://youtu.be/_qDG51cl9gY Fr Mike Schmitz preparing for Lent

In this video, Fr. Mike explains how prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the three pillars of a spiritually fruitful Lent. He then challenges us to try new ways to exercise these Lenten practices, sharing several simple strategies for drawing closer to God during this holy season.

https://youtu.be/gsBasTllee8

3 planning tips for an amazing Lent

Father Leo Patalinghug share some tips for Lent

L- Love

E-Educate

N – Nourish

T – Thanksgiving

https://youtu.be/Xo1mjuy1NA0

Lent in 3 minutes – a ‘Busted Halo’ video

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Godly Play Volume 4

Prep-Yr10

As the second lesson in Volume 4 of The Complete Guide to Godly Play. It is usually presented at the beginning of Lent. It is part of a series of lessons meant to be told over the course of the entire season of Lent.

Lent is the season when we prepare for Easter. This lesson ( and the whole series of Lessons called "The Faces of Easter") helps children prepare for the Mystery of Easter. We move toward the Mystery by hearing the stories of Christ's journey toward the cross and resurrection. This week's presentation

focuses on the face of Christ as a newborn child. If you used the presentations of the Holy Family and the Mystery of Easter on the first week of Lent, then you might want to tell two of the Faces Presentations today.

This resource can be borrowed from the Joe McCorley Resource Centre – CEO Rockhampton.

Holy Week:

Prep – Yr. 2

Allow the children to make a simple cross to take home. Use suitable craft material that allows a creative decoration of the cross.

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Learning and Teaching Sequence

Activity/Experience/Differentiation

Resources

ICLTs Assessment

Finding Out

Teacher background

Catholic Lenten Practices

Giving up something for Lent, eating fish on Fridays and fasting from meat, almsgiving and penance throughout the forty days of Lent—these are some of the practices for which Catholics are known. But why do we as Catholics do this? Because through these commitments—known as “Lenten practices” or “Lenten disciplines”—the Catholic Church calls us each year to renew our discipleship in Christ. Specifically, each year during the liturgical season of Lent the Church asks us to pray, give alms, and fast.

Pray

We know the importance of prayer in our lives—as individuals, as families, and as a community. Prayer is especially important during Lent. The Lenten season is a time for reflection, evaluation, and repentance. Lent asks us: “What needs changing?” Lent calls us to a personal conversion and renewal—to a recommitted life in Christ so that we might not just celebrate Easter forty days later but also feel the risen Christ alive in us and in the world. This means prayer. During Lent we set aside time for prayer that is reflective in nature and reveals places where we have failed to open ourselves to God.

Give

Every day we witness situations of injustice, violence, and hatred. Television and the Internet bring these into our living rooms, but we also observe and live them in our own cities and homes. The Church calls us during Lent to be especially conscious of the needs of others and to act accordingly. Giving materially to another is an act of Christian charity known as “almsgiving.” During Lent, the Church also calls us to first convert ourselves and then to transform the world for justice, so that we might serve the Kingdom which

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Jesus lived and preached.

Sacrifice

Fasting and abstinence are not sacrifices for the sake of pain or vain discomfort. Sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice is not a Christian virtue. We are asked by the Catholic Church to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Feeling an empty stomach or fighting the urge to have that juicy steak or candy bar does more than just remind us that for some people an empty stomach is their daily bread. Fasting and abstinence help us to ask ourselves the question: “What sustains me and gives me life?” What nourishes me on my journey of life? We will find the answer, not in the steak or the candy bar, but at the end of these forty days of Lent—in the Resurrection of Jesus. We fast and abstain because, when we do, we are reminded of who we are—followers of the risen Christ.

As Catholics, we joyfully engage in Lenten disciplines because we are disciples (and yes, both words have the same root). We pray, give (almsgiving), and sacrifice (fast) because we follow Christ, who loved us so much that gave his own life so that we might share in Eternal Life.

Ash Wednesday:

Prep-yr2

Explain Ash Wednesday.

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which, for many believers, includes a symbolic drawing of a cross with ashes on the forehead. The ashes are meant to remind everyone of human mortality (i.e., “ashes to ashes, dust to dust”), but it’s not necessary to push this idea too forcefully on young children. Be matter-of-fact about the tradition.

If it helps, talk less about death and emphasize how the drawn cross is meant to be a reminder of the focus of Lent — Jesus.

Living Lent Daily:

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Matthew 4:8 Year A

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour;

There is something good about being on top of a mountain. There is a sense of achievement of having got there, and the wonderful views, and a strange sense of power. It is great to feel like you’re on top of the world!

Mountains are important in the Bible. God met Moses on the mountain and gave him the ten rules for life. there is the mountain where the ark that Noah had built was finally grounded when the flood subsided. There is also the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem, where Jesus talked with this disciples about his death. Then there is the mountain of temptation.

Close your eyes and remember times when you have been to the top of a hill or mountain or imagine what it would be like. Do you feel that it is a powerful place to be?

Prep-yr. 6

Jesus was able to see all the wonders of the world when he looked from the top of the mountain.

Ask everyone to speak for a short time about their favourite places in the world, whether they have been to them or not.

Have a go at drawing what Jesus would have seen when he was at the top of the mountain.

Prep-Yr. 6

Lenten Promise Posters

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Help children brainstorm a list of ways that they can change their lives during Lent to become more like Jesus. Write ideas on the board. Invite children to choose one or two ideas that they will do this Lent. Then have children make posters to remind them of their Lenten promises. Have children take their posters home and display them where they will be seen each day.

Prep-Yr6

Regarding Luke 4:1-13 Year C

Find out about the climate of the open hill and mountain ranges around lake Galilee.

How cold would the night have been?

How hot would it have been in the daytime?

What shelter was there for Jesus, to protect himself from the wind and blowing sand?

Use a bible map and Google earth to research this geography.

Yr3-yr6

Highlight the significance of the forty days. Tell the students that Lent lasts for forty days because that’s how long Jesus wandered in the desert, fasting, while he resisted Satan’s temptations.

Explain that the students have an opportunity, during the forty days of Lent, to be like Jesus.

They too can resist temptations and use this time to become closer to God.

Lent isn’t simply a “countdown” or something to “get through” — it’s a chance to set aside distractions and focus on your relationship with Jesus.

Prep-yr10

Have a short time in the wilderness yourself! Find somewhere quiet and undisturbed to go and spend some quiet time thinking about God.

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Yr7-yr10

Have a search in the Bible for as many mountain’s as you can find.

• Which people are involved in the mountain story?

• Are the mountains important to them?

• Do the mountains say something about the incident?

All year levels

Explain Jesus’ death in an age-appropriate way.

You do not need to dwell on the gruesome details of crucifixion, which can upset and frighten younger children, but you should introduce Jesus’ death.

For Prep-yr2 stick to saying that Jesus died and rose from the dead.

For yr3-yr6, add in some more details about the death and resurrection.

Note that it shows that death is not the end, but rather the beginning of eternal life.

For yr7-yr10 explain the details of crucifixion and the symbolism of death and rebirth.

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Holy Week:

Prep-Yr6

Palm Sunday – making a Palm cross

Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, together with photographs to ease the frustration of making your own palm crosses.

Yr3-yr6 Matthew 26:14-16

Find out a little more about how much the silver coins would have been worth.

Judas could have enjoyed a little luxury with the money, but he couldn’t buy forgiveness.

Yrs7-10 Matthew 26:14-16

Betrayal is always based on selfishness.

Think about how it feels to be betrayed by someone, and how it feels to betray someone else to look after yourself.

Why do you think Judas led the soldiers to Jesus in the quiet of night with no crowds around?

Do you think Judas was ashamed of what he was doing?

Do you think it was easier for the soldiers to do it in the dark?

Yrs 3-10 Matthew 26:14-16

See what else you can find out about Judas Iscariot, and what he wanted Jesus to do and be like. What do

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

you think made him change from being a loyal friend to being an enemy?

Yrs 3-10 Matthew 26:14-16

Sit quietly and think about how much pain and hurt was caused by Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.

Think about the other disciples and the crowds who followed Jesus. Remember that acts like that of Judas often have very painful results.

Yr 3-yr10

Stations of the Cross

Praying the Stations of the Cross—alone or with a group—is a Lenten tradition. Read and pray these stations very slowly. Imagine the scene in Jerusalem as Jesus walked his Way of the Cross. Often, the Stations of the Cross is an action prayer. Catholics walk to the fourteen stations of the Way of the Cross and stop to pray at each one. The stations can be displayed outside in a park but are usually found inside churches.

Download the pdf of the Stations of the Cross for Children to help you pray during Lent.

View an online presentation of the Stations of the Cross for Children.

All year levels

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Get some maps that show the location of Jerusalem. Try to work out how far Jesus travelled from his home town of Nazareth to the main city of Jerusalem.

Sorting Out

Teacher Background

Stations of the Cross

The stations are a popular Lenten and Holy Week devotion first observed in the city of Jerusalem. The practice then spread to other areas during the Middle Ages. Praying the stations involves tracing Jesus' journey from the court of Pilate to Calvary and eventually to the tomb. In churches where images or plain crosses with numbers represent Jesus' steps, people walk from station to station to pray and reflect on the event portrayed in the station. There are fourteen stations, but in many devotional books a fifteenth has been added, the Resurrection.

Ash Wednesday:

Art and Faith: Loyola Press- Ash Wednesday l

Living Lent Daily:

Yr 7- Yr. 10

Enter a visual prayer experience this Lent with Arts & Faith: Lent from Loyola Press.

Each week we’ll provide a video commentary about a work of art inspired by the Sunday Scriptures.

Use these videos to take a new look at this season of spiritual renewal through the lens of sacred art.

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Art and Faith: Loyola Press - Lent Cycle A

Art and Faith: Loyola Press – Lent Cycle B

Art and Faith: Loyola Press – Lent Cycle C

Prep-Yr 2

Links of Love

Help children brainstorm simple ways to make helpful and meaningful contributions to family, school, and parish life. Every time someone cheerfully serves or helps another, the child can make that act of love concrete by adding a link to a Love Chain. Have children decorate their links. Use the Love Chain to decorate the room for Easter.14

Yr 3-yr6.

Lenten To-Do List

Tell children that planning out their steps to grow closer to God will make them more achievable. Instruct children to write their plans for growing closer to God during Lent in a bulleted list. Remind children to focus on different ways they can pray, fast, and give alms. Encourage children to share their plans with their families. Tell children to hang their list in a place where they can review it daily during Lent.

14 Loyola Press (2019) https://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/liturgical-year/lent/activities-and-resources/lenten-activities-for-children#grade1

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Prep-Yr6

Prepare Lenten meals together. Fasting does not have to mean tasteless, unappealing food. Prepare something students like in order to encourage acceptance of Lent’s symbols and rituals. If they can help you out with the prep or cooking, all the better.

Look for recipes online — you can find options ranging from tuna casseroles to salmon cakes, to veggie rolls

And don’t forget about symbolic Lenten treats like soft pretzels and hot cross buns!

Holy Week:

Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem with huge crowds of adoring people, but they didn’t realise what he was going to do for them. They wanted a leader to raise an army and remove the occupying Roman army, but Jesus would be a different kind of leader and king. As he spent the following days in Jerusalem, Jesus said things that many people, from the religious leaders to the ordinary people in the crowd, didn’t want to hear. Very soon the crowd had changed its mood, and was no longer shouting a welcome to jesus, but calling for him to be crucified instead or a criminal.

Prep-yr10

Talk to someone else about how you feel about being part of a crowd. Are you comfortable being with many other people? Do you find it a bit scary to be in a crowd?

Prep-Yr6:

Godly Play Volume 4

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Lesson 1: The Mystery of Easter

Lesson 2: The Faces of Easter I

Lesson 3: The Faces of Easter II

Lesson 4: The Faces of Easter IIII

Lesson 5: The Faces of Easter IV

Lesson 6: The Faces of Easter V

Lesson 7: The Faces of Easter VI

Lesson 8: The Faces of Easter VII

Godly Play Volume 4

Year Level Prep-Yr10

The mystery of Easter – Cross – this resource is available in the Joe McCorley Resource Centre CEO Rockhampton.

Lent is season when we prepare for Easter. These six weeks are a solemn time, overflowing with meaning, when we view life from the perspective of our existential limits and the sacrifice of Christ. This Lesson gives an introduction to the relationship of lent to the Mystery of Easter.

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Godly Play Volume 4

Years Prep-Yr2

The Easter Story This story can be borrowed from the Joe McCorley Resource Centre CEO Rockhampton

The story you will tell in the lesson is a legend, but it has as its starting point something we do read about in the story of the Passion--the encounter that Jesus has on the way to the cross with a man named Simon of Cyrene who was "coming in from the country" on the day of the crucifixion (Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26).

Yr3-yr10 Matthew 26:59, 60

See what you can find out about the chief priests and other really religious people in the time of Jesus.

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

What did they do?

What power did they have?

What did they wear?

What did they look like?

Yr 3-yr6 Matthew 26:59, 60

Imagine you are a chief priest. Write a letter to a friend explaining why do don’t trust Jesus and want to put him to death.

The chief priests didn’t see the things that were obvious. Look at a picture for twenty seconds and then get someone else to test you on all things in that picture.

Did you see it all?

Is there something you missed?

Yrs 3-yr6

Pontius Pilate

Find out about the Romans and their occupation of the Jewish lands of what we now call Israel. Discover more about what the leaders wore and the lifestyles they enjoyed.

Draw what you imagine Pilate and his home looked like.

Pilate was trying to hold a balance between the Romans and the Jewish leaders. Which of these things do you think he may have had in his mind?

If I don’t allow Jesus to be put to death, there will be a riot. This will keep the chief priests quiet. I really don’t know what to do.

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

I went them to get on with it and not involve me. If I don’t calm things down, I’ll lose my power.

Pilate washed his hands of the situation. Write down what you think he was trying to do by that action.

Do you think it is possible for him to accept no responsibility?

Do you think he felt better about the decision after he had washed his hands?

Yrs 3-10

Stations of the Cross

Prayer reflection by Fr Anthony Kelly

https://www.cssr.org.au/pray_with_us/dsp-default.cfm?loadref=265

Way of the Cross reflections by Fr Kevin O’Shea

https://www.cssr.org.au/pray_with_us/dsp-default.cfm?loadref=283

Yrs 6-10

The Stations of the Forests reflection

This booklet (found as a resource added to the Lenten Unit on the sample unit page) follows the format of The Stations of the Cross, lamenting the stages in the death of part of God’s Creation. It incorporates issues related to rainforest destruction: extractive industries, loss of biodiversity and climate change.

Commun-

icating Living Lent Daily

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Lenten Prayer Box

Yrs Prep -yr2

Have each child decorate a Lenten Prayer Box

Boxes can be purchased at party stores or you can cover shoeboxes

Instructions

*Hand out the Lenten/Easter symbols sheet and have the children colour the symbols as you talk about the meaning of each one.

*Have the children cut out the symbols and glue them onto the boxes.

*Pass out slips of the prayer requests and have the children fill them out. Let them share their prayer requests with the class if they want to. Collect the prayer requests and put them in the classroom Lenten box.

Yrs Prep-Yr2

Worksheet form Liturgy Help – see your APRE for login details to access this worksheet: Palm Sunday Children’s Resources https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/date/2020Apr05/0/CHWorksheets

Yrs 3-10

Celebrate Reconciliation

Arrange to have children celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. If this is not possible, share with children the opportunities your parish offers to celebrate the sacrament. Explain that celebrating Reconciliation during Lent is a great way to prepare our hearts to celebrate Easter.

cardboard boxes

Lenten/Easter symbols sheet

glue sticks

scissors

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Prep-yr. 6

Illustrating Jesus’ Journey

Distribute art supplies. Instruct children to make their own illustration of Jesus overcoming temptation in the desert. When children have finished, invite volunteers to share their drawing with the class. Display children’s work around the classroom.

Holy Week

Yr 3-yr 10 Matthew 26:59, 60

The chief priests changed history by arranging for Jesus to die. They changed things for the better without realising it.

Think about what you would do if you could change history, and what effect that would have on people.

Peter

Peter is one of the best examples of what it takes to be a follower of Jesus. He was a hard worker, really committed to doing what Jesus wanted him to do. He was a bit too quick do things and made mistakes. He often spoke before thinking, and sometimes deeply regretted what he said or did.

Peter was called to be one of Jesus’ disciples as he worked on the coast of Lake Galilee, where he spent his life fishing. Originally called Simon, Jesus changed his name to Peter, ‘the rock’, because Jesus knew that Peter would be a strong foundation for the church.

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Prep- yr10 Mark 14:66-68

Make a model of the courtyard, with the servant girl walking past the fire, Peter and other people gathered around, and the grand doorway into the high priest’s house.

Jesus chose Peter, a fisherman, to do wonderful things. Which phrases describe Peter?

A perfect person who never went wrong.

Someone who tried hard to do the right thing.

A great leader, with no faults.

Someone who knew the failed, and asked God for forgiveness.

The ‘rock’ on which Jesus built the church.

Yrs 7-10

Questions for Adolescents15

Q. Why do all four gospels deal with the Passion at such length?

Q. What reasons can you suggest for the gospel of Matthew emphasising the innocence of Jesus?

Q. What emotions might the disciples have felt as they saw the events of the Passion unfold?

Q. In what ways is this Passion narrative both solemn and joyful?

15 Sunter, Liturgy Help, 2020, https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/date/2020Apr05/0/RefGreSun*

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

Yrs 7-10

Learning moments

Break the narrative of the Passion into a number of ‘movements’ or phases. For each ‘movement’ identify an image or symbol that conveys the meaning of that particular movement.

Imagine that you are producing a film based on Matthew’s account of the Passion. Select a section of the narrative and identify elements of a film that would best depict this part of the narrative (e.g. camera angles, style of musical score, use of close up or wide angle shot, pace, etc).16

Evaluation TEACHER EVALUATION

As a religion teacher:

Did I spend time reflecting upon the unit and the significance of its implications for my own life and faith?

What did I learn about myself and my relationship with God?

Was I able to identify and articulate, for myself, the relationship between life and faith?

Students’ Understanding

How well did activities allow students to come to understandings related to the focus of the unit?

How well did activities allow students to come to understandings related to the general focus on life within the

16 Sunter, Liturgy Help, 2020, https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/date/2020Apr05/0/RefGreSun*

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton

unit?

Accessibility

Were the chosen activities accessible to all students?

Student involvement and interest

Were students as fully involved and interested as possible?

Highlights of unit

What were the highlights of this unit?

Improvement

Can you identify practical ways to improve this unit?

Catholic Education – Diocese of Rockhampton