Scriptures Through Science

Last weekend I taught a class on David and Goliath from 1 Samuel. We talked about how potential energy gets converted into usable energy, and we tried to couple potential energy from a raised marble to do something interesting with the help of a paper rollercoaster.  We started off trying to make a loop-the-loop, which I was able to get working with my kids the evening before. However the supplies I had in the class included stiff card, which turned out not to be well suited for this, since the rollercoaster only works if it's smooth, whereas the card was prone to having sharp bends and kinks in it. We quickly readjusted the plan to make a simpler rollercoaster with a dip and a raise, with the raised part passing through the head of this picture of Hulk Goliath .  The initial version didn't work because the starting point of the marble wasn't high enough. However, the kids had been inspired by singing "Scripture Power" during singing time earlier, and we put th...

   This post follows on from the previous few posts where: I reviewed the scriptures for this week's Come Follow Me Primary lesson. ( link ) I then brainstormed various science themes that could link to the scriptures. ( link ) Yesterday I worked up one of those themes into a potential lesson plan. ( link ) In this post, I'll provide a concise lesson plan for teachers to use if they find this useful. The first part of this post (in green) is an overview of the lesson aims, and the second part (in yellow) is the actual lesson plan that you can use.  Overview What's the lesson about? In the Book of Samuel. the Israelites are threatened by the Philistines, who challenge them to a winner-takes-all duel with their champion Goliath. The young shepherd boy David steps up, and against the odds, wins. What's the spiritual theme? If you have a strong faith, you can acheive difficult things.  What's the science topic? Potential energy can be used to do useful work. We'll l...

In my last post, I discussed some ideas for teaching 1 Samuel . In this post, I'll work up some of these ideas into a potential lesson plan.  Sometimes I get weeks where I toil for ages to find the right angle to teach a lesson from. Last week's lesson was a good example of this, where I really struggled to figure out a theme and a link that I could use. Other times, the right idea just hits you, and this feels like one of those weeks. There's a lot of material in 1 Samuel that could be used for a lesson, and it would be nice to devote more weeks to it. However the David and Goliath story is the dominant story here, and when you're working with young children, then you simply have to teach it. It's the archetype underdog story, which illustrates how the seemingly impossible can be made possible with faith. We want to pass on stories that will inspire the children and give them believe that they can similarly have confidence in themselves and aim high. We haven'...