Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mr. Womack, and I'm really excited to be working with you today.

I just have a feeling that we're going to do brilliantly.

Today's lesson is called Noah and the Rainbow from the unit The Bible: What Does It Say About God's Promises? By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to retell the story of Noah and explain its meaning.

Here are the keywords that we're going to be using.

We're going to practise them together now.

I'm going to say them and then you're going to say them.

Ark.

Ark.

A wooden boat.

Flood.

Flood.

An overflow of water to cover land.

Promise.

Promise.

An agreement to do or not do something.

Rainbow.

Rainbow.

An arch of colours in the sky.

So keep your eyes peeled for when we reuse these words throughout what we do today.

Here's the lesson outline.

In the first part of the lesson, we're going to be looking at what is the story of Noah? And in the second part, we're going to look at why do Christians still tell the story? We're going to begin with what is the story of Noah? Izzy and Andeep are talking about stories.

Izzy says, "Why are we always learning about old stories in Religious education lessons?" Andeep says, "Stories can help us understand different people's worldviews.

We can learn about the difference stories make to people today." In this lesson, we will be using the story of Noah to help us understand Christian worldviews.

Here's Charlie.

Charlie has a Christian worldview.

He attends a Baptist church.

He says, "The Bible is full of stories about how God spoke to people in the past.

I believe God still speaks to people today when they read the words in the Bible." And here's Fiona.

Fiona also has a Christian worldview.

She attends an Anglican church.

She says, "One of my favourite Bible stories is the story of Noah.

Even though it is an ancient story from thousands of years ago, people still tell it today.

I love this story because it ends with a promise and it reminds me that God cares for the world." So, let's check our understanding with a true or false question.

The story of Noah is found in the Bible, true or false? Pause the video while you think which is the correct answer and why? The correct answer is true.

The story of Noah is found in the Bible and the Torah, and it is one of the stories shared by Christians and Jews.

Well done if you got the right answer.

So, let's hear about the story of Noah.

This is a very old story from a long, long time ago.

It was a time when many people in the world were making bad choices about how to live their lives.

They hurt each other with their words and actions.

God was sad.

He wanted to make his beautiful world clean again.

Noah was not like everyone else.

He was a good, kind man.

He prayed to God and did what was right.

God spoke to Noah.

He said, "I'm going to send a big flood to clean the Earth." He told Noah to build a giant boat, an enormous boat, big enough for Noah, his wife, and all their family.

A boat big enough for two of every kind of animal on the Earth and enough food to feed everyone.

Noah listened to God and built a great big boat called an ark, just as God had said.

His family was surprised and his neighbours laughed at him, but Noah kept on building his big boat.

He did what God told him even though it was difficult.

So, let's stop there for a moment and check our understanding with a quick question.

Why did Noah build the ark? Is the answer, A, he wanted to go sailing, B, his wife told him to build it, or C, God told him to build it? Pause the video while you think which one of these is the correct answer? The correct answer is C, God told him to build it.

Well done if you got the right answer.

So, let's get back to the story.

When the ark was ready, Noah collected two of every kind of animal.

Big ones, little ones, flying high and crawling low.

He called his wife and family and they all went into the ark.

God shut the door once they were all safely inside.

Then it started to rain.

It rained for 40 days and 40 nights.

It rained and rained.

It rained until water covered the whole Earth.

Even the highest mountains were covered with water.

And Noah's ark began to float.

It floated on the water while Noah and his family and all the animals were safe inside.

Noah's ark floated for days and weeks.

After a long time, the rain stopped and the water began to go down.

Noah sent out a dove to check if the land was dry.

One day the dove came back with a fresh green leaf, and Noah knew it was almost time to leave the ark.

"When the land was dry," God told Noah, "come out of the ark." God smiled at Noah and his family.

He blessed them and said, "Have lots of children, fill the whole Earth with life again.

Care for all the animals, big ones, little ones, birds flying high and fish swimming in the sea.

I'm giving them all to you to care for." God painted a beautiful rainbow in the sky to celebrate the clean new world.

He said, "I promise I will never destroy all life with a flood again.

Whenever clouds gather and the rainbow appears, I will remember my promise to you." The rainbow is a bright, colourful reminder of God's love for everyone and every living thing on the Earth.

What an amazing story.

I just love the story of Noah.

Let's check our understanding with a quick question.

What was the symbol of God's promise to Noah? Was it, A, a leaf, B, an ark, or C, a rainbow? Pause the video now while you think which one is the correct answer? The correct answer is a rainbow.

Well done if you got the correct answer.

Well, now it's time for a task.

Retell the story of Noah in your own words.

Put the pictures in order and write a caption for each one.

You're going to need to pause the video now while you complete this task.

I look forward to seeing what you do.

Well done for working really hard on that task.

Perhaps you did something like this.

Under that first image you might have said, "God told Noah to build a big boat called an ark." And that second image there, "It rained and rained and the whole world was covered by a flood." And the rainbow, which is the final image, you might have said something like, "God put a rainbow in the sky as a sign of his promise to care for the world." So well done again for completing that task.

That means that we've completed the first part of our lesson.

We're now moving on to the second part, why do Christians still tell the story? Let's find out.

The story of Noah is found in the first part of the Bible called the Old Testament.

Christians and Jews share their story.

They still tell the story and find meaning in it today.

Charlie has a Christian worldview.

He's thinking about the deeper meaning of the story of Noah.

He says, "The story of Noah reminds me that it is important to trust God even if you don't understand what he wants you to do." He continues and says, "Noah trusted God.

He started building the ark because God had asked him to." And here's Fiona.

Fiona also has a Christian worldview.

She's thinking about the deeper meaning of the story of Noah, "Noah built the ark even though it had not started raining and there was no sign of a flood.

The people around must have thought he was behaving very strangely.

The story reminds me to do what God wants me to do no matter what other people might think." So, let's check our understanding with a true or false question, Christians still tell the story of Noah today? Pause the video while you think which is the correct answer and why? The correct answer is true.

Even though the story of Noah is an ancient story, Christians still tell it and find deeper meanings in it.

Well done if you got the right answer.

Many Christians believe that the rainbow at the end of the story is the most important part.

The rainbow is a symbol of God's promise or covenant.

Fiona explains why Christians still tell the story of Noah.

She says, "The story of Noah is very, very old.

For me, it's not important whether the story happened exactly as the Bible describes it.

The important thing is what it teaches me.

I think Christians can learn from this ancient story." Fiona is thinking about the deeper meaning of the story of Noah.

She continues and says, "The rainbow in the story reminds me that God promises to take care of us even when the world around seems dangerous.

It does not mean that my life will be easy, but God has promised to be with me even in the difficult times." Charlie is thinking about the deeper meaning of the story of Noah.

Charlie says, "When I see a rainbow in the sky, I am reminded of the story of Noah.

If I'm feeling down, the rainbow reminds me that God has promised to care for the world just as he looked after Noah and his family." Well, let's check our understanding with a quick question.

The rainbow in the story remind some Christians that: A, God cares for the world, B, Christians and Jews share the story, or C, God wants them to read the Bible? Pause the video whilst you think which of these is the correct answer.

The correct answer is A, the rainbow in the story reminds some Christians that God cares for the world.

Well done if you got the right answer.

It's time for a task again.

Use the sentence starters and the rainbow to help you write about what is important to Christians when they tell the story of Noah.

Christians tell the story of Noah and the ark because.

(pauses) The rainbow reminds Christians that.

(pauses) Pause the video now whilst you use those sentence starters to complete this task, I look forward to seeing what you put.

I wonder what you said.

You might have written, "Christians tell the story of Noah and the ark because it reminds them to follow God's instructions even when they don't understand.

The story reminds Christians that God keeps his promises.

The rainbow reminds Christians of God's promise that he will care for the world." Well done for completing that task.

Great effort.

Well, that brings us to the end of this lesson.

It's time to summarise our learning together and reflect on what we found out.

We've learned that the story of Noah is an ancient story found in the Torah and the Old Testament.

We've also learned that Noah, his family, and the animals escape the flood in an ark.

We've learned that the rainbow is given by God as a sign of his promise.

And we've also found out that different Christians still find deeper meanings in the story of Noah today.

I hope you've really enjoyed this lesson.

I have, and I love the story of Noah and the rainbow.

Perhaps later on, you might keep an eye out and see if you can see a rainbow outside.

Anyway, for now, that's the end of the lesson.

So, I've really enjoyed learning with you today, and I look forward to working with you again sometime soon.

Bye for now.