Projects & Resources
BRINGING LIFE TO THE WORD
DRAMATISING BIBLE STORY
Dramatising Bible stories or Hot Seat is an interactive learning structure in which students/play the role/s of character/s. This is a lively way to explore the inner intentions and motivation of characters in Bible stories.
It is specifically designed to develop creative and critical skills for students.
You can begin by just having one student in the hot seat as children learn the process. More characters can be added as children gain confidence. It is a great way to explore the perspectives of a biblical character e.g. after exploring the Story of the Prodigal Son, three characters could be placed in the hot seat (the lost son, the loving father and the brother) inviting students to wonder about the perspectives of each at the same time.
Click here for extended Hot Seat activity involving all students.
ECHO MIME:
Echo mimes are simple dramatic experiences which draw students into Scripture stories. The method for creating an echo mime is: a passage is re-written in simple, short sentences. An action is devised for each statement. The leader/s voice the testament and performs the action which is then echoed by the group.
Click here for example
RESOURCES
The Dramatised Bible includes all the Bible narratives dramatised with full cast listing with each reading
Sourceview Bible App (Free) With SourceView’s four colour text formatting you’ll know who is speaking. Black text – the narrator; red text – God’s words; green text – lead character; blue text all other speaking parts. The app includes other interesting information and tools.
Bishops’ Guidelines for Dramatizing the Passion of the Lord. See Summary prepared by Ms Celia Sirois / BostonCatholic.org For the complete text, Criteria for the Evaluation of Dramatizations of the Passion, go to the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
THE THREE WORLDS OF THE TEXT
Interpreters of Scripture live within their own time frame. Various books of the Bible were written at a particular historical time. We live in a particular historical time and culture and this forms the way we explore and understand Scripture.
The World of the Text: This element focuses on the literary elements of the text and the world presented in the text e.g. Jesus’ world. We can look at the plot, characters, literary features of the stories within the Bible.
The World Behind the Text: This is the world of the author - the social, political, cultural and ideological aspects of the author.
The World in Front of the Text: Here the reader brings his or her perspective to Scripture e.g. How does this text speak to me in my life?
Click here for further reading
Click here for examples of the Brisbane Archdiocese exploring the worlds of Scriptural texts.
Click here for workshop PPT by C. McBryde.
CATECHESIS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND GODLY PLAY
Scripture storytelling is critical for effective Religious Education
Two examples of this are the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Godly Play.
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is an approach to the religious formation of children that is based on the conviction that God and the Child are in a loving relationship. The role of adults is to protect and nurture this bond. Age-appropriate themes from the Bible and Catholic liturgy are presented to the children via a storytelling method using a series of materials such as small figures depicting biblical scenes, cloths, utensils, maps, candles. Using these materials, the children enter into the story, each at his/her own pace. In this way, they internalise and ponder the great mysteries of faith.
Developed by Sofia Cavalletti, an Italian Hebrew scripture scholar, and influenced by Montessori methods, the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd seeks to give children the guidance and vocabulary which enable them to become aware of their relationship with God and give expression to it. In this way, each child is helped to continue to fall in love with God while building community among peers. Sessions generally occur in a special room called an Atrium which is in a parish setting.
With Godly Play the processes of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd have been adapted for use in classrooms by Jerome Berryman, North American academic and educator. Storytelling boxes are made of items which illustrate each Bible story. Scripts for Catechists suggest a way of telling the story. Allowing children to ‘play’ with the materials afterwards is vital as they are re-telling the story for themselves. This method has been adopted and developed by many Catholic Education Offices.
It is sometimes said that Scripture storytelling is like Lectio Divina for children.
You may find these links valuable
THE BIBLE IS OUR SOURCE DOCUMENT
When it comes to Catholic religious education, our source text we can put into the hands of teachers and students is the Bible.
Teachers and students need to be in regular contact with the actual text of the Scriptures, not simply commentaries or information about the text.
Research into the use of Scripture in classrooms points to a
need for teachers to grow in the understanding that God’s word must be allowed to speak for itself, not used as ‘proof texts’ to shore up a predetermined lesson. Dr Margaret Carswell has researched this area of Religious Education extensively.
Teaching resources and the various pedagogical techniques can be used as helpful tools, but they should never be allowed to interfere with students’ direct engagement with the sacred text, nor complicate the learning process to the point of robbing students of the joy and accessibility of a personal encounter with God’s word. As educators, the last thing we want to see is students ‘bored’ by the sacred text or to have it relegated to the ‘too hard’ basket. Our goal is to instil a deep ‘taste’ and desire for further encounters with God’s word, having learned practical ways of engaging its mysterious power to speak to human experience.
See the work of Australian educator Dr Margaret Carswell, ‘Between Desire and Reality: the Presentation of Scripture in Religious Education.’ Chapter 6 in Richard Rymarz and Angela Belmonte. Religious Education in Catholic Schools: Exploring the Landscape. Mulgrave, Victoria: Vaughan Publishing, 2017.
Singing the WORD- TAIZÉ
“The Taizé community seeks to welcome people and traditions from across the globe. This is reflected in the music and prayers where songs are sung in many languages, and increasingly include chants and icons from the Eastern Orthodox tradition.
The music emphasizes simple phrases, usually lines from Psalms or other pieces of Scripture. The repetition is intended to aid meditation and prayer.
Please enjoy this segment form their website. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6tVReXsioM
It can be shared with both students and ideal for simple staff prayer.
SCRIPTURE AND THE ROSARY
Students will really enjoy learning to pray the Rosary and it connects them to important moments in the Gospels. You may also like to ‘make a Rosary’ with the students which they can then use.
The Rosary is a prayer permeated by Scripture. St John Paul II called it ‘a compendium of the Gospel.’ During the Rosary we meditate on key passages in the New Testament.
The Rosary is also a form of intercessory prayer in which we ask Mary, mother of Jesus, to pray with us..
The most well-known prayers of the Rosary have a clear biblical basis:
Our Father – The prayer taught by Jesus (Mt 6:9-13; Lk 11:2-4)
Hail Mary – The words of the Angel Gabriel and Mary’s response (Lk 1:28, 42)
Glory Be – A hymn of praise to the Trinity (Cf. Romans 16:27)
THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES
The Annunciation (Lk 1:26–38)
The Visitation (Lk 1:39–56)
The Nativity (Lk 2:1–21)
The Presentation (Lk 2:22–38)
The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Lk 2:41–52)
THE MYSTERIES OF LIGHT
The Baptism of Jesus (Mt 3:13–16)
The Wedding Feast at Cana (Jn 2:1–11)
The Preaching of the coming of the Kingdom of God (Mk 1:14–15)
The Transfiguration (Mt 17:1–8)
The Institution of the Eucharist (Mt 26)
THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
The Agony of Jesus in the Garden (Mt 26:36–56)
The Scourging at the Pillar (Mt 27:26)
he Crowning with Thorns (Mt 27:27–31)
The Carrying of the Cross (Mt 27:32)
The Crucifixion (Mt 27:33–56)
IGNATIAN IMAGINATIVE CONTEMPLATION
Prayer using the imagination is the bedrock of the Ignatian spiritual tradition.
In its most common form, you take a passage from scripture, usually one of the gospels, and immerse yourself in it imaginatively using all the senses.
You feel the heat of the day, smell the livestock and clouds of dust on the road, listen to Jesus’ words, watch his actions. It’s a way to engage the gospel personally, with all of our faculties.
GUIDED MEDITATION
Guided meditation on the Scriptures invites students to enter the Scripture story. It allows children opportunities to feel that in some way they have met Jesus when they experience a Guided meditation on a Gospel story.
How to lead a Guided Meditation Script
Begin by settling the students into comfortable positions.
Invite students to come with you on a journey in their minds.
Take students on an imaginary journey. The countdown technique is effective here e.g. “As your foot touches the first step, you feel a sense of calm over your body.” Countdown through five or six steps until you reach the destination of the story.
Describe the environment by engaging the senses. Describe what can be seen, heard, smelled and touched. Invite students to become immersed in the scene.
Create an experience that is both visual and tactile but keep it simple.
Meet the characters and observe their actions. Imagine how they feel. Wonder about what might happen after you leave the scene.
Begin the journey back to the starting point of the meditation, returning the same way that you entered.
Slowly build awareness of the present-day world around them as they leave the world of the Scripture story and re-enter their own world.
Tip
Use short descriptive sentences, pausing after each one.
Pausing is important.
VISIO DIVINA: 'SACRED SEEING'
Whilst Lectio Divina is the sacred reading of the Scriptures, Visio Divina is ‘sacred seeing’.
It is praying with sacred images. Visio Divina “invites us to see at a slower pace. It pauses to see all there is to see, exploring the entirety of the image.
It invites us to see deeply, beyond first and second impressions, below initial ideas, judgments, or understandings.
Visio Divina is about “seeing with the eyes of your heart.”
‘We take time to explore it as a whole and then linger upon particular details at our own pace. In this way, we perceive things which might have otherwise escaped our attention. What begins as an initial impression leads to a deeper ‘seeing’, perhaps a feeling, a question, and gradually to a deeper understanding of our God.
Thinking routines such as See, Think, Wonder and Colours, Shapes, Lines also help to explore art.
LECTIO DIVINA: In your classroom – Listen with the Ear of your heart
An adapted process, Lectio Divina in your classroom, is a wonderful process for reflecting upon the Scriptures with children.
For young people, it is suggested that passages be chosen which have a clear setting, characters, and plot.
The process:
The teacher or a strong reader reads the Scripture passage slowly. Students are asked to listen for a word or a phrase that strikes them. After the reading, they are invited to share this word or phrase with another ( perhaps person sitting next to them). The word/s might be the same or different to the word/s of another student. The first time the text is read, students are not asked to comment on why those words appealed to them. They simply recall a word.
The passage is read a second time. After this reading, students are asked to express a word or phrase that strikes them (it can be the same word as the first time or a different one) and to say what it was about the word that struck them.
Students can then be invited to consider how this word of phrase may be lived out in their lives. They might also express their interaction with the Scripture through journaling or artwork. The prayer concludes with a prayer such as The Our Father or Glory Be.
LectioDivina.com.au
Participate in Gospal reflections every Sunday with Bishop David Walker, Fr John Frauenfelder and Virginia Ryan.
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