Scripture: 1 Samuel 24 and 26
Learning Objectives:
- Students will review the story of David sparing Saul’s life twice.
- Students will learn to ask the 5 W’s to understand and report important information from a story or event: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How.”
Guiding Question: What types of questions are important to ask in order to get a good retelling of an event or story?
Materials: paper, pencil, clipboards, pretend microphones (if available), i-pads/i-phones/ video cameras/recording devices (if available), king and David costumes (if available or they can be homemade)
Procedure: Review the story of David sparing Saul’s life. Highlight the main events that would make an interesting news story: Saul seeking David to kill him, David finding him in a cave and only cutting off a piece of his robe, David revealing himself to Saul, David not taking Abihai’s advice to kill Saul with the spear. Emphasize how God protected David because David trusted God and had self-control. We should not try to take things in our own hands when God is in control. It may be interesting to share with students that even cutting off the robe created remorse for David because it was a disrespectful offense (even though he could have done much worse.)
Tell students that they are going to pretend to travel back in time and report on this surprising event from history. Divide students into pairs. One partner will pretend to be David and the other will be an interviewing reporter for the story. The interviewer will ask the questions. For less advanced students and students not as familiar with the story, provide the questions for them to ask. More advanced students can create their own. The interviewer will need paper and pencil and possibly a clipboard to take notes. Allow students to dress up for their parts and create their own costumes. Students can switch places after completing one interview.
Here are some examples of the 5 W’s (Who, what, when, where, why, how) questions:
Who was there?
What did you see in the cave?
When did you see King Saul?
Where were you when you found King Saul?
Why did you not kill Saul in the cave and in the camp?
How did you feel after cutting off part of King Saul’s robe?
Additional Questions:
- What aspects of David and Saul’s story make it news worthy?/ Why is their story important to report/tell?
- When would the 5 W’s be helpful to ask?
Supplemental Activities:
- Students can create a live performance from their interview or they can record it with a recording device.
- Show students interview clips from recent news stories or articles from magazines/newspapers. Have students go through and highlight the 5 W’s. How are they used effectively in the report?