Scripture: Luke 15:11-32
Learning Objectives:
- Students will review the story of the Father welcoming home the Prodigal Son.
- Students will learn names for common rooms and aspects of a home.
Guiding Question:
- What vocabulary words are used to describe a home in English?
Materials: markers, paper, small building materials such as blocks, Legos, cardboard pieces, etc. Optional: fabrics, tape, construction paper
Procedure:
Review the story of the Prodigal Son emphasizing, the son’s return home and the father’s eagerness to welcome him back. As a group, brainstorm a list of things that make up a home. If you have time, have posters or cards with pictures on them and label them in English. If you know the students’ native language, label the pictures as students say them in their native language. If you do not, let students come and chose a card or point to the picture and the teacher can write the word as they select it. Have students repeat each word.
Choose appropriate vocabulary for your students’ ability level.
Suggestions:
Rooms: Living room, kitchen, laundry room, bedroom, dining room, bathroom, closet
Furniture: couch, chair, bed, table
Other: stairs, floor, ceiling, oven, microwave, refrigerator, fireplace, windows, door
After reviewing the vocabulary, instruct students to create their own mini 3-demensional models of a home using provided supplies. They can do this in groups of 2-3 students. As they build it, they label each room. More advanced students can use labels for more detailed aspects of the home such as the fireplace, windows, stove, etc. Encourage students to work together and use as many labels as possible.
Note: If your students do not live in homes with multiple rooms and do not relate to homes of traditional Europeans/Americans, limit the terminology to home related things that would be familiar to them. Example: campfire, tent, walls, ceiling, stove, pots, pans, blankets etc.
Additional Questions:
- What makes your own home feel special to you?
- In the parable, God is the father and his presence is home. In other places in the Bible, heaven is described as a mansion with many rooms. Why do you think God describes it like that?
Supplemental Activity: Let students research multiple names for different rooms as they are used in different regions. For example, a bathroom without a bathtub is sometimes called a powder room. Living rooms are also called family rooms. How does your location affect the terminology? Are some words only used in certain regions? Is there history that explains why? Add these extra labels to the models.