Scripture: Numbers 13-14
Learning Objectives:
- Students will use observational skills to describe a picture.
- Students will review the spies’ mission to explore Canaan.
Guiding Question: How can we describe something that we see?
Materials: Each partner pair will need 5 cards: 3 cards that are different and then 2 cards that are the same.
Procedure: Review how the spies were sent out by Moses to explore Canaan, which was the land God promised to give the Israelites. Their job was to report about what they saw. They had to be very descriptive to try and relay every detail. They needed to make their 40 day trip well worth the trek. Review Numbers 13:17-20 where Moses asked them questions of things he wanted to know. Explain that spies must be very observant since they were reporting to people who had not experienced what they saw. Tell students that they are going to get a chance to be observant like a spy.
Show students a picture of a Middle East Oasis. Allow them to practice describing what they see as a whole group. Encourage them to describe colors, shapes, and numbers of things. For example: There are many tall pointy trees. The trees are dark green and have red fruit. There are two people walking on a dirt road.
They will practice asking questions and giving descriptions with this game: Divide students into pairs. The students sit back-to-back so that they cannot see each other’s cards. Give one partner four very different pictures (they do not have to be scenic). Give the other student an exact copy of just one of the pictures that their partner has. The object of the game is for the student with three pictures to be able to guess which of their pictures their partner has. The student with three pictures will ask questions about their partner’s picture. For example: What colors are in your picture? What animals are in your picture? The game is over when the partner with three pictures guesses the one that the other partner has. Then a teacher will help them switch playing cards with another team and also switch roles.
Additional Questions:
- What was the hardest part of the game?
- How did the spies describe Canaan?
- What are different ways of describing colors? Shapes? Sizes?
Supplemental Activities:
- Have students sort adjectives according to whether they describe color, shape or size. Example: Size: huge, tiny, few, large. Shape: square, diamond, circle. Color: pink, bright, dark, yellow, lavender, tan.
- Have students try to describe in detail an everyday activity such as brushing their teeth or eating an apple. Tell them to make their description last as long as possible. One partner may give an activity and the other partner has to try to describe it.
Written by: Savannah Negas