SEE THE NEED Learning to think about poverty and affluence Years 3-4 Sharing in the mission of Jesus Strands Church community of disciples Jesus Christ Hehu Karaiti Focus From the Religious Education Programme Y3 Called to be like Jesus Y4 Jesus came to show people how to live and lead them to God Achievement Objective Children will grow in their understanding of the difference between human needs and wants. They will make the connection between the mission of Jesus and groups who work for social service and social justice today. Key competencies Relating to others Participating and contributing Thinking Catholic Social Teaching Option for the poor and vulnerable Human dignity Common good Learning Outcomes Children will: Think about and compare different samples of household incomes. Work cooperatively to establish the difference between basic human needs and additional wants. Demonstrate their understanding of Jesus mission for today. Act in different ways that show how people help each other through gifting money, time and care. Activities 1. Where does the money go? 2. Need or want? 3. Serving the people Study the Teacher s Notes in each book and adapt ideas described in the Learning Activities: Y3 Book, pp 22-29; Y4 Book, pp 22-29 and p 32. Teacher reflection/evaluation How well did the children engage with the activities? Is there evidence to show that the Learning Outcomes have been achieved by some/most of the students? Why or why not? How have you encouraged children to reflect on their own learning?
6 Activity One Where does the money go? When Paul asked his Mum and Dad for money for a DVD they said, No sorry, we can t afford it. No sorry, we can t afford it. BUT Paul s parents both work, so where does all the money go? They explained by drawing a big circle. The circle represents all the money that comes into their home. They sliced up the circle, writing different items on each slice like power, food, house, staying well It made sense! So next time Paul hears someone say No sorry, we can t afford it, he might understand why! Make a money circle to see where the money goes. 1. 2. 3. Cut out each slice of the circle. Place slices onto a large sheet of A2 paper. Make a circle with the slices by placing them next to each other. When you have finished, it should make one big circle. It should look like this: 4. 5. 6. Cut out the 9 pictures on the next page. Match each picture beside its slice of the circle. Glue each picture beside the slice.
Petrol 10% Clothes 10% Food 25% School 5% House 15% Power/Gas 5% Staying well 10% Everything esle 15% Birthdays 5%
birthdays staying well
clothes power/gas
food everything else
house petrol
school
Work with a partner One of the slices says Everything else. Talk about what EVERYTHING ELSE might be. Look at the picture. What do you see? Write two more things that could have gone into here. How would the slices change in the money circle if there is very little money coming in? What would have to be cut down? Or even cut out? There are people who find it hard to buy enough food to eat. Do you think that is fair? How could we help them?
6 Activity Two Need or want? Sometimes we think we really need things to help us to live and be happy. But there are people who get by with fewer things. This activity is to help you think about what is important. With a partner 1. Look at the pictures on the next page. 2. Decide if they are things that people NEED TO HAVE (really, really important) or WANT TO HAVE (nice to have but you can live without) 3. When you and your partner agree, draw a circle around the pictures of things people NEED TO HAVE 4. Share your work with another pair. Look and see who has circled the same things and who has circled different things. 5. Do you agree with everyone s choices? 6. Share your thoughts with the class.
6 Activity Three Serving the People The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that God blesses all who help the poor, and part of the constant tradition of the Church is its love for the poor. It says too: when we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is really theirs. There are many works of mercy that look after our needs, both spiritual (eg comforting) and bodily (eg feeding the hungry). Jesus showed us how to do both. Read the following Gospel story to the children with these comments in mind. Jesus stood up to read: The spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he has chosen me To tell the good news to the poor. The Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners, To give sight to the blind, To free everyone who suffers, And to say that this is the year of the Lord s favour. Jesus rolled up the scroll, sat down and said The Scriptures I have just read have come true today. And the people started talking and were amazed. Adapted from Paraphrase for Luke 4: 16-22 in Yr 4 Jesus came to show people how to live and lead them to God, p 24 Discussion Ask,what are the four things in this story that tell us what Jesus came to do? Write up a list such as: help the poor free the prisoners help the blind to see free people from suffering Explain that as followers of Jesus we are asked to do good works like that. For example, today we can: Help the poor by sharing our possessions with the poor. Free the prisoners when we speak up for people who cannot. Help the blind to see by helping people see how they can put things right. Free people from suffering by comforting sad people. Ask children to try the following activity:
Look at the following four photos. Choose the word from the list that best matches the photo and write it underneath. Comfort Put things right Speak up Share
Caritas helps people in need View the PowerPoint Caritas helping people in need. The Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand helps people in need through a variety of agencies. One of these is Caritas. In Lent children can earn money by doing things for others. They can give the money to Caritas to help people who are poor, in prison, have no home or are suffering after a disaster. The Caritas Keep it Simple Lifestyle Calendar provides plenty of ideas about offering gifts of time, assistance and money to those in need. Discussion What could we do as a class to help the people in need in Aotearoa New Zealand? Starter ideas For every fizzy drink you had today, donate 10c into the Caritas Koha Box. You could find out about a group in your school community who help others as volunteers. Write up on the class noticeboard a class question for Social Justice Week. For example: Can I give a little money today for the poor? Can I do some kind act for someone in need?