-Authentic

Planning & Assessment Format

PLAN

Topic: Christmas sounds, sights and feelings

Year level: Prep

Duration
: Last
week of
school.

Year level description
The Religion Curriculum P-12 involves four strands: Sacred Texts, Beliefs, Church and Christian Life.
These strands are interrelated and are taught in an integrated way, and in ways that are appropriate to
specific local contexts.

In Prep, students learn about some Old Testament and New Testament stories that tell of a God of love,
the creator of all, the goodness of Gods creation, Gods special relationship with all of creation and
Gods plan that people help each other to live safely and happily together, for the good of all.

Students listen to, read and view stories of and about Jesus in the Gospels that tell of Jesus life as a Jew,
his mother Mary, his friends and family; of Jesus praying and teaching others to pray; of his teachings
about love, compassion and forgiveness that challenged people about the way they were living; and of
his suffering, death and resurrection. They learn that Christians believe God created people with the
freedom to choose between good and bad, right and wrong. They explore examples of times, from
familiar texts and their personal experience, when people make these choices.

Students understand that prayer helps believers follow the teachings of Jesus; to live according to Gods
plan. They learn about ways in which believers pray, either alone or with others, including the Sign of
the Cross and Amen. They observe ways in which believers pray together during special celebrations and
rituals that mark important times in the life of believers and in the Church year. They learn about the
Church building as a sacred place for believers and the Bible as a sacred book for believers.

Achievement Standard
By the end of Prep, students communicate clearly their ideas, feelings and thoughts about God, the
goodness of Gods creation and Gods plan that people help each other to live safely and happily
together, for the good of all. They identify connections between some Old Testamentstories and their
personal experience, including the experience of the goodness of creation. They listen and respond to
stories of and about Jesus in the Gospels that tell of Jesus life as a Jew, his mother Mary, his friends and
family; of Jesus praying and teaching others to pray; and of his suffering, death and resurrection. They
recognise Jesus teachings about love, compassion and forgiveness that challenged people about the
way they were living. They relate examples of people having the freedom to choose between good and
bad, right and wrong.

Students understand that prayer helps believers to follow the teachings of Jesus; to live according to
Gods plan. They recognise ways in which believers pray either alone or with others, using word, music,
action, silence, images, symbols and nature, and participate with respect in a variety of these prayer
experiences, including meditative prayer, the Sign of the Cross, and Amen. They describe ways in which
believers pray together during special celebrations and rituals that mark important times in the life of
believers and in the Church year.

Curriculum links:
Sacred Texts: New Testament
Religious Knowledge and Deep Understanding
The Gospels tell the good news of Jesus.

Familiarity with characters, events and messages from some keyNew Testament stories, including the
birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25), is a means of connecting Scripture and real life.
STNT2
Skills:

Listen and respond to stories of and about Jesus in the Gospels.

Share feelings and thoughts about the events, characters and messages in some familiar New
Testament stories.

Make links between some familiar New Testament stories and their own experiences by sharing
characters, events and messages that may be similar to or different from their own experiences.

Church: Liturgy and Sacraments
Religious Knowledge and Deep Understanding
The Church has important ways of praying together through celebrations and rituals, marking special
times in the life of believers (e.g. Baptism, Eucharist) and in the Church year (the liturgical seasons)
CHLS1

Skills

Identify celebrations and rituals that mark special times in the life of the Church community (e.g.
Baptism, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Christmas, Easter) and in the Church year (e.g. Lent, Holy
Week, Easter,Pentecost, Ordinary Time, Advent and Christmas).

Describe some ways in which members of the Church pray together during special celebrations
and rituals (e.g. word, action, silence, music and symbol, patterns/repetition, special colours).

Students will be assisted to:
Recognise the sounds, sights and feelings of the liturgical season of Christmas and create
connections between the church, their home and their school.

Fertile Question:
What does my Christmas sound like, feel like and look like in church, home and school?
Summative Assessment:
Students will demonstrate their understanding through the following Summative Assessment pieces.
o Part A: A drawing of what Christmas looks like in each of the contexts (Church, home and
school)
o Part B: A brief one-on-one interview with the teacher where students have to:
Explain the different components of their picture (teacher labels the picture for them)
Explain what the season sounds like including 5 words they might hear (teacher records
this on an ipad for evidence of understanding)
Explain the feelings of Christmas (teacher records this on a mind map)
(See resource for assessment item)

DECLARE

Learning Episode 1
To begin the unit the teacher will ask students what Christmas
is all about.
Then the teacher will read a story-book about the Birth of Jesus.
Then as a class they will discuss what it might have sounded
like, felt like and looked like during the time of the birth of Jesus
and the teacher will record this in a list on the board for each
heading (Sounds like, feels like and looks like)
Students will then need to draw a picture that shows what it
might look like during this time and the educator will go around
the class and label different components of the picture.

Formative Assessment
The Educator will take a
photo of the list created on
the board and collect the
drawings to see whether
students were able to identify
important components within
the story.
The list will be used to
identify what students know
and dont know about the
season.

SUPPORT & SCAFFOLD

Formative Assessment -
The Educator will take a
photo of the lists created on
the board and collect the
drawings to see whether
students were able to identify
important components within
the story.

The educator can use this list
to direct further teaching.

Learning Episode 3
The next lesson focuses on how each individual student
celebrates Christmas in their home
The educator will first ask students to think of the ways that
they celebrate during the season and have a class discussion of
the different traditions we have for Christmas.
The teacher will then explain that people all over the world
celebrate Christmas in different ways and show the following
Sesame street video about different traditions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sjC13dFRS8&list=PLDO7Y
rQpg54SzOc-L7NTbNNN4Lit9IXp0&index=3
The class will then create a list of sounds, sights and feelings for
Christmas in their own homes.
Students will then have to draw a picture of what Christmas
looks like in their own home, while the educator goes around
and supports students, and labels their work.

Formative Assessment -
The Educator will take a
photo of the lists created on
the board and collect the
drawings to see whether
students were able to identify
important components within
the story.

Assessment as learning
Students will have a reflection
circle at the end of the lesson
where students will reflect on
their learning so far and draw
similarities in sights, sounds
and feelings within the story,
the church and their home.

SUPPORT & SCAFFOLD

SUPPORT & SCAFFOLD

Learning Episode 2
In the second lesson students will look more closely at the
sights, feelings and sounds of the Christmas season in the
Church
The teacher explains that the Christmas season is a very
important part of the year as it is celebrating the birth of Jesus
They then discuss why people go to Church during this time,
and how often they go eg. Midnight Mass
Students will look at lots of different pictures of Christmas in
Churches and the class will create a list of things that they
would see
They would then look at parts of the following video to listen to
what sounds they might hear in a Church during Christmas and
then create a list on the board
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqslVVihvSQ )
Finally, students will discuss what the feelings would be
specifically at the Church, relating to the reason why people go
to Church during the season, this will also go on the board.
Students will then draw a picture of what it would look like
during Christmas at a church, and the educator will go around
and support students, and label their work.

Learning Episode 4
In this lesson students will consider the past week of school
Christmas celebrations including the school mass, concert and
assembly.
Students will have a discussion regarding the sights, sounds and
feelings that they have encountered in the past week and the
teacher will create a list on the board.
Students will then have a discussion about the different sights,
sounds and feelings that they have talked about for each of the
contexts the story of Jesus birth, church, home and school.
They will then have to choose two of the different contexts and
draw a picture of what it looks like (for the summative
assessment Part A)

Summative Assessment
This lesson will consist
contain the summative
assessment Part A.
The educator will use notes
and ideas from previous
lessons to gain more
knowledge of student
understanding for their
summative assessment.
Part B of the assessment will
occur after the lesson at the
teachers convenience.

REFLECT

At the conclusion of the unit, students will have a class reflection circle.
Students will sit in a circle and reflect quietly on what they have learnt
about the Christmas Season.

Then each student will add to the reflection about something they learn
regarding a sight, sound or feeling in a specific context.
Then as a class they will have a teacher-led discussion about the
similarities found in the different contexts.

Part A: What Christmas Looks Like

! Draw two different pictures of what Christmas looks like:

Part B: One-on-One Interview:

! Explain and label picture
! What does Christmas sound like?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

What are three words that you might hear?

! What feelings do we have at Christmas time at church, home and school?