Awakenings Unit Planner Ballarat North - St.

Columba's

CIRCLE OF LIFE
Level 3

Unit: CIRCLE OF LIFE

Start Date: 24/8/15

End Date: 18/9/15

Unit Focus:
In this unit students will be given the opportunity to reflect on how Jesus is with them in times of sadness, loss and trouble. This is part of
our lives Students will explore experiences of death and new life in their lives. God is with us always and sends people to help us in times
of sadness, loss, and trouble. We also need to be there for others in their times of need.

Unit Outcomes and Assessment Tasks:

1. Name a time of sadness in their life and identify those who helped them.
Using one of the suggested picture story books students identify the separation that takes place between the characters and how this
affected the characters. Children complete a facts and feelings chart.
2. Identify a time when Jesus experienced loss/sadness in his life.
Students complete a word web on a selected piece of Scripture depicting sadness/loss.
3. Explore understandings of death/loss as a separation.
Students watch 'The Lion King' and complete a movie review sheet on the separation that takes place between the characters.
4. Respond in prayer to new understandings of loss and suffering.
Children write a litany prayer eg: For the times we are sad , For the times we lose .. Creator God . pray for us. Loving
God . pray for us.

Strand: Christian Life

Doctrinal Concepts:
1. Jesus challenges us to follow his
teachings and example.
2. We are challenged to reflect on
the ways we respond to Gods love

Resources:
Parish Priest
Fox, M. (1984). Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge. Malvern, SA: Omnibus.
Weigelt, U. (2003). Bears last journey. New York: North South Books.
Allers, R. & Minkoff, R. (Producers). (2003).The lion king. [DVD]. USA: Walt Disney
Video.
Buscaglia, L. (1982). The fall of freddie the leaf: a story of life for all ages. Thorofare,
Awakenings Unit Planner Created by C. Fuller: Jun/2015 - Last Modified on: Aug/2015

Awakenings Unit Planner Ballarat North - St. Columba's

for us.
4. When we use our gifts we are
serving the community and helping
to spread the Reign of God.

NJ: Slack Incorporated.

Prayer Liturgy:

Links with Family:

In regular classroom prayer time remember

those who have died.

Letter home to parents to explain that we will be discussing death.

Bring items from their 'Memory Box' to pray

for someone they love to a class liturgy.

Discussion about loss at home.

Invite their families to the class liturgy/mass.
Share their memory box with their family.

VELS
Science: Life Cycles
Literacy: Reading, Viewing, Writing, Speaking and Listening.
Art: Creating and Making.
Personal Learning.
Thinking Processes.

Awakenings Unit Planner Created by C. Fuller: Jun/2015 - Last Modified on: Aug/2015

Awakenings Unit Planner Ballarat North - St. Columba's

Focusing Activity:
Read the story Wilfred Gordon MacDonald Partridge and create a memory box of the story and discuss the significance of each of the
items mentioned in the story.
SHARED CHRISTIAN PRAXIS - Teaching and Learning Experiences.
Naming
Children use the Think,
Pair, Share strategy to list
different kinds of loss
families may experience
eg. separation of parents,
someone dying, someone
losing their memory,
someone going away for
a long time or leaving
home.
Investigate the life cycle
of an insect e.g. Butterfly.
Complete a compare and
contrast activity related to
the life-cycle of a human.

Reflecting Critically

Accessing the Christian

Tradition

In regular classroom
prayer time remember
those who have died

Lk 22:39 - 47 To
RESPOND to the Word
Individually students write
words or sentences to
Explore ways in which
describe how Jesus might
people might cope or
have been feeling.
recover from loss. Draw
Combine students work to
on the characters in the
make a whole class word
book 'Bear's Last Journey' wall and discuss.
Children identify items
Lk 22:39 - 47 To
that they would put into
ENCOUNTER the Word their own memory boxes - After reading the text from
items that help them to
the Bible, students work
remember significant
in groups to create a
points during their lives.
comic strip of the
Watch the video 'The Fall
Of Freddy The Leaf: a
story of life for all ages".
Discuss.
Teacher create a memory
box to share with the
children and talk about
each item as they are
taken from the box. e.g. a
photo, a scarf, a letter, a
piece of jewellery.

scripture passage. The

students retell the story in
their own words.

Integrating

Responding

Create individual memory

boxes with items that
remind us of someone we
love.

Respond in prayer to new

understandings of loss
and suffering - Children
write a litany prayer - e.g:
For the times we are
sad... For the times we
lose... Creator God... pray
for us. Loving God... pray
for us.

Invite the priest to bring

some baptismal water to
the class and discuss its
significance in the
Christian understandings
of life and death.
Students identify the
separation that takes
place between the
characters and how this
affected the characters by
completing a movie
review sheet on 'The Lion
King'.

Plan a class liturgy where

students bring an item
from their 'Memory box' to
pray for someone they
love. Incorporate some
baptismal water as
symbol.

Lk 22:39 - 47 To
PREPARE TO HEAR
THE WORD
Students identify
language in the passage
that they do not
understand. Class
Awakenings Unit Planner Created by C. Fuller: Jun/2015 - Last Modified on: Aug/2015

Awakenings Unit Planner Ballarat North - St. Columba's

discussion about what

happens before and after
this passage.
Scripture: Record the Model for teaching Scripture in Movement Three (Accessing the Christian Tradition) by marking the appropriate
activities with eg P for Preparing to Hear the Word, E for Encounter the Word and R for Responding to the Word. Example: * Read/Tell the
text using puppets. E.
Strategies
WORD WEB (ENGLISH STRATEGY)
TEAM DISCUSSION
THOUGHT SHEETS
BRAINSTORM
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
Think, Pair ,Share
COMIC STRIP
MOVIE REVIEW SHEET
Notes

Awakenings Unit Planner Created by C. Fuller: Jun/2015 - Last Modified on: Aug/2015