To introduce the song for my ATTENTION GETTER, I plan to start out with an object lesson to help demonstrate the concept of Jesus being there beside you even if you can't always see, hear or feel Him. This object lesson comes from something I found some time ago about the Holy Ghost, but with some tweaking, I felt it would fit in perfectly with this song.
An object lesson is a memorable way to teach a message by using an object or by doing a demonstration to help illustrate a principle or teaching. It can also help to make an abstract concept more understandable. When using an object lesson for singing time, remember to keep it short and simple. Singing time should not end up being "Sharing Time" (yeah, I know, that can be hard at times to keep the talking parts down.)
For the Singing Experience time I plan on standing next to a picture of Jesus Christ on an easel that I will have covered up. I will sing the song to the children playing the music with the flute accompaniament from Sally DeFord's site that I downloaded. You could sing along with the pianist, but I just love the arrangement and thought it would make it a little more special in introducing the song. I've also made my flip chart so that I can have the pictures separate from the words for the children to match up to. I also made a handout with a picture of Christ and the children with a spot for the child to draw or adhere a picture of themselves to when they get home and then they can place it somewhere in their home so that they will see it often. I plan on using either my egg shakers or rhythm/movement scarves in teaching the other verses the following week. I'll post about the scarves at a later date in case you aren't familiar with how to use them. Always trying to work movement into singing time for the little ones.
For parts of my singing lesson I drew my inspiration from the Friend magazine in the March 2008 issue. This song was used in that same year's program, although the song was originally introduced in the Friend in October 1993.
For the program, I am strongly thinking of having a couple of children each singing a verse and the whole Primary coming in on the last verse, so my emphasis will be on teaching the 3rd verse. I do like to give these type of opportunities to children; after all, it is their program! Now I just have to talk some brave souls into singing solos.
HERE ARE THE LINKS TO THE FILES
- Lesson Plan and Script
- Flip Chart: All three verses
- Handout: Two per sheet
- Question Mark (?) Cover Up: Print 5 to cover up each question.
- Sheet Music (the version published in the Friend magazine has a grammar typo "He was never far away" It should be "were". This has been corrected on this LDS music site version.
- Sheet Music with Flute Obbligato from Sally DeFord's site.
- MP3 from Sally DeFord's site (There are various versions. I am playing and singing to the second one listed that says "MP3 Accompaniment Track" that has the flute obbligato.
- LDS MP3 Version: Voice and Music: Warning—in this LDS.org version the children are singing the incorrect word "was" instead of "were".
- LDS MP3 Version: Music Only
Thank you so much for taking the time to post this. This is exactly what I was looking for. It is just perfect.
ReplyDeleteThank you!! I really appreciate all the work that goes into these posts. God bless you for all of your effort. Sunday I used your object lesson and I think it really helped the children understand the concept the song is trying to teach. And I was lucky to be able to find a lovely large framed picture of Christ in our building's library. I wouldn't have thought to do that without you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for adding the other verses!
ReplyDeleteThank you! This helps a lot!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a wonderful flip chart! I know how much time it takes to make these. Thank you! I have most of my primary flip charts printed professionally and lamenated so they last. Do you know if any of these pictures are copyrighted? (I know there are some paintings in here.) They won't print them for me if they're copyrighted. Please let me know!
ReplyDeleteI try not to use copyrighted pictures unless they say they can be used. All but one picture I got from the LDS web site or Friend Magazine. Their copyright notice says they can be used for church use. The one picture with Jesus and the child in bed, I have had it for a while and I can't quite remember where I got it off the internet, but I do check for copyright notices or purchase royalty free images for use.
DeleteYou're flip chart is beautiful, and exactly what I was looking for! THANK YOU!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis lesson plan helped me so much and worked so well with our primary! Thank you for the detailed information and ideas!
ReplyDeleteWhat is the name of the font you used?
ReplyDeleteThe FC has been removed from Scribd
ReplyDeleteI was so sad when I clicked on the Flipchart and it has been removed! :( You have one of the best flipcharts out there.
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