Ten Commandments for 3rd Graders
The Ten Commandments is a list of religious guidelines found in the Old Testament of the Bible. Commonly debated by government agencies and adults of all faiths, it is received with varying degrees of acceptance and understanding. This ancient collection of laws governing personal conduct is sometimes memorized in churches and schools. Third-grade students require special teaching methods as they learn about this document.
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Create Illustrations
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Children do well when they are able to pair reading with visual cues. Integrate art into your teaching on the Ten Commandments by sketching or painting a colorful, descriptive picture to accompany each item on the list. For "Thou shalt not steal," you might choose a scene of a child grabbing a candy bar from a store shelf. Have students discuss the meaning of each drawing, and describe what it depicts, before you reveal the accompanying commandment.
Assign a commandment to each child to prompt the students to create their own illustrations. Since there are likely to be duplicates, divide the class into groups according to their assignment so they can share completed work. Hang the drawings on the wall in ordered categories.
Produce Classroom Plays
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Bring the commandments to life by having students perform short one-act plays in the classroom. Divide children into 10 teams and have them write a script according to their understanding of the assigned commandment. Leave interpretation open to see what they come up with, but complete each presentation with a classwide discussion about the content and significant of the dramatic enactment.
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Give Writing Homework
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The Ten Commandments are intended to apply to real-life scenarios. Emphasize this for students by having them relate the various rules to their own experiences. Have them recount their violations of the moral code by composing written stories about a memorable time they told a lie or disobeyed their parents. Some commandments, like the ones concerning killing and adultery, will require a broader interpretation or a creative short story rather than a personal narrative.
Assign a Quiz
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Make up a quiz listing 15 to 20 moral rules, half of which are in the Ten Commandments. Give the third-grade students identical quizzes, and have them check off the proper answers according to their knowledge of what actually appears in the Bible. Make the quiz as challenging or intuitive as you like; it can be used for class credit or as a simple tool for promoting the absorption of the material.
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References
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