The Ten Commandments

In the fifth and sixth grade curriculum, there is an emphasis on The Old Testament. That said, I think that Moses and The Ten Commandments should be discussed in some capacity in every grade level. It is a rich story that links to many Catholic traditions, comes equipped with a terrific movie, and is an easy way to get kids talking about right and wrong.

When I taught The Ten Commandments this past year, I decided to put a more positive spin on it. I can't take credit for the idea, but I love the perspective of making The Ten Commandments about what we should do, rather than what we shouldn't. 

That is, I get my students to turn "Thou-Shalt-Nots" into "Thou-Shalts!"

In this lesson, I write The Ten Commandments in their most familiar forms on the board. (I might edit them slightly, for example, turn "goods" into "stuff" and "wife" into "spouse" because these can be annoying distractions if the kids constantly have to mentally translate. I would rather them focus on the content at hand.)

After writing them down, I have the students take a few Cookie Commandments out of a bowl that I have prepared beforehand. These are Milano cookies that I have broken in half and shaved down with a Microplaner until smooth so that they resemble Moses' tablets. I have written the numbers 1-10 on the cookies with relatively even distribution and throw in a few "wild card" cookies. I try to have the kids choose at least three cookies apiece, which is a good number for my group of 10 students. Obviously, this varies with your time constraints, class size, etc.

Each student then takes a turn, chooses one of their cookies and then reads the corresponding commandment on the board. I then ask them to flip the commandment to ask them how they would obey God by doing something positive, instead of just not doing something. Action vs. inaction.

Examples:

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's stuff."

"Thou shall be grateful for what you have."

"Thou shalt not have other gods before Me."

"Thou shall make God the most important person/entity in your life, giving Him time before anything else like sporting events or video games."

"Thou shalt not bear false witness ("gossip or lie") about thy neighbor."

"Thou shall speak only the truth or kind words about other people."

I feel that this is a really important lesson for the children because of an oft-cited criticism of Catholic culture. Lapsed Catholics often complain of "rules" and a feeling you're constantly guilted about what not to do. We know that this is not the beauty and essence of the faith. However, if that is a common perception, that in itself is a problem. It means that we as teachers need to do a better job emphasizing the "works" aspect of being Catholic--the example of following Jesus in healing and the fact that we are sent into the world to serve, not to merely refrain from bad behavior and call it a day. 

Now, you will note that not all of the commandments are "Thou shalt not...etc." The third ("Keep holy the Sabbath") and fourth ("Honor your mother and father") already come conveniently positive. For these commandments, I just ask the kids to give examples. Interestingly, Honor your mother and father tends to be the go-to choice for students when they receive a wild card cookie and get to select a commandment. This should thrill parents everywhere that their children are so ready and willing to come up with ideas to please them. 

One of the most challenging commandments tend to be "Thou shalt not kill". For the first, relating killing to anger and guiding the kids to challenging anger is a good way to go ("Take anger out in a healthy way" is a good one because it acknowledges that anger is a valid emotion and is often unavoidable to feel until a positive outlet is found.) The heroic option of "Help save a life" is another good one and you can help the students come up with even more specific examples, like going into a medical profession, consoling a depressed friend, or encouraging people to choose life when it comes to abortion. 

The most challenging commandment is arguably "Thou shalt not commit adultery." For this age group, "remaining faithful" or "appreciating your spouse/friends" or "do kind things to show your spouse/friends that you love them" are good choices in terms of fostering understanding and modeling positive behavior. I say "spouse/friends" so that the kids can see what positive behavior is expected of them as adults, but also that their relationships with their friends should carry the same dynamics. 

This lesson is actually the second in my two-part series on Moses. Prior to this, I do a lesson on Moses' biography with emphasis on The Plagues, which I'll be outlining in the next post.

The Resurrection Cake

This summer while class is not in session, I will be posting descriptions of some of my favorite lessons. Hopefully this will inspire some creativity in preparation for the new school year!

My favorite lesson of all time is The Resurrection Cake. I had been using food as part of the lessons for a few months when I created this lesson. I decided that for our Easter lesson, there was no better medium to use than Easter candy. One of the advantages of this usage is that it links the religious aspects of Easter with the secular symbols. Once you have the children associate these things, it gives religious meaning to the secular, which they cannot un-see! 

Also, as an avid fan of Marshmallow Peep decor, I wanted to capture this spirit of whimsy in the most joyous holiday of our faith. 

What you will need to prepare in advance:

*One simple, frosted sheetcake (box mix is fine). I usually frost in yellow to symbolize the sandy nature of Jerusalem, although this year I did green because it was convenient.

*One popover to symbolize the tomb. Ina Garten's recipe is reliable. Making popovers does tend to be an exact science, but if you follow the recipe precisely, you should be fine. I have found that a muffin tin does a fine job and an actual popover pan is not necessary. There is more information below on prepping the popover for its symbolic use.

*Blue, pink, green, and yellow Marshmallow Peeps, no more than a half-dozen of each color.

*Two containers of writing frosting--one white, one black.

*One jar of festive sprinkles

*One chocolate cross (for folks local to Vermont, Snowflake Chocolates was my source this year).

*Nine plastic eggs, an Easter basket, and slips of paper on which you have typed the story of Easter.

The whole point of this lesson is telling the story of the crucifixion and the resurrection. Some of my students over the years have expressed that they really dislike reading, so I have had to make the packaging interesting. Reading out of a textbook was their main complaint and why shouldn't it be? These kids are already in school for forty hours a week and my classroom might feel like the last straw of academia. So instead of having the students read the story of Easter out of a book, I package the story in a basket of plastic eggs.

Each egg is numbered so that the kids know the order in which to read them. The process goes that one student takes an egg and reads what it contains and then I select another student to create on the cake what has just been read. 

Here is how the story should go:

Egg 1: "When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.' They divided his garments by casting lots. The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, 'He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God.' Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine, they called out, 'If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.' Above him there was in inscription that read, 'This is Jesus King of the Jews.'"

At this point, I will have a student place the chocolate cross upon the cake. Then another student will write "INRI" in front of the cross (it wasn't practical to actually have them write it on the cross itself; some of these decisions are matters of artistic license, but I always inform the students as to the realities of the scene). After a student writes out the inscription, I usually take that time to explain that INRI is Latin, as those who crucified Jesus were Roman soldiers. I also explain that the inscription is intended to be a mockery, but ironically is true, given that Christ is King.

Egg 2: "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing by, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold your son!' Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold your mother!'"

I then have a student place one blue Peep for John and one pink Peep for Mary at the foot of the cross. (I do feel conflicted about not using a blue Peep for the Blessed Virgin and I am not strict on gender stereotypical colors, but to me this helps keep everything consistent since otherwise all Peeps look the same. Feel free to adjust to your discretion.)

At this point, I also ask the students where the other apostles are, guiding them to tell me that they are hiding in fear. I then have another student take additional blue peeps to place "in hiding" around the cake where they see fit. 

Egg 3: "Fron noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o'clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli lema sabachthani?' which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Some of the bystanders who heard it said, 'This one is calling for Elijah.' Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. But the rest said, 'Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.' But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." And when he said this, he breathed his last. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening and they said, "Truly this was the Son of God."

There are no decorative activities planned after Egg 3, but you have some options. Have a student use a dull knife to make a cut in the cake, symbolizing the earthquake and the destruction of the sanctuary. And/or have the students take a moment of silence to acknowledge Jesus' death. 

Egg 4: "When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed over. Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance and departed."

At this time, a student takes the popover (the tomb) and places it on the cake. I have the students make one side of the cake the side of Christ's death and the other side that of His resurrection so as not to confuse too greatly the somber aspects with the joyful ones. I also might explain a little bit about cultural traditions, such as how the Jewish people needed to bury Jesus' body prior to the beginning of the Sabbath.

Egg 5: "When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, "'Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?'"

Here, a student selects three pink peeps and places them at the tomb to illustrate the women's arrival.

Egg 6: "And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow."

At this point, a student is asked to place a yellow Peep (like lightning) atop the popover tomb. (I usually suggest cementing him on there with a touch of extra frosting.) Since his clothing must be white, I then have a student take the white writing frosting and slather the angel Peep white until kingdom come. Whoever gets to eat this Peep really enjoys it.

Egg 7: "The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men."

One lucky student now gets to position two green Peeps (g=green=guards), passed out next to the tomb.

Egg 8: "Then the angel said to the women in reply, 'Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.'"

Since Jesus is now risen, the women must feel like celebrating! We can't actually have the Peeps run off the cake, or things will get messy very quickly. So here, I have a student throw "confetti", i.e., some variety of festive sprinkles, around the tomb to express the women's joy.

Egg 9: "And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him." 

At this time, I usually take a picture of the cake to document the students' excellent work. I then let them photobomb the cake as they wish. You can see the completed project below. But then, I tell the students that they have to go and look for Jesus. I'm a little reticent to represent Our Lord and Savior with a Peep, but I do the next best thing. The reason that a popover is used for the tomb is because they are hollow. When I remove a popover from the pan, there might be a tiny hole at the bottom. If there isn't a hole, I cut a small slit into the popover around the muffin top where the slit will go unnoticed. I then gingerly insert a piece of paper into the tomb, which states, "Jesus is risen, Alleluia!" or, "Alleluia! He is not here for He is risen!" All of this is done in advance of the lesson where the children cannot see. 

So the luckiest student gets to open up the popover tomb to reveal the message of Christ's resurrection. The kids can never figure out how I do this and always try to guess, but I never reveal my secrets in class! 

Every time I do this lesson, I end up adding more of the story that I feel can translate well to cake form. This has become important, depending on the number of students I have in the class. I like them all to have a "fun" part if I can make it happen. This year, I had nine students present, which was an ideal number for this particular lesson.