The Book of Psalms
Year 6: Term 2
Range: Range of poetic forms
Books: The Book of Psalms (NIV, KJV)
Word level work: 1-3
Sentence level work: 2
Text level work: 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14
| Day | Shared Work | Word / Sentence Work | Guided Work | Independent Work | Plenary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MON | Inform children that this week they are going to be studying a book from the Bible, the Book of Psalms. Psalms are ancient Jewish musical poems to God or about God. The most famous of all Psalms is Psalm 23. Read Psalm 23. Draw attention to the two metaphors used. | Identify verbs. Active or passive? Why only active? Experiment changing verbs to passive. How does this effect the emphasis of the Psalm? | Devise own more contemporary metaphors for God. | Use Bibles to find other metaphors for God used in Psalms. | Share work with rest of class. Metaphors in everyday use. |
| TUE | Read Psalm 23 in Authorized Version. What feelings is the Psalmist trying to convey. | Archaic verb endings. Do these add to or diminish the poetic effect? | List the feelings which are conveyed by the metaphors discovered or devised yesterday. | How writers convey feelings. | |
| WED | Review work done yesterday. Read Psalm 57. What techniques does the Psalmist use to express his despair? How does his mood change? | Active and passive verbs. How could David's accusations in verse 6 be changed to conceal the agent of the sentence? Give other examples. | Write about a time when they experienced the same emotions as the Psalmist. | Share work with the rest of the class. How well are emotions conveyed? | |
| THU | Inform children that all Psalms, whether expressing joy or despair, are songs of praise. In fact the Hebrew word for the book of Psalms is Tehilim, which means, 'Praises'. Read Psalm 147. | Spelling conventions and rules. | Ask the children to choose someone (not excluding God) for whom they would like to write a praise poem. Write down all the reasons why this person is worthy of praise. | Share work with rest of class. | |
| FRI | Revise what was taught yesterday about praise Psalms. With the help of the children write a praise poem for a person of your choice using Psalm 147 as a model. | Spelling conventions and rules. | Children to shape the written work done yesterday to create their own praise poems. | Techniques used to convey emotions. | |
