God's Family Together

Overview

This 40-minute Religious Education session is designed for Year 1 students in Aotearoa New Zealand and focuses on the “Being Church” strand of the Religious Education Curriculum. At Level 1, learners explore the idea of the Church as a community of believers who follow Jesus, with an emphasis on belonging, celebrating, and caring for others as part of God's family.

Curriculum Alignment:

• Religious Education Curriculum Level 1 (NZ Catholic Bishops Conference)
  • Strand: Being Church | Achievement Objective: Children will develop an understanding that they belong to the Church, which is a family of God’s people.
• NZ Curriculum Key Competencies:
  • Relating to others: Sharing in group activities and listening to others
  • Participating and contributing: Engaging in class prayer and role play
  • Thinking: Exploring the meaning of symbols and stories
• Values Across the Curriculum: Community and participation, respect, diversity, spirituality

Learning Intentions

Students will:

• Understand that the Church is a community of people who follow Jesus.
• Recognise that we belong to the Church, just like we belong to our whānau.
• Begin to explore how we can be part of God's family by helping and showing love to others.

Success Criteria

Students will be able to:

• Identify ways people show they belong to the Church.
• Participate respectfully in shared prayer and storytelling.
• Create a piece of collaborative class artwork that represents 'Being Church' together.

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Materials Required

• Large paper cutout of a whare (Māori-style house) or church building
• Images of people in a church community (e.g., priest, choir, families)
• Glue sticks, colouring pencils, markers
• Paper hearts
• Whiteboard or poster paper
• Basket or kete for prayer intentions
• A candle or battery-operated tealight
• Soft instrumental background music (optional)

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Lesson Breakdown – 40 Minutes

1. Karakia Whakatuwhera | Opening prayer (5 minutes)

Purpose: To settle the class, acknowledge God's presence, and invite the Holy Spirit.

• Teacher lights the candle and gently says:
  “This little light reminds us that Jesus is always with us, especially when we are together.”
• Say this simple call and response-style prayer:

  Teacher: "We are here together, in God's house."
  Students: "We are God's family."
  Repeat with gentle hand motions for focus.

2. Whakawhanaungatanga | Warm-Up Circle (5 minutes)

Activity: ‘I Belong To...’ Name Game

• Students sit in a circle.
• One by one, each child says:
  “My name is [Name], and I belong to [one thing they love: their whānau, school, a sports team, etc.].”
• Teacher affirms after each:
  “Yes! And we all belong to God’s family too!”

3. Whakarongo | Story Time: The Church is God's Family (8 minutes)

Resources: Use illustrated children’s Bible or tell a simplified story using visuals and puppets.

Story Summary:
“Jesus and the Little Children” (Mark 10:13-16). Emphasise that everyone is welcome in God’s family.

Discussion Prompts:

• “How do you feel when people welcome you?”
• “What are some things people in God’s family do together?”
• Write student responses on the board under the heading: “Being Church Means...”

4. Ngā Mahi Toi | Creative Activity: Building Our Church Whare (10 minutes)

Task: Collaborative wall display of God's family in their classroom.

• Present a large paper cutout of a Church/whare structure on the wall.
• Give each student a paper heart to colour and decorate with:
  1. Their name
  2. A smiley face
• Once decorated, they glue their heart to the ‘whare’ to build a visible symbol of belonging to God’s family.
• As each child sticks their heart, affirm "You are part of God's family."

5. Ako Tahi | Role Play: Ways to Be Church (7 minutes)

Activity: Mime a few everyday ways to show love and care in God’s family. Call-and-response format.

Examples for Role Play:

• Welcoming someone new to class – handshake and smile
• Helping a friend who is sad – gentle pat or pretend to listen
• Singing together – pretend microphones and big smiles

Ask:

• “How did that feel to give/receive kindness?”
• “Can we do that this week in real life?”

6. Karakia Whakamutunga | Closing Prayer Circle (5 minutes)

Activity: Prayer Intention Kete

• Students are invited to silently place a prayer heart (pre-cut paper heart) into the class kete basket with something or someone they want to include in their prayers.
• Say a class prayer together:

  “Thank you, Jesus, for our class family.
  Help us show love like you did.
  Amen.”

End with a soft waiata or hymn if time allows (e.g., simple version of “He Honore” or a song the class knows).

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Differentiation & Inclusion

• Neurodiverse students: Visual prompts, consistent routine, and peer pairings to support transitions.
• ELL students: Use te reo Māori and visual language support (e.g., gesture or icons).
• Mātauranga Māori Integration: Naming the paper hearts ngākau aroha (hearts of love); greeting and closing with karakia. Use of the whare image to represent community belonging in both Māori and Catholic contexts.

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Assessment for Learning

Formative Checks:

• Observation of student participation in role play and discussion.
• Responses during reflection and circle games.
• Contribution to collaborative artwork.

Student Voice:

• Invite students to say, draw, or point to something they enjoyed or learned using a smiley face chart before closing for the day.

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Next Steps / Future Learning

Begin exploring what happens in a Church and who helps there. Introduce the priest, bishop, and laypeople in the Church. Plan a visit to the local Church or invite a parish community visitor to the classroom.

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This lesson affirms the child's natural sense of belonging and relational connection to others through the familiarity of whānau, while gently introducing foundational ideas of community as Church in a culturally located, age-appropriate framework.