King Solomon

Overview

In this lesson, students explore what the story of King Solomon teaches people about faith, wise leadership, and moral choices. They will examine a short summary of key events from Solomon’s life and connect ideas to the way religious communities may guide behaviour.

Learning intentions

• WALT describe important events from the life of King Solomon.
• WALT explain how Solomon’s choices show values such as wisdom, justice, and responsibility.
• WALT identify how religious teachings influence the behaviour of believers.
• WALT communicate ideas clearly using evidence from the story.

Success criteria

• I can name 2–3 major events from the story of King Solomon.
• I can explain at least one value shown by Solomon and link it to an outcome.
• I can describe one way religious teachings can guide how people live.
• I can use a sentence starter and evidence from the story in my response.

Curriculum links

• Te Mātaiaho Social Sciences: History / Religion — focusing on beliefs and practices through historical religious figures and stories (Protestant religious rules and practices; enforcement and treatment of Catholics as background understanding of religion in society).
• Te Mātaiaho Social Sciences: History / Monarch’s power versus power of Parliament or the people — comparing how leadership power affects people, and who has a say.
• Key competencies: Thinking (making sense of ideas), Relating to others (listening and building responses), Communicating (explaining reasoning with evidence).

Lesson structure (41 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook (activate prior knowledge). Teacher displays two questions on the board: “What does ‘wisdom’ mean?” and “Where might wisdom come from?” Students do a quick silent write, then share one idea with a partner.

2. 5–12 min · Read and model (direct instruction). Teacher reads a teacher-prepared summary of Solomon’s key story moments (e.g., request for wisdom, ruling fairly, building the temple, challenges later in life). Students track the story on a simple timeline handout with 4–5 checkpoints.

3. 12–20 min · Guided thinking (values and evidence). Teacher groups the class and gives each group one focus: wisdom, justice, worship, or leadership choices. Students discuss: “What did Solomon do? What value does it show? What result happened?” Each group records one chain: Action → Value → Outcome.

4. 20–30 min · Class discussion (religion shaping behaviour). Teacher facilitates a structured discussion using sentence stems on the board:

• “I think Solomon’s wisdom means…”
• “This shows leadership that values…”
• “Religious teachings can influence people because…” Students share one prepared point, then respond respectfully to a classmate by adding or questioning evidence from the story.

5. 30–38 min · Create (religious values card). Students create a “King Solomon Values Card” (folded sheet or digital slide) with:

• 1 value (e.g., wisdom or justice)
• 1 story evidence example
• 1 “today” connection: how a person might act if they followed that value Teacher circulates, checking understanding and prompting with questions.

6. 38–41 min · Exit ticket (formative assessment). Students answer in one paragraph: “What is one lesson we can learn from King Solomon, and how does it connect to living wisely?”

Resources

• Teacher-prepared summary of King Solomon (one page, age appropriate)
• Timeline handout with 4–5 boxes
• Sentence stem cards for discussion
• “King Solomon Values Card” template (paper or slide)
• Coloured pencils/markers
• Projector/whiteboard for hook questions
• Teacher observation checklist (during group work)

Assessment

• Formative: teacher listens during partner sharing for understanding of “wisdom” and “values”.
• Formative: group Action → Value → Outcome notes show whether students can link event to value.
• Summative-for-now: exit ticket checks ability to use evidence and explain a lesson from the story.

Differentiation

• Support: provide partially completed timeline and sentence starters for students who need structure; allow oral rehearsal with a partner before writing.
• Support (EAL/SEN): use a word bank (wisdom, justice, rule, temple, choices, responsibility) and accept short responses with clear evidence.
• Extension: ask students to include an additional “challenge” moment from Solomon’s life and explain what could help someone make better choices later.
• Flexible grouping: mix skill levels so learners can practise respectful turn-taking and building on others’ ideas.