The Rock Chosen

Curriculum Details

Learning Area: Social Sciences – Religious Education
Year Level: Year 8
Curriculum Level: Level 4 (NZ Curriculum)
Strand Focus: Understanding the development of belief systems and how people express beliefs in their daily lives and society

Achievement Objective (from NZ Curriculum Level 4):

"Students will describe the ways in which religion can influence people’s lives and explore the historical founding figures of Christianity."

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Lesson Title:

St Peter: The First Pope – A Rock of Leadership

Lesson Duration:

60 minutes

Learning Intentions:

• Students will understand who St Peter was and his role as the first pope.
• Students will explore how leadership and faith shaped the early Christian church.
• Students will make connections between St Peter’s story and leadership today.
• Students will create a visual or symbolic representation of Peter’s identity and influence.

Success Criteria:

Students will be able to:

• Identify key facts about St Peter’s life and spiritual journey.
• Explain why St Peter is considered the first pope.
• Describe how his leadership impacted the early church.
• Demonstrate their understanding through a creative task that shows personal interpretation.

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Materials Needed:

• A3 paper or cardboard
• Coloured pencils, markers, scissors, glue
• Chromebooks or tablets (if digital options are preferred in the create task)
• Printed character cards with clues or quotes from Peter’s life (for the warm-up)
• Printed quote sheet: Famous sayings of Peter and about Peter
• A large class-sized cutout of a rock (paper or cardboard)
• Access to a short animated clip about the life of St Peter (teacher will play this; no links included in this document)

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Lesson Breakdown

⏰ Time Allocation Overview

Time	Activity
5 mins	Welcome/Set the Scene
10 mins	Warm-Up: Who’s That Saint?
10 mins	Teacher Input: The Life of St Peter
7 mins	Group Discussion: What Made Him a Leader?
20 mins	Create Task: “The Legacy Stone”
5 mins	Sharing Gallery
3 mins	Reflection and Wrap-Up

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1. Welcome and Set the Scene (5 mins)

Begin the class with the question on the board:
“Why would Jesus choose a fisherman to lead a global faith?”

Briefly introduce the session focus: St Peter – a simple man with extraordinary purpose. Recount how his name was Simon, but Jesus renamed him Peter, meaning “rock”, because of his future leadership.

Create anticipation—“By the end of this lesson, you’ll discover why Peter matters to millions…”

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2. Warm-Up: Who’s That Saint? (10 mins)

Activity: In table groups, students are handed a series of character cards, each with clues (quotes, actions, symbols) relating to St Peter.

Some are red herrings (related to Paul, Judas, or someone else in early Christianity).

Goal: Groups must guess which is about Peter and explain why.

E.g. Clues:

• “He walked on water before sinking.”
• “He denied Jesus three times.”
• “He held the keys to the kingdom of heaven.”

This interactive, pre-discussion task gets students curious without requiring prior knowledge.

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3. Teacher Input: Telling Peter’s Story (10 mins)

Use oral storytelling and a short animated video to bring Peter’s life alive.

Key points to cover:

• Name: Simon, renamed Peter (“Rock”)
• Occupation: Fisherman from Galilee
• His calling: Follow Jesus and become “a fisher of men”
• Notable moments:
  • Walking on water and doubting
  • Denying Jesus three times before the rooster crows
  • Being forgiven and asked to "feed my sheep"
  • Leadership after Jesus’ resurrection
  • Preaching at Pentecost
  • Being jailed and finally being martyred in Rome
• Role as the first bishop of Rome = first pope

Engage students with questions like:

• “Have you ever felt scared to stand up for something you believed in like Peter did?”
• “What does it mean to be ‘the rock’ others depend on?”

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4. Group Discussion: What Made Him a Leader? (7 mins)

In groups of four, students discuss:

• What qualities made Peter a leader?
• Was he perfect? Why might that be important?
• How did Peter show courage or doubt?
• Is leadership about strength or growth?

Have students write one quality of leadership Peter showed on a sticky note and attach it to the large class “legacy rock” at the front of room.

This shows visual evidence of collective understanding.

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5. Create Task: "The Legacy Stone" (20 mins)

Task: Students will create a symbolic stone that captures St Peter’s legacy and message.

They can choose either:

Option 1: Legacy Stone - Visual

Design a stone (use oval paper or cardboard) illustrating symbols, quotes, and qualities that represent Peter’s faith journey and role as first pope.

Inspiration examples:

• Rooster (denial & forgiveness)
• Keys (authority & heaven)
• Fisherman’s net (evangelism)
• Flame (Pentecost)
• Cross upside down (his martyrdom)

Option 2: Legacy Stone - Digital

Use Google Slides or Canva (if available) to design a symbolic tribute poster titled Why Peter Was The Rock.

Must include:

• One image that symbolises Peter
• A short paragraph explaining the symbol
• One quote from Peter or about him
• A reflection sentence: “What I admire about Peter is…”

Encourage originality instead of copying religious images.

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6. Sharing Gallery (5 mins)

Students partner with someone from another group and do a quick walkthrough of each other’s work.

They must ask their partner: “What do you think Peter would say if he saw your stone?”

Option to do a small display wall titled: We built our faith on a rock.

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7. Reflection and Wrap-Up (3 mins)

Bring students together and return to the starting question:

"Why choose a fisherman to lead?"

Discuss:

• What leadership looks like in ordinary people
• How we can show faith, even if we make mistakes like Peter

Exit ticket (post-it or digital): One word to describe Peter + One way I can lead like him this week

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Additional Teacher Notes:

• Consider incorporating kapa haka or a waiata to conclude the unit with reverence and cultural connection.
• This lesson supports development of Key Competencies: Thinking | Relating to Others | Participating and Contributing
• This experience connects well to future learning in Social Studies and History (e.g., Roman Empire, early church, influence of belief systems)

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Extension Opportunities:

• Research the current Pope and compare his role today to Peter’s.
• Write a journal entry from Peter’s perspective after denying Jesus.
• Compare Peter to a leader from te ao Māori and reflect on shared values (e.g., humility, tangata whenua, service)

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Ka mua, ka muri – Walking backwards into the future.
This lesson uses the past to inspire future thinking in our students.

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Let us know how your students enjoyed it – we’d love to build out a mini-series on foundational Christian figures in Aotearoa context next!