Wondering Together

Unit: Growing Closer to God

Lesson 8 of 8

Lesson Title: Wondering About Our Catholic Story
Duration: 30 minutes
Class size: 25 students
Year level: Year 1 (New Zealand Curriculum)
Subject: Religious Education

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Learning Intentions (WALT)

• We Are Learning To share a wondering about our Catholic story.

Success Criteria

• I can express a wondering about our Catholic story.
• I can explain why my wondering is important.
• I can listen and respond to others’ wonderings respectfully.

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Curriculum Links

Religious Education Focus (aligned to New Zealand Catholic Curriculum Framework and NZ Curriculum Refresh):

• Engage students in personal reflection and sharing about their faith traditions and Catholic story.
• Develop communication skills through expressing ideas orally and connected to personal meaning.
• Support students’ spiritual curiosity and wonder about faith and identity.

New Zealand Curriculum Links:

• English - Speaking and Listening

  • Communicate in complete sentences using sentence stems and visual supports (aligned with Te Mātaiaho English Yr 0-2).
  • Use think-pair-share to collaboratively develop and express ideas.
  • Present ideas clearly in ways that are increasingly fluent and confident within the oral language strand .

• Social Sciences

  • Understanding personal and cultural identity through sharing stories and connections to wider Catholic tradition .

• Key Competencies

  • Participating and contributing: Sharing ideas in small groups and whole class settings.
  • Thinking: Developing curiosity about personal identity and faith story.
  • Relating to others: Listening actively and respectfully to peers.

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Learning Environment Setup

• Circle seating arrangement to encourage openness and sharing.
• Clearly visible visual scaffolds: Wondering sentence stems on a poster (e.g., "I wonder why...", "What if..."), graphic organisers.
• Guided templates for expressing wonderings to support dyslexic learners or those needing writing scaffolds.
• Calm, inviting atmosphere with soft background music that aligns with reflective mood.

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Lesson Outline

Time	Activity Description	Details & Differentiation
0-5m	Welcome and Introduction	- Recap unit focus: Growing Closer to God.

• Introduce today's task: sharing a wondering about our Catholic story.
• Display sentence stems (e.g., "I wonder...", "Why do we...?") for oral support and modelling.
• Dyslexia-friendly approach: Using visual scaffolds and oral sentence starters.| | 5-15m | Think-Pair-Share on Wonderings | - Think: Students individually think about a wondering related to the Catholic story.
• Pair: Students share their wonderings with a trusted buddy, using sentence stems and guided templates if writing.
• Share: Select several pairs to share one wondering each with the whole class.
• Teacher supports sentence structure and vocabulary with prompts and sentence stems.
• Differentiation: Support reluctant or less confident speakers with visual cards or teacher prompts. Advanced learners encouraged to explain why their wondering matters (success criteria). | | 15-25m | Express Wonderings Through Art or Writing | - Extension activity for advanced learners: Create a simple drawing or short written phrase expressing their wondering.
• Use templates with sentence starters (e.g., "I wonder...") to support writing and scaffolding for all learners (dyslexia-friendly).
• Use colouring and simple symbols to express wonderings for those who prefer non-verbal expression.
• Teacher circulates, encouraging connections between wonderings and the Catholic story.| | 25-30m | Reflection and Connection | - Gather students back in circle for sharing art/writing if ready.
• Recap the importance of wonder and curiosity in growing closer to God.
• Prompt students to reflect briefly: "Why are wonderings important to us as we learn about our Catholic story?"
• Highlight learning dispositions of curiosity, respect, and confidence.
• Offer praise and feedback, emphasizing success criteria. |

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Resources and Materials

• Wondering sentence stems poster and individual sentence starter cards.
• Guided templates for expressing thought (oral and written).
• Art supplies: paper, crayons, coloured pencils.
• Visual aids linked to Catholic story elements studied during the unit (e.g., simple symbols like cross, Bible, church).
• Calm reflective music to set mood.

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Assessment and Feedback

• Formative assessment:

  • Teacher listens to students' expressed wonderings during think-pair-share and whole-class discussions to gauge understanding and engagement.
  • Observe use of sentence stems and vocabulary to assess oral communication skills aligned with NZ Curriculum English learning progressions.
  • Review students' creative expression (art or writing) to assess ability to connect with the Catholic story and express ideas.

• Feedback:

  • Immediate positive reinforcement during sharing.
  • Encourage students to reflect on what they found interesting or important about the wonderings shared.

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Differentiation Strategies

• Provide think-pair-share structure to scaffold social engagement and collaborative thinking.
• Use sentence stems and visual supports throughout to support expressive language development and dyslexia-friendly access.
• Offer oral expression alternatives for students with written language challenges.
• Provide extension opportunities through creative self-expression (art or writing) for advanced learners.

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Extension Ideas

• Students create a "Wonder Wall" in the classroom for ongoing posting of new wonderings about faith and Catholic stories.
• Invite families to share a Catholic story or wondering to bring cultural perspectives into classroom learning.
• Use digital tools (e.g., voice recorders or apps) for students to record their wonderings orally.

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This lesson embodies the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum’s emphasis on student voice, metacognitive reflection (thinking about thinking), and inclusive communication strategies, deeply connected to both spiritual and oral language development outcomes for Year 1 students .

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If you would like, I can help you prepare printable resources (sentence stems, thinking templates) or visual aids tailored for this lesson.