BEGINNER LEVEL 1: Lesson 18 for Teachers

LESSON 18: LIFE APPLICATION

THEME: Forgiveness and Sin

VOCABULARY: teacher, in front, told, test, nervous, mix, brain, hide, cheating, knew, worth, learned

STORY: One day a teacher was in front of her class. She told them that they were going to have a math test the next day. Matthew, a boy in the class, was very nervous. Matthew was not very good at math. He never could remember when he needed to add or subtract. When he looked at numbers, he would mix them all up in his brain. Matthew was very upset the rest of the day. He could not even play when his class went outside. He just kept thinking about the math test. Then he came up with a plan. He decided he would write down everything he needed to know and hide it in his shirt. He knew that it was cheating but he also knew it would help him get a good grade on his test. The next day he went to school and he took his test. He used his paper and he knew he did well. When they got the test back he saw he had received an A. But he did not feel good about his grade. He knew he had to tell his teacher. He did not want to receive a good grade by cheating. It did not feel good. When he told his teacher he had cheated, she was not happy with him, but she was glad that he decided to tell the truth. He had to get a zero on his test but he felt much better about it. He decided that he would never cheat again because it was not worth it.

STORY WITH QUESTIONS: One day a teacher was in front of her class. (Who is in front of the class?) She told them that they were going to have a math test the next day. (Were they going to have a science or math test?) Matthew, a boy in the class, was very nervous. (Is there a boy or a girl? What is his name?) Matthew was not very good at math. (Is he good or bad at math?) He never could remember when he needed to add or subtract. When he looked at numbers, he would mix them all up in his brain. (What happened to the numbers?) Matthew was very upset the rest of the day. (Is Matthew happy or upset?)  He could not even play when his class went outside. (Did he play when his class went out?) He just kept thinking about the math test. (What is he thinking about?) Then he came up with a plan. (Does he have a plan?) He decided he would write down everything he needed to know and hide it in his shirt. (What is he going to do?) He knew that it was cheating but he also knew it would help him get a good grade on his test. (Is cheating a good or a bad thing?) The next day he went to school and he took his test. (Did he take the test?) He used his paper and he knew he did well. (Did he do well?)  When they got the test back he saw he had received an A. (Did he get a good grade?) But he did not feel good about his grade. (How did he feel – good or bad?) He knew he had to tell his teacher. (What did he need to do?) He did not want to receive a good grade by cheating. It did not feel good. (How does Matthew feel?) When he told his teacher he had cheated, she was not happy with him, but she was glad that he decided to tell the truth. (How did the teacher feel?) He had to get a 0 on his test but he felt much better about it. (What grade did he get on the test?) He decided that he would never cheat again because it was not worth it. (Will he cheat again?)

ACTIVITIES:

  1. Review the vocabulary words. Listen to the Vocabulary File for pronunciation. Look up the meaning of any words you don’t know.
  2. Listen to Audio 1 as you read through the story.
  3. Listen to Audio 2 – Story with Questions as you read through the story and answer the questions.
  4. Discussion: Talk about these main points:
    1. Have you ever lied or cheated before? 
    2. How did it make you feel? 
    3. Did you tell the truth after? How did you feel? 
    4. Why is it important to tell the truth?
    5. Was it easy for Matthew to tell the truth? Was it worth it? 
  5. Emphasize that we all make mistakes and that we all at some point do something we should not do. We are all human. But that is the great thing about God.  Just as Matthew’s teacher forgave him, God forgives us when we make mistakes and sin, as long as we go to him, confess, and ask for forgiveness.
  6. Print the coloring page out ahead of time. Pass it out and have the children color it.
  7. Have a student pray in English.