Subject: Geography
Title: Globe
and Topographical Map
Age: 2
1/2+
Liturgical
Time: Prior to Advent, first
year
Source: Bible (four gospels), Bible
maps, handout map; RPC p. 113
Doctrinal
Points:
Jesus
is real: He was born in Bethlehem, conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit in Nazareth
and died and rose in Jerusalem. Great things come from “small” people/places.
Direct
Aim
- To name and identify: the land of Israel (the dot on the globe), Nazareth,
Bethlehem, Jerusalem and their
significance in the life of Jesus.
Indirect
Aims:
- To lay the foundation for introducing
the mystery of the incarnation
- To name the globe and identify
its land and water
- To show the relationship between
where we live and where Jesus lived
- To prepare for further geography
work
- To introduce symbols of flame,
cross and star
- To prepare for Advent and the infancy
narratives
- To introduce Mary and Joseph
- To re-announce the paschal mystery
(Jerusalem is the place Jesus died and rose)
- To assist the child with control
of movement in preparation for prayer
- To implicitly touch on the incarnation
theme: God does great things in small vessels
Materials:
- Globe – Land
and water (Montessori globe) or any small globe with all land textured with art sand, and all water painted blue, with red
dot to mark land of Israel
- Topographical map
- green – vegetation
- blue – water
- tan – desert
- three holes – three cities
- mountains and valleys (quite exaggerated)
- three flags (made of matchstick
or small dowel) topped by symbols as follows:
- red flame for Nazareth
- yellow star for Bethlehem
- yellow cross for Jerusalem
- basket (to hold the flags)
- Control chart of land of Israel (the same size as the topographical
map and labeled “The Land of Israel at the time of Jesus”)
- Regions colored to match puzzle
and labeled
- Orange
– Judea
- Brown – Galilee
- Green – Samaria
- Yellow—Perea
- Blue – water
- Cities, with symbols, labeled
- Waterways (Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Galilee, Jordan River, Dead
Sea) labeled
- Blank 8 ½ x 11” maps for
pasting and/or coloring (cities located with dots)
- Laminated 8 ½ x 11” control
chart – colored with symbols pasted on
- Box with construction paper star,
cross and flames (for pasting)
- Crayons to match control colors
- Pasting sets
Presentation:
Introduction
-- Globe
“We are going
to look at something new today. Something called geography. Geography shows us the place where Jesus really lived and walked
on this earth.”
[If not familiar
with globe, perhaps sing “He’s got the whole world in His hands”]
“Do you know
what this is?
It is a model of
the earth, called a globe
It has two different
colors:
Blue – water
Tan – land
Would you like to
feel it?
Since coming to
Atrium we have talked a lot about Jesus. [Turn globe to locate red dot]
This is where Jesus
walked on earth (when He was alive).
This is where we
keep our globe – you can use it any time you like.
Topographical
Map
“This is another
kind of a map -- a topographical map – it shows us the way the earth looks from an airplane
What do you see?
Bumps – hills and mountains
Blue – water
Tan – desert -- dry,
sandy places
Three places on
this map were very important in Jesus’ life:
1.
Up in the north, the town of Nazareth
is where an angel came to Mary and told her that she would be Jesus’ mother. [Insert red flag – flame of the Holy
Spirit]
2.
Mary and Joseph had to travel for a census up in the hill country—the town of Bethlehem is where Jesus was born [Insert yellow star flag]
3.
Here is Jerusalem. This is the most important place for everyone in Israel. Jerusalem is where
Jesus died and rose again. [Insert yellow cross]
Prayerful
Response
“There is
a song we can sing about the land. Let’s sing “This is Holy Ground. God
is in this place and so it is holy”
Restoration
of the Material
Model
for children putting the flags back into the basket, renaming each town as you remove the flag, and put the basket on the
shelf.
“This is your
work, you can explore it anytime.”
Children’s
Work
- Touch/look at the globe
- Put flags on map
- Paste or color map of his or her
own
- Individual art work – Jesus
walked on earth
Children’s
Responses:
