During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
If you or someone from your congregation plays an instrument that could be brought into class for this lesson, bring it in and play it during the parts of this lesson that include music. If you are using music from a phone or CD, play the music during each activity in this lesson that requires music.
You turned my loud crying into dancing. You removed my clothes of sadness and dressed me with joy.
Psalm 30:11
The Bible mentions dancing many times. When it is associated with God, this type of movement is always seen as an expression of joy. When we think of God, we can be so happy we feel like dancing! This can be a form of worship.
Read the verse above again. Only God can turn sadness into such overwhelming joy!
Think of a time when your worries or sad thoughts were replaced by joy. Maybe this happened as you were reading something from the Bible, listening to a sermon in church, or during a conversation you had with a friend.
You may not have danced, but think about the joy you felt. This is what God desires for you—to turn the sadness and difficulties in this world into joy and dancing!
Encourage families to talk about a dance of celebration that is common or traditional in your community. Ask them to discuss whether this dance tells a story and why it is important to the community.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet the children as they enter class. Ask the children to clap to the rhythm as they sing a song. This could be a song they learned in the last lesson or a song most everyone will know.
The last time we met, you learned about music and some ways to show emotion through music. Today, instead of singing and making music, we will learn how to respond to music with our movements. You started to do this when you clapped the rhythm of the song as you entered our space.
We will sing the same song again. This time, you will move to the music. You may move your feet, your arms, or your body. Just find the rhythm of the music and move to it. Before we begin, let’s spread out a bit so that you will not bump into those around you as you move.
Give the children a moment to adjust to their spaces. Then sing a song and move with them to the rhythm.
Use the simple rhythm you created for the previous lesson to use as a signal for the children to stop and listen. Then ask the children to repeat it. If you need to, clap the rhythm more than 1 time until the children are able to repeat it.
Wow! That was a lot of fun moving to the music! Did you know that movement to music can be used to show your emotions? Let’s learn more about this.
Ask the children to sit for the lesson.
The last time we met, we heard the story about David and his people traveling with the ark of the covenant. David and his soldiers were traveling to Jerusalem after winning a battle and decided to bring the ark with them. As his men travelled with the ark, there was great celebration in the streets! This is what the Bible says:
Read this verse directly from your Bible.
David was celebrating with all his might in front of the Lord. So was the whole community of Israel. All of them were playing castanets, harps, lyres, tambourines, rattles and cymbals.
2 Samuel 6:5
Optional: If you are using The Action Bible, show the children the picture at the bottom of page 318 and the picture at the top of page 319.
The people were playing instruments in the streets because they were honoured and excited to bring the ark to Jerusalem. They stopped for 3 months while another man kept the ark. Later, David was so excited to have the ark back that he began to dance. This is what the Bible tells us happened:
David was wearing a sacred linen apron. He danced in front of the Lord with all his might. He did it while he was bringing up the ark of the Lord. The whole community of Israel helped him bring it up. They shouted. They blew trumpets.
2 Samuel 6:14–15
Can you imagine what this would be like? Can you imagine the leader of your area or country dancing with joy? This is exactly what the Bible tells us David did. The ark was brought to Jerusalem, where the people celebrated more and worshipped God.
In this story, we see that movement to music can be a form of worship. David was so honoured and excited to bring the ark to his city that he danced while others played music and made other joyful sounds. Movement to music is a form of expression that helps us to show many emotions, including joy!
Different movements can show different emotions. In a moment, we will listen to songs that show anger and sadness. As we listen, we will move to the songs to show our emotions. First, let’s move to a slow, sad song.
Play a slow, steady rhythm. If you know a sad song, you may use this song. Otherwise, you can use the song:
Allow the children to respond to the song with slow movements. Remind them that they want to use movements to show sadness.
Moving slowly and steadily can show sadness. What other emotions can we show with movement?
Answers may include any emotion, including: anger, joy, excitement, and sadness.
Movement can be used to show any emotions we feel. When people become angry, their bodies often move with their anger. They may stomp their feet or put their hands on their hips.
How does your heart beat when you feel angry?
Allow 1–2 children to respond.
My heart beats very fast! Sometimes, it almost feels as if my heartbeat is taking over my entire body! If we were to put an angry heartbeat to music, it would have a very quick tempo with a rhythm that has hard and soft beats. For example, to play this type of rhythm on a drum, I would hit it very soft the first time, then hit it hard on the second beat. I may have 1 hard and 2 soft beats or 1 soft and 2 hard, but this pattern of hard and soft beats would continue throughout the song.
Using our movements, let’s create a rhythm with hard and soft beats to show anger. I will play this rhythm for you as you figure out some movements that might show anger. Sometimes, being angry might make you feel sad as well. If you find that some of your movements are similar to your sad movements, that is okay.
Play a hard and soft beat rhythm on a drum, pat it on a hard surface, or clap it. Encourage the children to move to the rhythm as they show anger. If you have someone playing an instrument, she may choose to play a song that follows your rhythm as long as it uses some dissonance or a minor key to help show an angry mood.
The Bible tells us that there are times to feel different emotions and to do different things. Listen to what this verse says:
There is a time to weep. And there’s a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad. And there’s a time to dance.
Ecclesiastes 3:4
This Bible verse gives a couple of opposites.
To weep means to cry. According to this verse, what is the opposite of weeping or crying?
According to this verse, what is the opposite of being sad?
That is correct. Dancing shows joy in the Bible, so dancing is the opposite of being sad. Moving to music is something you can do when you are feeling joyful or want to be joyful.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, give each child a stick. Allow them to cut or tear out their coloured strips. Then help the children place them on the sticks. They may use their colourful sticks when they move joyfully in the following activity.
Let’s turn our sad and angry movements into joyful dancing! In a moment, I will play a song that is sad and angry. Then the music will change into a joyful song! As you listen to the music, I want you to think of a time when you were very sad or angry. Maybe you are sad or angry about something that is happening in your life right now.
Use your movements to show your emotions. As I move into the happy song, let go of your sadness and anger. Allow yourself to be joyful in the knowledge that God has created a time for your sadness, but He has also designed you to come into a time of great joy! Celebrate God’s love for you as your movements turn into joyful dancing!
Begin by playing or singing a sad song. Make sure to include a rhythm that is hard then soft and that increases in tempo to allow the children to show anger. End by playing or singing at least 2 minutes of a joyful song. This could be a hymn or another song you might use to praise God. Dance with the children if you want, or just keep the music going and observe the children’s movements. Praise God with the children for His joy and His love for us.
God created you with so many emotions! He also created you knowing that you would need a time to express each of the emotions you feel. Remember as you go through this week that you can stop and praise God with dancing when you are in a safe place to do this. Our memory verse this week reminds us we can praise God with dancing and joyful music!
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
Let Israel be filled with joy because God is their Maker. Let the people of Zion be glad because he is their King. Let them praise his name with dancing. Let them make music to him with harps and tambourines.
Psalm 149:2–3
Read the verses with the following motions. Repeat these with the children 3 times.
Let Israel be filled with joy because God is their Maker—Clap and stomp the rhythm of these words as you read them. Remember your clap and stomp pattern for the other lessons in this unit.
End class by saying this blessing, based on 2 Samuel 6:14–15 and Ecclesiastes 3:4, over the children.
Blessing: May you work through the sad and difficult times in your life. May you allow God to work in your life to turn your sadness into dancing. May you celebrate your joy through movement just as David did.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song, if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
