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.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
Psalm 28:7
Communication is important in every area of life. When we talk with others at a deep level, we find that our relationships grow closer. Sometimes, it can be difficult to communicate with others at a deep level. We may not feel close enough to share our thoughts or feelings. We may not feel it would be safe to share.
It is always safe to share what you think with God. He loves you. He wants to hear your struggles, your fears, your hopes, your dreams. Think about one of your deepest hopes or dreams. Have you ever thought about sharing it with God? If you feel you have no words to share this hope, try using music. Use music to tell Him all that is in your heart and mind. He is your strength and shield. Your heart can trust in Him!
Let families know that this week their children are learning that music helps them communicate. Encourage families to create family songs that tell how important each person in the family is.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet your children with a friendly smile. Ask them if they used songs this past week to help them remember things. Let 2–3 children share about their experiences.
We have been learning about music for the past few weeks. We learned that music can help us express our feelings and remember things. Today we will learn about another way music can help us. First, let’s play a game called Talk-a-Lot.
Tell the children to find pairs and stand back-to-back. Explain that when you say, “Go,” the children will turn around and face each other. The taller child in each pair will then talk for 30 seconds about anything he wants to. He can talk about things such as something he knows how to do, a Bible story, a favourite sport, or a subject in school.
Say “Go” and have the children turn around and begin to talk. After 30 seconds, tell them to stop. When you say “Go” the other child in the pair will talk for 30 seconds about whatever she wants to. After 30 seconds, have them stop and sit down. They will stay with their partners.
Being able to communicate well with others is a very important skill. The main way we communicate is through talking, as you just did.
What are some of the things you talked about?
Allow 3–4 children to share.
Most of you talked about basic, factual things. Communicating at this level is easy for most of us. Today we will learn about different levels of communication and how music can help us communicate deep things that are harder to talk about.
We can think of communication in 4 levels. Let’s learn about each level.
It is often harder to talk about emotions than things. Fortunately, talking is not the only way we can communicate. As we have learned over the last few weeks, music can help us to express deep things that may be harder to talk about.
Optional: If you are using the Student Pages, the children can use them to write examples of the 4 levels of communication.
Music is a special God-given way we can communicate from the heart. When we worship God, we tell God how we feel about Him. Worship is deep, Level 4 communication between God and us. Listen to this song of worship from the Bible. Listen carefully because I will ask you about the psalm after I read it.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100
Now I will read some statements about the writer of Psalm 100. After I read each one, stand if you think this is true and sit if you think it is false.
What level of communication do you think this song uses?
It is Level 4 communication about thoughts and feelings from the heart.
Music can help us communicate our feelings to God, but it can also help us communicate to other people as well. Have you ever heard someone sing a love song? People write love songs
to communicate deep feelings that might be hard to say to another person. Listen to each of these verses and tell me what deep feeling this writer was communicating:
You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.
Song of Songs 4:7
What deep emotion was the writer communicating?
Arise, Lord, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice.
Psalm 7:6
What deep emotion was the writer communicating?
What level of communication were these writers using?
Level 4: Emotions.
Music can help you communicate deep feelings, but it can also help you improve your communication in other ways. Music can help make your listening and attention skills better. Listen to these verses:
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:19-20
What is 1 thing you can immediately remember from this song?
God’s love endures forever.
To be good communicators, we need to be good listeners as well as good talkers. When you listen to songs, sing, or play music on an instrument, your listening skills improve. Let’s practice improving our listening skills now.
Clap a simple rhythm and have the children repeat it. Clap it again, adding more claps at the end. Have the children repeat it again. Continue several times, adding to the rhythm each time.
Music can also help us learn to take turns. That is very important in communication because we need to listen when others are talking. Let’s do a simple game about taking turns while we sing.
Tell the children that they will sing the verses from Psalm 136. When you point to them, they will repeat, “His love endures forever.” Try to sing your lines, and encourage the children to sing their line together when you point to them.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. (Point to children.) Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. (Point to children.) Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. (Point to children.)
Psalm 136:1–3
You did a great job taking turns in our communication of this song.
Over the past few weeks, we have learned about 3 things music can help us do.
What 3 things can music help us do?
Express emotion, remember things, and communicate.
Have the children get into groups of 3.
Communicating using music can be fun! I will tell each group one of the ways music helps us. Each group will create a song to teach that idea to everyone else. You will have to work together quickly, so be sure to talk and listen to each other. Your song can be serious or funny, fast or slow. It must teach us the idea you are given.
Divide the children into 3 groups. Give each group one of the ways music can help us: expressing emotions, remembering things, and communicating. Remind the children that songs may include more than just words and a melody. They can clap a rhythm or add vocal sounds, such as “oooooo” or “bop, de, bop,” to make their songs more interesting and fun.
Give the children about 5 minutes to create their songs. Then have each group perform their song for the whole class. Clap for each group.
Close class by speaking this blessing from Psalm 28:7 over the children.
Blessing: May you know that the Lord is your strength and shield and joy. He wants you to trust Him with all that you want to communicate from your heart to Him.
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.
