March 8 - Leader Guide
The Ten Commandments
Grades 4-5
Scripture Reference: Exodus 20:1–17
Lesson Focus: Do your best to be your best.
Arrival Activity
Spark Resources
• Activity Pages
Supplies
• Paper
• Pencils
If some kids arrive earlier than others and you need a lesson-based activity, make copies
of the downloadable Activity Page and set them out for kids to try.
As kids gather in the room, pass out paper and pencils. To get us started, we'll reflect
on and write about a particular rule in life or society, and why you think it is
important to follow. Some rules keep us safe, some rules protect what we own, and
some rules make sure that confusion and panic don't break out! Pick any rule you
like, and write about it. As you do this, think about the challenges nations have
faced when they are trying to lead and govern their people.
Opening Conversation
We'll be talking about rules that ensure order and peace in communities. We'll also
be talking about what we do to be the best we can be.
Ask kids to consider the image of a car crash. Then invite them to talk about what a world
without rules would look like. Encourage kids to be imaginative, descriptive, and specific.
Take your class to Large Group.
Opening Prayer
Spark Resources
• None
Supplies
• None
Grades 5–6, The Ten Commandments Leader Guide. Spark™ Sunday School ©2009 Augsburg Fortress.
All rights reserved. May be reproduced for local use provided every copy carries this notice.
Invite kids to repeat the lines of this prayer after you. Be sure to say the numbers.
Dear God:
1. You free your people.
2. Your people need guidance.
3. Often we are afraid.
4. And often we ignore you.
5. We've complained and wailed.
6. We've succumbed to sin.
7. You watch over us.
8. You do not abandon us.
9. You call us to follow your teachings.
10. Open our hearts to the way you want us to live.
Amen.
Open the Bible
The Ten Commandments Story
Spark Resources
• Spark Bibles
Supplies
• None
Pass out Spark Bibles. Ask the kids if they know where the book of Exodus is. Then invite
them to turn to Exodus 20:1–17 on pages 81–82, the story of God delivering the Ten
Commandments to Moses. Go around the group, with each kid reading one
commandment as opposed to one verse. Divide the verses as follows: 1–6; 7; 8–11; 12;
13; 14; 15; 16; 17. Observant kids may notice that there are nine reading assignments
and ten commandments. Verse 17 contains both the ninth and tenth commandments:
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; and you shall not covet your neighbor's wife,
or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
As the passages are read, encourage readers to stand for added emphasis. They may
also read each commandment in small clusters of two or three, depending on class size.
The laws that God gives here are very specific, aren't they? They tell his people
exactly what they must and must not do. Why do you think there are so many
"shall nots" here? Invite kids to share their responses. What are the two
commandments that don't have "shall not" in them?(Remember the Sabbath day,
Honor your father and mother)Why do you suppose they are worded that way,
without "shall not" language? Encourage responses. What are the two shortest but
most powerful commandments?(You shall not murder, You shall not steal)
Dress for Success
Kids play a game to identify commandments as they remember: "Do your best to be your
best."
Grades 5–6, The Ten Commandments Leader Guide. Spark™ Sunday School ©2009 Augsburg Fortress.
All rights reserved. May be reproduced for local use provided every copy carries this notice.
Spark Resources:
• Spark Bibles
Supplies: provided
• Desk service bell
• Index cards
• Pen
• Colorful dot stickers
Set-up: You’ll need to prep these statements ahead of time.
Create two index cards per kid. On each index card, write a situation that is clearly
associated with the Ten Commandment, such as?
•
•
•
•
•
You take money out of someone's purse or wallet without asking.
You skip church to stay home and watch football on television.
Your parents are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.
You constantly show up at your friend's house just to play with his/her game console.
You spread a rumor about an unpopular kid at school.
Instructions:
Gather the kids. Invite them to read TEN COMMANDMENTS in the margin on page 81 of
their Spark Bibles. Why did God give us the Ten Commandments? (to teach us how to
get along with God and others.) What happens to relationships when God's
commandments are broken? Allow kids to respond. God knows we need help to treat
God and others with love and respect, so God gave us these rules. God wants you
to do your best to be your best. Let's play a game about the Ten Commandments.
1. Divide kids into two teams.
2. Ask for a volunteer from each team to be the mascot for his/her team.
3. Invite the mascots to come forward. Place the dot stickers near the mascots.
4. Direct the members of both teams (other than mascots) to line up with the bell placed
between the first players of each team.
5. I will read a card. When you think you know which commandment applies to the
situation on the card, ring the bell.
6. Whoever rings the bell first will get a chance to give an answer. If you give the
wrong answer, the other team will get a chance.
7. The team that answers correctly gets to put a dot sticker on their mascot’s face.
In the end, the team whose mascot is wearing the most dots will be the winner!
God wants us to have loving relationships with God and others. Do your best to be
your best.
If you have less time . . .
Invite the class to guess the commandments together, without teams and mascots.
If you have more time . . .
Grades 5–6, The Ten Commandments Leader Guide. Spark™ Sunday School ©2009 Augsburg Fortress.
All rights reserved. May be reproduced for local use provided every copy carries this notice.
Ask each kid to write a situation on the back of a card. Shuffle cards and teams and play
again.
Why Stop at Ten?
Supplies
• Pencils
So what kinds of new commandments did you come up with? Encourage responses
to the following questions. Did you ever wonder why God stopped at ten? Why do
you think so? So do we have a class favorite for a new commandment? Explain
why you like it. Have kids nominate new commandments and vote on them.
High Up Mount Sinai
Supplies
• None
Then ask them to skim over Exodus 19 on pages 80–81 in the Spark Bible, with particular
attention to 19:9–20.
Mount Sinai is a revered and mysterious place in the Bible. God speaks to Moses
through thunder, fire, and smoke. Receiving new laws from God is serious
business. How does this locale differ spiritually from other important spots in the
Exodus story, such as the Red Sea or the desert? Invite kids to share their responses.
If God is at Mount Sinai, why is it not the Promised Land? (Moses goes alone,
without his people, and must return from there.)
Remember It
Supplies
• Pencils
Honor your father (Stretch both arms up and to the left.)
and your mother, (Stretch both arms up and to the right.)
so that your days may be long (Stretch both arms up and apart.)
in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. (Lower arms with palms out.)
What's a Sabbath, Anyway?
Supplies
• Pencils
Okay, so how would you make your Sabbath a more restful, worshipful
experience? Invite kids to share their responses. We live in a very fast-paced world.
Nothing seems to slow down much anymore. A generation ago, many stores
would shut down on Sundays. Now, you can shop whenever you want, at a mall or
Grades 5–6, The Ten Commandments Leader Guide. Spark™ Sunday School ©2009 Augsburg Fortress.
All rights reserved. May be reproduced for local use provided every copy carries this notice.
online. What does God have to say about rest in Exodus 20:8–11? (Even God rested
after making the world in six days.) Why does a Sabbath (resting from our busy lives)
help us to be our best? Encourage responses.
Closing Conversation
Supplies
• None
While "you shall not" sounds scary, imagine how much scarier it is to do the "shall
not" thing. Going to prison isn't much fun, nor is getting caught deceiving your
neighbors or swiping their stuff. The rules in the Bible protect us and draw us
closer to God by giving us a road map for our behavior. How do they inspire you to
be your best?
Closing Prayer
Supplies
• None
Invite kids to repeat the lines of this prayer after you. Be sure to count the numbers down
as you pray.
Dear God:
10. We shall not fear.
9. We shall not back down.
8. We shall not cease to seek you.
7. We will remember your promises.
6. We thank you for your commandments.
5. We thank you for days of rest.
4. We thank you for our parents,
3. And that you keep us safe
2. In an imperfect world.
1. We have found the perfect 10.
Guide us as we strive to do our best to be our best.
Amen.
Grades 5–6, The Ten Commandments Leader Guide. Spark™ Sunday School ©2009 Augsburg Fortress.
All rights reserved. May be reproduced for local use provided every copy carries this notice.
Grades 5-6, The Ten Commandments Activity Page. Spark™ Sunday School © 2010 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. May be reproduced for local use only.
Moses delivered God’s rules to the Israelites. We all grow up with plenty of rules. Can you think of some
rules you live by in your classroom? At home? With your friends? Write them on the tablets below!
Classroom Commandments
Art Extra
The Ten Commandments
Grades 5–6
Antique Plaques
Kids create "Antique Plaques" to remind them: "Do your best to be your best."
Spark Resources:
• None
Supplies:
• Newspaper
• Cardboard, 9" x 12" (23 cm x 30 cm), one per kid
• Markers
• Quick-drying white glue
• Metallic acrylic paint
• Paintbrushes
• Black shoe polish
• Rags
Set-up:
Cover the worktable with newspaper.
Instructions:
Do you like following rules? Allow all answers. There are lots of rules in the
world—and they all help to keep us happy and safe—but the most important rules
come from God. God had rules for us: the Ten Commandments! God's
commandments tell us something important: "Do your best to be your best."
Today, we're going to work with some unusual supplies to create some artwork to
help you remember this special lesson.
1. Show kids the supplies and provide each of them with a cardboard piece. Invite them to
draw a simple picture of a scene or object from today's story.
2. Once kids finish drawing, show them how to trace over the lines with the glue.
3. When kids have covered all the lines of their drawings with glue, invite them to use the
glue to add wavy lines, dots, or squiggles around the main design.
4. Set the cardboard pieces aside until all of the glue lines and squiggles are dry.
5. Direct kids to paint over their glue designs with metallic acrylic paint.
6. Set aside again to dry. (Acrylic paint dries quickly.)
7. Once the paint is dry, invite kids to put black shoe polish on a rag/piece of cloth, then
rub over their entire design to create "antique" art.
Your antique plaques are beautiful! I hope you have a place to hang yours.
Whenever you see your artwork you can remember: "Do your best to be your
Grades 5–6, The Ten Commandments Art Extra. Spark™ Sunday School ©2009 Augsburg Fortress. All
rights reserved. May be reproduced for local use provided every copy carries this notice.
best."
If you have less time . . .
Ask kids to draw Ten Commandments tablets on thin cardboard, then use markers to
decorate.
If you have more time . . .
Using the antiquing technique, work together as a class to create a large version of the
Ten Commandment tablets. Hang the finished product in a hallway or on a bulletin board
for all to see.
Grades 5–6, The Ten Commandments Art Extra. Spark™ Sunday School ©2009 Augsburg Fortress. All
rights reserved. May be reproduced for local use provided every copy carries this notice.