He Sent His Song: Moving Boxes

I taped together two poster boards (Poster boards usually come in 22 x 28 sizes. I taped the 28 long sides together so that the combined poster board now measures 44 x 28.) On the poster board I glued 16 colored paper boxes that measure 9 x 61/2.) I printed up the following phrases on a half sheet of paper each. (I chose one color for the questions, and one color for the answers.)

1. Tell the World
2. Of Love and Tenderness
3. Show the World
4. The pathway
5. Tell the World
6. Of Sacrifice, Of Death
7. A Newborn Babe
8. With Peace and Holiness
9. To Walk with Men
10. On Earth, that We May Know
11. To Die for Us
12. And Rise with Living Breath
13. does the Father ask?
14. do the scriptures say?
15. Have Faith, Have Hope, Live Like His Son
16. Help Others on Their Way

I also print out the 3 phrases: How? What? He Sent His Son and put those up on the poster board at the top (and above the last row).

At the front of the room, I display the poster board with the 16 boxes. Around the sides of that poster board or around the room, I put up the 16 different half sheets with the above words (one phrase per sheet)… although they are all mixed up because I want the children to put them in order.

Explain to the children: I brought some of the words of the song we are going to sing, but they seem to have gotten all mixed up. Please help me put them in the boxes where they go as I sing the song. I will tap a person on the shoulder. He or she comes up to the front, and puts one of the word sheets in the box where it goes on the grid (according to the words of the song.)

Sing the song and tap a child on the shoulder. Keep singing and tapping children on the shoulder to come up and put the words in order. Tell the children after you have sung the song twice through that you are going to check the words that are already up. Sing the song and point to the different boxes as they come in the song. Children will probably raise their hands at that point in the presentation to put some words in the boxes (because they will have discovered it), so go ahead and tap them on the shoulder, even as you continue singing and coming back up to motioning to the different boxes in the order as you sing. Keep singing and having children put the words up until all of the 16 word sheets are in their proper place.

Tell the children you will sing all of the words that are NOT on the Grid of Boxes, but THEY sing all the words that are in the boxes. Sing the song, taking turns who will sing which phrase of the song.

Bringing order to the words of the song, then singing aloud only certain words (making the other words only heard in their heads) is a very strong way to learn the words of a song. And it’s a challenge!