Conveying a Challenging Message
                                               By:  Lexi Roode & Katie Heerspink

Project at a Glance :

This project is designed for  7th grade Bible students to share their faith while considering what type of communication methods/techniques may be needed to reach a particular audience. Middle School Bible -- 4 weeks. 

​Driving Question:

How can we communicate a challenging message to an audience?             

Standards & Skills:

• Religion, Communication, and Planning and Presentation skills.

Team / Culture Building:

• Build Culture by playing “Telephone” with various group sizes. Switch up language types (poetry/ Shakespeare, text vernacular) to see the impact it has on the game.
• Conduct Strengths/Weakness survey and Multiple Intelligence Surveys

Entry Event:

• Have an advertiser speak about the importance of visuals and carefully worded messages.​

Stakeholders:

• Self, peers, family members, elderly, non-believers, teammates, neighbors, homeless, believers in other faiths

Empathy Building:

• ​Students will create Empathy maps
• Values Cards protocol

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

• Word association--what do you think of when you see this picture?  Include modern-day and Biblical images (i.e., razor, linen belt, phone, flies and bees, grapevine, emojis, etc.)
• Vocabulary instruction
• Biblical prophets and kings information--direct teaching, student readings, and skits
• Interview experts both locally and virtually from the Holy Land
• Read commentaries, Study Bible notes, and other sources on cultural background

Incubation:

• Think Pair Share protocol
• 100 Ideas/Idea Quota--use Jamboard to generate ideas
• Rule of Thirds
• Categorize/group into similarities using the Saturate and Group protocol.​​

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Solution Building:

•  Dot Voting to narrow 100 ideas

• Based on Dot Voting students will use the NUF Test to determine their best solution.

Critique and Revision: 

•  Storyboard solution ideas
• Charrette protocol with teammates:  “Where is the Love?” to pitch ideas, teammates “Wizard of Oz” (like/wonder with “because because because” feedback) it.
• Tuning Protocol or Critical Friends​

Authentic Audience:

• Nursing home residents, homeless shelter clients, peer group, community members, interfaith community organization, jail inmates, public school students, and/or resettled refugees

Final Presentation:

• Final presentation may include a poster, technology, 3-D model, or skit.
• Final solutions must have a visual component, each person must speak, total presentations at least 5 min in length.

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback:

• Individual reflection:  exit pass/ticket with written comments (could be done online through Google Forms or similar, if needed)and journal reflection writing
• Group reflection: talking as a team before and after practice and actual presentations.
• Audience reflection:  Rubric feedback and question and answer with audience following presentations. ​

Click here for the  teacher's Journey through PBL on Padlet.

Meet the Educator:
Katie Heerspink teaches 7th grade Religion and Math at Hudsonville Christian Middle School.  Lexi Roode teaches 7th grade Language Arts and Religion at Hudsonville Christian Middle School.    

     "I am excited to have kids take ownership of their learning!" ~ K. Heerspink

     "Doing this PBL  helped students make personal, relevant connections to the Bible messages and to plan, prepare and present their own faith message in a way that most have never done before."  - L. Roode