Lesson Plan- Jonah and the Whale (1st grade on up)

Jonah and the Whale

Objectives: The students will be able to
- retell the story Jonah and the Whale
- explain the importance of obedience to God and the need to serve Him each day
- explain that actions have consequences
- identify who never stops loving us
- discuss that everyone makes mistakes and we can be forgiven
- locate Nineveh on a map



Review:
Prayer, questions and vocabulary words from last week’s lesson



Vocabulary Words: (Write the bold words on the board and discuss with class)

whale- a large marine mammal the breathes through a blowhole on the top of its head
sorry- feeling bad about something you have done
Nineveh- an "exceeding great city", as it is called in the Book of Jonah, was on the eastern bank of the Tigris in ancient Assyria, across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, Iraq (show students this on a map and have students find it on a map)



Plan:

Read story: "Jonah and the Whale" and then ask questions

Tell the story using childrensministryvault.com- Memorable Balloon Story of Jonah and the Fish



Activities:

Introduce activity: Who was swallowed by a whale?

childrensermons.com- Jonah and the Great Fish object lesson

dltk-bible.com- Jonah lesson with memory verse, teacher's guide, puzzles, take home sheet, coloring pages, crafts and activities, etc.

sermons4kids.com- sermons4kids.com- Jonah Runs From God object lesson with group activities, coloring, puzzle, quiz, worship bulletin

calvarycurriculum.com- 3 lessons with memory verses, circle the correct words, true or false, fill in the blanks, puzzles, and color sheets.

- Jonah and the Great Fish
- Nineveh Repents
- Jonah is Humbled by God

sundayschoolsources.com- Jonah lesson

missionarlington.org- Jonah lessons with activities



Crafts:

sermons4kids.com- Jonah Runs From God group activities (crafts)

homeschoolhelperonline.com- Jonah Bible Lapbook


Introduce craft: What swallowed Jonah? A whale.

Jonah in the Big Fish Puppet- Students make a very creative puppet to act out the story "Jonah and the Big Fish". (Crafts from your favorite Bible Stories by Kathy Ross, pages 36 & 37).

kidssundayschool.com- Jonah and the Big Fish
A whale of a craft that helps kids remember the story.

clclutheran.org- Lunch Bag Fish (page 2)

sundayschoolsources.com- Jonah the Disobedient Prophet Craft

Jonah Into the Whale Flip Game- A fun craft and game all rolled into one. (Crafts to make in the Fall by Kathy Ross, pages 26 & 27).

Jonah & the Big Fish- Bible Story Wheel (Bible Wheels to Make and Enjoy by Carmen Sorvillo, page 31 & 32.)



Games:

sermons4kids.com- Jonah Runs From God group activities (games)

Trust Trash (Jonah Learns To Obey God)- This game will help your kids discover why trusting God is important through the story of Jonah and the big fish. (The Encyclopedia of Bible Games for Children’s Ministry, page 65).

biblegamescentral.com- Big Gulp of Jonah


Introduce game: Do you think you know the story about Jonah? Let’s find out.

I am going to ask you questions (below) and if you answer correctly, you get to see if you can spit Jonah out on to dry land (demonstrate this by tossing Jonah onto a table that is a few feet away).

Use the whale from below and make a little Jonah out of a clothes pin and decorate. Put inside the whale.

daniellesplace.com- Jonah and the Whale Bean Bag Toss Game (scroll down to this)

thehilandhome.com- Water Whale Scoop


Jonah Questions:

1. What did God want Jonah to do? (He told Jonah to go to a city called Nineveh and tell the people who lived there about Him.)

2. Why didn’t Jonah want to go to Nineveh? (Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh because the people who lived there did not obey God.)

3. What did Jonah do? (Ran away and got on a ship.)

4. What happened when Jonah was on the ship? (A big storm started.)

5. What did the sailors do when the storm came up? (Everyone on the ship was scared that they were going to die and prayed to their gods for help.)

6. Where was Jonah when the storm came up? (He was fast asleep on the bottom of the ship.)

7. What did Jonah say when the sailors asked him to start praying? (I can’t pray to God. I’m running away from Him.)

8. What happened when Jonah was thrown over board? (The storm stopped.)

9. How many days was Jonah inside the fish? (Three days.)

10. Where did the whale spit Jonah out? (On dry land.)

11. What did Jonah do after the fish spit him out? (Went to Nineveh.)

12. What did he tell the people of Nineveh? (He told the people there that unless they told God they were sorry for being bad and began to do the right things, God would destroy their city in forty days.)

13. Did the people of Nineveh listen to Jonah? (Yes)

14. What did the king order the people to do? (To be sorry for their badness and pray to God.)

15. Was Jonah happy about that? (No, he wanted God to destroy Nineveh.)

16. Can anyone run away from God? (No)

17. Why? (Because God is everywhere.)

18. What does God want us to do when we do something wrong? (Say we are sorry and ask for forgiveness.)

19. What does God do when we are sorry and ask for forgiveness? (He forgives us.)



Snacks:

Introduce snack: What swallowed Jonah? A whale.

Make Jell-O Jigglers of fish/whale shapes and put a gummy shape person inside.



Puzzles, Mazes, Worksheets:

More 365 Activities for Kids (do any of the Jonah puzzles, mazes, dot-to-dot, spot the difference, etc. from July 16 - 22).

kidssundayschool.com- What Happened to Jonah? (dot-to-dot)

Swallowed by a Fish- Amazing Bible Mazes by Anita Reith Stohs

biblewise.com- Jonah and the Great Fish (maze)

dltk-bible.com- Jonah puzzles (anagrams, cryptogram, crossword, mazes, word-mining sheets, word searches)

Jonah Takes a Detour (find the hidden picture)- Hidden Pictures Explore Hidden Treasures in God’s Word: Grades 1 – 3 by Linda Standke, page 15.

biblewise.com- Jonah (word search)

akidsheart.com- Jonah and the Big Fish (word search)

gardenofpraise.com- Jonah (word search)

sermons4kids.com- Jonah Runs From God (word search)

biblepathwayadventures.com- Jonah and the Big Fish (word search)

gardenofpraise.com- Jonah (crossword)

akidsheart.com- Jonah and the Big Fish (crossword)

biblepathwayadventures.com- Jonah and the Big Fish (crossword)

gardenofpraise.com- Jonah (word scramble)

akidsheart.com- Jonah and the Whale (decode the words in the puzzle)

sermons4kids.com- Jonah Runs From God (decoder)

biblewise.com- A Book of Great Things
Can you find the great things that are in the following verses?

sermons4kids.com- Jonah Runs From God (fill in the blanks)

home-school.lovetoknow.com- Jonah and the Whale (fill in the blanks), scroll down to this

biblepathwayadventures.com- Jonah in Nineveh (matching)

biblepathwayadventures.com- Jonah (quiz)

calvarycurriculum.com- 3 Jonah lessons with memory verses, circle the correct words, true or false, fill in the blanks, puzzles, etc.

ccfingerlakes.org- Jonah Worksheet

static1.squarespace.com- Jonah Worksheet