Jacob

JACOB

Objectives:

  1. Children should be able to identify and name “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”.
  2. Children should be able to tell the stories of Jacob and Esau, Jacob’s ladder, and Jacob and Rachel.
  3. Children should recognize “Israel” as the name God gave to Jacob, later to be the name of God’s chosen people.

Possible Lesson Plan:

  1. Open with prayer.
  2. Tell the story of Jacob either from the Beginner’s Bible, pages 58-70, the Children’s Bible Reader, pages 37-49, or the Read with Me Bible 56-73.

Add Jacob to your timeline.

  1. True/False questions:

                                     True                                                        False

                  Jacob and Esau were twins.                      Jacob and Esau looked alike.

                  Isaac was the father of Jacob.                   Rachel was the mother of Jacob.

                  Jacob saw angels on a ladder.                   Jacob saw elephants on a ladder.

                  God gave Jacob the name Israel.              God gave Jacob the name Superman.

  1. Add Jacob and Esau to your family tree. Then add Leah and Rachel to Jacob.

 

  1. Discuss blindness: Jacob was able to cheat Esau because Isaac was blind. Would it be hard to identify things without seeing? Put 5-10 small objects in a pillowcase (paperclip, pencil, etc.) Can the children identify them by feel?

 

  1. Discuss lying and cheating: Did Jacob lie to Isaac to cheat Esau from his inheritance? Was this right? Was Esau happy with Jacob or angry? Have we ever lied? Has anyone ever lied to us or about us? How do we feel? What happened when Jacob returned to the land of Esau? Retell the story of the Prodigal Son: How is this like the return of Jacob to his homeland?

 

  1. Talk about angels: What are they? Where else do we see them in the Bible?

Who is Gabriel? Explain that angels are messengers from God. Show the icon of the Annunciation. Talk about guardian angels. How do they help us?

  1. Make a Story Wheel: Divide a paper

plate into 5 sections. Have each child

draw a picture in each section: Jacob

with Isaac, Jacob and the ladder, Jacob

marrying Rachel, Jacob with the spotted

sheep, Jacob meeting Esau. Take a 2nd

plate and cut out 1 section. Put over the other plate and secure with a brad. Now

tell the stories, one by one, as you turn the

upper plate and reveal the pictures.

Close with prayer.