When morning dawned on the third day, there was thunder, lightning, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud blast of a horn. All the people in the camp shook with fear. 17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord had come down on it with lightning. The smoke went up like the smoke of a hot furnace, while the whole mountain shook violently. 19 The blasts of the horn grew louder and louder. Moses would speak, and God would answer him with thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain. The Lord called Moses to come up to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. Exodus 19: 16-20 CEB
Our classes are learning about Moses, the Exodus and the Ten Commandments this fall. This past Sunday we combined classes because of the long weekend and so I needed an activity that a wide variety of ages could do. First, we reviewed the Ten Commandments using this finger play. Then I asked the students to visualize the passage above as I read. We used paper strips to create our own visions of what it might have looked like when the people encountered God at Mt Sinai. There was a lot of room for creativity – one student even made a 3D mountain. I think they turned out pretty well!
In the past, I have used this 3d paper strip technique in kindergarten classrooms for wind and waves. Changing the color of the strips from blues and grays (waves) to reds, oranges and grey (smoke and fire) gave the project a whole new feel. The silver mirrored lightning bolts were made from a scrap we had in the bin. I love it when “old” ideas get transformed into something new!
Christine V Hides 
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