Saint Alban Lesson One: You Will Be My Witnesses A lesson for KS3 students to examine what it means to be a martyr. Students will think about authentic Christianity through the life of St Alban, the first English martyr. Lesson Plan
P2 INTRODUCTION Introduction You Will Be My Witnesses. Acts 1:8 What does it mean to be a martyr? Is being a martyr relevant for faith today? Can we be martyrs without dying for our faith? This is the first of a unit of two lessons looking at what it means to be a martyr. The two lessons together explore the life and witness of St Alban and his relevance to our lives today. Students will be challenged to think about what it means to be a martyr in the truest sense of the word. They will be encouraged to recognise that martyr actually means witness and they will be encouraged to reflect on the reality that witnessing may involve sacrifice. The ultimate sacrifice is martyrdom and students will be asked to consider its meaning by looking at the life and death of St Alban. They will have the opportunity to reflect on their own reactions to such a powerful witness and examine what being a martyr means in depth. They will be encouraged, through the questions, to consider their own faith and what their faith means to them. The ultimate aim is for the lives of the saints to be celebrated and to allow them to consider their example, to really think about their own lives, calling and vocation as young Catholics.
P3 OVERVIEW Overview Learning Objective: Students will learn about what it means to be a martyr through the life of St Alban. Success Criteria: I will know what a martyr is and be able to answer the question What Does It Mean to Be a Martyr?. I will be able to explain why martyrs are witnesses and how the life of St Alban shows this. Resource Materials: Teacher Script PowerPoint Presentation Exercise Books and/or scrap paper Appendix 1 (differentiated Key Words sheets) to be copied one per student Appendix 2 ( What Does It Mean to Be a Martyr? story) to be copied 1 per student Appendix 3a (Character Cards) 2 copies per group of 4-6 Appendix 3b (blank Character Cards) Appendix 4 (St Alban s Story) to be copied 1 per student PowerPoint (PPT) will have the links to clips on it Dice (one per group) Reflective Music (suggestion: I Giorni by Ludovico Einaudi) Overview & Timings: 1. Introduction and Starter 4 mins 2. Preparation for Film 5 mins 3. Film 17 mins 4. Character Cards Game 10 mins 5. Discussion and Plenary 2 mins 6. Reflection and Response 6 mins 7. Homework Task 1 min Total 45 mins
P4 TEACHER SCRIPT Teacher Script Introduction & Starter Slides 1-6 Timing: 4 mins Slide 1 Play Reflective Music so the image and music is on as pupils enter the room. Appendix 1 (1a LOWER, 1b MIDDLE, 1c UPPER) and Appendix 2 should be on the desk at the start of the lesson. Welcome to today s lesson. The title of the lesson, You shall be My Witnesses is from the Bible (Acts 1:8). We will be learning about what it means to be a martyr and looking at the first British martyr, St Alban. The original meaning of the word martyr is witness. Jesus said these words to his apostles after the resurrection, and just before he ascended into heaven. You shall be My Witnesses, and it was followed with a promise to send the Holy Spirit to help them. These words are addressed to us too and those who have gone before us. We can look at the lives of the martyrs and learn from them. Slide 2 Continue to play music. Ask the pupils to write down the most important 9 things/ people in their lives. This should be done on scrap paper or at the back of their books. The idea is to get them to focus on what is really important in life. This will lead to love, self-giving and sacrifice as the basis of what it means to be a martyr. Slide 3 Gather students back together after a short time. Ask them to consider the questions in silence and then give them a minute to discuss in pairs.
P5 TEACHER SCRIPT Look at your list and consider the most important things/people. Is there anything or anyone you would give your life for? Do you think there were any objects that might be important in the short term but aren t in the grand scheme of things? Slide 4 Read Vicky s Story to the class or you can share something from your own life if comfortable doing so. Here you can see a real life example of the sacrifices people make for their loved ones all over the world every day. How is Vicky able to make such a sacrifice? Why doesn t she give up? Some of you here may have to make sacrifices every day for your loved ones. When you do, remember God is with you and you can ask him for help. Slide 5 This links the Introduction so far and the Film and theme of the lesson. We have seen that love enables us to make sacrifices for others. We will see if the film how St Alban puts this into practice and had to make the ultimate sacrifice. As Christians we need to be reminded that love is about giving. We can often think of things and people in terms of what we get from them, but that is not what Jesus did. He taught us the true meaning of love. Slide 6 Read out the success criteria for the lesson.
P6 TEACHER SCRIPT Preparation for Film Slides 7-8 Timing: 5 mins Slide 7 Give out copies of Appendix 2. I d like everyone to look at the sheet I ve just given out. We are going to read some possible definitions for what it means to be a martyr. As you head them being read, decide which one(s) you think define what it means to be a martyr. Ask students to read the definitions aloud. Having read them together, I d now like you to complete your responses to the questions. (Higher ability pupils should definitely be able to answer questions 3 and 4 too and refer to these later during the Character Cards activity.) Slide 8 Read through in preparation for the Film. The Film Slide 9 Timing: 17 mins Slide 9 Play Film: In the Footsteps of St Alban Part 1. Character Cards Slides 10-11 Timing: 10 mins Slide 10 Give out two copies of Appendix 3a to each group - the following instructions are for your reference in explaining the activity to students.
P7 TEACHER SCRIPT A. Put class into groups of between 4 and 6 students. B. Give each group 2 copies of the 6 character cards from the film (either pre- cut out or they could cut them out). C. Students take at least one card each and write a word or sentence about the character all cards need to be filled in. D. Give each group one dice each. E. Place the 12 character cards face down in centre of group. F. First student picks up a card and rolls the dice. G. There are 6 questions on Slide 11 for each character. Whatever number s/he rolls on the dice is the question s/ he answers. E.g. I pick Mr Miller and roll a 4 so answer question 4 about Mr Miller (LEAVE SLIDE 11 SHOWING THROUGHOUT ACTIVITY) Each group should have the following in front of them: a dice; 12 Character Cards. You are going to be doing this activity as a group. First, you take one card and choose a word or statement to describe the character and write it in the space below the picture. You can use your key words to help. When you have done this put all the cards face down in the middle. The first player should pick up a card, roll the dice and then look to the board to see what question they should answer about that person. Slide 11 Questions for rolling the dice are on this screen. Explain that repetition of characters doesn t matter as each person will have different things to say and different questions will be asked each time. 1. What role did he/she play in outcome of the story? 2. Did this person act as a witness if yes, how? 3. Was this person persecuted or a persecutor? 4. Why do you think this person acted in this way and what would you have done in this person s position? 5. Do you identify with this person? Why? Why not? In what ways?
P8 TEACHER SCRIPT 6. Does this person or this person s situation remind you of anyone past or present? NOTE: See below for how this may be differentiated. LOWER MIDDLE UPPER As above and students can use their key word sheets to help them fill in the space on the character cards. Encourage these students to use Appendix 2 What Does It Mean to Be a Martyr? when discussing the questions above Same as middle except students can also refer to their responses to questions 3 & 4 Take brief feedback on their responses to the questions to conclude the activity. Discussion & Plenary Slide 12 Timing: 2 mins Slide 12 I d like you to think about what you have learned so far. Why do you think the title of this lesson is You Shall be My Witnesses. (Acts 1:9)? Has your view of martyrdom changed? How does St Alban s life demonstrate what it means to be a martyr? Reflection & Response Slide 13-14 Timing: 6 mins Slide 13 Give out copies of Appendix 3b to each student. Play Reflective Music. You ve all now been given 3 empty Character Cards and I d like you to write the name of three people who have helped you on your faith journey and witnessed to you.
P9 TEACHER SCRIPT Write their name and underneath explain how they have helped you on your faith journey. So, let s have a time of silence so that you can reflect on the people who have influenced you up until now. Allow for short period of silence with reflective music playing. Take time now to thank God for the people you have named. When you are next at Mass or in Church, maybe take time to light a candle and pray for those people. Slide 14 First quote from Acts will appear Invite individual students to read the following statements aloud. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Help us Lord to love you more even if it means making sacrifices. Help us to be more generous to others. Give us a willingness to face whatever persecution we may endure. Help us to love as you love.
P10 TEACHER SCRIPT May we give and not count the cost and become witnesses to the truth. Give us the courage to go against the tide (Pope Francis) if we have to. Homework Task Slide 15 Timing: 1 min Slide 15 Hand out copies of Appendix 4 to all students Your homework tonight is to read this account of St Alban s story from the view of the priest he saved. The priest came to be called Amphibalus (which means cloak in Latin) as the original name is disputed. Thank you for your time and attention in our next lesson, we will be looking further at the life of St Alban and what we can learn from him.
P11 CREDITS Credits This resource has been produced by: department & Ten Ten Resources Written by: Marie Fahy Designed by: Kathy Kielty www.kathykielty.com department helps people of all ages to discover their vocation by providing resources, insights, stories, testimonies, retreats and pastoral support. For more information, visit: www.rcdow.org.uk/vocations Ten Ten Resources is an online resource for Catholic schools and parishes throughout the UK. It is part of Ten Ten, a charitable organisation dedicated to bringing matters of faith to a wider public sphere by inspiring audiences to examine aspects of spirituality and life through drama and storytelling. www.tentenresources.co.uk