Download the September 2008 Supplemental Instructional Materials
Student Activities
These activities can be used in learning centers, for special projects, or with the entire class.
Early Education
Elementary
Middle School/High School
Chapel Ideas
Early Education
Circle Time:
- Show the children a picture of the Chinese flag. The Chinese flag has a red background. Have students point to red things in the room. The stars on the flag are yellow. Ask the children to identify yellow things in the room.
- Use a world map to show the children where you live, and then show the children where China is located. Take a piece of yarn and make a straight line between the two countries.
- Have students count the number of countries that touch the yarn.
Art Center:
The Miao people raise ducks, chickens, pigs, sheep, cows, and horses. Have the students color pictures of these animals. Ask students to pray that the Miao people will ask Jesus to be their Savior.
Dramatic Play/Home Living Center:
Talk about the mountains in China where the Miao people live. The mountains are very high, and they don’t have good roads. In order to reach the Miao people, you would have to walk several days. Have the children pretend to walk and climb the mountains. Talk about flowers, plants, trees, and animals you might see along the way. Then pretend to arrive in a Miao village. Let several children tell what they would say to the Miao people about Jesus.
Library Center:
Bring in library books that show pictures of life in the remote mountain villages of China. As you look at the pictures, let several students pray for the Miao people.
Math Center:
Most of the Miao people live in six provinces of China. Have children count to six. Have them make groups of six items using blocks, pencils, or other items.
Science Center:
Read the paragraph for September 19 on the prayer calendar for information on the Miao “hanging houses.” Set out play dough, a small piece of cardboard, and several drinking straws. Make a hill with the play dough. Cut two short pieces from one straw; insert these short pieces into the slope of the play-dough hill. Stand up two longer straws on the table. If necessary, cut them so that the tops are even with the tops of the short straws. (Use small pieces of play dough to support the longer straws.) Balance the piece of cardboard on the four straws to make a “hanging house.” Let the children practice making Miao houses. Pray that the Miao people will learn about Jesus.
Sensory Center:
Set out play dough and let the children make mountains. Put the mountains close together. Ask children to pray for the Miao people living in the mountains of China.
Snack Time:
Bring in cooked rice and several pairs of chopsticks. Tell the children that the Miao people eat rice at almost every meal. Explain that the Miao people eat food with chopsticks instead of forks. Show the children how to use chopsticks; let them practice picking up rice with chopsticks.
Writing Center:
Have the children practice making the uppercase M. Tell them that the M stands for the word Miao.
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Elementary
Art:
Show your class a picture of the flag of China. Have the students draw a Chinese flag as a reminder to pray for the Miao people in China.
Computers:
If you have Internet access in the classroom, let students go to simkids.org, and then ask them to click on Asia. This is an excellent missions website about China.
Language Arts:
- Have the students sit in a large circle to play this game. Say, “I’m going to be a missionary to the Miao people, and I’m going to take …” Complete the sentence with an item that begins with the letter a (for example, an atlas). The first student repeats your sentence and adds something that begins with the letter b:“I’m going to be a missionary to the Miao people, and I’m going to take an atlas and a Bible.” Have the students continue working their way through the alphabet.
- Have students write a story using this prompt: “I was visiting a Miao village. Suddenly the hanging house I was in began to shake.”
Literature:
Bring in library books about the land, the animals, the food, and the people of the southern mountain area of China. Have students describe what it would be like to live in that region.
Math:
Most of the Miao people live in six provinces of China. Have students practice counting, multiplying, and dividing by six.
Missions:
Check with your church’s denomination or look online for information about current Christian ministries to the Miao people in China. Ask students to pray for those ministries.
Physical Education:
Play Prayer Ball. Take an inflatable globe ball and toss it to a student. Look at the country under the student’s right thumb. Let the student pray for the people in that country. If the thumb is on water, the student can pray for the people in the country closest to the thumb. If the student is hesitant to pray, lead the student in a simple repeat-the-phrases prayer. Whenever a student ends a prayer with the word amen, have all the other students move their hands down to their sides and stomp their right foot as they say the word yes together. Explain that they are agreeing with the person’s prayer by doing these motions. Then let the student who chose the country toss the ball to another student. Continue until all the students have had a turn to pick a country and to pray.
Science:
Have students look on the Internet for information about natural disasters that may happen in the southern mountain region of China.
Social Studies:
Let the students compare and contrast their lives with the lives of Miao children in China. (Practice Venn diagrams.) Pray that the Miao children will hear about Jesus and will want to give their lives to Him.
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Middle School/High School
Art:
Have students research the animals and the plants of the mountainous southern region of China. Have them display pictures of these plants and animals in the classroom.
Comparative Worldviews:
Have students research the animism and the shamans of the southern region of China. Talk about why people believe in the powers of shamans. Have students compile a list of prayer points; then ask several students to pray for the shamans and for the people who believe in the shamans’ powers.
Foreign Language:
Have students search the Internet for information about some of the main languages spoken by the Miao people. Also have students look for Bible verses in Miao languages.
History:
Ask students to study the history of the Miao people and to explain why the Miao people live in the mountain region of southern China.
Language Arts:
Miao myths describe the creation of the world, the birth of the Miao people, their battles, and their migrations. A typical Miao creation myth is the ancient Maple Song. According to this myth, an immortal tree named White Maple gave birth to Butterfly Mama. After Butterfly Mama married a water bubble, she laid 12 eggs. A treetop changed into a big bird, and the bird hatched the eggs over a period of 12 years. From these eggs came a thunder god, a dragon, a buffalo, a tiger, an elephant, a snake, a centipede, a boy named Jiangyang, and his sister. Thus, Butterfly Mama was the mother of gods, animals, and human beings. (Adapted from World Cultures.)
- Let students conduct an Internet search for other Miao myths.
- Let students draw or act out a Miao myth.
- Talk about why some cultures develop myths.
Missions:
- Have students research Christian ministries that reach the Miao people. Students can compile information about these ministries, summarize the information in a one-page format, and print and distribute the handouts to student prayer groups. Two excellent resources are Joshua Project and 24-7 Prayer.
- Have students visit these websites to learn more about the Miao people:
People Profile
OMF International
Social Studies:
- Have students make a map of China that shows the six provinces where most of the Miao people live.
- Have students research the cultural differences between the Miao people and other people groups in China.
Science:
Ask students to research the climate, the vegetation, the animals, and the terrain of the southern mountains of China.
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Chapel Ideas
Use these activity ideas for a missions chapel program this month.
Begin by asking students, What is an unreached people group? (Accept all answers.)
To introduce the concept of unreached, paraphrase the following:
I’m going to pretend that I want a glass that is way in the back of tall cupboard. I know the glass is there, but I can’t even see it. The thought crosses my mind that I should just forget about that glass and take a glass that is easy to reach. But I start to think about how special that glass is to me. My grandmother gave it to me. She picked it out especially for me, and it reminds me of her love for me. So I decide to find a way to get that seemingly unreachable glass. What are some ways I might try to reach the glass? (Let students suggest answers.)
I have a choice. I can walk away from the hard-to-reach glass or I can try to reach it. What do you think I should do? (Allow students to call out responses such as “Go for it” or “Stay safe and don’t get it.”)
I really love that glass, and I’m ready to do anything to get it and use it again. (Pretend to climb on a chair, balance precariously, and then reach for the glass. You may want to have a very unusual glass to hold up and show the students.)
Yahoo! I’m ready to have a wonderful drink from this glass. The glass seemed unreachable until I decided that I was going to reach it.
Did you know that there are 2.72 billion people in the world who have something in common with my glass? No, they aren’t made of glass, but it is difficult to reach them with the gospel; therefore, they have very few opportunities to become followers of Jesus. Many of these unreached people aren’t able to have a Bible, hear a pastor preach a sermon, read Christian literature, or hear about how Jesus died for their sins. Less than 5 percent of the people in these groups are Christians.
This month the verse from our prayer calendar says, “Pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith” (2 Thessalonians 3:1–2). Imagine each unreached people group calling out this verse to us. Let’s make this school year the year in which we learn how to pray for unreached people. We will pray that these groups become reached people groups! (Ask for volunteers to pray.)
This month the unreached people group we are focusing on is the Miao (mee-OW) people of China. Less than 5 percent of Miao people may be Christians. (If you have enough students attending your chapel program, illustrate this point by asking 100 students to stand to represent the Miao people. If you don’t have 100 students, ask all students to stand; then explain how many more people would be needed in addition to your group in order to have 100 people.) Have everyone except 2 to 4 students sit down. Ask these students to come to the front. Ask the students questions such as these: How does it feel to be the only ones out of all the Miao people to ask Jesus to be your Savior? Do you want the rest of your people to know Jesus also? How do you think they will come to know about Jesus? Then choose another student and ask that student these questions: Have you ever heard that Jesus wants to save you from your sins and give you eternal life? Would you like someone to come and tell you about Jesus?
Ask students to pray that Christians around the world will find it unacceptable that anyone on earth remains unreached.
Have a concert of prayer for the Miao people:
Just like a musical concert—all voices or instruments at one time joining together on the same song—a concert of prayer allows many people to pray at once about the same topic. You might want to form small prayer groups with a different student in each group praying about each topic, or you can have all the students lift their voices to God at the same time about each topic. Here are some prayer topics:
- That Miao children will hear the gospel and desire to follow Jesus
- That the Miao people will see their need for a Savior and worship God
- That the Miao people will have an opportunity to learn about forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ
- That Christians will spread God’s love to the Miao people
- That missionaries will tell the salvation message to the Miao people
Try these other ideas:
- Have parent volunteers make Chinese foods for a snack.
- Invite someone who has visited China or who has been a missionary there to speak and show photos in class or in chapel.
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