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The Good Shepherd
Catholic Primary School
“I am the Good Shepherd; I know my own and my own know me”. John 10:14"
Branch 3 Galilee to Jerusalem
Year 3 will be learning about the significance of the visit of the Magi and the deeper meanings of the gifts they bring, helping them understand what these gifts reveal about Jesus. They will explore what the kingdom of God is and what it is not, gaining insight through Jesus’ miracles and parables that illustrate his compassion and the nature of the kingdom.
Pupils will examine two of Jesus’ parables and discuss how they reveal the values of God’s kingdom, eventually retelling a chosen parable to link its message with Jesus’ teachings. Additionally, they will learn the Our Father prayer and connect its meaning to building the kingdom of God.
Our Catholic Social Teaching principle will be Solidarity. Children will reflect on how St. Damien of Molokai demonstrated solidarity by living with and caring for people with leprosy, exploring how they, too, can live out this value. Throughout the unit, pupils will be encouraged to consider how people can contribute to building the kingdom of God and what that means for their own actions and choices.
Research Projects
Over the half-term break, the children researched the topic ‘Galilee to Jerusalem’ and shared their learning with their classmates. This sparked interesting discussions and helped deepen their understanding of the significance of Jesus' journey in preparation for this topic.
Visit of the Magi
This week, the children recalled the visit of the Magi in detail. They used role play to explore the emotions of the wise men at key moments in the story, such as their excitement when they first saw the star, their uncertainty and caution when they met King Herod, and their awe and joy when they finally arrived and saw the Messiah. Through this, the children were able to connect with the story and understand the significance of each part of the journey.
After discussing and acting out these moments, the children then wrote diary entries from the perspective of the Magi, retelling their journey, describing their thoughts and feelings along the way, and reflecting on the importance of their visit to the newborn King.
Celebration of the Word: Visit of the Magi
During Collective Worship, the children reflected on the visit of the Magi. They listened to Matthew 2:1-12, where the Magi present gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The children were encouraged to think about what gifts they could offer Jesus in their own lives and how they can follow His light through acts of kindness and love, just as the Magi did.
What is the Kingdom of God?
This week, the children have been learning about the Kingdom of God . We began by using a thinking frame to help the children distinguish between what the Kingdom of God is and what it is not. Through this activity, the children explored key concepts, such as how the Kingdom of God is not a place of power or wealth, but rather one of love, kindness, and compassion. They learned that the Kingdom of God begins within each of us, in our hearts, and then spreads outward through our actions and the way we treat others. The children discussed in detail what actions contribute to building the Kingdom of God.
This sparked thoughtful discussions about how their choices and behaviour can help bring God’s Kingdom to life in the world around them. To bring their understanding to life, the children created illustrations showing what the Kingdom of God is and isn’t. These illustrations helped the children visualise the Kingdom of God and understand how their actions can contribute to its growth
The Our Father
In this week's Celebration of the Word, the children reflected on the Our Father prayer and its message of trust, forgiveness, and love. They explored how they can live out these teachings by being kind, forgiving, and helping others, and thought about how to bring God’s kingdom to life in their daily actions. The children were encouraged to practice forgiveness, spreading peace and love, as they work together to build God’s kingdom. Children drew examples of how we can bring God's kingdom to life today. They concluded by praying the "Our Father" together.
Miracles
This week, the children have been learning about the miracles of Jesus and how they serve as a sign of God’s power and compassion. They focused on Matthew 9:1-8, where Jesus healed the paralysed man. The children discussed why Jesus forgave the man’s sins first before healing him and how this act revealed His divine power.
The children then created a storyboard to retell the important parts of the scripture, capturing key moments such as Jesus’ forgiveness, the healing, and the reaction of the people who witnessed it. We talked about how God’s power is greater than sickness or evil and how, through Jesus’ miracles, we see a glimpse of the Kingdom of God on earth.
Parables
In this lesson, the children learned that parables are simple stories Jesus used to teach important messages. They read two parables: The Parable of the Sower and The Parable of the Pearl. Both of these parables tell us what the Kingdom of God is like.
The Parable of the Sower showed how God’s word is like seed, and we must open our hearts to God to receive His message and let it grow in our lives. The Parable of the Pearl taught the children how valuable the Kingdom of God is, just like the merchant who sold everything to buy the precious pearl.
After discussing the two parables, the children used a thinking frame to compare them. This helped them understand how each parable teaches us about living in God’s Kingdom.
Building the Kingdom of God
Children worked in groups to create posters illustrating what the Kingdom of God is like. Using their knowledge of the two parables, The Parable of the Sower and The Parable of the Pearl, they portrayed the Kingdom as something valuable. The children also included ways to help build the Kingdom, reflecting on how we can live out God’s teachings in our daily lives. The children also added words from the Our Father to their posters, connecting the prayer to their vision of God’s Kingdom.
String of Solidarity
Our Catholic Social Teaching focus for this term is solidarity. The children explored what solidarity means and how we can live it out in our daily lives. They reflected on the words of the Our Father, particularly the word 'our', which reminds us that we are all one family, sharing the same Father.
To demonstrate this, children took part in the 'String of Solidarity' activity. Each child shared a way we can show solidarity - such as helping those in need, praying for others, or including everyone in their games - before passing the string to the next person. By the end, we had created a strong web, visually representing how we are all connected and can work together to build the kingdom of God.
St. Damien of Molokai
Year 3 learned about St. Damien of Molokai, a priest who dedicated his life to serving those with leprosy. They explored the many ways he showed solidarity, living out the Word of God by standing with those in need.
In groups, the children prepared freeze frames to represent different aspects of St. Damien’s life. The rest of the class had to guess how each freeze frame demonstrated his solidarity.
Here are the key moments they brought to life:
- Living among the lepers
- Caring for the sick
- Building a community
- Speaking up for their needs
- Calling the lepers 'we'
- Providing spiritual support
- Sacrificing his own health
Sharing Our Learning
Children shared their learning from Branch 3 in assembly. While listening to other year groups discuss their learning, they were able to make connections and understand how the journey from Galilee to Jerusalem progresses.