There are so many beautiful stories throughout the children’s classes. As children grow, the way they engage with those stories can grow with them too. Bahá’í Grade 4 offers an opportunity to explore those stories more deeply, building on the learning and experiences of the earlier grades. Children bring with them stories, lessons, people and ideas they have already encountered, and Grade 4 gives them opportunities to look closely, make new connections and explore some of these ideas at a deeper level.
From the Age of Promise to the Age of Fulfillment
The Grade 4 lessons mark an important point in the children’s learning journey.
In the previous grades, children have been learning about some of the Divine Educators who have guided humanity throughout the ages. These Divine Educators prepared humanity for the coming of a supreme Manifestation of God who would establish peace and harmony on earth.
In Grade 4, the children’s attention turns from the age of promise to the long-awaited age of fulfillment and to the incomparable figure of Bahá’u’lláh, His life and His Mission.
It is a wonderful collection of stories to discover.
Children encounter stories connected with the life and Mission of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb and the early believers, along with teachings and events that help bring this period of history to life.
And, like the stories throughout the children’s classes, they are stories worth remembering.
Growing With the Stories
Grade 4 isn’t about leaving behind what children have already learned.
Instead, it builds on those foundations.
Children are already learning to listen carefully, remember, think, discuss and reflect in the earlier grades. As they grow, they can begin to use these abilities in increasingly meaningful ways.
They can look more closely at what they have read and begin to explore its meaning at a deeper level.
They can remember important details and connect them with other events and ideas they have encountered in previous grades — and with their own experiences in the Bahá’í community.
They can also explore the meaning of new words and ideas in a more deliberate way. Vocabulary begins to have a greater place in the learning, with children taking time to understand words they may not have focused on so closely before.
They can put events in order, make connections and think about why something happened.
And they can increasingly explain their own thoughts and reflect on what a story means to them.
The stories haven’t become less beautiful.
The children have simply grown, and they are ready to discover more within them.
Learning Through Stories
One of the things we love about children’s classes is the opportunity to learn through stories.
A story can introduce a person or event from history. It can help children explore a spiritual quality, give them something to discuss with one another, or remind them of something they have learned before. Sometimes, it can even help them recognise a connection with something they have experienced themselves.
Grade 4 gives children opportunities to spend a little more time with those details.
For example, they might be asked to remember something they have read, discover the meaning of a word, follow the sequence of events, find clues within a story, consider why something happened or reflect on what they have learned.
The aim isn’t simply to see whether a child can remember the “right answer”.
It is about helping them engage with the story.
Learning Can Still Be Active
Growing into deeper learning doesn’t mean that Grade 4 has to mean sitting still and filling in pages.
Children still benefit from opportunities to move, interact, create, observe and experience ideas in different ways.
Sometimes a demonstration or a simple activity can bring an idea to life. Sometimes a question leads to a lively discussion. Sometimes a story prompts a connection that no one expected.
The different ways children can engage with a lesson all have a place.
For JustusCrafting, this is part of the reason for developing Grade 4 resources that allow children to understand, interact with and experience their lessons in different ways.
Sixteen Lessons, Sixteen Opportunities to Discover
There are currently 16 lessons in Grade 4, each with its own stories, people, ideas and opportunities for exploration. You can explore the Grade 4 lessons on the JustusCrafting website.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be taking a closer look at each lesson.
Not simply by saying what the lesson is about, but by sharing a little glimpse of the stories themselves — an interesting detail, a person the children encounter, an idea worth thinking about, or perhaps an activity that gives children another way to explore the story.
Because sometimes a small detail in a story can stay with us.
And sometimes, as children grow, they are ready to discover something in a familiar story that they hadn’t noticed before.
Grade 4 is a wonderful opportunity to slow down, look a little closer and grow deeper into the stories.