Matthew 5:13-20
Children's Activity
Object:
Teachers: Jesus made a great compliment to people when he
called them "the salt of the earth." In the ancient world salt
was highly valued. Salt was connected with purity. In fact,
Jewish sacrifices were made in salt.
Introduce your students to salt this week. You may chose one or a selection of the following suggestions. First, bring salt to class. Allow each student to feel the salt and let it run through their fingers. Then let them taste a small portion. You might let them mix a small portion in a glass of water. Have them taste the unsalted water first, then the salted water. Get their reactions. As a variation, try a salt of the earth taste test, similar to soft drink taste tests. Pour samples of salted water and unsalted water into small containers. Have students taste each to guess which is which. It should be obvious!
Next, mix a salt-flour dough. This is non-edible. Let the students help. You need 1 cup of flour, one-half cup of salt and one-fourth cup of water. Mix the ingredients together. Roll it out into a desired thickness. Have students make shapes with the dough. Suggest that students form the dough into a human shape. Let them create a person who is the salt of the earth. The finished dough may be hardened by letting it sit to dry for one to two days. Offer students small buttons or other decorative pieces to add to their persons. The persons may be colored by using felt-tipped markers.
Parents: Try this salt experiment at home this week. Add salt to a glass of water. Set the solution outdoors or in your freezer next to a glass of water without salt. Guess which will freeze first. The glass without salt will freeze first. The reason is that a heavy concentration of salt means that a lower temperature is needed for ice to form.
Introduce your students to salt this week. You may chose one or a selection of the following suggestions. First, bring salt to class. Allow each student to feel the salt and let it run through their fingers. Then let them taste a small portion. You might let them mix a small portion in a glass of water. Have them taste the unsalted water first, then the salted water. Get their reactions. As a variation, try a salt of the earth taste test, similar to soft drink taste tests. Pour samples of salted water and unsalted water into small containers. Have students taste each to guess which is which. It should be obvious!
Next, mix a salt-flour dough. This is non-edible. Let the students help. You need 1 cup of flour, one-half cup of salt and one-fourth cup of water. Mix the ingredients together. Roll it out into a desired thickness. Have students make shapes with the dough. Suggest that students form the dough into a human shape. Let them create a person who is the salt of the earth. The finished dough may be hardened by letting it sit to dry for one to two days. Offer students small buttons or other decorative pieces to add to their persons. The persons may be colored by using felt-tipped markers.
Parents: Try this salt experiment at home this week. Add salt to a glass of water. Set the solution outdoors or in your freezer next to a glass of water without salt. Guess which will freeze first. The glass without salt will freeze first. The reason is that a heavy concentration of salt means that a lower temperature is needed for ice to form.
