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What If Everyone Served?

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Lesson Plan

What If Everyone Served?

Students will be able to define responsibility as serving others and understand how their actions contribute to the well-being of their community, aligning with Biblical teachings on serving one another.

Understanding responsibility is crucial for children as it helps them become thoughtful and contributing members of their families, classrooms, and communities. This lesson connects personal actions to a larger impact, encouraging empathy and proactive service, reflecting a core Biblical principle.

Audience

2nd Grade

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Through a story, discussion, and interactive activity, students will explore responsibility.

Materials

What If Everybody Did That?" by Ellen Javernick, What If Everyone Served? Slide Deck, Serving Starts with Me Worksheet, and Cool Down: My Responsibility Pledge

Prep

Teacher Preparation

15 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: Think About It!

5 minutes

  • Display Slide 1.
  • Ask students: "What does it mean to be responsible?" (Allow for quick sharing or think-pair-share).
  • Introduce the idea that responsibility isn't just about doing what you're told, but about how our actions affect others, like serving them.

Step 2

Read Aloud & Discuss: What If Everybody Did That?

8 minutes

  • Read aloud "What If Everybody Did That?" by Ellen Javernick.
  • Pause at key moments to ask questions like: "What happened because one person made that choice?" or "How would things be different if everyone acted responsibly here?"
  • After reading, display Slide 2.
  • Facilitate a short discussion connecting the book to the idea of serving others and Biblical teachings (e.g., Galatians 5:13 - "...serve one another humbly in love."). Ask: "How can our small actions of responsibility be a way of serving those around us?"

Step 3

Biblical Examples of Responsibility

4 minutes

  • Display Slide 3.
  • Discuss the Biblical examples provided (Noah, Joseph, Mary) and how their actions demonstrated responsibility and service to others.

Step 4

Activity: Serving Starts with Me

8 minutes

  • Distribute the Serving Starts with Me Worksheet.
  • Display Slide 4.
  • Explain the activity: Students will draw or write one way they can be responsible at home, at school, and in their community. Emphasize how each of these actions is a way to serve others.
  • Circulate to provide support and encourage thoughtful responses.

Step 5

Share & Reflect

3 minutes

  • Invite a few students to share one of their ideas from the Serving Starts with Me Worksheet.
  • Briefly revisit the idea of responsibility as service and its importance.

Step 6

Cool Down: My Responsibility Pledge

2 minutes

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Slide Deck

What If Everyone Served?

What does it mean to be responsible?
How do our actions affect others?

Welcome students and introduce the lesson. Start by prompting them to think about responsibility.

Big Impact from Small Choices

Think about the book: "What If Everybody Did That?"

  • What did you notice about people's choices?
  • How do our choices affect our friends, family, and community?
  • The Bible says to "serve one another humbly in love." (Galatians 5:13)
  • How can being responsible be a way of serving others?

After reading the book, connect its themes to serving others and Biblical principles like Galatians 5:13. Encourage discussion on how small responsible actions are a form of service.

Bible Heroes Show Responsibility!

Even in the Bible, people showed responsibility by serving!

  • Noah: Built the ark as God asked, taking care of his family and animals.
  • Joseph: Took care of his family and helped save many people during a famine.
  • Mary: Was responsible for Jesus, loving and caring for him.

Introduce a few simple Biblical examples of responsibility that connect to serving others. Discuss how these figures showed responsibility and how it served their communities or families.

Serving Starts With Me!

Let's think about how YOU can be a responsible server!

  • At Home: What's one responsible thing you can do?
  • At School: What's one responsible thing you can do?
  • In Your Community: What's one responsible thing you can do to help others?

Explain the 'Serving Starts with Me' activity. Guide students to think about different areas of their lives (home, school, community) and how they can show responsibility and service.

My Responsibility Pledge

One way I will show responsibility this week is...

(This is your promise to be a responsible server!)

Introduce the Cool Down activity as an exit ticket. Emphasize making a personal commitment to responsibility.

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Worksheet

Serving Starts with Me!

Instructions: Draw or write one way you can be responsible in each area. Remember, being responsible is a way of serving others!

At Home

How can you be responsible and help your family?












At School

How can you be responsible and help your classmates and teachers?












In My Community

How can you be responsible and help people in your neighborhood or town?












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Cool Down

My Responsibility Pledge

Instructions: Think about what you learned today. What is ONE thing you will do this week to show responsibility and serve others?

I promise to show responsibility this week by:











Why is this important?






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