Ethos Education

The Fabelmans: How Jesus used parables to teach and disciple

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Learning Objectives:

  • Understanding of how stories are used to teach as well as entertain
  • Comprehension of the Bible as a source of stories that teach about the kingdom of God
  • Awareness of Jesus’ use of parables
  • Consideration of how Jesus’ parables impact modern ethical thought

Learning Outcomes:

  • Consider how stories engage hearers and readers through plot and character development
  • Consider the importance of storytelling through discussion of a quote
  • Examine the use of story in creating safe spaces to play out consequences and learn truth by analysing a clip from The Fabelmans
  • Learn that stories sometimes contain morals, or teaching points, and that the Bible contains stories with meanings
  • Explore the purpose of parables via a Bible Project video
  • Consolidate learning by finding and matching parables to their plot descriptions
  • Synthesise learning by creating a storyboard version of the parable of The Good Samaritan

Supporting Values Education:

The values of mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith means learning to listen to the perspectives and viewpoints of those with different opinions. This lesson invites students to practice listening and learning through story and imagination.

STARTER:

Give students a copy of the Guess the Tale handout. Working in pairs, students must try to guess the stories from the plot descriptions. If you think the class will struggle with this, you could also do it as a whole group activity.

The correct answers are:

A boy discovers he is a wizard when he receives an invitation to attend wizarding school. He learns to play a game called quidditch, makes friends with a boy called Ron and a girl called Hermione and goes in search of a hidden stone. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
A brother and sister overhear their father and stepmother planning to leave them in the forest. To find their way home, they lay a trail of white pebbles. When it happens a second time they leave a trail of breadcrumbs, but this time the birds eat them. Lost in the woods, they find a house made of sweets occupied by a very mean old lady. Hansel and Gretel
A mermaid exchanges her voice for a pair of legs. It doesn’t end well (depending on the version you read!) The Little Mermaid
A sleepy girl follows a white rabbit down a hole. She eats and drinks magic potions that make her grow and shrink, and she meets a duchess, a queen, a mad hatter, a grinning cat and various other odd characters. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
A poor boy finds a golden ticket in a bar of chocolate and goes to visit a factory with his grandpa. After a series of strange events, the boy is chosen to inherit the factory. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A sixteen-year-old girl living in an enclosed district has to sneak through a hole in a fence to go hunting using a bow. When her sister is chosen by ballot to participate in a set of games, she volunteers to take her place. The Hunger Games
A boy is travelling by train to Berlin during the summer holidays when his money is stolen. The boy, his cousin and a group of friends chase the suspect across town. Emil and the Detectives
A group of boys are stranded on an island. They become increasingly wild and tribal. Lord of the Flies
A mean old man is visited at night by the ghost of his old business partner and three spirits representing the past, present and future. As a result he becomes the most generous giver of Christmas gifts. A Christmas Carol
Three children meet a boy who can fly but doesn’t have a shadow. He takes them to a land where they meet lots of motherless boys, a fairy, a man with a hook for a hand and a crocodile. Peter Pan
A group of friends reluctantly set off to the Lonely Mountain to retrieve stolen treasure from a dragon. The Hobbit
A rather glum bear goes in search of honey. Winnie the Pooh
After an unfortunate incident with a rose, a girl moves to live in a castle with a creature who hides himself from her, so she only ever hears his voice. Over time, the pair fall in love and the creature is transformed into a handsome prince. Beauty and the Beast
Four children venture through some coats to discover a land where it’s always winter and never Christmas. They encounter a white witch and powerful lion plus a number of talking animals. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
A man is attacked when walking down a dangerous road. Two passers-by ignore him, but a third, his enemy, stops and helps him. The Good Samaritan

Discuss the final question on the handout. What favourite stories did the class come up with, and why did they choose them? What did they like about the plot (what happens) or the characters (who is involved)?

Display or read the following quote from Philip Pullman:

`After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.`
― Philip Pullman

Ask the class if they agree with Philip Pullman. Why/why not?

Explain that during today’s lesson, students will consider how, throughout history, human beings have told stories to entertain and to teach. Playing and using imagination is a way for people to make sense of the world.

MAIN ACTIVITIES:

Introduce the clip from The Fabelmans (Universal, 2022, certificate 12). Click here to buy the DVD online.

  • Start time: 00.00.44
  • End time: 00.10.56
  • Clip length: 10 minutes 12 seconds

If you have limited time, you could show from 00:06:16, the point where Sam and his father are setting up the train set. (Clip length: 4 minutes 40 seconds).

The clip begins with Sam (Mateo Zoryan), his mother (Michelle Williams) and father (Paul Dano) going to the cinema to see the movie The Greatest Show On Earth. This is Sam’s first trip to the cinema and he is captivated by a scene involving a train crash, but silent on the journey home. Later he asks for a train set for Hanukkah. When Hanukkah comes, family watches as Sam and his father set up the train set. He is clearly delighted with his gift. Later that night, Sam sneaks out of bed to run the train set. He sets up a toy car with a figure in it on the track, and crashes the train into it. He jumps up, knocking over a shelving unit and waking his parents. After confiscating the train set, they take Sam back to bed, and he comments that he ‘needs to see them crash’. His father cannot understand why he would want to do this, but later, as his mother ponders how playing music makes her feel and realises that Sam needs to see the train crash so that he will feel safe. If he can control the scenario he cannot be afraid of it. The next day she tells Sammy that together they will film the train crashing, but that the movie they make will be their secret.

Explain to students that the film is written and directed by Steven Spielberg, and is inspired by his own childhood. Spielberg is one of the greatest filmmakers alive. His movies include Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Jaws and many more. Steven Spielberg is one of the world’s greatest storytellers.

Ask students to think about what Sam was trying to do when he crashed the train set. What skills was he learning? (Storytelling, playing, film-making). Why was it important to him to replay the scene he’d seen in the movie? (It helped him control the result, it helped him understand how the film was made, it helped him feel safe).

What made his mother realise that he was trying to feel safe by re-telling the story? (She said that she experienced the same feeling when playing a piece of music).

Explain that stories can be told because they entertain us – they make us laugh or cry, or they provide some escape from the worries and concerns of real life. Some stories also have a ‘moral’ or another meaning. For example, the story of Hansel and Gretel might contain a warning about not trusting strangers (especially those who offer sweets!). The story of The Little Mermaid might have a moral about the danger of changing yourself to fit people’s expectations.

In the film clip, playing out the train crash helped Sam to remember that he was safe. Playing out a story can help make sense of life for the listener and the teller.

Show The Bible Project video The Parables of Jesus (https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/how-to-read-the-bible-the-parables-of-jesus/) (five minutes 32 seconds) which introduces the idea of parables as short stories with meanings.

Give students copies of the Parables handout. The correct matches are:

Statements Bible verse
A man sows four lots of seed – some on a path, some amongst rocks, some amongst thorns, some on good soil. The only seed to bear fruit is the one on good soil. Matthew 13:1-23
A tiny seed becomes a giant tree. Mark 4:30-34
A landowner gives the same wage to everyone who works for him, even to those who come late in the day. Matthew 20:1-16
A widow fights for justice and eventually gets it. Luke 18:1-8
A man is attacked when walking down a dangerous road. Two passers-by ignore him, but a third, his enemy, stops and helps him. Luke 10:29-37
Some tenant farmers kill the vineyard owner’s servants and son in order to steal the grapes, but end up being killed by the farmer. Matthew 21: 33-45
A man sells everything he owns to buy a precious pearl. Matthew 13:45-46
A rich person stores up wealth in order to live a good life, but then has his life cut short. Luke 12:13-21
One son refuses to help his father but later changes his mind. Another son promises to help but doesn’t. Matthew 21:28-32
A shepherd leaves 99 sheep behind to go and find one that is lost. Matthew 18:10-14
A woman loses a coin then holds a party for her neighbours to celebrate finding it. Luke 15:8-10
Two brothers fight over their inheritance and their father welcomes them both. Luke 15:11-32

SUMMARY AND ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING:

Remind students that stories can entertain and teach. For this exercise, they have been given the role of being Steven Spielberg’s scriptwriting assistant. He has given them a parable and asked them to turn it into a movie scene set in the present day. To do this they will have to create a storyboard with five episodes.

Distribute the Samaritan Storyboarding handout to students, reminding them that they need to read the story carefully, divide it into five episodes then create their storyboard with as much detail of character, scenery and dialogue as they can.

Ensure that they also complete the final activity – describe the moral of the story in one or two sentences.

YOU WILL NEED:

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