Greetings and Opening Prayer
First: divide the class into groups and distribute to each group a verse of the song Imagine by John Lennon.
Obs.: The verses can be written on sheets of paper, with coloured pens and larger font. They should be numbered (on the back) in music sequence for the performances.
Second: ask the children to talk to the members of their group about the part of the song that they received. The children can write down their understanding of the stanza at this time. It is important that the spiritist teacher orient and clarify any doubts that may arise from the groups.
Third: ask the children to make a circle for group presentations. As the children read their verse and give their explanation, the spiritist teacher should go reinforce / add more to the answers so that everyone can understand and relate it to the existence of the spirit. Glue the verses presented in the music sequence on a poster.
Aspects to be approached/reinforced in relation to the meaning of the song:
Above us only sky; I am immortal Spirit, created by God;
The Universe is the house of God;
We are never alone; we are all brothers and sisters created to love and for love;
God is with us, through our protector spirit and our spiritual friends;
I chose and was born in the right family, living for today, to learn from one another;
We live to progress;
Imagine all the people, living for today, respecting each other;
Imagine all the people living life in peace, forgiving and loving;
No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man; we can practice charity and progress here in Earth, at this moment in time.
Imagine all the people, sharing the entire world together in peace;
Conclude by saying we are spirits in progress and evolve through good attitudes. In order to improve we have to dedicate; to strive to change. Illustrate with the children’s help attitudes that we have and mean we are progressing spiritually: not to fight with our brothers, forgive, help with homework, be friendlier, be more loving, respect teachers, study more, talk with neighbours, look after animals and plants with more love, to participate in the spiritist education classes, to help people…
Fourth: explain that especially when we are adults and the year is beginning, we often set goals that will be conquered or worked through during the year. E.g. be able to forgive more, be friendlier, to better care for the animals, to do volunteer work... Later on, distribute small pieces of cardboard and ask them to draw a heart and write in it the sentences: I am a Spirit in evolution. This year my goal is... Invite the children to choose a positive attitude they want to develop/practice during the year. Ask them to keep the heart in an envelope (previously distributed and glued to the notebook for them to check by the end of the year if they had fulfilled/achieved their goal). During the year, the spiritist teacher may request them to look at the heart to remind themselves of their goal.
Fifth: distribute the complete lyrics of the song Imagine by John Lennon to the children. If the spiritist teacher has a CD with the music he/she can ask them to sing and/or listen to it.
Closing Prayer
Class suggested being suitable for: 2nd cycle (9 to 10 years old).
Translation: Carolina von Scharten, London, linked to BUSS - The British Union of Spiritist Societies.
