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The Flood (Epic of Gilgamesh Part 2)

8/24/2015

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Picture
Six days and seven nights came the wind and flood, the storm flattening the land. When the seventh day arrived, the storm was pounding, the flood was a war--struggling with itself like a woman writhing (in labor).
The sea calmed, fell still, the whirlwind (and) flood stopped up. I looked around all day long--quiet had set in and all the human beings had turned to clay!
The terrain was as flat as a roof.
I opened a vent and fresh air (daylight!) fell upon the side of my nose. I fell to my knees and sat weeping, tears streaming down the side of my nose.

Introductory Brainstorming and Discussion Questions
Brainstorm different kinds of storms. Examples: lightning, tornado, rain, typhoon, sand, etc.
What kind of storm is the scariest to you? Why?
How long was the longest storm you remember?
How did you feel when the storm was over?
Brainstorm some objects that are flat. Is a roof flat?

Matching Storm Vocabulary to Pictures
Vocabulary Pictures appear in this order: rain storm, wind storm, flood, hurricane or typhoon, lightning storm, ice storm, snow storm, sand or dust storm, and tornado or whirlwind. Display each picture and have students discuss what they think the vocabulary is. Teach and repeat the new words if necessary. 

Matching Game with Pairs of Vocabulary
In groups, have students play a matching game with vocabulary. You will need to make pairs of vocabulary cards that can be flipped over. 
If they make a match, they must make a sentence using the vocabulary word in order to keep the pair. The person with the most pairs collected wins. Allow students to play two or three times.

Wind                                                                       Lightning                                                           Nose
Wind                                                                       Lightning                                                           Nose
Flood                                                                      Typhoon                                                            Knees
Flood                                                                      Typhoon                                                            Knees
Whirlwind                                                              Rain                                                                   Roof
Whirlwind                                                              Rain                                                                   Roof
Sand storm                                                           Ice                                                                      Snow
Sand storm                                                           Ice                                                                      Snow

Antonym Matching
Day                                                                                         went
Wind                                                                                      stood                                                                                   
Arrived                                                                                  night
War                                                                                       laughing
Sat                                                                                         closed
Weeping                                                                               peace
Opened                                                                                calm

Listening Blank Fill
Six days and seven nights came the wind and _______, the storm flattening the land. When the seventh ______ arrived, the storm was pounding, the flood was ____ war--struggling with itself like a woman writhing (_____ labor).
The sea calmed, fell still, the whirlwind (and) flood __________ up. I looked around all day long--quiet ______ set in and all the human beings had _________ to clay!
The terrain was as flat as a _______.
I opened a vent and fresh air (daylight!) _______ upon the side of my nose. I fell _____ my knees and sat weeping, tears streaming down ______ side of my nose.

Word Bank Fill in the Blank
Six days and seven nights came the 1._______ and flood, the storm flattening the 2._______. When the seventh day arrived, the storm was pounding, the flood was a 3.______--struggling with itself like a woman writhing (in 4.________).
The sea calmed, fell still, the whirlwind (and) flood 5.__________ up. I looked around all day long--quiet had 6._______ in and all the human beings had turned to clay!
The terrain was as flat as a 7._______ .
I opened a vent and fresh air (daylight!) fell upon the side of my nose. I fell to my 8.________  and sat weeping,
tears streaming down the side of my 9._______.

Land
Stopped
Nose
Labor
Wind
Set
War
Roof
Knees

Pair Work Discussion Questions
A
Can you remember a very scary event in your life? What was scary?
How was the scary event stopped?
How did you feel after the scary event was resolved?
How do you respond to feeling greatly relieved? Do you weep?
What things do you think help bring relief in difficult circumstances?
B  
Can you remember a dangerous event in your life? What was dangerous?
How was the dangerous event stopped?
How do you think flood and storm dangers could be made less frequent?
Do you think the character in this story was crying tears of joy, sadness, or both? Why?
What would be the most terrifying thing about the storm described in the story?



Key Vocabulary
Day   白天
Night   夜
Wind   风
Flood   洪水
Storm   暴风雨
Land   陆地
Pounding   重击
War   战争
Struggling   争斗
Be in labor   在分娩中
Writhing  折腾
Sea   大海
Calmed   平静下来
Stopped   停止
Whirlwind   旋风
Quiet   小声
Clay   粘土
Terrain   地势
Flat   平坦
Roof   屋顶
Vent   通风孔
Fresh air  新鲜空气
Daylight   日光
Nose   鼻
Knees  膝
Weeping   大哭
Tears   泪
Streaming   流 

Exercise Answers
Antonym Matching: day-->night, wind-->calm, arrived-->went, war-->peace, sat-->stood, weeping-->laughing,        opened-->closed.
Listening Blank Fill: Flood, day, a, in, stopped, had, turned, roof, fell, to, the
Word Bank Fill in the Blank: 1. Wind, 2. Land, 3. War, 4. Labor, 5. Stopped, 6. Set, 7. Roof, 8. Knees, 9. nose
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Flesh and Spirit (Pentateuch)

8/8/2015

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Picture
Then the Lord said, “People are only flesh. I will not let my Spirit be troubled by them forever. I will let them live only 120 years.”

The Lord saw that the people on the earth were very evil. He saw that they thought only about evil things all the time.  The Lord was sorry that he had made people on the earth. It made him very sad in his heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy all the people I created on the earth. I will destroy every person and every animal and everything that crawls on the earth. And I will destroy all the birds in the air, because I am sorry that I have made them.” 

But Noah pleased the Lord (ERV).



Antonym Matching                                                              
spirit                                                                    happy
troubled                                                              pleased
                                                    
live                                                                       create
evil                                                                       flesh
sad                                                                       die
destroy                                                               good


Picture and Vocabulary Matching
As a class or in teams, have students match the slideshow with the following vocabulary written on the board: love, art, war and peace, brain, eyes, religion,  money, meditation, prayer, disease, scriptures. 

Matching
What is flesh and what is spirit?
flesh                                                                                        money
                                                                                                 prayer
spirit                                                                                       meditation
                                                                                                  disease
                                                                                                scriptures 
                                                                                                    brain
                                                                                                     eyes
                                                                                                  religion
 
Challenge: discuss love, art, and peace. 
                                                                                                  
Introductory Discussion Questions
How old is old?
At what age has someone lived a long life?
Do you believe humans have both flesh and spirit? Discuss.
Have you ever been sorry that you bought something? What was it? Why were you sorry? 
How important are thoughts in a person's life? Why are they important/not important? 

Listening Blank Fill
Then the 
Lord said, “People are only flesh. ____ will not let my Spirit be troubled by _______ forever. I will let them live only 120 ________.”

The Lord saw that the people on the ________ were very evil. He saw that they thought _______ about evil things all the time.  The Lord ______ sorry that he had made people on the ________. It made him very sad in his heart. _____ the Lord said, “I will destroy all the _________ I created on the earth. I will destroy ________ person and every animal and everything that crawls _____ the earth. And I will destroy all the ________ in the air, because I am sorry that I _______ made them.” 

But Noah pleased the Lord (ERV).

Multiple Choice
Then the Lord said, “People are only flesh. I will not let my Spirit be 1. (    ) by them forever. I will let them 2. (    ) only 120 years.”

The Lord saw that the people on the earth were 3. (    ) evil. He saw that they thought only about evil things all the time.  The Lord was sorry that he had made people 4. (    ) the earth. It made him very sad in his 5. (    ). So the Lord said, “I will destroy all the people I 6. (    ) on the earth. I will destroy every person and 7. (    ) animal and everything that crawls on the earth. And I will destroy all the birds in the air, because I am sorry that I 8. (    ) made them.” 

But Noah pleased the Lord (ERV).

1. a. troubling b. troubled c. trouble d. have trouble
2. a. life b. be. c. alive d. live
3. a. very b. somewhat c. little d. some
4. a. in b. above c. on d. under
5. a. head b. heart c. eyes d. lungs
6. a. created b. creates c. create d. creating
7. a. a b. an c. every d. some
8. a. had b. has c. having d. have

Pair Work Discussion Questions
A
What things do you think made the Lord angry?
Are there some things we shouldn't think about? What kinds of things?
What things make you sad? 
How do you think Noah pleased the Lord? 
When do you think people should say sorry? 
B
Have you ever heard of someone who lived 120 years? Where did they live?
What things is it good to think about?
What makes God sad in this story?
What things make you feel sorry? 
Why did the ancients and even people today refer to the heart when talking about feelings and motivation? 


Key Vocabulary
Lord  耶 和 华
only 只
flesh  肉体的
spirit  灵
troubled  麻烦的
forever  永远
earth  世界
evil  恶
years  年
thought 想
all the time 每时每刻
sorry  遗憾
made  造了
sad   难过
heart  心
will destroy  灭
crawls  爬行

Exercise Answers 
Antonym Matching: spirit-->flesh, troubled-->pleased, live-->die, evil-->good, sad-->happy, destroy-->create

Picture Matching
picture 1-->scripture, picture 2-->meditation, picture 3-->disease, picture 4-->war and peace, picture 5-->brain, picture 6-->prayer, picture 7-->art, picture 8-->religion, picture 9-->money, picture 10-->eyes, picture 11-->love.
Matching: flesh-->money, disease, brain, eyes. spirit-->prayer, meditation, scriptures, religion. 
Listening Blank Fill: I, them, years, earth, only, was, earth, So, people, every, on, birds, have.
Multiple Choice: 1. troubled 2. live 3. very 4. on 5. heart 6. created 7. every 8. have.

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    Author

    My name is Paul. I am from Michigan, USA. I am a perpetual language learner and teacher, trading my time between two continents. I obtained my MA in TESOL from Cornerstone University. 

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