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One body, many parts!

by Alan M. Barker

Suitable for Key Stage 2

Aims

To create awareness that different parts of our bodies have different functions and we need to coordinate our efforts.

Preparation and materials

  • Create a visual of the words to the song ’Head, shoulders, knees and toes’ and have the means to display it during the assembly.
  • Have available the passage 1 Corinthians 12.14–20 (GNB) to read out in Step 4.

Assembly

  1. Begin by asking, ‘Are we all here?’  . . .  ‘Is every part of us here?’ Suggest that everyone makes sure by singing ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’.

    Display the words to ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’.

    Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
    Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
    And eyes and ears, and mouth and nose.
    Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.

    Invite the children to do the actions, touching the parts of their bodies as they are mentioned in the song. Increase the pace of the singing and keep trying to do the actions in time to the words. Observe that it’s not always easy to keep different parts working together!

  2. Invite everyone to consider how movements are coordinated. Establish that parts of our bodies must work together when we write, kick a ball, sing a song, cook a meal,  play a musical instrument. 

  3. Suggest that there is a lesson here. Like the various parts of a human body, different people have different skills and abilities. To achieve their goals, the individuals within any group (or body) of people need to work together.

  4. Invite everyone to listen to some words from the Bible (1 Corinthians 12.14–20, GNB) about working together. Suggest the following actions for whenever the following words are said:

    – for the word ‘body‘, flex biceps
    – for the word ‘one’, raise an index finger
    – for ‘many parts’, raise and wiggle all your fingers
    – for ‘foot’, ‘hand’, ‘eye’ and ‘ear’, point to each on your bodies.

    The body  . . .  is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,’ that would not keep it from being a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,’ that would not keep it from being a part of the body. If the whole body were just an eye, how could it hear? And if it were only an ear, how could it smell?  . . .  God put every different part in the body just as he wanted it to be. There would not be a body if it were only one part! As it is, there are many parts but one body.

  5. Congratulate everyone who has joined in. Introduce a second verse to the song that echoes the Bible phrase, ‘there are many parts but one body’. This time, use the same actions as before for the words ‘body’, ‘one’, ‘many parts’, ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’, but add the following:

    – for ‘hands’, raise both hands in the air
    – for ‘hearts’, put both hands on your chest.

    Conclude that the life of any community is happiest and most successful when everyone works together and tries to help one another.

    One body, many parts, many parts,
    One body, many parts, many parts,
    Eyes and ears and hands and hearts,
    One body many parts.

Time for reflection

Invite everyone to consider how working together will be important in the day that lies ahead.

Prayer
Loving God,
Thank you that each one of us is special and, working together,
we can do so much more than we can ever do alone.
Amen.

Publication date: July 2014   (Vol.16 No.7)    Published by SPCK, London, UK.
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