upper elementary
D O W N L O A D E D
Sunday School That Clicks
Lesson 6
/ January 9, 2011
The Invisible Gorilla
for use as
STEP
1.
by Mary Hertz Scarbrough
With the help of some fun psychology experiments, this lesson helps students think about what things they don't see, even when it's something
right in front of them. tIn a similar way, without Jesus to help us, we only
see part of what we should be seeing, and what God sees for us.
Lesson 6
Focus:
The light of Jesus
helps us to see the
truth.
Lesson 6
Materials:
䡺 Internet connection (for a version of the Invisible Gorilla experiment, such as
can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQmdoK_ZfY&feature=related;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo&feature=BF&list=ULp42IGFa9aA&index=2 or http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/gorilla_experiment.html)
䡺 papers
䡺 pencils
Bible Basis:
John 8:12; 9
T
his activity is best done with either individual students or a small group
(2-3) at a time (but could be done in larger groups as well). Each group
needs about 90 seconds to complete the activity. If possible, have students wait outside the classroom or give them a task in another part of
the room as they await their turns.
Explain to the class as a whole that you are giving them a test their powers of
observation. They will be watching two groups of people pass basketballs around.
Three people will be wearing black tee-shirts and three will be wearing white. After
the video is over they will be asked how many times the players in white passed the
ball. They should silently keep track and write the number on a slip of paper after
the clip is stopped. Make sure to emphasize with each group that they are counting
passes of the people in white; it is a little hectic once the video begins.
Stop the clip when the basketball passing is done (at about the 40-second mark).
You will show students the rest of the clip after all students have completed viewing and counting. Have them write down how many passes they saw and then collect the slips.
Once all students have had an opportunity to participate, tally the results.
Discuss:
. Did anyone see anything unusual in this video? (At this point, show them
the the rest of the video clip. Count how many students say they missed the gorilla
and how many say they noticed it. If you watched the first version listed above, other
changes to ask about are a player leaving the scene and the changing curtain color.)
Lesson 6
/ January 9, 2011 / Step 1
Lesson 6
Memory
Verse
“I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows
me will never walk in
darkness, but will have
the light of life.”
—John 8:12
D O W N L O A D E D
Sunday School That Clicks
2
This experiment was first tried on people at Harvard University. The people
conducting the test were very surprised at the results. They found that about
half the people who saw it did not notice the gorilla. They expected more people to see it.
. Does it surprise you that so many missed it?
Why or why not?
Just like this gorilla experiment showed us, we often fail to see things that
are right in front of us. It was no different in Jesus' time. Let's take a look at
some Pharisees who refused to see what was right in front of them.
(Continue on to Steps 2 and 3 in your Upper Elementary Teacher’s Guide; your
Step 4 appears below.)
upper elementary
D O W N L O A D E D
Sunday School That Clicks
Lesson 6
/ January 9, 2011
The Invisible Gorilla
for use as
STEP
4.
Materials:
Lesson 6
ow that we've had the opportunity to think about things right in
front of our faces that we easily miss, and we've talked about how
people in Jesus' day were in spiritual darkness even when He was
right in front of them, let's see if our powers of observation have
improved any. We're going to watch a video about a card trick
where the cards change color.
Focus:
The light of Jesus
helps us to see the
truth.
䡺 Internet connection to watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voAntzB7EwE
N
Lesson 6
Bible Basis:
John 8:12; 9
Discuss:
. (You may want to show the video just to the point where the card trick
ends, then ask the following:) Did you notice anything unusual during
this video? What did you notice? (Show the end of the video now, if you
haven't already.)
. How many changes did you see, if any?
. Even if you couldn't name changes that you saw, did your brain tell
you that something was different?
. Do you think you would have been more likely to notice changes if
I had told you before you watched that four things would change
from the beginning of the video to the end, instead of saying we
would be watching a video about a card trick? Support your answer.
. Are you surprised by how easy it is to miss something that's right in
front of your eyes?
. In your opinion, what do experiments like this tell us?
. In what parts of our lives might we be missing seeing things that God
wants us to see?
. If you can't see the board at school, your parents would take you to
get your eyes checked and you might end up with eye glasses or
contacts. If we're not using the light of Jesus to see the truth, what
Lesson 6
/ January 9, 2011 / Step 4
Lesson 6
Memory
Verse
“I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows
me will never walk in
darkness, but will have
the light of life.”
—John 8:12
D O W N L O A D E D
Sunday School That Clicks
2
steps can we take?
Close your eyes now and think of two things you will do this week to
make sure you have the light of Jesus in your life. Commit to them in a
silent prayer now.
End with a prayer, such as the following. Jesus Christ, You are the light of the
world. You and You alone help us to see the truth. Open our eyes, as You
opened the eyes of the blind man. Help us to see that You are always with us,
showing us the paths we should take. In Your name, we pray. Amen.
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