A Bible story as a short play

Ages 9 to 12 Read alone or together · about 50 minutes

Read together

A play tells a story through actors, words and movement. A script lists who speaks, what they say and what they do.

Choose a story with a few clear characters, a problem and a solution. Daniel in the lions' den (Daniel 6) is a good one: a king, Daniel, jealous officials and the lions.

A narrator can tell what is happening, so the actors can show it.

Do it

1. Read Daniel 6 together. List the characters, the problem and how it is solved.
2. Write a script with a narrator and four or five characters. Add stage directions in brackets, such as (Daniel kneels and prays).
3. Rehearse. Use simple props and movement: a cloth for the king's robe, a table for the den. Decide how to show the lions with sound or gentle movement.
4. Perform it for family. Afterwards, talk about what the story says about courage and trust.

Talk about it

• How did the actor playing Daniel show courage?
• What did the story change in you?

For the grown-up

Drama helps children understand stories deeply. Choose stories where everyone can take part, and be careful with scenes of violence by showing them gently. Families differ on whether to act the part of Jesus or God, so you may prefer stories without those parts, such as Daniel, Ruth, or Joseph.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• Book of Daniel, chapter 6
• Jonothan Neelands and Tony Goode, Structuring Drama Work, 3rd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2015)

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.