Storytelling with Shapes: Pentecost

Storytelling with Shapes: Pentecost guides you through a creative, engaging, and tactile way of experiencing the story of Pentecost. Because of the varying degrees of difficulties in the puzzles, Storytelling with Shapes: Pentecost can be used by many age groups, children, youth (6th–12th grade), and even during intergenerational events.

Storytelling with Shapes: Pentecost uses seven individual shapes (tans). When these tans are combined, they create larger shapes (tangrams), helping participants imagine the story. An ancient Chinese story tells the legend of tangrams about a wise sage who, on his journey to bring a square sheet of glass to the king, fell, and the glass broke. When the sage presented the pieces to the king, he restructured them to form images that helped to tell of his journey. The king loved this way of storytelling and recreated the shapes out of wood. And that’s how tangrams were invented!

This resource invites participants to move through the story of Pentecost from Acts 2:1–21 using narrative tangram puzzles. Discover how seven individual shapes (tans) flow and fit together to create larger shapes (tangrams) as you retell the celebratory story of Pentecost. This is done through two separate tangram activities:

Shape & Story: The Pentecost story includes six tangram shapes, each with two options available.

• Match & Place: Match the individual shapes to the shapes on the page and place each shape on its spot to form the large shape connected to the story.
• Visualize & Place: Visualize and experiment with how your shapes fit together to create a larger shape in the silhouette. Then, using all seven shapes (tans), fill in the silhouette to solve the tangram puzzle.

Storytelling Cards: The Pentecost story includes six tangram shapes, each with two options available. An included leader guide helps lead participants through the storytelling process, providing instructions on when to create the shapes as the story unfolds.

• Piece it Together: Make the tangram puzzles as you read the story. Arrange your shapes to piece the picture together from each storytelling card.
• Solve the Silhouette: Solve the tangram puzzles as you read the story. Arrange your shapes to form the silhouette from each storytelling card.

This new way of telling, hearing, and shaping the Pentecost story will allow for a deeper understanding of the events of Pentecost as we piece together how it fits into our lives today.

How can I use these?

Storytelling with Shapes: Pentecost can be used by all ages—children, youth, and adults—as a creative way to celebrate the story of Pentecost.

• Sunday School: take time on Pentecost to walk through the story with your tangrams.
• Youth Group: make life-size versions of the tangram shapes and see which groups can assemble each moment from the story of the Pentecost story the fastest! Also, these can serve as tangram fidget devices as you lead a lesson on Pentecost.
• Adult Bible Studies & Intergenerational events: invite adults to use the tangram shapes to create the shapes from the stories during Bible studies; have intergenerational groups work together to figure out the silhouette puzzles. You could also see what other shapes they might come up with to represent additional parts of the Pentecost story.

What will I receive?

You will receive one PDF that includes both the Story & Shape and Storytelling Cards activities. It also includes digital tangrams you can print out and use with the activity.