Can you picture what the journey to Bethlehem would have been like for Mary and Joseph? You’ll love this fun interactive activity to picture the scene! In this O Little Town of Bethlehem Finish the Picture lesson plan you will sing and listen for things that you might want to add to the picture from that sacred night.
I love this beautiful Primary Christmas song (click to see a massive printable list!!), and I’m thrilled to get a chance to spend some time teaching O Little Town of Bethlehem (archives) to my Primary children.
**See all O Little Town of Bethlehem Singing Time Ideas**
O Little Town of Bethlehem Finish the Picture
Sing through O Little Town of Bethlehem (flip chart here) once, before introducing this activity. This is a great way to transition from another activity or review the lyrics once before adding another element to your singing time.
Ask the children to close their eyes and picture what it would look like to be traveling and coming upon the town of Bethlehem. What do they picture/see?
Post the finish the picture poster for the first verse up on the board. Tell the children this picture is almost ready, but needs a few extra things. Can they help you finish the picture? Great! Let’s sing the song again together and listen for things that we sing about that we notice in the picture.
Sing the song again as they listen for different parts of the scene such as the following. After the song, talk about one of these elements, or others they heard from the song. Invite a child to come up to add to the picture as you sing again and listen for more things you might add to the scene.
1st Verse:
- Town of Bethlehem – Add more buildings to the town
- Sleep – Add dream thought bubbles or snoring zzz’s coming out of the homes
- Stars – Add additional stars to the sky
- Light – Color in the rays of light from the big star until they reach the town
Extension Activities:
- Invite the children to color in the scene, instead of add to it. Color something the spot from the scene that the song talks about and show you what they picked!
- Pass out individual finish the picture scenes and let everyone finish the picture scene for the verse you are working on learning together.
- Invite the children to draw their own scene on the whiteboard. You can show them the picture as an example, but let them make the scene!
For another fun similar activity, head over to see this Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus Finish the Picture singing time activity!
O Little Town of Bethlehem Finish the Picture Printable Song Helps
This free in-post printable includes a finish the picture scene that coordinates with the 1st verse.
Join INSTANT Primary Singing for extended printables including finish the pictures for all 3 verses, 1/4 page size and larger 2-page version, plus colored scenes! You’ll find these bonus files included when O Little Town of Bethlehem song is the featured song of the month.
Get more out of singing time with the INSTANT Primary Singing membership that includes printable lesson plans, tons of extended printables and an ad-free experience for each featured song of the month, or get immediate access to the entire song list for the year!
Learn more about INSTANT Primary Singing membership options here!
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Next, add in fun rhythm while teaching this song with this O Little Town of Bethlehem Rhythm Sticks pattern!
What other fun ways will you use this finish the picture singing time activity in your Primary room?
