teaching the Bible creatively- part 1

This past summer I read a great book that all teachers and children's workers could benefit from. It is entitled The Fabulous Reinvention of Sunday School written by Aaron Reynolds.

http://www.amazon.com/Fabulous-Reinvention-Sunday-School-Transformational/dp/0310274338/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260497995&sr=1-1

It is full of great ideas to bring your lessons to life and keep the kids engaged. We have a tough job sometimes keeping the students' attention. In our media-driven world, they have become accustomed to having action at their fingertips at all times with their cell phones, ipods, computers, powerpoints, laptops, PS3's, etc. That being said, we need to reach the students with the important message that we have to share. And we have to find the best ways to get that job accomplished.

So over the next week or so I am planning to share some of Aaron's tried and true methods. He is a former teacher and children's ministry director of Promiseland Children's ministry at Willow Creek Community Church. He now is an author and children's ministry consultant.

1) Audience Participation- It's no secret- kids like to be involved. When you ask for a volunteer, hands fly up begging to help, often before they even know what they are volunteering for! If you analyze your lessons, you can always find ways to let your audience be a part of it all. Here are a couple of methods-

• hand-pick participants to help you tell the Bible story. If you're relating the story of David and Goliath, pick a David, Goliath, and some Philistines. Give them some simple props and let them act out the story as you tell it. If you're relating the Last Supper, set up a table and choose students to be the disciples. When telling the account of Noah, have students be the animals and load into the ark. Find ways to involve your audience.

A couple of things to note when hand-picking your helpers- 1) Keep the instructions easy. You shouldn't have a long detailed list of things for them to do or say. This will take too much time for instructions and take away from the flow of your lesson. You should be able to describe their task in just a sentence or two. In the example of the disciples at the Last Supper, they may not even have to say anything. Just their presence alone makes the picture you're trying to portray come alive. 2) Stay in control. You are the storyteller. Your volunteers should be enhancing the point you're trying to get across, not inhibit it. Preparation on your part can solve many problems before they start. Is the volunteer part more suited for an older student or a younger one? A boy or a girl? A more outgoing child or a quiet one? Is an energetic 4th grade boy really the wisest choice for giving the Philistine Jedi sword to? 3) Bring the children up during their parts and dismiss them as soon as they are finished so as not to be a distraction when they are not involved.

• have the whole room be involved. This may be everyone doing the same thing or dividing the group into parts. Half of the room will act as the Israelites and half of the room will be the Philistines. The whole group is the crowd that Jesus is teaching. Having the students be in charge of sound effects is also a fun way to get them on task with you. When telling of Jesus calming the storm, they are the storm! When hearing the Philistine army coming, they are the troops drawing nearer! Find a way to help them tell the story from their seats. Once again, be sure the instructions are simple and easy to explain and complete.

To understand the necessity of involving your students in the lesson process, I want to remind you of some research that has been done:

Engineering Education magazine found that students
retain only 10% of what they read, 26% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what they see and hear, 70% of what they say, and 90% of what they say as they do something.

Notice how these percentages jump as the students get personally involved in the learning? Think about this as you plan your next lesson.