- Set your "Rally Day" or "Christian Education Sunday." Plan with your pastor to emphasize Sunday School, recognize and commission teachers for their service, and (if you have not already done so) advance students to the next grade. Resources for Rally Day can be found at cph.org/sundayschool under "Sunday School Tools."
- Choose your curriculum (Cross Explorations or Growing in Christ, check them out at cph.org/sundayschool) and verify your order. The fall material is available on July 1.
- Choose your "path." New CPH customers can choose either a "Recommended Path" (Old Testament in the fall, followed by two New Testament units in the winter and spring) or a "Chronological Path" (starts in the fall with Old Testament 1 and continues straight through the Bible). Continuing customers should be aware that the Old Testament 2 unit was recently offering in fall 2016; if you choose the chronological path, these lessons may be overly familiar to your students.
- Enlist teachers for the fall. Work to have two adults in each classroom; it's easier than you think.
- Contact every eligible family by phone, mail, or email to encourage enrollment in Sunday School.
- Tour your Sunday School classrooms and list physical improvements: painting walls, new flooring, cleaning the windows, repair/repaint/replace tables and chairs, remove faded/torn posters, etc.
Showing posts with label Growing in Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Growing in Christ. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2016
Fall Preparation Checklist
It's the middle of June. It's time to be thinking about "rallying" your Sunday School troops. Here are some points to consider.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Sunday School Material Without Dates
What would your Sunday School material look like without dates?
When would you use it if nobody told you?
What would be the advantages to "date-less" curriculum?
What drawbacks would need to be overcome?
What additional resources would you need?
These are not rhetorical questions. Starting this fall the popular Sunday School material from Concordia Publishing House, Growing in Christ and Cross Explorations, will no longer have dates. I'll unpack some of the rationale and reality around that decision in future blog posts.
Change is not always comfortable however, so I'm devoting the next few weeks to talking through this exciting change in our material and what it will mean for Sunday School teachers and directors.
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
When would you use it if nobody told you?
What would be the advantages to "date-less" curriculum?
What drawbacks would need to be overcome?
What additional resources would you need?
These are not rhetorical questions. Starting this fall the popular Sunday School material from Concordia Publishing House, Growing in Christ and Cross Explorations, will no longer have dates. I'll unpack some of the rationale and reality around that decision in future blog posts.
Change is not always comfortable however, so I'm devoting the next few weeks to talking through this exciting change in our material and what it will mean for Sunday School teachers and directors.
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
Monday, February 2, 2015
Are You Ready for Spring?
Imagine a beautiful spring day! There are lots of them
coming! Why will parents and children spend their time with you each Sunday in
the weeks ahead in Sunday School? What will you provide that soccer, tee-ball,
weekends at the lake, or sleeping in cannot provide? The opportunity to see
Jesus, to hear more about forgiveness of sins and new life in His name!
The lessons you’ll teach from Concordia’s two Sunday School
options---Growing in Christ and Cross Explorations---will reveal the power,
authority, mercy, and love of our Savior. Your students will watch Him defend
the sanctity of the temple, commend the generosity of a widow, die and rise
again, be preached throughout the known world, and take His rightful place
again on the throne of heaven. These are faith experiences that the world
cannot provide. You have an exciting season ahead!
It is not always easy for families to see it that way,
though. As you teach in the weeks ahead . . .
-
persistently invite every eligible student to join you in Sunday School.
- diligently prepare each lesson to be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
- warmly welcome each student each week by name and thank them for coming.
- earnestly pray that God will bless each student.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Send It Home!
A recent Sunday School product survey here at CPH has suggested that the family connections built into our student leaflets may be the components of the material least valued by teachers. The response rate on the survey was rather low; the data is not statistically reliable. But the message is troubling.
Are we guilty of paying lip service to the notion that parents are the primary sources of faith nurture for their children? We know that is God's plan. Surely we must do all we can to support and encourage faith formation in the home, throughout the week, even as we also encourage families to avail themselves of Christian education and Sunday School.
On one hand, I can imagine some of the reasoning behind the low scores some teachers give the family connection components. They are not intended for use in class. They take up space in the leaflet that could be devoted to in-class activities. The students often don't even take the leaflet with them when they leave the classroom. It could be perceived as a waste.
Instead, I might suggest that we re-think our strategy. If we value our partnership with the home in faith formation, we might:
The first are the Explore More Cards feature the biblical art for each lesson along with 4 or 5 activities or discussion questions that families can use in the car or during family devotions to review and explore the Bible account more fully. Some congregations use these cards as incentives to encourage attendance. They are listed in the Cross Explorations section of our Sunday School order form, but are designed for work equally well with Growing in Christ.
The second resource are the weekly "bulletin notes" available on the Director CD (GiC), in the Director Handbook (CE), or in the Tools section of our Sunday School Web site (cph.org/SundaySchool). Many congregations already print these paragraphs in the church bulletin, but they can also e-mailed to parents before each Sunday as a way of encouraging attendance or after each lesson as a reminder to review and discuss the lesson with the students.
God bless you as you equip parents to teach His children His Word!
Are we guilty of paying lip service to the notion that parents are the primary sources of faith nurture for their children? We know that is God's plan. Surely we must do all we can to support and encourage faith formation in the home, throughout the week, even as we also encourage families to avail themselves of Christian education and Sunday School.
On one hand, I can imagine some of the reasoning behind the low scores some teachers give the family connection components. They are not intended for use in class. They take up space in the leaflet that could be devoted to in-class activities. The students often don't even take the leaflet with them when they leave the classroom. It could be perceived as a waste.
Instead, I might suggest that we re-think our strategy. If we value our partnership with the home in faith formation, we might:
- Encourage students to take the leaflets home.
- Point out the activities the student could show their parents or even do with their parents at home.
- Mention the Bible account summaries and family devotion suggestions to the parents in conversation at the classroom door, or in e-mail updates to the parents. Challenge them to look for these things in the leaflet their child brings home.
The first are the Explore More Cards feature the biblical art for each lesson along with 4 or 5 activities or discussion questions that families can use in the car or during family devotions to review and explore the Bible account more fully. Some congregations use these cards as incentives to encourage attendance. They are listed in the Cross Explorations section of our Sunday School order form, but are designed for work equally well with Growing in Christ.
The second resource are the weekly "bulletin notes" available on the Director CD (GiC), in the Director Handbook (CE), or in the Tools section of our Sunday School Web site (cph.org/SundaySchool). Many congregations already print these paragraphs in the church bulletin, but they can also e-mailed to parents before each Sunday as a way of encouraging attendance or after each lesson as a reminder to review and discuss the lesson with the students.
God bless you as you equip parents to teach His children His Word!
Monday, August 11, 2014
Looking Ahead to the Fall Quarter of Sunday School
The lessons in the coming quarter of Concordia's Sunday School materials take us back to the very beginning of the
Old Testament—the creation of the world, the fall into sin, the formation of a
nation through whom God planned to send a Savior.
Of the 150 Bible accounts we study every three years or so, more than 50 are
from the Old Testament. Why? Because it’s there where we find explanations of
how we came to be, why we need to hear the Law, why we need also the sweet
words of the Gospel. Whether taking us through the narrative history of God’s
plan for salvation or giving us pictures (theologians call them types)
that foreshadow the coming Savior, each Sunday School lesson we study in the
Old Testament points us toward the sacrifice of Christ for our sins.
There are many good reasons to use Concordia Publishing House materials. Whether you use Growing
in Christ or Cross
Explorations, you’re getting lessons that balance Law and Gospel and, most
important, focus on Christ as our Savior.God bless you as you teach God’s children His Word!
Monday, June 16, 2014
Help! Share Your Thoughts!
CPH is conducting a Sunday School materials survey. It is a multi-path survey for anyone interested in or using any Sunday School curriculum. It is designed to help us measure which components of our curriculum are most used and what new features Sunday School leaders and teachers are seeking.
You can help in two ways!
First, take the survey! Your thoughts will be extremely helpful as we craft the next generation of Sunday School resources her at Concordia Publishing House.
Second, encourage others (your Sunday School teachers, and colleagues and their teachers in other churches) to take the survey as well.
You can access the survey by following the link below. It will be live through June 30.
Please take our Sunday School survey to share how you use Growing in Christ or Cross Explorations, what you like about the curriculum, and what you think could be improved.
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
You can help in two ways!
First, take the survey! Your thoughts will be extremely helpful as we craft the next generation of Sunday School resources her at Concordia Publishing House.
Second, encourage others (your Sunday School teachers, and colleagues and their teachers in other churches) to take the survey as well.
You can access the survey by following the link below. It will be live through June 30.
Please take our Sunday School survey to share how you use Growing in Christ or Cross Explorations, what you like about the curriculum, and what you think could be improved.
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
Friday, March 14, 2014
Video Options for Junior and Senior High
Are you looking for videos to supplement your youth Bible study lessons on Sunday mornings?
YouTube (www.youtube.com), with more than 65,000 new videos added each day, is a rich source of video material, but it may seem an impossible haystack in which to find that one video needle you're looking for.
Have I got a deal for you! The Junior High and Senior High Growing in Christ Bible studies, available each quarter at cph.org/sundayschool, now offer a suggested video resource for each lesson. You can find the lists at the beginning of the teacher guides, but you can also scroll down on the Sunday School Web site to the tools at the bottom of the page and click "Jr/Sr High Videos" for a direct link to the playlist. The guides also provide a shortened URL that can simplify the task of finding these videos.
The videos have been screened for objectionable content or theological errors. The teacher guides offer specific language for connecting these videos to the study.
Here's what the teacher guides advise:
Go to the YouTube playlist online at bit.ly/1knXwnU to play any video in this quarter. Find the correct playlist for your level and quarter. Click “View full playlist.” Choose the video you need. To use the videos, you need an Internet connection and a tablet or other computer. Skip any ads and cue the video."
A word of caution: YouTube recently changed how they display our playlists, so older URLs may not take the user all the way to the playlist page. Look for the "Playlist" tab.
God bless you as you teach His junior and senior high "children" His Word!
YouTube (www.youtube.com), with more than 65,000 new videos added each day, is a rich source of video material, but it may seem an impossible haystack in which to find that one video needle you're looking for.
Have I got a deal for you! The Junior High and Senior High Growing in Christ Bible studies, available each quarter at cph.org/sundayschool, now offer a suggested video resource for each lesson. You can find the lists at the beginning of the teacher guides, but you can also scroll down on the Sunday School Web site to the tools at the bottom of the page and click "Jr/Sr High Videos" for a direct link to the playlist. The guides also provide a shortened URL that can simplify the task of finding these videos.
The videos have been screened for objectionable content or theological errors. The teacher guides offer specific language for connecting these videos to the study.
Here's what the teacher guides advise:
Go to the YouTube playlist online at bit.ly/1knXwnU to play any video in this quarter. Find the correct playlist for your level and quarter. Click “View full playlist.” Choose the video you need. To use the videos, you need an Internet connection and a tablet or other computer. Skip any ads and cue the video."
A word of caution: YouTube recently changed how they display our playlists, so older URLs may not take the user all the way to the playlist page. Look for the "Playlist" tab.
God bless you as you teach His junior and senior high "children" His Word!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
All in One Room?
Our Sunday School team here at Concordia Publishing House gets occasional requests for "all in one room" Sunday School material. We talked about it again last week. We are generally not inclined to pursue it. It's not that we are insensitive to the needs of small congregations. Small Sunday Schools face many challenges and we want to help.
But we are, first and foremost, sensitive to the needs of children. Preschoolers and sixth graders in the same class just doesn’t work very well. The learning opportunities for one end of the age spectrum or the other will be lost.
We have experimented with models that test the limits of age-appropriateness. Our 2013 summer material offered just two levels: non-readers and readers; it seems to have been well-accepted. Cross Explorations and Growing in Christ can be combined to serve three levels: Early Childhood, grades 1-3, and grades 4-6. These seem to be the “functional minimums” for effective Christian education that uses volunteer teachers in the setting common to most congregations. They are the minimums our Sunday School team would like to strive for.
We have decided to work instead to provide resources (free ones if possible) that can support the small Sunday School in emphasis, volunteer enlistment, and student recruitment. Too often "all in one room" is a last resort of a congregation that is not pursuing the better, but more difficult options of emphasizing Christian education, enlisting volunteers, and reaching out to unenrolled students. The better alternate is to accept the burden of small classes that still provide age-appropriate instruction for children.
What pushes congregations you know toward "all in one room"?
What help do you think congregations need to overcome the barriers to a more robust Sunday School?
God bless you as you teach His children His Word.
But we are, first and foremost, sensitive to the needs of children. Preschoolers and sixth graders in the same class just doesn’t work very well. The learning opportunities for one end of the age spectrum or the other will be lost.
We have experimented with models that test the limits of age-appropriateness. Our 2013 summer material offered just two levels: non-readers and readers; it seems to have been well-accepted. Cross Explorations and Growing in Christ can be combined to serve three levels: Early Childhood, grades 1-3, and grades 4-6. These seem to be the “functional minimums” for effective Christian education that uses volunteer teachers in the setting common to most congregations. They are the minimums our Sunday School team would like to strive for.
We have decided to work instead to provide resources (free ones if possible) that can support the small Sunday School in emphasis, volunteer enlistment, and student recruitment. Too often "all in one room" is a last resort of a congregation that is not pursuing the better, but more difficult options of emphasizing Christian education, enlisting volunteers, and reaching out to unenrolled students. The better alternate is to accept the burden of small classes that still provide age-appropriate instruction for children.
What pushes congregations you know toward "all in one room"?
What help do you think congregations need to overcome the barriers to a more robust Sunday School?
God bless you as you teach His children His Word.
Monday, August 26, 2013
How Is Your Sunday School Investment Like Buying a New Car?
There is at least one congregation out there that, over the past several years, has invested in a Sunday School curriculum that was published on CDs. Each quarter, for each level, for the length of time it took to cover the "scope and sequence" of this curriculum, the congregation invested several hundred dollars. Once they had purchased the entire set, however, their price dropped dramatically. The apparent cost of the material went to nearly zero (not counting local copying costs, but most congregations seem to count such copies as free).
Then the congregation decided to look at another curriculum, one published by my employer, Concordia Publishing House. A very obvious problem arose; they would have to go back to the days when they were paying several hundred dollars per level per quarter to purchase the new material. It looked like they would go from $99 a quarter to $1500 a quarter. I have been bugged by the price differential and struggled with how it could make sense.
This analogy came to me.
I can buy a car, finance over four years, and then pay upkeep and maintenance until it falls completely apart. I probably feel that I’m saving money for a few years when I’m not making payments. But I don’t get anything new and all the freshness that I get from the car after the first year is what I create by cleaning, waxing, and detailing the car. And eventually, I have to buy a new car. Then taking on the payments again stings a bit.
Or I can lease a car at about the same monthly payment and, after two or three years, turn it in for a new car. Or I can buy a car, finance it for three years, and, when it is paid for, buy another new car and continue the car payments at a level amount from year to year. In either case, I have to maintain level payments, but the car is newer and fresher over the long term.*
Then the congregation decided to look at another curriculum, one published by my employer, Concordia Publishing House. A very obvious problem arose; they would have to go back to the days when they were paying several hundred dollars per level per quarter to purchase the new material. It looked like they would go from $99 a quarter to $1500 a quarter. I have been bugged by the price differential and struggled with how it could make sense.
This analogy came to me.
I can buy a car, finance over four years, and then pay upkeep and maintenance until it falls completely apart. I probably feel that I’m saving money for a few years when I’m not making payments. But I don’t get anything new and all the freshness that I get from the car after the first year is what I create by cleaning, waxing, and detailing the car. And eventually, I have to buy a new car. Then taking on the payments again stings a bit.
Or I can lease a car at about the same monthly payment and, after two or three years, turn it in for a new car. Or I can buy a car, finance it for three years, and, when it is paid for, buy another new car and continue the car payments at a level amount from year to year. In either case, I have to maintain level payments, but the car is newer and fresher over the long term.*
Which is better, the first scenario or the second? Perhaps neither, but they are very different. The congregation with the CD-based curriculum strikes me as that first scenario; they invested for a few years and then have taken the
savings instead of getting something new. Buying Growing in Christ or Cross Explorations is a bit more like
that second scenario; the investment is level year to year, more or less, and
the product is continually freshened up by the editors.
There are reasons why a congregation might choose to make an ongoing investment in excellent Sunday School material. I'd say that you really do get what you pay for, but I'm paid by a publisher. Each congregation will make its own choice.
God bless you as you teach His children His Word.
There are reasons why a congregation might choose to make an ongoing investment in excellent Sunday School material. I'd say that you really do get what you pay for, but I'm paid by a publisher. Each congregation will make its own choice.
God bless you as you teach His children His Word.
Tom
*By the way, I buy my cars that first way, and it’s time to
replace my aging cars. I know that taking on the payments again is going to
pinch the budget. Oh, well. The new cars will be worth it.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Have You Visited Yet?
I've been fascinated over the past few weeks to "watch" people like you visit our relatively new Sunday School Web site, cph.org/sundayschool. Okay, I can't really watch you literally, but as a tool to facilitate communication with our customers, visitors who download samples of our Growing in Christ or Cross Explorations material leave behind their name and e-mail address.
I can tell that we are in the heart of "it's time to choose our Sunday School curriculum for the fall." Visitors are downloading samples five or six times a day, compared to just two or three times a day last spring when the new Web site was launched.
In addition to viewing samples, there are several other reasons you might want to visit.
God bless you as you teach God's children His Word!
I can tell that we are in the heart of "it's time to choose our Sunday School curriculum for the fall." Visitors are downloading samples five or six times a day, compared to just two or three times a day last spring when the new Web site was launched.
In addition to viewing samples, there are several other reasons you might want to visit.
- Complete overviews of both curricula
- A handy comparison of the features of each curriculum
- Access to the weekly "Seeds of Faith" podcast, offering Bible background for next week's lesson
- Access to the scope and sequence of lessons
- Access to W5Online, contemporary event openings for junior high and high school classes (offered for the school year only; the next new posting will be on August 23rd)
- Quick order forms
God bless you as you teach God's children His Word!
Monday, May 13, 2013
WOW! CPH Has All That?
I've heard that some congregations are looking for new Sunday School material, something that is family-friendly, recognizes the Church Year, is experiential and relational, is easy to prepar, and contributes significantly to biblical literacy.
I have good news: Sunday School material from Concordia Publishing House does all that and more!
Family Friendly: For thirty years, CPH has produced Sunday School material that is unified across all age levels. Everyone in the congregation, from the youngest to the oldest can study the same biblical text each week, each using materials and techniques that are age-appropriate. The materials incorporate take-home materials that promote family discussion and further study about the lesson. Especially, check out the "Explore More Cards," published with our Cross Explorations material but useful with either curriculum. Our materials assume that families will worship together each Sunday and we incorporate elements of the Church's worship in the lessons.
Recognizes the Church Year: CPH Sunday School material is rooted in the Church Year; major festivals are recognized and often the focus of lessons (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, the Baptism of our Lord, Transfiguration, Holy Week, and Easter lessons are taught on appropriate Sundays; Reformation Day, All Saints' Day, and other festivals are noted and often incorporated into the lesson. About half of the Sunday School lessons each year teach the Bible account that is read as the Gospel in the Divine Service in congregations using the three-year-lectionary.
Experiential and Relational: CPH recognizes that children learn best by applying Scriptures to life experience. The youngest children spend time each week in activities that provide a real-life experience to which the Scriptures can be applied; lessons for older children use role play and discussion to help student apply what they learn from the Bible to their lives between Sundays.
Easy to Prepare: Each lesson has a one-page study of the theological and bibical content of the lesson, handy materials lists, scripted teacher talk (so you know what to say, even if you put it in your own words), and a simple four-part outline. In addition, a 30-minute podcast about the lesson is available each week.
Biblical Literacy: the sequence of lessons in Growing in Christ and Cross Explorations materials has been carefully designed to teach the entire narrative of salvation history over a three-year-plus period, with the most significant parts of that history (Advent, Christmas, and Easter) taught every year. Lessons repeat every third or fourth year, so that as student grow they encounter God's Word again and again in age-appropriate learning.
In addition, CPH offers consistent instruction using both Law and Gospel, lessons that are truly centered in Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin, two choices of material (check them out at our new Web site: cph.org/sundayschool), realistic full-color Bible art, varied modes of instruction and story presentation, and a wealth of supplementary material.
What are you looking for in Sunday School material?
What do you think we are missing?
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
Family Friendly: For thirty years, CPH has produced Sunday School material that is unified across all age levels. Everyone in the congregation, from the youngest to the oldest can study the same biblical text each week, each using materials and techniques that are age-appropriate. The materials incorporate take-home materials that promote family discussion and further study about the lesson. Especially, check out the "Explore More Cards," published with our Cross Explorations material but useful with either curriculum. Our materials assume that families will worship together each Sunday and we incorporate elements of the Church's worship in the lessons.
Recognizes the Church Year: CPH Sunday School material is rooted in the Church Year; major festivals are recognized and often the focus of lessons (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, the Baptism of our Lord, Transfiguration, Holy Week, and Easter lessons are taught on appropriate Sundays; Reformation Day, All Saints' Day, and other festivals are noted and often incorporated into the lesson. About half of the Sunday School lessons each year teach the Bible account that is read as the Gospel in the Divine Service in congregations using the three-year-lectionary.
Easy to Prepare: Each lesson has a one-page study of the theological and bibical content of the lesson, handy materials lists, scripted teacher talk (so you know what to say, even if you put it in your own words), and a simple four-part outline. In addition, a 30-minute podcast about the lesson is available each week.
Biblical Literacy: the sequence of lessons in Growing in Christ and Cross Explorations materials has been carefully designed to teach the entire narrative of salvation history over a three-year-plus period, with the most significant parts of that history (Advent, Christmas, and Easter) taught every year. Lessons repeat every third or fourth year, so that as student grow they encounter God's Word again and again in age-appropriate learning.
In addition, CPH offers consistent instruction using both Law and Gospel, lessons that are truly centered in Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin, two choices of material (check them out at our new Web site: cph.org/sundayschool), realistic full-color Bible art, varied modes of instruction and story presentation, and a wealth of supplementary material.
What are you looking for in Sunday School material?
What do you think we are missing?
God bless you as you teach His children His Word!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sticky Lessons
I recently fielded a critique from a pastor who was concerned that students in their Sunday School were not retaining the lessons that were being taught. He suspected that the curriculum was at fault. That was hard to hear, but it gets me thinking.
What Makes a Lesson Stick?
What are the keys to memorable lessons? How can we teach so that children retain the stuff we want them to learn? What is is that we want them to remember in the first place?
Gospel First
It is enough, I think, that children come away from Sunday School convinced that God loves them, that Jesus sacrificed Himself so that their sins are forgiven, their life restored, and a place prepared for them in heaven. Yes, I'd love for them to know how to live as God's children. I'd like them to be able to replay the Bible account and provide accurate details, even a week, month, or year later. I'd like them to be able to connect the Bible account to a chronological framework of the Bible, understand its context, and know the broader narrative for which it is a part. But it is enough if the children can honestly sing, "Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so."
Memorable Classroom Moments
What will make the lesson memorable? The possibilities are too numerous to list here, but some that top the list: connect the lesson to the child's life, be relational, involve emotional content, know and cater to the students' preferred learning styles, start with things the students know and add on that foundation with new knowledge that makes sense.
Repetition and Review
Moving knowledge from short-term memory to long-term memory is a subject worth tackling on its own and one that I won't try to write about with some personal study (not enough parked in my long-term memory). But repetition and review are tried and trued techniques. Our Growing in Christ lessons include some deliberate review tools and procedures. I wonder how many teachers skip them? The lessons I edit probably do not have enough specific instructions about review lessons from the last week or the weeks before that. That may be an oversight worth correcting. Growing in Christ repeats most Bible accounts on a three-year cycle; a student who is faithful in attendance will study a lesson three or four times in the course of his or her Sunday School career, each time in an age-appropriate way, building on previous knowledge. That review will reap a harvest. All review, however, depends on that faithful attendance. If I review a lesson three times, but the student is present only once, that's not much review.
So, I'm bold to ask:
What do you do to make Bible lessons stick?
What more can we do as your publisher to make memorable moments happen in your classroom?
God bless your efforts to teach God's children His Word!
What Makes a Lesson Stick?
What are the keys to memorable lessons? How can we teach so that children retain the stuff we want them to learn? What is is that we want them to remember in the first place?
Gospel First
It is enough, I think, that children come away from Sunday School convinced that God loves them, that Jesus sacrificed Himself so that their sins are forgiven, their life restored, and a place prepared for them in heaven. Yes, I'd love for them to know how to live as God's children. I'd like them to be able to replay the Bible account and provide accurate details, even a week, month, or year later. I'd like them to be able to connect the Bible account to a chronological framework of the Bible, understand its context, and know the broader narrative for which it is a part. But it is enough if the children can honestly sing, "Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so."
Memorable Classroom Moments
What will make the lesson memorable? The possibilities are too numerous to list here, but some that top the list: connect the lesson to the child's life, be relational, involve emotional content, know and cater to the students' preferred learning styles, start with things the students know and add on that foundation with new knowledge that makes sense.
Repetition and Review
Moving knowledge from short-term memory to long-term memory is a subject worth tackling on its own and one that I won't try to write about with some personal study (not enough parked in my long-term memory). But repetition and review are tried and trued techniques. Our Growing in Christ lessons include some deliberate review tools and procedures. I wonder how many teachers skip them? The lessons I edit probably do not have enough specific instructions about review lessons from the last week or the weeks before that. That may be an oversight worth correcting. Growing in Christ repeats most Bible accounts on a three-year cycle; a student who is faithful in attendance will study a lesson three or four times in the course of his or her Sunday School career, each time in an age-appropriate way, building on previous knowledge. That review will reap a harvest. All review, however, depends on that faithful attendance. If I review a lesson three times, but the student is present only once, that's not much review.
So, I'm bold to ask:
What do you do to make Bible lessons stick?
What more can we do as your publisher to make memorable moments happen in your classroom?
God bless your efforts to teach God's children His Word!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Three Web Sites to Check Out
There are millions of Web sites out there, hundreds (if not thousands) of them devoted to Sunday School resources. Here are three you should know about.
What Web sites have you found helpful? What kind of resources do you find yourself looking for regularly online?
- Growing in Christ http://sites/cph.org/sundayschool/ This Web site was created when the Growing in Christ Sunday School materials were released by in 2006. It is updated regularly in a couple of areas. Under "Podcasts and Downloads," any corrections that need to be made to material already distributed for use are posted here. This also one route to the "Seeds of Faith" podcasts, a weekly discussion of the Bible accounts in the Growing in Christ curriculum (click on "Learn More" under "Podcasts"). The next lesson's discussion should come up first; pervious lessons are archived. Once you have started the player, you can click on the progress bar in your player to skip ahead or go back in the recording. Many teacher find these podcasts invaluable to their teaching.
- SundaySchoolSpot.com http://sundayschoolspot.com/ A great place for "Growing in Christ" product information and teaching resources. Under "Teacher Spot," you can access basic information about the age-level you are teaching, view some tips, and find some additional resources. You can also access the "Seedlings" podcasts through this site.
- Bible Quizzes Onlive http://biblequizzesonline.com/ My wife created this Web site last year to promote Bible literacy and accountable reading practice. Quizzes are being created for every Bible account in the Growing in Christ curriculum, as well as for One Hundred Bible Stories, the popular Bible story book from CPH. The quizzes are written to follow both the NIV and ESV translations. Students can read or listen to the Bible account (ESV for Growing in Christ, NIV for One Hundred Bible Stories) and then take a ten-question quiz while receiving feedback on their answers. It's a cool site! And it's free!
What Web sites have you found helpful? What kind of resources do you find yourself looking for regularly online?
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