What Can We Teach about the Boston Tragedy?

Questions may come up on Sunday from your students about the startling attack on the Boston Marathon, and the explosion in West, Texas, this week.

What is a teacher to do? 

• Point students to their very big God, who promises to care for us, His children, in all circumstances. We don't always see how He is working, but we know from the promises in His Word that this is so. Point out that God has given His own Son to ensure a joyous eternity for all who trust in Him, including victims of terror and perpetrators of the same (recalling Jesus' promise to the thief on the cross).
• Pray for those touched by this event: loved ones of those who died, those who have been hurt and are in need of healing, the first-responders, the doctors and other health care providers, and all who are touched by fear. Pray that God will heal broken lives and use every circumstance to extend His kingdom.

Concordia Publishing House has a couple of good resources you might want to consider for purchase or recommend. My thanks to Pam Nummela, my wife and colleague at CPH, for suggesting them.

• For children, a book called “I Will Not Be Afraid” by Michelle Medlock Adams (Item 562423; on sale for $4.) The book leads off with a list of fears children have, including troubles events like war. It says “God is bigger than anything, lots bigger than my fears” and reminds us about God’s presence, protection, and grace now and forever. Pam likes that it speaks in first person so a kid can say the poems rhyme and take it in. There is also a Bible verse on every page pointing to God’s Holy Word. A couple of tips for parents are at the end. Gives good words to kids and parents in the face of unspeakable tragedy.
• For adults, there is “Where Is God Now?” (513004; $2.60 and there’s quantity pricing). It’s a pocket-sized sixty devotion book written especially for those suffering disaster and includes prayers, hymns, and Scripture.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Let's Review

Last week I wrote about "Sticky Lessons." A key point in that post was that repetition and review are important tools for making lessons stick, for moving information from short-term to long-term memory.

Did You Review?
So, let me ask, when you taught your most recent Sunday School lesson, did you review the lesson from the week before? Did you place the lesson you were teaching into the context of the Bible's narrative in a way that made sense? (A very different task for teaching three-year-olds than for teaching preteens.) After teaching the Bible account did you review it in some way before the end of the session, perhaps by letting the students retell the account while acting it out or creating a drawing about the event and telling their classmates about their picture? Or by playing a review game with the Bible Review Cards (part of every lesson in the Growing in Christ middle and upper grades materials)? Or by simply asking informational and analytical questions?

If You Reviewed
If you review the Bible account as part of your lesson last week, you increased the likelihood that your students will remember the key point and basic facts of the lesson next week, or next month, or the next time they encounter that lesson some day in the future. Good job!

If You Did Not Review
Plan now to include review in your next lesson plan. You and your students will be glad you did. It is sometimes difficult to include review. It may mean not doing something else in the precious window time you have available. But it is worth it! It is one of the significant ways you can make those lessons stick!

God bless you as you make His Word stick in the hearts and lives of His children!

That's a Good Question

Much of the interaction that takes place in your Sunday School class is the discussion that occurs between the teacher and the students, and—in upper grades—among the students themselves, on the Bible passage or topic under consideration. Lively discussion and assimilation and understanding of information are the result of good questioning techniques on the part of the teacher. Do you spend more time than you’d like lecturing, talking, or “filling the silence” in class? If your teacher-talk-to-student-talk ratio is out of balance, these tips may help.

Three Levels of Questions
We can ask three levels of questions during Bible discussion—information questions, analysis questions, and personal questions. All three are important to successful study. Each level gets deeper into the text and it is generally helpful to ask information questions before asking analysis questions and analysis questions before personal questions.

Information Questions
We ask information questions at the first level to verify the accuracy of the participants’ understanding of the text. “What does this say?” “Where was Paul when he wrote the letter to the Romans?” “To whom was he writing?” Information questions assess the degree to which the students have heard the words of Scripture.
• Use the “reporter” questions—who, what, when, and where? These questions get at the facts of the Bible account.
• Avoid questions that can be answered with yes or no. Such questions almost always steer the students to the answer you desire. Occasion “yes or no” questions should always be followed with a “reporter” question.
• Gear your questions to your class. The questions in the teacher guide are of necessity written with a broad audience in mind. You, however, know your students better than the editor of the material. You can revise or create questions that will get at the heart of things for your students.
• Don’t ask questions that everyone can probably answer. Students will tend to turn off their critical thinking skills and give you only what you ask for.
• Don’t ask questions that no one can answer—at least not very often. This can lead to frustration and will cause some students to withdraw from further participation.

Analysis Questions
We ask analysis questions at the second level to deepen the participants’ understanding of the text. Analysis questions require the students not just to hear the Bible text but assimilate and integrate that information with what they already know to increase their understanding. “What does this mean?” “Why did Paul write that?” “How would the Roman Christians have felt about that?”
• Analysis questions should always find their answers in the text or in the text combined with other knowledge the students are known to have. They are not intended to elicit speculation or opinion.
• Follow up unexpected answers; don’t label them wrong. You may learn something new about the text—or about the participant—by asking how he or she came to that conclusion.
• Silence does not mean you’ve asked a bad question. It may indicate you’ve asked a very good question and the students are deep in thought. Wait out the students’ silence whenever possible. This can be a painful wait for many teachers. Count silently to ten (or even 20) while resisting the temptation to rephrase the question or help the students.
• Don’t rephrase the question. Many of your students will then be considering how to answer two questions—your first question and your rephrased one. Mental gridlock can result.
• Avoid “questions by the paragraph.” Participants can’t answer a string of questions or a question that they don’t understand. Keep your questions short and allow the students to answer each one before moving on.

Personal Questions We ask personal questions at the third level to help participants apply Scripture to their own situations. “How is your life situation like that of the Roman Christians?” “What would your friends do if you acted that way?”
• Don’t request embarrassing information or examples. This will dampen participation. Almost as much good can come from asking “When might children your age sin against this commandment?” rather than “When do you sin against this commandment?”
• Respect opinions. Information and analysis questions may have wrong answers; point out correct answers in the text. Personal questions are trickier. Ask follow-up questions, state your beliefs, and let Scripture speak clearly. Remember that the Law condemns us all; it can be helpful to speak it in the plural: “God’s Word condemns us when . . .”
• Avoid questions that begin “Don’t you think . . . ” They are really statements masquerading as questions to which we don’t want the students to answer “no.”
• Encourage participants to ask their own questions. Don’t ignore the questions they ask. If you don’t have the answer, ask for the opinions of others, steer the questioner to an appropriate resource, or offer to research it yourself.

Practice and Prepare
Applying these levels of questions and tips can be hard work. It is a good practice to write out (or rewrite) the discussion questions you will use in class as you prepare to teach. Then you can evaluate them before you use them and grow in your questioning skill. As you write the questions, make sure you can answer them—and would want to. This advance preparation will help to guarantee interesting discussion and lots of student participation.

(This content was first published in Teachers Interaction magazine and is (c) 2005 and used with permission.)