Training to Teach

Teaching to the heart in a crowd.

Gaining
co-operation

How they learn

SCOPE & Sequence:
Wordless Book Map

Getting and keeping their attention.
Pray God will give you wisdom. Maintaining good control assures every child feels safe and respected. Their trust allows you to reach their heart with the Gospel message. Of course, you also need to hold their interest. Jesus set the example by teaching with experiences from our everyday lives. He used examples that relate to people. You want to ‘relate’ the message to every child’s heart. So, you will bring up examples common to them. When you do they may be suddenly tempted to tell their neighbor how what you said is true or not for them. In a crowd it can quickly get away from you. You can side track this and regain their attention by telling them all something to say to their neighbor like “That’s all about Me!” or “I think that’s AWESOME!” Also, just asking them to repeat a KEY PHRASE through out the lesson will regain their cooperation and help bring the point home.

Don't be defeated by frustration, You can do it!
Pray to keep your attitude instep with God's purpose. With just 10 – 15 short moments to make your point, you must keep outburst minimal. You can not allow your attitude or tone of voice to become frustrated or irritated. You must never display hostility toward them. If you lose control of them you must understand it is not completely their fault but is simply a skill that you must still acquire. You are there to teach them. If your group overwhelms you, you will have another week of time to find and learn new techniques and be able to do better next week. You must NEVER yell or be hostile toward the students. You can regain their attention and cooperation in a calm and agreeable manner. The school may have Key word signals that is already used to reset their attention and cooperation. Just ask them if there are certain class management tools they are using they would like for you to use too. Look for more tips for managing a large group but always trust the Holy Spirit to bring His word to their heart. Your efforts are never in vain. Use your smile to assure them you are not hostile toward them.

Always Start with Order.
Have a plan that gives directions for spaced, straight rows when seating, they can place their hands in their laps or even better have them clapping to the music. This type of instruction as they arrive help make for an attentive group. You can also give these instructions as you teach. When they comply you know they are listening. Jesus always had the disciples seat the crowds in orderly sections. They came to listen. They want to hear. Make it easy for them.

When the student row monitors are simply standing in place to mark the rows, they are silently asking for their cooperation as soon as they arrive by giving them direction where to sit. You can ask them to listen. The more direction they are given the better their cooperation will be.
There are several highly effective methods for getting their attention back. Use your smile to assure them you are not hostile toward them.

One is to just keep teaching with a controlled voice.
Be sure your voice does not sound distressed about their moving or talking.
You let them know that you understand they know what you are saying by nodding your head to say ‘yes’. This assures them that somehow you know what you said related to them.
Lowering your voice to a whisper can be helpful too.
Clapping your hands in a distinct rhythm then have them repeat. Watch to see if every one cooperated. Do it again until everyone cooperates. Then praise them for doing it well when everyone does the same thing you did.
Asking them to repeat statements is a also good way to keep them attentive. Bible references, long names, new words, lesson topics are all things that you can have them repeat.
When you ask the group a question, always tell them how you want them to respond. Example, “Raise you hand, if you think God Loves Jonah.” Raise your own hand high to show them how you want them to answer.
NEVER acknowledge someone who answers who did not raise their hand and been called upon to give an answer. When it happens just smile, remind them to raise their hands if they want to answer.

There are many helpful teaching resources available on sites that offer curriculum . Some have posted helpful videos on sites like YOU-TUBE. These can help you gain more group skills.  Also learn and work with the systems your school is already using that the students will readily respond to.

DEVELOP Your lessons
NEVER read them to the students. Study & meditate on the lesson and trust God with the rest.    When you are teaching in this short time format you can break your lesson up into smaller parts. Each week you will do one part and connect them together as you teach. One week you might only teach the memory verse. The next week you might tell the story and ask them to recite the verse they learned last week. Then the next week you can make your topic point and bring the memory verse and story together. Use the same opening song when you are teaching across several lessons.

When you teach the Commandments you will start with teaching them the number visual card list then the next week you will show them how there are two subjects and teach them the memory verse. Each week you will teach more about each commandment in groups of two until you are done with your topic.

Know what and how they can learn.
HOW THEY LEARN:
Imitation, repetition, association
o CONCRETE LEARNING o Primary till age 10-12
o ABSTRACT LEARNING o After ages 11-12
It is important that you keep a broad view of what are the main subjects the Bible teaches from Genesis to Revelation. There are many subjects that are very important, so knowing where to start can feel overwhelming. Topics like prayer, forgiving, living holy, salvation, heaven, baptism, the Trinity and so many, many more. Where do we start and where do we focus? With these very young hearts there must be a foundation laid that will promote and protect their faith through the teen years that brings them safely into adulthood. For many kids in the Kids For Christ Clubs, this is the only exposure to church they will have. So then, this is the only Christian teaching they will receive. We want to be sure that the teaching they receive will be a benefit for them now and in the years to come. So then, We must cautiously choose what are the most important tools they will need. Always understanding that as soon as we lift a systematic theology from the pages of scripture we may accidentally make other life giving words of God seem lesser. So it is imperative that we always leave the way to the rest of scripture, unhindered. We ought to be mindful and clearly speak to them that we are merely introducing small portions of a great foundation. Leave them fully vested with the responsibility for them to find and add what is still remaining. Being a Christian is a life long venture so then where can we start?

Laying foundations using the Wordless Book:
What is the WORDLESS BOOK ?
The wordless book was started by Charles Spurgeon in 1866 (160 years ago) as a way to help a fellow minister outline the salvation message. It started as just three solid color pages with no words at all. Just the color representing the subject. The first page was Black for Sin that darkens the heart of every person. The second page was Red for the Blood of Jesus that pays for sin and cleanses us from it. Third page was White for the righteousness, holiness that was the result of being washed by Jesus blood from sin.

These three simple pages became a tool for other ministers who added to it. In 1875 D.L. Moody added the Gold page. Fanny Crosby and Amy Carmichael used it widely. It has been a widely used tool for children's ministers ever since.   Not only can we use it to outline the message of salvation but it can help us focus as we attempt to lay a foundation that can make a way for a long life of faithfulness to the Lord. We choose lessons so that the pages of the wordless book are purposefully written on their hearts. These visual Colors of the Wordless Book have been adapted to crafts like bracelets and key chains to give the basic outline of God's message to all of us. We use it to set our "Scope and sequence" when we teach the lessons. We relate the lesson to which color the message we are teaching relates too. For example, the 10 Commandments tell us what offends God and others. That is what sin is. Anything that offends God. God is offended when we injure others also. Sin includes what injures people too! Since the Commandments teach us what sin is, those lessons fulfill the black page. Jesus republished the commandments. When we teach about Jesus paying for our sin that is the Red page.

  GOD-It all began with GOD … God, Creator, Holy, Love (this gold page was added to the beginning recently by CEF).

  SIN- The 10 Commandments, Death, separated from God Where are you Adam?

  CROSS- Righteous blood shed for our sin (Jesus God’s Son, The Price, His Blood, The Cross)

HOLY- Holiness brought back to mankind (Grace Empowers us to be free)

  BAPTISM (Water & Holy Spirit) &Communion covenants

  GROW-ing our Faith & Love, Renewing our mind,
o G o to Church, Sunday School
o R ead Bible
o O bey the Bible
o W itness – Tell others

HEAVEN-Restored back to Jesus His crown, eternal life , Heaven’s streets of Gold