Embedded Files
Each lesson in the Lessons from Scripture series is structured in the same way , so after a couple of lessons both the teacher and the kids know what to expect. The lessons are designed to help the teacher succeed to the greatest extent possible, and to provide the kids with the content and context which best helps them learn. Below are the seven factors that inform the design of each lesson, followed by an explanation of how the parts of a typical lesson that exemplify each factor.
What children need to learn best:
Security - Children need to feel welcome, loved and secure
Order – The learning environment needs to give a predictable structure to their experience; beginning, middle, end
Repetition – the thing they are learning needs to be presented multiple times
Variety – Class activities should change during the teaching period
Relevance – The things that they learn must have a connection to their daily experience and be relevant to the lives they lead
Dialogue – Children must have the means and opportunity to respond to what they’re learning while they are learning it – and to get feedback to their feedback.
Freedom to be children – Effective learning in children is usually accompanied by a lot more noise and movement than you get with adults. Children find it easier to focus on what they’re learning when they are not forced to focus on their behavior.
Each lesson in the Lessons from Scripture series is designed with these principles in mind. The content and structure of each lesson is designed to help teachers at any level succeed.
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
The Lesson overview is for the teacher. It is a concise summary of what will be taught in the lesson as well as the materials that will be needed to teach it. This allows the teacher to prepare thoroughly ahead of time and stay focused on the lesson and the kids while the lesson is being taught.
Opening
The opening reminds the teacher to engage with the kids on a personal level and provides a transition from the kids' everyday lives to the lesson that is starting. This interaction helps the kids feel secure, loved and heard.
Words to Discuss
In this section, the teacher leads a discussion of key words that occur in the upcoming Scripture reading. This makes it more likely that the kids will understand the story the first time they hear it.
Introduce "Truth"
Each lesson introduces a "truth" that is drawn from the lesson and linked to a memory verse. The truth is introduced just prior to the Bible story and repeated several times throughout the remainder of the lesson. The truth from the first lesson is "God hears our prayers."
Bible Story
Bible Story
Each lesson contains a story that forms the backbone of the session. Most stories are taken directly from Scripture in the children's mother tongue.
The story is accompanied by pictures that are keyed to the story so that the teacher will know which ones to hold up as the story is told.
By tying the "truth " taught in the lesson to the Scripture passage being studied, the kids learn that truth comes from God's word.
Application
Immediately following each story, the teacher leads a brief discussion of how the truth learned in (or illustrated by) the story is relevant to he participants. At the end of this discussion, the homework for the coming week is introduced.
Review Game
Review Game
Every lesson includes a Review Game. These games are not just time fillers, but are an important feature of the lesson that motivates attention to the lesson. To make progress in the games, the kids must answer questions based on the story they just heard. Thinking about what to answer and hearing other kids answers all help establish the lesson in the kids' hearts and minds. There are twelve different games used in cycles throughout the curricula.
Memory Verse
Memory Verse
The memory verse for each lesson is usually taken directly from the text of the story. The verse supports the truth that the children have just learned.
Introducing the memory verse provides a further opportunity to discuss the passage's important terms.
Memory Verse Review
This section builds comprehension while repeating the verse with fewer and fewer visual cues This process helps the kids cement the verse in their memory.
In subsequent lessons - especially in review lessons - memory verses from previous lessons are reviewed.
Colouring Page
Colouring Page
Colouring pages can be reproduced on A4 paper and cut into two A5 handouts. These can be given to the kids to colour. Each handout features the "truth" that is taught in the lesson, the memory verse, and a drawing that illustrates some aspect of the lesson. The coloring pages not only help the kids remember what they've learned, they also let parents and neighbors know what is being taught, and also serve to attract more kids to subsequent lessons.
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