What suggestions can you offer to a Sunday school teacher whose class has a wide range of ages and abilities?
- Recruit an assistant, a volunteer who is willing to help but may not feel that he or she can prepare lessons and teach. Plan and work together as a team. This can be as beneficial for the volunteer as it is for you, the teacher. It can be a great help for the children.
- Separate the children from time to time in order to work with them on a more individual basis. This is one of the things that an assistant can free you up to do.
- Involve older/more capable children as helpers (e.g., readers can read Bible stories to non-readers; advanced readers can become “reading buddies” with beginning readers; older children can help younger children with projects).
- Schedule extra time to work with just the older/more capable children in order to challenge them at their level.
- Schedule extra time to work with just the younger/less capable children in order to address their particular needs and interests.
- Re: specific teaching activities.
Conduct activities that all the children can relate to when introducing a lesson (e.g., present an object lesson; tell a human interest story).
Use simple teaching methods for imparting information to the entire group. Use auditory, visual, and hands-on ways of presenting lesson material. Try to engage as many of the children as possible during lesson time (e.g., have different children read aloud; ask age-appropriate questions to specific children; draw out discussion with additional questions; find non-threatening ways to involve and acknowledge the more reticent child).
Reinforce the lesson with individualized activity sheets or other follow-up activities that are designed for specific children. An assistant can help you run these activities with the children.
Build an inventory of activities that the children can do on their own or in small groups (e.g., filmstrips, CDs/DVDs/videos, puzzles, Bible games, arts and crafts, supplemental reading, listening center activities). Allow time for the children to choose and carry out individualized activities that suit their interests and abilities.
Create age-appropriate, real-life application activities (e.g., What-wouldyou-do scenarios) based on lesson principles. Engage individual children in the activities that are best suited for them. Again, an assistant can help you run these activities with the children.
Use skits and other group activities that involve all the children in appropriate roles. Older children may even want to help plan some of these activities
Get parents to oversee follow-up activities that the children can do at home. - Make sure all children are included in the general activities and are made to feel a part of things. Foster an atmosphere of acceptance.
- Don’t allow differences to become ‘put downs’. Address problems that threaten to detract from the well-being of the group. Head off ‘superior’ vs. ‘inferior’ behaviors within the class.
- When problems arise, try to turn them to positive learning situations. Use Scripture (e.g., all must become “as little children” is a good lesson to remember when ‘superior’ vs. ‘inferior’ behaviors manifest themselves). Emphasize the need to get along with each other since this is an important real-life lesson.
- Maintain a fair attitude toward all of the children. Children can ‘read’ the teacher’s attitude toward them, and this can tell them as much or more than the lesson does. Enjoy all the kids!
- Get older and younger children together for outings, picnics, etc., and try to foster good relationships outside class. This can carry over to in-class relationships.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One