Recently, I received the following email. In fact, I've received several like it over the years.
Dear Neil,
The focus of our rotation this 6 weeks is about the Bible. I teach 1st thru 6th grade. I'm having trouble finding an appropriate project. I only have each grade once for 30 to 45 minutes and a new class each week. Could you please suggest a lesson I could teach? I would like them to leave my class with a better understanding of the Bible.
I chuckled when I read "our focus is about The Bible."
How do you focus on an entire book? ...and all a
kid should know about it in just six 30 minute classes?
Impossible. Christian education is funny sometimes.
As if it wasn't hard enough, the teacher said the lesson "had to cover 1st through 6th grade." Talk about piling on. My heart goes out to that teacher. Once again, whoever planned Sunday School put a volunteer teacher in a "can't win" situation. And we wonder why we have trouble recruiting sometimes.
Even if the teacher pared it down to a "how the Bible came to be" rotation, the subject would still elude a full treatment. It's just too big a subject, especially for the little guys, and it doesn't naturally fit in our 40 minute art, drama and music lesson concepts. (Go ahead, name one song or art project about "how the Bible came to be.")
Some churches attempt "About the Bible" Rotations with good intentions, but then they forget a cardinal rule of Rotation theory and plan different subjects in each workshop. Thus, they end up with several individual lessons about Bible skills and knowledge, but the kids don't remember much because they only heard it once, and half the kids weren't there that week.
Friends, that's no "variation in the Rotation Model," --that's a waste of time.
Five Apparent Truths Concerning Teaching "About the Bible"
1. "About the Bible" is a vast subject that needs to infiltrate nearly ALL our lesson times, because all our lessons involve the Bible. Every lesson plan should have some element of "about the Bible" in it.
2. "About the Bible" is not merely a set of facts to be taught, such as, how many books are there in the New Testament. Instead, "About the Bible includes "What, where and when is the Word of God?" and "How does God Speak to You and Me?" Information, without transformation, is a waste of time and effort. "About the Bible" is in reality, a subset of this larger issue. Knowing the books of the Bible, but not how to listen for God, is wrong.
3. Teaching "About the Bible" is a goal that should be planned into other times and places beyond Sunday School, most notably, worship and 4th grade Bible presentation time.
4. Teaching "About the Bible" requires some memory work and certain conceptual skills for full understanding. Our teaching "about the Bible" must be age appropriate. Thus, some of what we want to teach doesn't belong in younger children workshop experiences. And some subjects do not fit nicely into classic Rotation Model approaches or certain local circumstances at all.
5. Identify a list of WHAT your church believes every student should know about the Bible and WHEN they should know it. Then....don't be afraid to "test" for it in a number of creative ways. If it's worth teaching, it's worth testing to see if it was learned.
Before I launch into specific suggestions, let me interject the idea that teaching "about the Bible" is one of those hopeful program goals which requires vigilance, training and the creation of an actual timetable. A lot of our volunteers don't know that much "about the Bible." And I'm sure you've been at the beginning of many "new crusades" that turn into last year's Rally Day slogan because somebody forgot to plug specifics into the calendar. If you're serious "about the Bible," you'll pull out your calendars and lesson plans and start plugging in specific objectives and ideas.
The following is not meant to be an exhaustive treatment of the subject or possibilities. I hope these ideas and examples stimulate your own.
1. "About the Bible" is a vast subject that needs to infiltrate nearly ALL our lesson times. Every lesson plan should have some element of "about the Bible" in it.
Do it: Put sentences in the Bible study portion of each lesson plan in every workshop that suggest comments and questions to the teacher about the story's background, place in the Bible, author, audience, type of writing, etc. Highlight a bible factoid in each lesson. Over the course of one rotation, have the teacher's encourage students to remember the notes and factoids they were taught in earlier workshops.
Example of putting Bible factoids in each lesson:
Sower Bible Factoids:
1. A parable is a very short story told by Jesus that teaches a Bible truth in a surprising way.
2. The Parable of the Sower is found in what two Gospels? Find them in your Bibles using the index or cross reference.
3. When Jesus told the Parable of the Sower, the people who heard it would have been familiar with farming techniques and been somewhat surprised that the Sower was generously scattering the seed (word).
2. "About the Bible" is not merely a set of facts to be taught, such as, how many books are there in the New Testament. Instead, "About the Bible includes "What, where and when is the Word of God?" and "How does God Speak to You and Me?" Information, without transformation, is a waste of time and effort. The Bible is in reality, a subset of this larger issue.
Do it: During the teaching of certain stories, such as God's Call to Abraham, and Moses on Mt. Sinai, , the Road to Emmaus, Paul on the Road to Damascus it should be discussed how God's Word always doesn't come in book form, but in a personal way to many Bible heroes.
In your lesson plans on any one of these rotations, include discussion notes and questions about the hearing and responding to God's voice which each person can do. Discuss how one "hears" God's word in their life being spoken and what a young person should do to confirm God's call to them.
3. Teaching "About the Bible" is a goal that should include other times and places beyond Sunday School, most notably, worship and 4th grade Bible presentation time.
Do it: Plan a "how to navigate your Bible" class before you present Bibles to third or fourth graders. Work with the Worship committee to establish procedures for lay readers to encourage, then wait for children and youth to find the Bible passage they will be reading. Encourage youth to be lay readers. Put bookmarks in the pews for children to select passages before worship starts. Take time in children's sermons to discuss about the Bible with the kids. Work on some bible facts together as a congregation. For example, if you're preaching the Beatitudes, Ten Commandments, Psalm 23 in a series, challenge everyone, including the kids, to say the verses without looking at the words as the scripture reading by week two or three in the series.
4. Because "About the Bible" includes some memory work and requires certain conceptual skills, our teaching "about the Bible" much be age appropriate. Thus, some of what we want to teach will not fit nicely into classic Rotation Model approaches or certain local circumstances you may have.
Sixth graders are better equipped to remember all the Ten Commandments than first graders. Teaching the Books of the Bible to a first grader who can't spell their name yet doesn't make sense. Comparing Gospel accounts of the resurrection is interesting, but younger children don't need to know that in one account Jesus said "don't touch me for I have not yet ascended" and in another, Jesus asks Thomas to touch him. This example, however, IS of interest with older students, particularly teens who can begin to grapple with the nature of the resurrected Christ and the meaning of having various accounts.
When teaching "about the Bible" in a Rotation format, age appropriate adjustments are especially appropriate, and some subjects or compentencies will simply fit better in other venues, such as a special Bible class prior to Bible presentation.
(A double secret probation corollary to this is the idea that some "Bible work" such as memorizing verses, if done at the wrong time, with the wrong kids, in the wrong way, will create kids who don't experience our love and might not want to come back. Certain subjects and methods may be better suited to other times and places.)
5. Identify a list of WHAT your church believes every student should know about the Bible and WHEN they should know it. Then....don't be afraid to test for it.
At this point, most folks just want to see my list of What and When. But that list is debatable. If you put six intelligent Christians and your pastor in a room together (hopefully he or she is intelligent too!) ...and have them come up with a list, it will be pretty good, and probably much more than you can practically pull-off.
Examples: Create milestones and rituals that celebrate working toward these goals (not perfection). There's nothing wrong with saying something is important and then treating it like it's important!
Think creatively about how to teach facts. It's no time to abandon your creative methods. An art project that goes home to help them remember the twenty-third Psalm is better than a regular memory drill. Employ music to teach. Music is a great horse to hitch your memory work to. Always remember to include WHY this information is important. We want children and youth to find comfort and vision in the Bible. Bring in adults who talk about "what the Bible has meant to them."
Encourage familiarity with the Bible at an early age. Every 3 year old, 6 year old, and 12 year old should be receiving the "Bible" in an age appropriate format and version FROM the church. I know of one church in which older adults "adopted" a child in the congregation and gave that child age appropriate Bible materials (selected by the church) as a way of encouraging both the child and the family.
See my article on testing children in Sunday School at this website. It's not as scary -sheep & goats as you might be thinking. I'm talking about measuring our effectiveness. If you're afraid to do this, let someone else steer, the driver needs to have both hands on the wheel, not over their eyes.
Here's my short list of what every sixth grader brought up in the church should know:
The location of Genesis, Exodus, the Samuels, the Kings, Psalms, Isaiah, the Gospels, Acts, and Romans.
They should also be able to tell you the location and be able to summarize the following stories: Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, The Ten Commandments, The stories of Ruth and Jonah, Psalm 23, Psalm 121, Birth of Jesus, The Great Commandment, The Beatitudes, Lord's Prayer, Parables of the Sower, Prodigal, and Good Samaritan, the events of Holy Week, Pentecost, the conversion of Saul, I Corinthians 13. Feel free to add in your own, remember, this is my "short" list!
They should be able to define the following terms in sixth grade language: Covenant, Messiah, God's Law, Prophecy, Atonement, Salvation, Prayer, Worship, Confession, Communion, ok...etc. etc..etc...
One Final Practical Way to Implement "About the Bible" in Every Rotation
One of the workshops we first created in the Rotation Model years ago was called the "Bible Skills & Games Workshop." It was in THIS workshop that many of the Bible skills and information were to be emphasized. Games are particularly well-suited to teaching facts and finding skills. But as the model spread, this workshop became known by other names: Temple Workshop, Synagogue, Games & Activities, etc. and the original use of the workshop to emphasize Bible skills was lost. Let me suggest that you once again identify ONE of your workshop to be the special "torch bearer" for your "About the Bible" super-curriculum. It can be ANY workshop. Apart from the obvious advantage of focus, you can also make sure that the teacher you recruit for THAT workshop, will be qualified and aware that Bible skills are an important component of that's workshop's lesson plan.
Hope you've found these ideas stimulating to your own.
If you have suggestions for this article or feedback, email me at sundaysoft@ee.net
<>< Neil MacQueen
This article is copyrighted. It may only be copied for non-profit local church and seminar use --provided that it's source here at rotation.org is clearly cited.
v1.2 October 2001
Standard Disclaimer: Neil MacQueen is a Presbyterian minister believe it or not. His ideas are probably wrong, ...or maybe not.