Posted by Jan FPC Napa on September 05, 2001
Age Level Insights

I came across a great book called Teaching on Target ... Age Level Insights by Dr. Robert Choun and Jane Willson Choun. It's published by Group Publishing with Children's Ministry Magazine. ISBN #0-7644-2232-4. I use it when developing lessons for our workshop leaders.

Through 16 topics(the Bible, God, Jesus, Satan, Sin & Salvation, etc.) it gives information on what kids should/can comprehend at various ages, from 2 years old through sixth grade. It also gives "teaching aims" as to what kids entering jr. high should know by that age.

I just purchased one for each of our "age group shepherds" and one for each workshop. I hope having something like this for each leader may take some of the intimidation out of the "each week teaching a different age group".

Jan H.
First Pres., Napa CA

Posted by Neil MacQueen on September 06, 2001

Jan....can you post some brief conclusions from the book here at the message board? This would not violate the copyright.
Just cite the source.

<>< Neil

Posted by Jan FPC Napa on September 08, 2001

"Teaching on Target ... Age Level Insights"; Group Publishing 2001

May the Angel of Copyright Laws protect me

Mental, social, emotional, physical and spiritual characteristics and needs are given for each age group.

Some conclusions:

• 2's and 3's:
  Literal, concete thinkers
  Trusting
  Sense of awe
  Ready for adult models of God's loving care
  
  
• 4's and 5's:
  Beginning to separate reality from fantasy
  Literal, concrete thinkers
  Emotional
  Forming self-image
  Understand disobedience and forgiveness
  Capable of worship
  
  
• 1st-3rd graders:
  Developing reasoning skills
  Literal, concrete thinkers
  Learning cooperation
  Developing values and lifestyle choices
  Developing questions about God and heaven
  
  
• 4th-6th graders:
  Beginning to grasp abstract concepts
  Unsteady emotions
  Need Christlike role models
  Can understand salvation and morality

16 topics (including God, Jesus, the Trinity, Miracles, Prayer, and others) are under a section titled "What Can They Learn About ...?". The authors explain by age group what kids can/should know based on their age characteristics, and then also include other book resources for that age group and topic. As kids get older, more is added to each spiritual topic (based on how they learn and what they're capable of comprehending). For example here are some conclusions about what kids can know about JESUS:

• 2's & 3's can know:
  Jesus is real, is their friend, and real stories about Jesus are in the Bible.
• 4's & 5's can know:
  Jesus is God's son; Jesus was born, grew up, helped people, died and came back to life; stories about Jesus found in the Bible can show them how to be kind.
• 1st-3rd graders can know:
  Jesus died and came back to life; Jesus could do all he did because he is God's Son; Jesus is real even though we can't see him; Jesus' told us how to live and his words were important enough to memorize
• 4th-6th graders can know:
  Jesus was both man and God; Jesus is our hero and Lord; the historical context of when Jesus lived; Jesus knows and understands everything about me; Jesus died because he loves me

There is also a section after each topic called "Teaching Aims". It takes all the "what can they know" parts and puts them in a concise list of what kids should know by the time they're ready for junior high. By following these guidelines, I would think that children's departments would send more spiritually rounded children off to their youth departments.

This book is a good reference to use when planning and teaching lessons as it takes the guesswork out of knowing what they are truly capable of comprehending, and can help determine if you're aiming too high or too low with your lesson for a particular age group.

As I gave a book to one of our age group "shepherds" and explained the purpose, she said, "Wow! This will be great for me as a parent also to know how much I should or shouldn't expect my own daughter to know." I think sometimes parents hold back on what they tell their kids about spiritual matters: a) because they don't think kids can understand various concepts, and b) because they think it's the church's job. I also believe many parents underestimate what their kids can comprehend, especially on "scary" topics like sin, salvation, hell, etc.

This may even be a good source to develop a "test" of sorts for kids at various stages in their lives to see if we are "teaching on target".

Jan H.
First Pres., Napa, CA