Lesson Outline for Teaching the Parable of the Talents
using interactive software

Awesome Bible Stories software, which includes an interactive lesson on the Parable of the Talents, has been made available free-of-charge to the supporting members of Rotation.org for use in Sunday School or for the home use of families in their congregation. Learn more.

Parable of the Talents is one of six interactive lessons found on Sunday Software's Awesome Bible Stories software (now free, see the note above). 

This program presents the entire parable and explains a lot of the imagery and vocab (such as "weeping and gnashing of teeth").  In effect, the CD is the Bible study and lesson plan. The teacher should preview it, introduce concepts and questions, then go into the Talents section of the CD with their students. 

As students hear and see the parable unfold on screen, they have option to select alternate phrases for parts of the story that restate key concepts in various kid-friendly way. For example, they can select alternate ideas to the old word “talents” that make more sense to them when they hear it.

In effect, this gets them working with the parable text several times, and each result is different, exposing new meanings and nuances for the teacher to work with.

The parable's imagery and vocab are explained in pop-ups.

After working with the story, the kids play an onscreen STEWARDSHIP GAME that explores ways we "bury" or can "invest" the treasures (gifts) God has given each of us. Students spin and advance, gaining or losing gold depending on the places they land. Each gain and loss is an opportunity for the teacher to make a point.  

A student handout for the Talents section of the software is attached.

Pictured:  A scene from the Stewardship Game.

Computer Workshop lesson ideas submitted by Neil MacQueen

1.  Burying Our Gifts In Our Words

Students type an inverted pyramid of word-excuses that visually appear to "bury" our gifts.

The teacher walks the student through this exercise by first listing on the board a variety of "excuses" people use to avoid doing right, avoid worship, avoid helping others, avoid praying, avoiding giving, avoid getting involved, avoid being honest, etc.

Students then open their wordprocessor, and start typing 15 lines full of excuses.

The top line is the longest. The 2nd line is a little shorter, the third a little shorter than the 2nd, and so on until they get down to the last line which simply says "God's Gifts". PRINT and share.

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God's Gifts

2.  The Best Excuse Game

Students Compete to come up with the "Best" Excuse for Not following through on their talents/gifts/commitments.

Students will use Let's Talk software (Sunday Software) to make their computer speak aloud an excuse they will offer in response to the teacher's statement. 

"Let's Talk" software program is now free to the supporting members of Rotation.org!

Learn more

Use the "Talk Now" model in Let's Talk CD.  After hearing the teacher's statement, they type a response, then play it back for all to hear when the teacher cues them.  Students vote on the best excuse and move on to the next statement.  (My software folks will recognize this as the technique I describe in the Let's Talk resource page as "Stand and Deliver".)

Suggested teacher statements:

I walk by a kid being bullied in the hallway at school because....

I don't feel like going to Sunday School this morning because....

God has given me eternal life, but I'm not into praying my thanks every day because....

I could use some help making choices in my life, but I don't read the Bible because.....

I walked by a charity bake sale the other day and didn't support it because....

Even though it says to honor your mother and father, I don't always do that because....

I have someone in my life whom I really need to forgive, but I don't because....

I know God doesn't want me to do some of the things I say and do, but I do and say them because.....

etc.

This is obviously an older kids lesson idea. Very effective. Each "because" and each of their responses is an occasion for great discussion. Some kids will give funny answers instead of serious ones, so I let them do "one funny" then "one serious" and that usually does the trick.

Then...   switch up the questions to "positives", such as...

The talent I possess that nobody knows about is.....

The talent I wish I had is .....

If I could ask God to give me ONE GIFT to improve my life, my world, my church, it would be.....

Neil

Free to Everyone: The Parable of the Talents (Stewardship) software game

Everyone can now download for free the Talents games which is a part of the Talents/Stewardship lesson in Awesome Bible Stories software. It works in Windows. Check it out in our Bible software download forum here at Rotation.org