Teach a lesson | Atelier du moniteur

The pedagogical sheet

All lesson kits sold on this site include an educational fact sheet based on the following model. It has 10 points:

1. Reference texts

Note the biblical texts used by the monitor to prepare the lesson, the texts of the biblical narrative and texts dealing with the subject matter. They will not necessarily be read to children. These texts must be read (or reread) in context, in different versions, in order to soak them up and understand them well. It may be useful to read biblical commentaries, to use a biblical dictionary, a parallel Bible …

2. The goal

Choose a goal. This is what the monitor wants the children to have learned or acquired at the end of the session (examples: that they understand that God loves everyone as he is, that they have become aware of the importance of not letting sin settle in their hearts, that they discover in different ways they can serve the Lord at their level, etc.).

Attention! You have to choose ONE AND stick to it, which is not necessarily easy, because you can learn from multiple teachings from a single biblical passage. This unique objective will be the common thread of the whole session.

3. The hook

It allows children to get the attention of children in a few minutes, so that they want to know more, that they feel concerned about the subject that we are going to discuss. It consists of calling by a situation, an anecdote, a game, an experience, an object or an animal, a skit, a puppet, a testimony… It is better to avoid directly announcing the story that will follow (I’ll tell you about Zacchaeus), but rather to initiate the interest by highlighting an unexpected aspect of the story (I’ll tell you the story of a man who was hated by everyone). It is often easier to find a catch after writing the lesson.

4. The lesson

Make a plan of your lesson. On your card, avoid writing down everything you have to say, so you don’t have to be tempted to read your text to your children. Just write down the plan. This must have a maximum of 3 main points, then several steps corresponding to the secondary development of the story as well as visual aids, Bible readings, special activities …. This is sufficient, as this part of the session should not exceed 20 minutes.

Write down the apps to the child. Reading a story or exhibiting a theme is not enough! The child has difficulty making it an application for his own life. We need to think to the point of finding practical applications for himself and knowing how to explain them. (“Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and don’t you do what I say?” (Luke 6.46) This application should be made as the story progresses; thus the child remains attentive and therefore receives while listening to the story. Indeed, we find that if one brings spiritual application to the end of the story, the child’s attention is demobilized; it follows that the most important part of the lesson is lost.

A little trick to help you find an application: we start the sentence with “ET TOI…” . Attention! Do not systematically formulate it in an interrogative way: “And you, do you love Jesus, do you pray to him every day …?” These questions can make children uncomfortable. It is not a question of highlighting their shortcomings, but of guiding them on a path, of helping them to move forward, of teaching them. One can put it this way: “And you, maybe you don’t yet know Jesus well enough to love him, but know that he loves you very much. He’d like you to spend a little time with him every day.”

Two examples of a plan, with the 3 development points and the corresponding applications:

For a lesson from a biblical account: “Abraham obeys God”

– The situation of Abraham in Ur – > the situation of the child
– God speaks to Abraham – > God speaks to you (how?)
– Abraham obeys and acts – > obey God and act

For a lesson based on a theme: “effective prayer” (it can be illustrated with one or more biblical accounts or testimonies)

– sincere – > prayer with righteousness
– fervent – > pray with all your heart
– with faith – > expect the grant

5. The conclusion

It must absolutely match the objective. If this is not the case, the development of the lesson must be reviewed.

It must be short: don’t repeat the lesson! Hence the need to think about it.

It leads to an answer. Attention! Don’t put any pressure on me! The child must remain free of his choices.

The answer must be practical. However, the child does not always know how to do it. It is up to you to show him: if you speak of salvation, make a call; If you have taught goodness, show him what good deeds are within his reach; If it is about forgiveness, lead him to forgive a specific person… Jesus asked us to teach to observe everything he prescribed (Matthew 28.20).

6. Children’s Prayer

Write a wording of prayer. What for? The children’s prayer at this time of the session must be a response to the teaching received. However, some children have difficulty synthesizing their thoughts or finding the right words. We must help them formulate a coherent prayer. To do this, we can ask the group: “What are we going to answer to the Lord?” Children are allowed to express themselves and then help them formulate. This wording can be written on the board. During the prayer, children will be able to take a look at it if necessary. Above all, make it clear to the children that this is a help you offer them. They are not obliged to pray in the direction indicated.

7. The verse to remember

It must have a close relationship with the objective: this is essential to strengthen the teaching received. It should be easy to understand and easy to remember, age-appropriate. There are books that allow you to choose verses by theme (Bible Thomson, or New Biblical Index).

8. Activities

Knowing that the lesson itself should not exceed 15-20 minutes, it is useful to plan activities, songs, games, etc. When the lesson is over, the activities allow children to continue to be educated in other forms, to verify the proper understanding of the teaching provided, and to help them memorize.

9. Songs

Prepare a list of songs on the chosen theme plus the introductory and concluding songs of the session.

10. Questions

This questionnaire will be used immediately after the lesson, as an activity, or later, in a review game or contest. It is easier to prepare a series of questions about the lesson you are working on than to do it later.

Preparing a lesson: how to do it?

We are sometimes saddened because children seem not to be interested in the teaching that is given to them. One could then deduce that they are not thirsty for God’s things. I would say that they are very thirsty, but children do not know that it is god’s things that they are thirsty for.

As long as the human being is not reconciled with his Creator, he lives in dissatisfaction, he feels a lack. He will try to fill this void with all the opportunities the world offers him, to no avail. We know that this thirst is God’s need that is inscribed in his heart, and that only God can respond to it. Children are part of this frustrated humanity and they feel the need to be reconciled with their Creator, even if they do not know that this is what it is all about.

One of the keys to the success of our mission is to know how to reveal the true source in the eyes of children, to lead them there, and to make them taste its water.

How do we do that?

Prepare an argument

First of all, our lesson should not be an imprecise discourse, in which we drop biblical truths or verses, relying on the power of the Lord to accomplish the intended work in the hearts of children. This can “work” for a while, and the Lord, who is good and compassionate, can still give some fruit to this work.

But in the long run, children feel like they are always told the same thing… and after several years, they risk being “vaccinated” against biblical teaching, because they will have perceived it as boring and routine. This is one of the main reasons for the children being removed from the church as soon as they become teenagers. Believing doesn’t set aside our intelligence. Children, who are curious and eager to learn by nature, like to be taught things of God, BUT YES! It is up to us monos to prepare good little spiritual dishes in the manner of God.

So our lesson needs to be thought through, organized as an argument. It should allow us to:

Inches

awakening the child’s interest
appeal to his reason
touch his heart
get him to act

Structure

Second, it must be structured, i.e. it must include a plan:

introduction (hook)
development (maximum 3 points)
Conclusion

Adapt

Then, its content, shape and presentation must be adapted to the child’s abilities according to his age (read “The characteristics of the child according to his age).

It is not an option, it is an absolute necessity. The child cannot get to our level; it is up to us to know its limits, its capabilities, its needs and to put our teaching within its reach.

A marker: if, when you prepare a lesson, you do not find application to the child (i.e. what he can put into practice in his life following your teaching), it is because the subject is too high or too complicated for him. This theme represents a “steak”, while the child is still on milk… A study, a theme, that may have done us a lot of good as an adult, can be unaffordable for children. Knowing how to provide children with a teaching that is within their reach is one of the main challenges faced by the instructors. Just like knowing how to stop developing…

Let us not forget that the child is capable of receiving only one biblical truth at a time. We cannot go around a topic in one sitting. It is better to push one nail at a time, rather than typing everywhere without real effectiveness. At the end of the session, the children must be able to tell what truth they were taught. Maybe you’re afraid to get them tired. If you vary enough the activities around the theme taught (singing, games, questions, drawing, mime, etc.), they will not feel any feeling of repetition.

Making it attractive

Finally, as interesting as it is, the lesson must be attractive if we are to win over children; it must be illustrated and convey enthusiasm and joy, faith and recognition. How can we explain that crowds of people, mostly uneducated, could listen to the teaching of the Lord Jesus for hours? The Lord knew how to arouse the interest of his listeners by sticking to their experiences, he knew how to put himself within their reach by using their language, by illustrating by means of parables, examples, and he also knew how to transmit his fervor and joy.

Mastering content

When I started teaching children (I was in my twenties), I quickly encountered an unexpected difficulty: how to clearly state what I believed? Although I was born into a Christian family, having heard the Word of God from a young age, I found it very difficult to explain my faith and justify what I had believed for years.

In fact, I knew by heart (or almost) all biblical stories, but I was ignorant of the concepts, teachings, doctrines contained in the Bible.
These biblical truths are the solid supports on which the Christian, adult or child, builds his faith. Failing to receive these foundations, he advances to the sandstone of his sensations, his impressions, what he hears from one or the other: he remains fragile. What would you think of a math teacher who knows approximately math? And yet, some instructors know the subject they teach only in a very approximate way… If this is your case, it is not too late to go around the main biblical doctrines (browse the shelves of a Christian bookstore and ask your pastor for advice) to verify the accuracy of your teaching.

An idea: children can be helped to assimilate biblical doctrines by asking them, from time to time, to explain what they believe, for example why they are certain to be saved, why they will never be condemned for their sins if they believed in Jesus, etc. Not only will they be strengthened, but when the opportunity to testify comes to them, they will find the words to speak to others about their faith.

Moreover, knowing their Lord, what he has done for them and what he continues to do day after day will give them many reasons to praise him and encourage them in worship.