Sunday School Teacher Support

Children love miracles! Look for opportunities to "recreate" miracles so children can experience the delight and wonder that they bring.

Turn water into wine (John 2:1)
Supplies Needed: clear pitcher filled with water; pitcher you cannot see through with grape juice concentrate (powder, liquid or frozen) at the bottom; a cup for each child

Miracle: As you tell the story, pour water from the clear pitcher into the pitcher with grape juice concentrate at the bottom. As you finish telling the story, pour a cup of water-turned-to-wine for each child to drink.

Aaron's rod becomes a serpent (Exodus 7:8)
Supplies Needed: rubber or plastic toy snake; a tree branch trimmed to be like Aaron's rod

Miracle: Throw down the stick as Aaron did. As it touches the ground, hide the stick behind your back and throw down the toy snake. Later, when you reach to pick up the snake, grab the serpent with one hand and bring the stick back out with the other hand.

Remember to explain how you did the "miracle" afterwards. Tell children that the Lord really does miracles, but that we can only enact them!

Children love the sensation of dabbling their hands in water. Include water play in lessons when it's part of the story you are teaching.

Cure Naaman's Leprosy! (2 Kings 5:1-19)
Supplies Needed: bowl of flour, bowl of water (Jordan River), towels
Activity: Invite the children to become become "lepers" by dipping a hand into the bowl of flour. Then wash seven times in the "Jordan River" to become clean.

Part the Red Sea (Exodus 14)
Supplies Needed: cooking or baking tray with a shallow amount of water in it; hair dryer
Activity: Create a great wind by blowing the hairdryer across the water (widthwise) to create a dry path for the children of Israel to walk on.  Experiment with water depth before your lesson to guarantee the success of this activity!

If there is food in the story, prepare food as a project or bring some to sample.

Samson and the honey in the lion's carcass (Judges 14:8)
Supplies Needed: honey or honeycomb to taste

Gathering manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16)
Supplies Needed: puffed milled or rice cereal; clean sheet; cups
Activity: Spread clean sheet on the floor. Sprinkle puffed cereal on it. Children will gather "manna" into cups and eat.

Feeding 5000 with loaves and fishes (Matthew 14)
Supplies Needed: 5 small loaves of bread or muffins, can of sardines or other ready-to-eat fish, basket, napkins
Activity: Share the loaves and fish from the basket.

To create a script, download the text from Bible Gateway or Kempton Project. Copy and paste the text into a word program. Remove verses and other reading markings that distract. Assign character and narrator lines using a variety of fonts or colors so it's easy to read. Shorten or lengthen the story according to the age group you are teaching. Young children can act out the story while the teacher reads the script. Older children can act out while reading the script themselves. Larger groups may use different children to read, act or do "special effects".

If you have a few minutes at the end of a lesson, use each one as if it is a precious gift!

• Teach a song, or add hand motions to a song the children know.
• Make up a song together that is based on your lesson. Use a tune everyone knows and simply add new words.
• Play Guess Who? (also known as Come si Come!) Leader (teacher or student) says "Come si Come," signaling that they have thought of a person, preferably a character from the Bible. The class asks, "Who do you come by?" The class guesses who the leader has in mind. The leader can only say yes or no so questions must be worded so this can work, i.e. "It this person a woman" rather than "Is this a man or a woman?"
• Play a fun interactive game
• Recite a memory verse, 12 tribes of Israel, books of the Bible, etc.

Would being outdoors transform your lesson? If you have space and good weather, consider moving outside!

Abraham and the angel visitors (Genesis 18)
Supplies Needed: tent or large sheet; two sticks or tent poles; rope to secure poles; tent pegs or rocks to hold the rope
Activity: Create a tent. Act out the story. Feed the angel visitors.

Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3)
Supplies Needed: flame-colored fabric strips for "fire"; bush with leaves
Activity: Tie fabric strips to bush. Children can take off their shoes on "holy ground".

Tabernacle of Israel (Exodus)
Supplies Needed: cubit measuring stick (18 in/45 cm) or tape measure; enough cones or sticks to mark out the full size of the tabernacle and its court; yarn, string, or chalk to show boundaries
Activity: Help children "build" the tabernacle. Finish the activity by having "priests" walk the "ark" into place.

Cutting things out
When cutting out project pieces for each child, fold your paper, fabric or string several times and cut once. Depending on the thickness of the material you are using, you may be able to cut out up to 8 projects at a time!

Better tools
Use a paper cutter in place of scissors when cutting paper. If you are working with fabric, try a rotary blade, straight edge and cutting board. Tired of writing titles on projects? Type headings once using a computer, copy and paste your title as many times as you can on a page. Print one, photocopy and cut apart with a paper cutter. 

If long stretches of time are in short supply, try using minutes throughout the week to create lessons that inspire.

• Start thinking about your lesson early in the week--Monday or Tuesday. Read the story through.
• Gather a mobile Sunday School kit. Put lesson materials, pencils, highlighters and a copy of God's Word in a bag. Place it within easy reach. Your car may be the best place!
• Read through your lesson in place of a magazine as you wait at appointments, lessons or sports games.
• Reflect. Spending time with the story will bring thoughts to your mind.
• Jot down teaching ideas, projects, activities and supplies you will need.
• Later in the week, read the story several times, until you can easily tell it.
• Make sure you understand the Lord's message by using prepared lessons, reading explanations in the Heavenly Doctrine or talking to your pastor.
• Think about ways the story affects your personal life.
• Choose 3 main points to focus on. Nobody can really take in more than that! Mark them in your lesson notes with a highlighter so they will be easy to see when you are teaching.
• Visualize your entire lesson--your reading strategy, project or activity, wrap-up and clean up.
• Think about your students. Will this lesson work?
• Finalize your plan and gather all supplies before Sunday morning so you can relax and enjoy teaching.

It is normal for children to test boundaries, but if behavior problems persist in your classroom, try stepping back and taking a look at the bigger picture. Might any of the following factors be contributing to what is happening?

Boredom A lesson was not well prepared or is not interesting

Desire to gain power Children may want to be in charge of their own lives and have problems with others telling them what to do

Attention A child wants the teacher to pay attention to him or her

Testing boundaries Children want to know what a teacher will do when a rule is not followed

Revenge A child is angry about something or with someone and is acting out

Selfishness Like adults, children sometimes struggle with selfish behaviors

Plan lessons that get children actively involved and then set the stage for success by taking charge of classroom leadership!

Lay clear ground rules
In Sunday School we…
• sit quietly while we listen to the story
• keep our hands to ourselves
• put our hands up when we have something to share
• do not take the Lord’s name in vain

Maintain a positive attitude
If rules are broken.  Say, “I really like it when you put your hand up” rather than “Don’t shout out the answers!”

Use “carrots” (the rules of heaven)
Incentives such as stickers, bookmarks, candy, movies, etc. may encourage good behavior. Find out what the children like best. It will be a juicier carrot that is worth working for!

Save “sticks” (the rules of hell)
Time-outs, assigned seating and firm words may help restore a class when carrots are not working.

Set up clear consequences
Keeping calm and taking a no-nonsense approach can help establish order. Children who can’t keep their hands to themselves may need to sit next to the teacher.  A child who is running around the room may need to sit on a chair.  Remain positive, firm and loving at all times.

Ask for help
If a situation gets out of control, speak to your Sunday School organizer, another teacher, a friend or the Pastor. Get help! (Don’t blab!) Others may also struggle with the same child. Consider letting the parents of a difficult child know what is happening—either personally, or with the help of a Sunday School leader or Pastor. Parents may be able to help by speaking to the child at home. Remain calm, non-judgmental and specific about the inappropriate behaviors. Ask for their support. Remember there may be other issues at play.

Wondering where a town mentioned in your story is located? If another event happened in the same place? How large measurements are? Take advantage of websites that put this information at your fingertips!  To view a Bible atlas, dictionary, encyclopedia and more try Biblos.