ABCs of Creatively Teaching Youth
ABC's of Creatively Teaching Youth
by Ken Sapp
"Youth are mature enough for serious Bible Study. They
shouldn't need games and all this 'creative' stuff."
Unfortunately this is a common sentiment among teachers of youth
and adults. Of course, when they indicate serious Bible Study,
what they usually mean is lecture. Yet Jesus, undoubtedly the
most serious of ALL teachers, used stories, parables, object
lessons, and activities to teach. As for lecture, we only have
one long lecture of Jesus recorded in Scripture, the "Sermon on
the Mount."
Jesus involved others in the learning experience, preferring to
guide his pupils to discover, understand, and live the truth.
It's a sin to for youth to leave Bible Study with the thought
that it is boring and meaningless. Listed below are some ideas
for preparing Bible Study with youth that is meaningful and
exciting.
A.Adapt
Choosing Bible Study curriculum is like choosing new clothes.
Few have the resources, skill, or the time to tailor their own.
But you are not stuck with creating your own or using something
that doesn't fit. There is a third option - adjusting it so that
it does fit. Bible study materials are often written to fit a
wide variety of needs, but with a little planning and a little
adapting here and there you can get something that fits.
Fit to the Occasion, Size, Practicality
We need to be very careful that we are not buying a Ballerina
outfit for a Soccer Goalie. One may be elegant and beautiful,
but no matter how much adjustment we do, it will never serve our
purpose. Different occasions demand different materials. And the
boys soccer team may need a little something different from the
mom's cross-stitch class. "One size fits all" rarely fits! To be
most effective we need to know the sizes (spiritual maturity) of
the people for which the material is intended. Finally we need
something that is practical for the skill level of the teacher,
the time constraints and the resources available. Discover the
various interests and needs of your students and their teachers
and you will be much more effective outfitting them for life.
Find the Main Idea
Isolate the main idea of the lesson, and how it should be
applied to life. Then put it into one simple statement.
Materials will often do this for you and call it the "teaching
aim" or "central truth." These are only suggestions and should
be rewritten as necessary so that it is meaningful and
applicable to YOUR youth in YOUR church. Your objective is not
to cover all the material in the Bible passage, forcing your
youth to "sit still while you instill" all the Bible content
into them. Rather your goal is to help each to discover the ONE
main truth of the passage and apply it to his or her life. Our
goal is not Bible Drill Champions, but Biblical Christians. If
the youth leave with one truth per week and truly apply it to
life, you will have been incredibly used by God and might even
create a few Bible Drill Champs in the process!
Focus the Lesson
Once you have identified the central truth, everything you do
during this lesson should focus on this truth, shed light on it,
look at it from different angles, help youth discover it, and
eventually to see its application. Read the focal passage, the
lesson in the student book, the background material, and
teaching helps with your specific main idea for your youth in
mind. Remember that games and activities for the mere sake of
activity are meaningless. But games and activities that help
youth to experience the main truth, to draw attention to it, can
be the key to making the lesson memorable. They can be a hook, a
hanger, on which the student can hang the lesson instead of
getting lost in the bottom of the closet of their minds. When
choosing activities and teaching steps, always ask the following
question: "How does this activity or step reinforce the Focus of
this lesson?" If you have several activities to choose from,
identify which would be the best reinforcement and most likely
to work with YOUR students.
Fun and Variety
Use a variety of engaging teaching methods to seize the
attention of your students and draw them to the central truth.
Different people learn in different ways, have had difference
life experiences, have different interests and concepts of fun,
different gifts and talents, and have different needs. It is
impossible to teach to all these variables at once, but variety
allows you to reach more of them. You want to shine a bright
light of attention on all the various facets of that diamond of
truth you have chosen so that all its sparkle and all its
various angles and perspectives are illuminated. You want to
make it so attractive to the learners so that they want to
interact with it and explore it in all its detail. The worst
teaching method is the one that is repeatedly used as it will
progressively become more ineffective with each use. Most
teaching materials will provide a couple of alternative options
for each key teaching point. Identify the key idea or purpose of
each activity. They are options and you can pick and choose as
you wish. You may even add an option of your own if you can
achieve the same result with another activity. Remember
EVERYTHING in the materials are SUGGESTIONS! ADAPT!
Find Resources
If you wish to use alternative ideas you need resources. Why
waste your time trying to come up with all your own ideas when
there are some great helps already available from which to draw?
If the focus of the lesson is for example "compassion," then you
can often find another lesson on compassion and add or replace
activities in your lesson. There are many good books and
resources that are just that, sources of teaching ideas for you
to adapt as needed! One great resource is www.CreativeYouthIdeas.c
om. And when your creative juices ARE flowing and you have a
creative idea, type it into your computer or jot it down on a
notecard and store it in a file for later use. You never know
when the same idea could be used again with a different group of
youth later. Just categorize them by subjects and key words
(i.e. what does this activity teach?)
B. Be Student Focused
"We don't teach the Bible, we teach YOUTH." Remember our goal is
not "Content" but "Changed lives," not "facts," but "followers."
Our goal is to see youth grow and develop in preparation for a
lifelong walk with Christ, to be faithful followers of Jesus.
Many people know about God and Christianity without really
knowing God and living as Christians. An effective teacher will
know the needs, the likes and dislikes, and the learning
preferences of youth and be able to integrate these into the
lesson so that youth become a part of the lesson and can
understand its application to his or her life. As you prepare
for your lesson, you should keep in mind the needs, experiences,
and personalities of YOUR youth. The key is to guide the lesson
with YOUR youth in mind.
C. Connect
You need to connect all the parts of the lesson together and
most importantly build a connection between the lesson and the
students and even between yourself, as the teacher, and the
students. "Youth don't care what you know until they know that
you care." Youth need to know how one activity relates to those
that have preceded it. After you have analyzed how each activity
or step relates to the main lesson you only need to phrase it in
a simple sentence and it serves as a great transition to the
next step. You might also let youth know how this lesson
connects with previous lessons. Finally youth need to know where
the lesson connects with everyday life- (i.e. how does it
apply.) They want to know why the lesson is important.
If you can Adapt, Be student focused, and Connect everything
together, "Teaching Creatively" is as simple as ABC!
For a variety of creative ideas and more information on how
to teach creatively: visit www.CreativeYouthIdeas.c
om