Getting Students to Listen

[Kevin B Wallace]

I was teaching a Sunday school class the other day and had a hard time keeping the kids attention. I was teaching kids between the ages eight and eleven. I was mostly lecturing because last week we had done group work with activities and felt they needed a variety of teaching methods applied to their learning. After the lesson I asked them how I could have made the lesson better and how I could make it more interesting. A student raised their hand suggesting incorporating a game with the lesson. I was talking with my wife about this and she told me that their attention span is only about six minutes long and suggested breaking up the lecture every six minutes with a class discussion or activity. My question is if this is accurate or acceptable to do and if so what are some ways or games to do so that I can keep the class interested getting them to care as much as possible about the subject that I am teaching?

[Anne Wall]

Hi Kevin,
Your wife is right! Lecture should be used in very limited situations with children that age. Kids can learn the same information in a variety of ways, but they need to be able to interact with the material. Does your church provide you with any curriculum resources? If so, check through them to see how they suggest the class period be divided. There is also a wide selection of lesson ideas for Sunday School on the Internet. One good one is http://www.kidssundayschool.com/. Good luck!

[Kevin B Wallace]

Thank you for the wonderful advice and support! My church has given me the freedom to conduct the classroom as I see necessary, so they will not mind how I divide the classroom time and they provide me with all the curriculum resources that I need. I will go to the internet site you suggested and look for ideas there. You have been a wonderful help and I thank you for your time. Have a wonderful day. :)

[Amy Leigh Miears]

You should also go by LIFEWAY Christian Bookstore here in Clarksville. They have a ton of different activities and things to do with your class. They have a pretty wide selection to choose from.

[Kevin B Wallace]

Thank you for the advice. I actually forgot all about going to Lifeway to see what is there. I will do that and thank you again for your reply.

[Lori A. Gill]

Hi Kevin,
It is great that you are already involved in some kind of teaching since that is what you intend to do for a career. It sound like you are a person with a sincere interest in the service of others. Your wife is right about the attention of young children but that also extends into older children and adults. Our minds just wander, so we have to have interactive things such as games to keep us interested and learning. It is especially hard for the little ones. I am sure you are doing a great job because you have your heart in it.

[Kevin B Wallace]

Thank you for the support and kind comments! It really feels good to have such nice people in the Educ. 3040 class and to know that one day those same people will be teaching young children. If there is ever anything you need help with know that I will do my best to help. Thanks again.