Seven ways to keep your SRE lessons engaging

Sam was a terribly difficult child to manage. His Special Religious Education (SRE) teacher often despaired of him. He was frequently mentioned in her prayers and the prayers of her bible study group, who often heard about her struggle with his challenging behaviour in class. She was sure he didn’t learn anything.

Fast forward twenty years and Sam is completing his training to become an SRE teacher. He’s now married and his wife is expecting their first child. He’s grown to become a respected member of his church since he joined as a teenager. Now due to a flexible work arrangement, he can take on two SRE classes on a Wednesday. Sam remembers how difficult he was as a student and wishes he could tell his SRE teacher from back then where he is now and that she really did make a difference.

Students like Sam can cause even the most committed SRE teachers to feel worn out at times. Especially as the term comes to an end and children are more and more tired, behaviour can go downhill. But we do not lose heart, remembering that teaching the Bible is a privilege, even when it’s hard to hold onto the joy. And we can keep working on making our lessons as engaging as possible so it’s not too hard for kids to stay focused.

But first, what are we aiming for? It’s important to clarify that what we are aiming for is not children sitting perfectly still and silent. We want them to be listening and thinking about what we are teaching, and that may look different week to week and depending on their age. It may look like lots of hands up, eager to answer, or laughter or shock as they respond to a story, or cheering as a memory verse is remembered.

So how can we tell if they are engaged? Here are some ways to evaluate.

-        Where are their eyes? They might be jiggling but are their eyes on you or out the window? Wondering eyes are not a problem if they keep returning to you, but if their eyes are elsewhere for more than 10 seconds, you’ve probably lost them.

-        Are they asking or answering questions? If they are, then something is going in.

-        Have they been doing the same thing for more than five minutes? A good rule of thumb is that children can focus for the same number of minutes as their age. E.g., A seven-year-old can focus for seven minutes. This is when they are not actively participating in something. So, it’s possible to do activity books for 10-15 minutes even with Kindergarten because they are actively choosing coloured pencils and using them, and then choosing a new part of the page to work on and so on. But if children are sitting and listening to you, then they cannot focus for a long time.

But what about when the teaching takes longer than 5, 6, 7 minutes? Yep, the challenge is real. There are ways to help children refocus and stay with you.

It is worth emphasising though, that part of our preparation is making sure we are very clear on what our one big idea is (the main teaching point usually found in the Lesson Aims and Outcomes). We need to be clear on that as teachers, and we want it to be as clear as possible for our students. Using the Big Questions structure for our lessons is one helpful way to do this. If we can be clear on our big idea, then it allows us to cut out any waffle or extra content that our class doesn’t need.

Here are seven ways to help students stay engaged as you’re teaching:

1.      Reading together when everyone can see the passage – As you read, ask students to follow along and then say the word when you pause. This means you can read the passage more quickly and fluently than asking a student to read it all, but all students need to follow along. Example: Teacher: “Again Jesus began to teach by the …”, Students: “lake” (Mark 4:1).

2.      Reading together when not everyone can see the passage – As you prepare, underline up to 8 words in the passage you’ll be reading from and then write them up on the whiteboard randomly (definitely not in order). Make sure every student can see and read the words. Explain that you are going to read the passage slowly and when you stop, they need to work out which of the words on the board fits in next. E.g. Words on the board: seed, plants, soil. Teacher, “A farmer went out to sow his _____.” Students, “seed!”. You need to read slowly and possibly repeat the sentence so students can work it out, but it’s a great way to get them really listening and thinking about meaning. Then read that sentence again and keep going.

3.      Actions, sounds and emotional faces – These strategies are mentioned in some parts of the Connect curriculum already, but you can use them anytime. Ask the children to make the sounds that accompany the story (wind, waves, crowds cheering or booing), actions like the characters (hold up your staff like Moses, look up at the stars like Abraham) or show emotions like the characters (show me a confused face like the people in the crowd when Jesus wanted to go to Zacchaeus’ house).

4.      Repeating key phrases – A simple but effective strategy is asking children to repeat key words or phrases as you teach. I often ask my kindergarten class to repeat new names or place names when they are unfamiliar. There is something about articulating a word and hearing ourselves say it that helps us remember. With older classes, this can mean writing key phrases on the board and then pointing at each one when you need them to say it. Extending even further, you can have half the class saying phrases on one half of the board when you point and then the other class saying the phrases on the second half. It’s a great way to reflect patterns that are already present in the bible stories. For example, Teacher: “And Moses went to Pharoah and said,” Students on right, “God says, Let my people go!”, Teacher: “But Pharoah said,“ Students on left, “NO! I will not let them go.”.

5.      Playdough/clay – Give students a small ball of playdough to play with as they listen to the story and ask them to make shapes and figures as you go. This is best done when sitting at desks rather than on the floor (especially if there is carpet). Example: With the David and Goliath story, “Can you make a big man and a little man? In our story today, there is a very big man, and one who was much smaller…”.

6.      Draw/Colour while listening – Another simple one. Instead of giving out student workbooks from the beginning, give one page of blank paper and allow students to draw while you teach. This can be completely free, or you can suggest drawings or key words along the way. Tim Beilharz, Youthworks Children’s Ministry and Primary SRE Advisor, sometimes gives out a blank comic book page and encourages students to recreate the story either during or after listening to the story.

7.      Points games – Sometimes a game that runs through your lessons can help motivate children to stay on task. The peg game (read more here) or something as simple as points accumulating on the board for each table group or each half of the room or boys v. girls. Points are given not just for right answers but good questions, helpful behaviour and staying focused. Noticing and acknowledging when our students are doing the right thing (with points or without) is often the most powerful encouragement.

Of course, there are still good weeks and not-so-good weeks with our classes. Trying one or two of these strategies might be what you need to have a few more good weeks.

Are you wondering if the story about Sam is true? I’m not going to tell you. Maybe he’s in your class.