How to Teach Sunday School for Kids
Many parents desire to pass religious beliefs onto their children. They wish to instill religious teachings and morals but do not know how to instruct the children themselves. For this reason, many churches have implemented Sunday schools, where children can take classes while their parents attend regular church services. Teaching Sunday school can be rewarding, especially when a teacher is fully prepared and has an executable plan for the day's lesson.
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Instructions
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Choose the scripture story or religious principle you want to focus your Sunday school lesson and activities on. A Sunday school class can focus on scripture passages and the principles taught by the passages, a certain aspect or belief of the particular religion, or both. Some churches have pre-planned lesson guides for their Sunday school teachers to follow, so be sure to find out whether an outline for the lesson is already available or if you need to create your own.
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Organize a prayer activity to open the class. Various religions have their own unique prayer methods, so these should be taken into consideration when planning a prayer activity. This opening activity can also include other exercises that promote student leadership and inclusion in the Sunday school classroom. For example, one student can be chosen to lead the prayer, while another reads aloud a verse of scripture or an inspirational quote, and another shares announcements about upcoming youth activities at the church.
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Read a verse directly from the Bible or other religious text, depending on the religion you belong to, that pertains to the day's lesson. Explain to students the significance of the line. Some scriptures and religious doctrine may be difficult for young children to understand, so explain the concepts in simple terms and relate the principles to the children's own lives and experiences in ways they can understand.
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Provide hands-on activities for your students to participate in that relate to the story or principle you are teaching. For example, you can assist children in putting on a short skit that depicts the scripture story or principle being taught. You can also help your students create artwork that goes along with the story, or create puzzles and riddles that correspond to the values the story is teaching.
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Allow time for questions, which will help your students explore their faith and the meaning of the stories and values your lesson focuses on.
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Prepare a fun activity that complements the lesson. Games, coloring pages and crafts can be used. Explain to the children how the activity relates to the story or principle they are learning about.
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Encourage the children to talk to their parents about what they learned in class. Ask your students to draw pictures of themselves fulfilling a principle such as honesty, friendship or patience learned about during the lesson. They can bring their drawings to the next Sunday school class for a show-and-tell activity that will help tie both lessons together. Another idea for an activity to be completed at home is having students write down one good deed they did during the week; they can share the experience with their peers at the next Sunday school class.
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