Sunday Morning Chalk Talk

Slide 1 : Effective Classroom Management For Youth Ministries Sunday Morning Chalk Talk

Introduction : Introduction Who am I? I’m a PK - a fourth-generation Pentecostal woman who has invested her heart in children. I’ve… Taught Sunday school Been a youth leader Founded Sunset Heights Christian Academy where I’ve filled the role of principal and a teacher for the past 13 years. My passion is building character in the lives of the next generation.

Slide 3 : Introduction [David] bade them teach the children the use of the bow… II Samuel 1:18 Let me take a minute to applaud all of you for loving the kingdom of God enough to take the time to put spiritual weapons in the hands of our children. Not every warrior is a teacher. But all teachers are warriors who will win battles long after they’ve gone on to receive their reward.

Introduction : Introduction Teaching can be one of life’s most fulfilling endeavors, or it can turn into a living nightmare. Too often the outcome boils down to classroom management. In churches across America, men and women with a burden and heart full of love for children are giving of themselves in Sunday school classrooms and youth classes. Unfortunately, they don’t always have the tools and knowledge to make the most of their efforts.

Introduction : Introduction It is my heartfelt prayer that I can use my experience working with children to bless your ministry. Let’s take a look at: I. Understanding Your Students II. Setting the Stage III. Delivering the Lesson

Understanding Your Students : Understanding Your Students Surprise! Children aren’t miniature adults. Honestly, there are physical reasons why you can say, “Good morning, the sun is shining today,” and a student’s hand will shoot up. When you call on the child she might inform you, “I had Cheerios for breakfast this morning.” I won’t go into depth here, but young children have hundreds of thousands more brain connections than we do. At puberty, many of the seldom -used connections will die. But until then, you never know what kind of an idea a statement may trigger.

Slide 7 : Understanding Your Students Having said that, I’m sure this won’t come as a shock to most of you… Children have short attention spans! When you walk into the classroom, don’t expect children to sit still and listen without becoming distracted for a great length of time. Rule of Thumb! The child’s age = the number of minutes you can expect him/her to sit still and listen up.

Slide 8 : Understanding Your Students So what does that mean to you when you walk into the classroom next Sunday? Keep it short and sweet. Plan your lessons with the age level in mind. 2. Break it up. If you’ve got a long lesson, break it into “chapters” that end with cliff hangers. Fill the breaks with a song or physical activity that goes with the lesson. 3. Use your time effectively! There’s a “teachable” moment in every lesson when all eyes are on you. Grab it! You might not get another one.

Slide 9 : Understanding Your Students . The second thing every Sunday school teacher needs to know is that not all kids learn alike. There are three basic learning styles. The Visual Learner These children love to see things on paper, and are generally given to organization. The Auditory Learner These children thrive on verbal stories and communication. The Kinesthetic Learner This is the child who scribbled on the wall last week. Everything is a hands-on experiment.

Slide 10 : Understanding Your Students . A lesson that incorporates elements for each of these learning styles will be much more effective in keeping all of the children involved. For The Visual Learner Use pictures, diagrams, or timelines to organize the lesson information. For The Auditory Learner Sharpen your story telling skills, and allow for question and answer time. For The Kinesthetic Learner Have children act out points, use hand motions, or even draw with their fingers on the carpet as you talk. Motion is important.

Slide 11 : Understanding Your Students . Please don’t give into the temptation to think these are learning preferences and that a child can change if he just puts his mind to it! God created each of us as unique individuals. Regardless of how hard you try, you could never make your thumbprint look like someone else’s. How much more, the amazingly complex mind! I promise that child who just can’t sit still isn’t ALWAYS trying to drive you stark-raving bonkers. There may be times when discipline is an issue, but keep in mind that a child whose mind isn’t being stimulated will find other ways to occupy himself. Don’t be fooled… Children are never really bored!

Slide 12 : I. Review . When does the brain begin to “weed out” seldom used connections? _______________ = the number of minutes you can expect a child to sit still and pay attention without getting distracted. What are the three learning styles? 4. What can you do to maximize student involvement for each of these styles?

Slide 13 : Setting the Stage . Preparation is half of the battle when it comes to dealing with young children. Please forgive me if this all sounds elementary to you, but I had to learn the hard way; so I assume there are others out there who’ve found themselves ready to pull their hair out after 20 minutes in a classroom of five-year-olds. You can save yourself the cost of a wig, if you understand the importance of preparation. After you’ve got your lesson all prepared and ready to go, go through this checklist of preparations to REALLY be prepared.

Slide 14 : Setting the Stage . Supplies: gather them and have them at hand, but don’t put them within reach of little fingers until you’re ready to use them. Eliminate Distractions: If it’s not tied down, you can be sure it’ll become an airplane or tool for dissection. Sometimes it’s something as simple as an open window or curtains flapping in the breeze that a student just can’t ignore. Seating Arrangements: Watch out for bad combinations. I find assigned seating to be a better option. You know the old saying… “birds of a feather…”

Slide 15 : Setting the Stage . You’re almost ready to teach, but there’s one more thing I’d like to discuss. Guidelines. A mistake that many of us make is not being sure the students understand right up front what we expect of them. We wait until we’re in the middle of a lesson and are quite irritated to interrupt our own lesson and point out a student’s poor behavior. Have a set of written guidelines and punishments for disobedience you go over with your class on a regular basis. Better yet, post them in the classroom even if you have to use pictures as cues instead of words.

Slide 16 : Setting the Stage . I believe that when we respond to disruptions in the classroom with frustration or anger we lose control and dignity. I know some will disagree. They believe that authority gives the teacher the right to anger. I’m sorry for them, but I see the teacher as a role model who needs to abide by the same rules as the students. So what do I do when a child is disruptive? First I use non-verbal cues to get his attention. I’ve practiced giving “the eye” and have become quite effective in using it. Next I use a spatial cue. I really don’t want to interrupt my own lesson if I can help it so I’ll walk toward the culprit without stopping.

Slide 17 : Setting the stage . The last attempt to convey my message without interrupting my lesson is a physical cue. A tap on the shoulder or a hand laid on the head usually gets the culprit’s attention. When all else fails, and it’s necessary to interrupt the lesson, I’ll ask the child what he/she is doing. Then I’ll ask him./her to tell me why they are breaking the rule. Finally, I’ll ask them to tell me what the punishment for breaking that rule is. What this does is force the child to take responsibility for his own actions and the consequences. I’m not the bad guy. He or she is. Isn’t that the first step of repentance?

Slide 18 : II. Review . What are the three key items on a the preparation checklist? How and why should guidelines be incorporated into your Sunday school class? What are the three non-verbal cues for nipping misbehavior in the bud? 4. What are the steps to discipline that engender repentance?

Slide 19 : Delivering the Lesson .I think that most of us who teach are looking for that magical moment when you just know that you’ve conveyed a message straight from your heart to a child’s and that message will impact him for eternity. Sometimes that happens. And when it does, we feel euphoric for days or even weeks. But in between those life-changing interludes are a lot of weeks of hard work that seem to show no results… weeks when you feel like no one has heard a word you said. So let me give a few ideas that will spark a little excitement in your delivery…

Slide 20 : Delivering the Lesson . This is one of my favorite tricks! It’s called the Anticipatory Set… You can have the students’ attention before the class even begins by spurring their curiosity. Let me use this example… Let’s say that I’m planning to teach on the life-changing experience of the “New Birth.” I might use the illustration of a caterpillar going into a cocoon and coming out a butterfly. My anticipatory set would be to get a pretty silk butterfly and pin it to my shoulder. As the kids come in, they’ll immediately notice and begin asking questions…

Slide 21 : Delivering the Lesson …of course I’ll just give them a mysterious smile and refuse to answer their question. Immediately they’ll begin to guess among themselves about the butterfly and what it means. I’ve got them hooked before the class even begins! Now we’re ready to begin the lesson. Let’s break the lesson into three parts…. Part 1 To be honest, the power of every lesson begins before you speak the first word. Which leads me to my first point about delivery…

Slide 22 : Delivering the Lesson Never begin a lesson until all eyes are on you, all students are seated quietly, and all mouths are closed. Develop a signal that you use with your students that lets them know you are ready to begin and expect them to get settled. I personally use silence as my indicator. By modeling the behavior I expect from the students, I don’t have to yell over the top of them. You may want to use a clap, bell, whistle, etc. I strongly dissuade using verbal commands for this purpose. In fact, I will issue you a challenge when it comes to modeling behavior and getting results. The next time you ask your students a question and want them to raise their hands instead of blurting out an answer, simply raise your hand when you ask the question. I guarantee they’ll know what you expect without a word.

Slide 23 : Delivering the Lesson Once everyone is attentive, the second important strategy is to model enthusiasm. When excitement makes your eyes sparkle they’ll be excited too. Part 2 Pacing plays an important role in the middle part of the lesson. Let’s face it, no matter how good the story is there comes a point of saturation. You’ll notice kids starting to fidget, play or whisper. Instead of pushing toward the end of the lesson or reprimanding the wiggle worms, get the kids involved. Be flexible. You might do something as simple as stop and whisper, “What do you think will happen next.” to get them back on track.

Slide 24 : Delivering the Lesson I mentioned earlier that it’s a good idea to break the lesson up with songs, motions, crafts, etc. Here’s where those come in handy. Practice judging your class and be flexible with your timing. Changing activities is probably the most likely place to have trouble. This is where Johnny shoves Joey or trips Sarah and general pandemonium lets loose. Believe me when I say I’ve learned some of these lessons the hard way. I was pretty clueless that saying, “Let’s go to the craft table,” was the equivalent of opening the prison doors for 20 death row inmates or 7:00 a.m. at the mall on Black Friday!

Slide 25 : Delivering the Lesson No one has any clue that the chairs they were sitting in should be pushed in or that elbows in the ribs hurt. They are just intent on being the first one in a chair and grabbing whatever’s in sight. I’ve learned to be very specific. “Okay, let’s stand up and quietly push in our chairs. Now let’s walk like ladies and gentlemen to the craft table.” Clear, concise, and over exaggerated instructions will lead to smooth transitions and less refereeing on your part. Now we’re ready for the final phase…

Slide 26 : Delivering the Lesson Part 3 Let’s consider this part the puzzle phase… you get to pick up the pieces and put it all back together. Of course, we all know that clean-up is a part of any well structured class and that a smart teacher will plan ahead so that kids help with the clean-up. But there’s something even more important. In all of the excitement, kids are focused on the fun and action. Now they’re wound down, and it’s the perfect time to summarize what they’ve just learned.

Slide 27 : Delivering the Lesson I like to lead the summarization as a guide and let the kids tell me what they learned. I never ceased to be amazed at how such a small voiced and innocent minded being can put things so simply and yet so eloquently! Psalm 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Slide 28 : III. Review . What is an anticipatory set? Never begin speaking until… Why are pacing and flexibility important? What are indicators that the children have reached the point of saturation? What can you do to make transitions go smoothly? Every lesson should end with a …