Whether you are using purchased published Bible curriculum or creating your own, the activities you choose are critical. Done well, activities help students process and better understand the Bible lesson. Poor activities on the other hand can waste time, bore students or in severe cases make students reluctant to return to class.
So what makes a strong Bible class activity? There are several questions you can ask yourself about an activity to find out if it’s the best possible Bible activity for your students.
- Is the activity hands-on, engaging and/or project based? Students learn best from activities that require them to manipulate objects, move, talk and process what they have learned. If the activity is more didactic- like a worksheet or coloring sheet – they are more likely to disconnect emotionally and mentally from the activity.
- Does the activity have a meaningful tie to the Bible story? Some activities are a lot of fun, but the actual connection to the Bible story is forced. Students may remember having fun, but the activity will do little to help them process or remember the lesson.
- What will students need to think about while completing the activity? If their thoughts will be more about the colors they need or where to glue one part to another, the activity may be cute, but won’t help them grow spiritually.
- If there is a finished product, will it be carefully taken home and proudly displayed? If it’s more likely to end up in the back seat of the car or the trash can, the long term impact of the activity is minimized. Not every activity will result in an object, but those that do should be special enough where students will still be reminded of the lesson – by seeing the object – for days, weeks and months to come.
- is the activity developmentally appropriate for your students? If an adult has to do the entire activity for the child, it’s probably not the best activity for your students. The more of the activity the students can do for themselves, the more they will learn from it.
- Does the activity require academic skills that would be difficult for a student who struggles with reading and/or writing. There are more than a few adults who stopped attending church as a child because they were expected to do things in Bible class that made their academic issues painfully obvious to others.The embarrassment was more than they could handle.
Activities can add to the learning process in your class. Taking the time to choose the best activity for your class means students will benefit more from the entire lesson. It’s worth your time and effort.