How To Teach Children

Being a child is all about learning. Children learn in so many different ways.

Active learning is a way to make learning more fun and also help improve your child's knowledge.

Active learning is:

an adventure

• fun and captivating
• process-oriented
• student-based, not teacher-based
• inclusive of everyone
• relational

> What does active learning involve?
> How do people remember things?
> How to teach effectively
> Active Learning Plan
> Useful Resources

What does active learning involve?

• Requires the child's active participation. The concepts are self-constructed as the child takes part.
• Uses activities and materials that are concrete, real and relevant to the lives of the children.
• Is multi-sensory, therefore it impacts on the child in many ways.
• Includes dramatisation of stories, skits, objects lessons, experiments, exploring real objects and creative activities.
• Is characterised by movement, participation, exploration, hands-on involvement, talking and discussion, individual and small group work.

Active learning ensures that a de-briefing follows activities.

1. Reflection: How did you feel?
2. Interpretation: What does this mean to you? What have you learnt?
3. Application: What will you do about it? How will you change and grow?

How do people remember things?

Studies have shown that people remember things differently according to the type of communication used. This is particularly true for children.

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How to teach effectively

What to do

• Consider the developmental level of the children, and choose activities that meet their developmental requirements.
• Plan and prepare ahead of time. If it's an experiment try it out before-hand to ensure it works.
• Make sure that the activity is culturally relevant to your children.
• Plan the discussion or debriefing questions beforehand, and write them down.
• Plan the "how, when, where and why" carefully. If you are clear about the activity it will be easier to explain them to others.
• Always link the relevance of the concepts being explored in the activities to the children's lives.
• With young children, make sure that activities are short and attention grabbing.
• When dramatising a story with small children, focus on the events and the emotional and sensory impact that would have been experienced by the participants.

What not to do

• Don't dominate the activity. Allow the children time and opportunity to learn for themselves. An idea that a child has reached for itself is far more meaningful than an idea imposed by an adult.
• Don't do activities for children. Actively discourage parents and "helpers" from taking over activities. If the child is not doing the activity, there is little chance that they are learning much!
• Don't rush activities to "fit everything in". Allow enough time to complete activities in a meaningful way.

1. Ensure all resources - people and materials - are prepared
2. Give clear directions
3. Set activity in motion - give everyone an opportunity to participate in the activities
4. Check on all groups in a group activity to ensure each group has all necessary materials. Repeat directions if necessary. Affirm those who are underway.
5. Bring the activity to an end at an optimum time
6. Conduct debriefing - make sure everyone has an opportunity to participate in the debriefing
7. Clear up if necessary

• Tom and Joani Schultz - Why Nobody Learn Much of Anything at Church, Group
• Joelene Roehlkepartain (Ed) - Children's Ministry That Works! Group
• B McNabb & S Mabry - Teaching the Bible Creatively, Zondervan
• A Calkins (Ed) - Children's Ministries: Ideas & Techniques, AdventSource
• Susan L. Lingo - "Show Me" Devotions, Group
• Deane Hutton - Christian Parables from Science (video), MediaCom