Teaching Report #1

Time Spent: 4 Hours (SS: 2, Prep: 1, Worship:1)

1. My Lesson
   

I. Primary Goal of the Lesson

To make the students understand that God has created and is in all things.

II.
Specific Outcomes

People, places, words…God has created and put His "breath" into all things.

• Cognitive: I would love for the students to know and understand that they and everyone around them are a sacred creation of God. I hope they will truly understand how God is in everything.
  
• Affective: After the lesson, I would love for the feelings and attitudes towards everyone change. Not just their friends, their family, and even their enemies. If they can see and understand that God is there in everyone maybe that will affect their behavior towards others.
  
• Behavioral: After knowing and seeing the God is present in everyone, I'm hoping that they will change how the treat and behave around everyone they run in contact with. Hopefully, people will notice this change in them and ask them about it. This creates a great opportunity to tell them about Christ.
  

 

III. Materials

• Bible
  
• Nooma Video
  
• List of Questions
  

 

IV. Lesson Sequence

9:00-9:20

Students arrived and talked.

9:25-9:30

1. Introduce Bible verses (Have students read)
   
   1. Everyone is created by God: Genesis 2:7
      
   2. Everyone breathes the Spirit: Ephesians 4:6
      
   3. God is Everywhere: Exodus 3:5-6
      

 

9:30-9:50

1. Nooma Video – Breathe
   

 

9:50-10:15

1. Discussion
   
   1. Everyone take a breath with me. Listen to what it sounds like. Your breath sounds like Yahweh, and so does your neighbor's. This is God's breath inside of you that was breathed into you when you were born.
      
      1. Do you ever think about your breathing?
         
         1. I do now. (Sitting, Running, short breaths calm, quick breaths scared).
            
         2. Everyone breathes…and God created everyone…
            

            
             

   2. God created Everyone (Read Genesis 2:7)
      
      1. Imagine it kind of like coming up out of the water after holding your breath. God breathing life into a breathless body.
         
      2. Ever since Adam, the breath of God is breathed into each new baby.
         
      3. Knowing that the breath of God is in you, how does that change the way you see yourself as a person? Every breath you take, you are breathing the name of God, how are you using that breath? What kind of things do we do that "abuse" the name of God in our actions and speech?
         
         1. In your speech (Ephesians 4:29) - Gossip, slander, hate.
            
         2. In how you see and hear yourself (You are created in God's image)
            

         
          

         
          

   3. Everyone breathes the Spirit (Ephesians 4:6)
      
      1. Knowing that the breath of God is in everyone (friends, parents, enemies, nerds, etc.) How does this affect the way you see others?
         
         1. Professor "Anonymous" example. Don't agree with what he is saying, but it is so much easier to love him and listen to him if I think about this idea of him breathing God's name.
            
         2. Example from the video (Atheist friend). I think of it as God encouraging me to stick with him and to not give up. Instead of hearing, "There is no God"…we hear…"God is in me".
            

            
             

   4. God is Everywhere (Exodus 3:5-6)
      
      1. What do you think it means to be "standing on Holy ground" And what are some of the "burning bushes" we might be passing by every day?
         
         1. Burning bushes are opportunities to do something amazing for God (Moses and leading the Israelites). But simply saying "Hey" to the kid no one likes at school (who is breathing the name of God) is a burning bush opportunity. You don't need to lead a nation to the Promised Land in order to do something amazing for God.
            
      2. Are we standing on holy ground all the time, but are not aware of it?
         
         1. I think we are. As Christians, we need to be more aware of the fact that we are standing on Holy ground all the time. God is everywhere and in everyone.
            
      3. Now that we know this, let's not forget that in everything we say or do, we are breathing the name of God.
         

         
          

2. Prayer Requests and Closing Prayer
   

 

1. Response
   

   There were about 25 students there. Because this is only my second week at the Sunday school I do not know many of the students very well. That is not the most ideal thing for me, because I would like to know at least of few of the students well enough to know how they would respond to certain subjects. But because I didn't know them, I decided to just go for it and throw caution to the wind.
   

   
    

   I think that the students responded pretty well to the lesson. But that is always hard to tell with High School students. I know in High School, I never really listened at all. But it was encouraging for me to see a couple of students nodding their head in agreement. I challenged them to encourage at least one person this week and a couple of people looked up at me and nodded their heads. That was really encouraging. I just hope they actually do it.
   

   
    

2. Supervising Teacher's Evaluation (Self Evaluation)
   

   Well, as I mentioned in my first response from last week: the normal teacher is not here. So that means it is kind of up in the air as to who is going to be my supervising teacher. In today's case, it was the same volunteer from last week. I had asked if he wouldn't mind critiquing me after I taught the lesson, and he said that wouldn't be a problem. But as I was teaching, I started looking for him, but I didn't see him. It turns out that he was only there for me praying at the end. This was discouraging because I really did want to hear some advice on what I could do better, but he wasn't there. So instead, I'm going to give a self evaluation.
   

   
    

3. Things I Did Well
   
   1. Related to the students well. I'm not a big fan of acting like I am the smart college student. I was in high school only a little while ago, I'm no better than these students
      
   2. I kept their attention. There were only a few students who weren't looking at me out of the 30 present.
      
   3. I tied the video in with the topic pretty well.
      
   4. I gave them a challenge to do this week before we meet again next Sunday.
      
   5. I felt comfortable up there, not nervous at all
      

      
       

4. Things I Need To Improve
   
   1. I relied a lot on the video to make my topic. It would be good if I could have had an original idea.
      
   2. I think I repeated myself a lot and made the same point a lot. Which is fine, but if they already understood it, then I didn't need to do that.
      
   3. I better conclusion. I kind of gave them the challenge and then prayed.
      
   4. Have more opportunity for discussion and response. The students really never participated other than the Scripture reading.
      

   
    

5. Questions
   
   1. What are some ways to involve the students? High school students are never really responsive to anything. How do we get a response out of them?
      
   2. What are some other ways, besides videos, to spice up a lesson or make it more interesting?
      

   
    

   
    

Response to Tyler's #1

RE: Lesson Plan: Using someone else's lesson or program is not a bad thing. However great that pre-made lesson may be by the best author out there, but if it is irrelevant to your group or not true to your heart, you won't reap the same fruit as you would teaching something you are passionate about. Regardless of what you chose, make sure it is something that is close to your heart, something you get excited about. Teach something you are passionate enough about that you want more than anything for your students to really get it and be formed by it. Also, as in everything, be sure you are praying and seeking the Spirit's guidance and wisdom on it as you decide and plan.

RE: Getting to know the students better: I had the exact same question. How do I relate to my students? In your case it is "drinkers" and "gamers" and in mine it was "basketball" players and, as you know, I stand at a whopping 5'9" - not so ideal against these 6'0" jr. high students. But the fact is just being with them develops relationship. Sure they'll remember the things you really connect with them on but that comes in time. Your best initial impression and impact will be simply getting to know them and joining in on the things they love to do. (This is not to say go get sloshed with them on Friday night, but I'm sure you can find other things they enjoy.) The fact of the matter is, we like everything to happen quick. But relating to your students isn't an overnight deal. It takes time. Quantity makes quality.

Response to Tyler #1

so Tyler I know I just talked to you out of class very briefly about teaching on Sunday, but I would like to go more in depth. Pre-made lessons are handy for getting out of a bind and sometimes they are great for a series. There is something impersonal about them though. It was not your passion that helped write them. In fact the lesson may be totally off. Just think about the situation you could place yourself in? going back to the personal idea of a lesson, I would like to say that when you write a lesson there is a piece of you that goes into it. It is God and your's love child(this was written in the best sense of the term). I learned a process on how to make a sermon. I really enjoy it because it helps with illness that creeps in to bible study and festers. The illness I speak of is, writing a bible study without God. Basically the process is pray, read, pray, write, pray, compile, pray, study, pray some more, and then add a nice flavorful story or experience. so the idea is, you are using the truth of the bible as you are being guided by the spirit to compile a lesson. Then just for face value and fun, you put in stories and intrigues to help people remember the ideas of the passage.

How to get to know the students better, is like asking how do i make friends? you just set yourself out there and hope you have some great conversation. over ambitious people can frighten people. So, to go and jump in front of their faces and do a dance for them would not be smart. It is all about the chill mentality. Be open, be ready and just listen to them, that is pretty much what people want anyways. You can use this mentality with the gamers and the drinkers as well.

Response to Joel’s #1

1. RE: Passionate Grant: Hey man, I know that you and I talked a little bit about this outside of this blog, but I'll just write it out so that Drury can enjoy it too. As we both know, we were just like that kid when we were in jr. high. Its almost too hard not to be the kid that makes everyone laugh by joking around with the material. I was thinking about some of the advice I could give you by putting myself in Grant's shoes again. Back in jr. high, the one thing that made me respect the material and the person teaching the material is if it seemed he genuinely cared about me. But then the question becomes, "How do I show Grant that I care for him without encouraging his behavior?" And that's a tough question. I think one of the ways is to not publically tell him to "stop" being immature, but instead talk to him after class in private and say something like, "Man that was really funny what you did….but could you maybe let me know what you seriously think a symbol for Christ would be?" The key about this is the fact that you are not letting him be funny in public. In jr. high and high school, I was hilarious in public (and learned nothing) but when I was talking with the pastor privately I actually matured and learned something. So maybe try that?
   

   
    

2. RE: Relating To Them: One of the hardest things that I noticed on Sunday was relating to the students in high school. What I tried to do was pull myself back to high school and pretend I was there again. When I did that, it brought back horrible memories and I was tempted to say things that weren't "pastor like" so I decided against that idea. But really, think like a jr. high student. What is cool to them? Talk about it. What is funny? Do it. Just make them think you are one of them, but a little different. The difference is you are a Christian example. You are supposed to be like them, but a Christian one of them. I don't know, I know it sounds perfect in theory. But in practice, it doesn't normally work that well. Hopefully it works for us!

Practicum Report #1 (Joel)

A. Time Spent This Week: 8.5 (meeting w/supervisor=1.5; band rehearsal=2; SS=2; service shadow=3)

B. My Class This Week:

1. Basketball. Arriving at 8:30am, 30 minutes before class starts, for my junior high Sunday school class at College Wesleyan Church, I began playing basketball with some of the junior high boys as they trickled into the gymnasium. It wasn't long before we had a solid 5-on-5 game up and running. I, of course, was the worst player on the court but I think this time spent shooting hoops before class even started might very well have been the most important investing time of the morning. I wasn't just another adult helper to keep them in line and tell them to love Jesus but I was a real person just hanging out with them, doing what they love to do with them... losing to them.

2. Class Time. My supervisor was a bit late getting there and once he was all set and ready to go he gathered the rowdy group of hyperactive junior high boys as well as very poised junior high girls and began class. This was the first time I had met my supervisor and I basically just sat in on a class to sort of get a feel for how things run there. All of the girls were in one circle and I sat with the guys (who were largely outnumbered) in a separate circles. A few of the kids in my group were quiet but one boy, Grant, the poster child for a junior high boy - hair spiked straight up in the fashion of a mohawk, baggy pants, Chucks, a Mountain Dew Amp energy drink (at 9 in the morning...) - enjoyed making comments about certain things the teacher had to say here and there. One of his antics included drawing a marijuana leaf on his paper for "symbols to share Christ with others"... I couldn't help but laugh at these things but tried to steer him in the correct path while still having fun. It can be a tight rope to walk.

C. My Questions This Week

1. What is the best way to deal with kids who are very passionate, like Grant, but need to have the reigns held in a little bit to keep things under control? The last thing I want is for him to feel like he can't contribute to the class but how do I direct his contributions to a positive manner?

2. How can I get better at basketball? Okay, seriously though, what are some other possible ways I can relate to them (aside from a sport that requires me to grow 9 inches...) inside or outside of class?

Practicum Report #1 (Tyler)

1. Time Spent This Week: 2 hours (2 SS)
   
2. Class This Week
   
   1. Strange Beginnings: Well, my first day at practicum did not begin as I was expecting it to. I showed up eager to meet Dr. Buck and start planning how this semester was going to work out. But instead, I was confronted with an issue. Dr. Buck's son broke his neck while cliff diving in Mexico. So he is down in Miami with his son who they do not know if he will be able to walk again. This was heartbreaking to hear. I don't even know the man, but I can't imagine what he must be going through. Apparently his baby daughter was killed in a freak accident only a couple of months ago, and they were on this vacation in order to regain their sanity and thoughts. To have this happen on a vacation like this must be absolutely heart wrenching. And because there was no teacher present, I was going to be in charge of leading. Well, I had no idea what I was doing so I was praying that someone else would show up. My prayer was answered.
      
   2. Mike Saved Me:. I was talking with a couple of students that I just witnessed jump into the snow shirtless and do a snow angel for a dollar. Michael and Joey were the two brave souls that dared this cheap feat. They were really cool guys who asked me if I was in charge of SS this morning. I told them maybe (while secretly hoping I wouldn't be). Finally, a leader that is normally there just to make sure things run smoothly showed up. I introduced myself and told him about the practicum and he filled me in on Dr. Buck's situation. Apparently, Dr. Buck asked Mike (the leader) to take over while he was gone. It didn't seem like Mike had anything planned. He got up there and talked about the Colts vs. Patriots game and then we got in groups to pray for Dr. Buck and any other prayer requests that people had. After that, we were "dismissed". Some people went and played video games, others sat and talked about the drinking party they were at over the weekend, and a guy and a girl just sat next to each other holding hands. I saw this as a perfect time to meet some people. I introduced myself to a group of highschoolers and just listened to their conversation. It was fun. I learned some names, met some people, and hopefully will gain some new friends out of this.
      
   3. I'm doing what? After everything was over, Mike (the leader) came over and asked if I could do the lesson for next weekend. I said sure (foolishly) and went to brunch. So now I am facing teaching a lesson (that I haven't thought of yet) to about 30 people (that I don't know very well). This should be fun!
      
3. Questions This Week
   
   1. I would love advice on what to teach for my lesson this weekend. Should I use a premade lesson and just teach that? Or should I create my own?
      
   2. Also, what advice would you give to me to help me get to know the students better? Eg. How do I relate with the kids that talk about their drinking party….and….the kids that talk about their video game party?