Encourage students to participate in class by:
- Arranging the chairs in a circle or around a table. This seating arrangement encourages participation and discussion.
- Offering an enjoyable, non-threatening activity for students to do as soon as they enter the classroom.
- Planning for students’ participation in making bulletin boards. Enlist students’ help in displaying their learning activities and artwork on the walls. They will begin to take ownership of “their” room.
- Using students to help teach the Bible story. Ask students to arrange wordstrips, write on charts, make up skits, playact characters, assist in object lessons, record information on white boards, place flannelgraph figures, or build models. Avoid using lecture and question and answer to the exclusion of other teaching methods.
- Providing “fun” supplies. Supply your room with a variety of brightly colored paper, gel pens, scented markers, stickers, stencils, and various craft items. Offer students choices in materials.
