I recently had the privilege of being a guest speaker in five Religious Instruction classes.  Yes, five.  In one day.  Back to back.  I was in awe of my friend who teaches these five classes every Monday.  What a commitment and what a faithful woman of God she is!   

As children return to school for Term 4 of 2024 I’ve been thinking about my friend and her fellow Religious Instruction teachers.  They have eleven more weeks until the end of the school year—eleven more weeks to impart detailed knowledge (that’s what instruction means) to their classes about Jesus and how to live for Him.  So here are some ideas on how to continue to engage with the children in the classroom.  Ideas to maintain their interest and keep them thinking about Jesus even when the school year is over.

‘Get to Know You Better’ Activities

Welcome children back with these icebreakers!

• Would You Rather (questions like ‘Would you rather brush your teeth with soap or drink sour milk?’)  You’ll find ready-made lists of questions on the internet. 
• This or That?  A variation of the same game.  E.g. kittens or puppies?
• Me Too!  Students sit in a circle while one stands in the middle and states something they like or a fact about themselves.  Those who share the same opinion shout ‘Me too!’ and jump up and find a new seat (including the one in the middle). 
• Clumps.  Call out a topic such as birthday months, hobbies, or special locations and all the students who share the same month, interest or place clump together. 
• Colour Clumps.  Instead of a topic hand give each student a coloured sticker and pull colours from a container.
• Classmate Scavenger Hunt.  Create a list of categories.  Students have to find classmates to fit every category and write their names down. 
• Pass the Parcel.  When the music stops the student holding the parcel must answer the question inserted in the next layer of paper.
• Hot Potato.  When the music stops the student holding the potato must answer a fun question about themselves. 

Music

Introduce a new song for the term using your phone or computer (unless you are blessed to be a musician).  Write or print the words out in large letters on A2 paper and attach to the whiteboard with magnets.  Add actions and revisit the song every week.  It’s your theme song!    

Visual Aids

• Props (objects)
• Costumes (Bible character)
• Puppets (stick, soft toy, professionally made puppet)
• Whiteboard (draw your lesson/use magnetic animals/use magnetic alphabet)
• Flashcards (the most common visual aid and usually supplied but mount the pictures on coloured or glittered card to add pizzazz and then laminate)
• Big Books (make your own or available through Christian Bookstores) 
• Maps (printed out or use an atlas) 
• Boxes or containers to hide objects or pictures to be revealed
• Signs (tick or cross, lightbulb, emotions)
• Personal memorabilia or photographs

Board Games

In the past, I have attached game boards to the blackboard (now whiteboards) with Blue-Tack and used a giant die that children can roll.  The die was a painted cube of wood with dots drawn on it with permanent marker.  Just keep the games fast-moving. 

• Scrabble
• Snakes and ladders
• Jigsaws

What Did I Use?

What did I use to engage the children when I was a guest speaker at Religious Instruction?

A character (a decorated cap to put on to become the character and take off to become me). A poster tied up with a red ribbon. My character unrolled the poster and attached it to the whiteboard with magnets. An oversized pencil and a clipboard as props. Flashcards to teach the Bible story itself. Then my friend ended the lesson with a song played on her laptop. She wrote the words out for the children to see clearly so they could sing along.

A big thank you to all those who teach Religious Instruction in our public schools.  What a blessing you are to your communities.  If you’d like more ideas I highly recommend you visit the YouTube channel:  Wright Ideas with Susan.  She is an RI specialist and she provides free templates for you to download.   

Click here: https://www.youtube.com/@WrightIdeaswithSusan