Teaching Report 1

Kristi Moore

Teaching Report 1

Time Spent: 4 hr. prep time, 1 hr. 15 min. class

A. My Lesson

This week, being Palm Sunday, I told the story from Matthew 21:1-11 on the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. My main focus for this story was that God can use any one of us for any task, just like he chose to use the donkey to ride into Jerusalem. I also discussed the rest of Holy Week briefly. At the end of discussing each part of Holy Week, I did a quick activity to help them remember the main point of Easter (Jesus is alive today and He forgives!).

9:45-9:50 – Arrival: As I stayed upstairs in order to set up for the lesson, 2 of the leaders brought the kids into the classroom. As they arrived I greeted them by saying hello and asking them how they are doing.

9:50-10:10 – Worship: As a group we sang “You Are my King (Amazing Love)” by the Newsboys and “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High”. For the second songs we even did motions that the children knew. I had the lyrics on a power point presentation which went very well. After singing we sat down and prayed. I asked if anyone would like to pray and none of the kids wanted to, but Floyd, one of the leaders led us in an opening prayer. This went real well and they seemed to like the songs I chose.

10:10-10:30– Lesson: After praying, I then began introducing the lesson by asking if anyone knew what Holy Week was. Most of them had an answer and were right on. I then explained it a little further and then asked them if they could help by waving palm branches when I got to that part in the story. This got a bit out of hand but I quickly asked them to lay the palm branches on the floor and pick them up when we got to that part of the story. They did really well with the instructions. After reading from the Bible, I then asked a few review questions:

· What animal did Jesus ride into Jerusalem?

· Why do you think Jesus would have picked the donkey?

After discussing why Jesus chose the donkey, I stressed the main point of this lesson – that Jesus chose the donkey for this huge task, just like he can chose to use anyone of us for a task. I then asked them the question of what ways can Jesus use you? One of the boys that was joining us in class has cancer and we discussed how God has and continues to use him in the lives of others. I also pointed out different children and said that Jesus can use them too.

10:30-10:35– Holy Week Discussion: I then switched gears and talked more about Holy Week. I discussed Maundy-Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday in brief, but very clear ways. I ended this discussion by stressing the point that Jesus is still alive today. I asked the kids in where we see Jesus alive and they responded by saying in our hearts and in other people.

10:35-10:40 – Forgiveness activity: After discussing Holy week we did a quick and simple activity that helps the kids understand what Jesus did for us. I typed up Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” onto a small piece of white paper and explained that this is a clean piece of paper which represents our lives before sin. Then I had them scribble on the paper covering it all with an orange or red crayon. This “mess” resembles the sin in our lives. Then, the final step is to cover the paper with a piece of red cellophane paper. The red cellophane paper resembles Christ’s blood that was shed for us. The kids were very intrigued by this activity. I encouraged them to take this home with them and share it with their friends, but to also be a reminder as they go throughout this week of what Easter truly is about.

10:40 - Closing Prayer – I prayed for the class this time.

10:40-10:55 – Donkey Craft – I decided to have the kids create a donkey puppet out of paper bags to take home with them. The main idea I wanted them to take home from this lesson was that God can use them just like he used the donkey to bring Him into Jerusalem to start the last week of His life. I really believe this point stuck with them and the craft went over very well! I found the instructions for this donkey puppet online and then cut out the shapes of the head, ears, hair, legs and arms and let the kids glue them onto the bag. They also were able to make the donkey’s face and color its arms and legs. I had them name the donkey any name they wanted and just have them make it personal to them.

10:55-11:00 – Reenactment – Once all the puppets were made we reenacted the scene where Jesus entered Jerusalem and they palm branches were waving. We had just five minutes left of class and thought this would be something fun to do with them.

B. Response

There were 7 children in attendance for the class. We had five regular students and two guests. One of the guests was a boy with cancer. When I saw him walk in, I was so glad to see him and finally meet him. This was the boy we had been praying for all semester. I felt like God used this lesson in so many ways to encourage him. All of the children were behaving well. Never once did I really feel that overwhelmed. They seemed to enjoy the teaching and learn something from it. The donkey craft and the forgiveness activity both went well. Times before when I have taught, I have left feeling disappointed. I left the class this week and felt encouraged.

C. Supervising Teacher’s Evaluation

Later on Sunday, I sat down with my supervising teacher and discussed how my teaching went. She first asked me how I felt, and then she went from what I had to say. She said that it went real well. For lesson preparation, she said I did a very good job. Angel said that it was evident that I had studied the lesson, prepared for the children’s behavior, and had thought about when to hand out the palm branches in a good spot. She said the presentation was incredible. I did very well at not loosing track of where I was at when there were distractions. Angel was also impressed with keeping focused on the main point of the lesson and not straying away from it. Even though we teach a wide range of students from ages 3-10, Angel stated that the lesson was very age appropriate and all of the kids were focused intently. She also said that I was not overly enthusiastic which sometimes scares the children and that I was very creative with the lesson. Angel told me that the lesson flowed together well and that it was challenging enough to keep all the children engaged and it was also challenging on a personal level (getting them to find areas where God has used them and thinking of areas where God can use them).

Several times I asked Angel to give me some feedback on areas of improvement. Each time I asked that question she came back saying she honestly could not find any areas of improvement. I believe she was very impressed with the lesson. Angel did provide me with a few follow-up suggestions which I believe I will do for the kids.

D. Things I did well

1. I believe I did a great job preparing the lesson. Overall I spent about 4 hours creating and preparing the lesson.
2. I was amazed at my presentation. Normally I am nervous, but this time I was perfectly calm. I had no errors with the technical equipment which was a huge blessing. The kids seemed to be very interested in the whole presentation.
3. I chose the right crafts/activities that went well with the lesson.
4. I included the kids and their opinions by asking questions and pointing out ways that God can and already has used them.
5. The songs went over well. I believe it was the loudest I heard them sing since I’ve been there.
6. I sat down in the same type of chair the kids were on so I was on their level. I was talking straight to them, not above them.

E. Things I need to improve

1. I think I need some improvement on how to control the classroom. I was thankful to have 2 adult leaders in the room with me, but when things went a bit crazy, they got it back under control.
2. I can improve in time management. Even though it was a last minute decision for me to teach, I could have been working on the preparation earlier instead of a couple days before.

F. Questions

1. When working with little children, we as adults are intimidating to them. When I asked a question to one of the boys he answered first, but I could not hear him, so I asked, “What did you say?” and I kept it at a soft tone, but he kind of backed away and wouldn’t repeat his answer. I think I may have scared him. How can we ask a question, or ask a child to repeat their answer without scaring them?
2. How can we control the classroom without seeming to be “mean”?