teaching report #1...practicum report #9

Name: Rachael Mulder
Teaching Report #1
Time Spent: 5 ½ hours (1 ½ hours preparation, 2 hours church service, 2 hours Sunday school)

My Lesson:
- This week I decided to teach on the story of David and Goliath. My primary goal of this lesson was to give the children the opportunity to hear the story in a way they could easily understand. I also wanted to allow them to see that even David, as a child, could do great things through the power of God.

Class Schedule:

11:00-11:30 -- Arrival and Playtime: The kids usually arrive promptly at eleven, as the service starts soon after. This week we only had one girl at the start of the service. Her name is Sarah and she is 4 ½ years old. After the service started, we were given Audrey to watch. She is only 1 ½ years old, but she was the only child in the nursery so she was given to us as well. For the first fifteen minutes Andrea and I read bible stories to Sarah. After fifteen minutes Tucker arrived. Tucker is five years old, and quite a handful. For the next fifteen minutes, we played with playdough. During this time, Andrea and I asked the kids about what they did for Easter. Then we had them clean up and prepare for the lesson.
11:30-11:45 – Lesson: To prep kids for the lesson I had the kids sit on their carpet squares. To open, I asked if either of them wanted to pray. Sarah volunteered, and for the next three minutes prayed for us, her entire family, her uncle that died, the toys in the room, and lots more. I finally had to cut her off with an excited amen! While her prayer was long winded, I was excited that she wanted to pray. For the lesson, I read the kids the story of David and Goliath. I used a children’s book with pictures to keep the kids attention and give them a mental picture. As I read the story, I asked the kids questions to see if they understood. I ended the story with only a few discussion questions:
· Did people think that David would be able to defeat Goliath? Why?
· David did defeat Goliath, do you think he did it alone? Or, do you think that God helped him to defeat Goliath?
· David was a child just like you, and God helped him to great things. What great things do you think that God can help do?
11:45-12:00 – Game: After the lesson I had the kids play a variation of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Prior to class I made a cut-out of Goliath. For the game, I pinned him on the wall. Then, I blindfolded each child and gave them three “rocks” made out of paper. Then I spun them around. Whichever child put the rock closest to the forehead of Goliath won a prize. Sarah ended up winning the game. Both of the kids were really excited about the game and really seemed to enjoy it.
12:00-12:20 – Snack: For snack the kids had peanut butter crackers. During snack, Andrea and I asked Sarah and Tucker questions about David and Goliath.
12:20-12:45 – Craft: For craft, I had the kids make sheep out of their handprints. We traced their hands on colored paper and then cut them out and glued cotton balls on them. We made sheep because David was a shepherd boy. I also asked the kids questions about David and Goliath during craft, specifically asking them what they would tell their parents when they showed them their craft.
12:45-1:00 – Play Time: For the last fifteen minutes, Sarah and Tucker were free to do whatever they wanted. They ended up creating a game and playing it together.

The Response
Today there were three children, only two of them were supposed to be in our class. Audrey, who in normally in nursery, was in our class because there was no one to watch the nursery kids. Sarah and Tucker usually attend. Normally there are at least two other kids that come.
For the age of Sarah and Tucker, I believe they responded well to the lesson. There were a couple times when Sarah became distracted during the story. If I asked a question, she would answer it by going off on a rabbit trail. I had to bring her attention back by reminding her that she could tell her story after we finished with David and Goliath. They were able to answer the discussion questions I asked with very little prompting. They were also able to answer most of the questions about David and Goliath that Andrea and I asked them throughout the rest of Sunday school. Tucker really enjoyed the Pin the Rock on Goliath’s Head game, and Sarah really enjoyed the craft. She even made two sheep!

Supervising Teacher’s Evaluation
Andrea and I teach the class every week, so I asked her to give me an evaluation. She told me that I did a great job picking a lesson for the kids, and preparing a version of David and Goliath that the kids could understand. She complemented me several times on my game and craft ideas. She even said that she would probably use the game sometime in the future. She also told me that I did a good job at staying patient with the kids, and drawing back their attention. As for improvements, Andrea encouraged me to find creative ways to keep the kids from verbally interjecting during the story.

Did Well
- I prepared very well for the lesson, craft and game.
- The schedule of class flowed very well, especially as I tried to change up times of sitting and being active.
- I did a good job of tying an Old Testament Bible story into real life by drawing parallels between David and the kids.
- I remained patient through distraction, and kept the energy level up.

To Improve
- I need to find better resources for the Bible Story, maybe use a flannel graph instead of a book. That would allow for more freedom in the word choice, giving the children better understanding.
- I need to find better ways to keep the kids focused on the lesson. At this age, it is so easy for them to become distracted and get others distracted. The questions I asked caused Sarah to go on a “rabbit trail.” I must learn how to ask questions more narrowly.

Questions
- How do you ask kids questions in order to determine their understanding, yet prevent “rabbit trails” from occurring?
- Should we request that nursery kids stay in nursery, even if there is only one child? It was not too inconvenient having Audrey in class this week, but it she did require all of Andrea’s attention leaving me in charge of the rest of the students by myself.
- How do you adjust your lesson to class size? I expected more than two students this week.