Sunday School Planning – Benefits of Teaching with a Learning Unit Part 2 of How to Teach a Learning Unit to Your Sunday School Class
Planning a learning unit takes work and forethought, but it is well worth the effort. A teacher may want to include learning units in his/her strategy for the following reasons. 1. Planning ahead is actually easier than not planning The teacher who uses units of learning to plan several weeks or months of lessons knows in advance what he/she needs to prepare for each week. Without a long-term plan, a teacher sometimes spends more time on Saturday night brainstorming for an appropriate topic instead of actually preparing the lesson itself. A pre-planned course of action saves the teacher the frustration of deciding what comes next. 2. Topics are varied and comprehensive The teacher who creates a learning unit will teach a wider variety of subjects than a teacher who selects topics at random. He/she doesn’t fall into the trap of repeating a small number of favorite themes many times. While in the process of making a chart of 10 weeks of lesson plans, the teacher may notice that he/she has selected “Salvation is Free” as a theme for 6 of the 10 weeks. Although, it is true that salvation is free and should be emphasized, the teacher may wish to cover other topics. So the planning chart (see planning chart below) helps identify redundancies or gaps over the course of a semester. Planning a learning unit is one good way to ensure that students are getting a wide scope of Biblical knowledge. 3. Learning is reinforced through review The teacher who is teaching a unit is more likely to review previous week’s material without encountering blank stares from his students. While referring to the theme’s timeline, map, chart or bulletin board, the teacher can easily show a logical or chronological sequence as the lessons progress. Students should anticipate what they will be learning in the coming weeks as well as remember what they covered in previous sessions. 4. Cooperation is developed between teachers Teachers who work alone miss out on learning new ideas from their peers. Creativity sometimes runs dry after weeks or months of teaching. In spite of this burn-out phenomenon, teachers without plans may find it too difficult to share a class. By creating a learning unit, two or more teachers may easily share the load of teaching and still maintain a consistent theme or approach. See part 3 for specific examples of learning units used in Bible class.
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