Check out the 7 most common mistakes Sunday school teachers make and solutions to become more effective teachers and leaders.

First, let’s offer up some sincere thanks for Sunday school teachers—for the time they invest in kids’ lives and for loving children as Jesus does. In that alone, they’re doing a great, meaningful job. Teachers are pretty wonderful. But even the best teachers can say just a bit too much. And this “teacher talk” creates static in the classroom. With a little fine-tuning, teachers can remove the static and become even more effective as translators for the most important Messenger.

Mistake #1. Sunday School Lectures

In many Sunday school classrooms, kids sit the entire time while teachers lecture.

In some cases, a curriculum with heavy teacher talk might be to blame. But even teachers using great, interactive curriculum options might insert just a tad too many extra ideas that make lessons feel more like lectures.

Solution: Transform lectures into hands-on experiences!

Instead of being impersonal lecturers, teachers can behave as artists whose brush strokes color kids’ discovery process with meaning. Here’s what that looks like:

• An effective teacher involves children in hands-on, direct experiences.
• Effective teachers subtly direct kids’ experiences with a few well-placed comments or questions to help kids discover Bible truths.

Mistake #2. Teacher-Centered Communication

To determine if a classroom is too teacher-centered, bring a ball of yarn to class. (Tell kids you’re doing an experiment.) Every time anyone says anything related to the lesson content (don’t count kids’ unrelated comments), hold onto one end of the string and toss the ball to that person. That person holds onto one end of the string and tosses the ball to the next person who says something.

At the end of class, you’ll want to have a tangled web that goes all over the room—rather than from teacher to student to teacher. The latter is a sign of too much teacher talk.

Solution: Let the kids talk!

To get kids to talk about lesson-related Bible truths, teachers can ask questions. Then, they can direct kids to discuss their answers in pairs before they tell the teacher. Even better, have kids debate or defend differing answers. When a child answers a question, ask the other kids to comment on the answer. Say something like, “What do the rest of you think about what Kelly has said?” Get kids talking to each other instead of only with the teacher.

Mistake #3. Fragmented Transitions

Children’s ministry teachers, and kids, get caught up in the pace of the lesson: We do this thing, then we move on to that thing, and now we do this other thing. This approach to the lesson is fragmented. And kids struggle to see how all the concepts and activities fit together.

Solution: Tie each activity together (if the curriculum doesn’t).

First of all, read the curriculum and determine if the transitions have always been there but teachers just aren’t using them. Look for transitional words such as “also,” “however,” or “let’s find out more about” to tie one activity to another one.

If the transitions aren’t there, teachers can write in the margin of their lesson a brief statement that would  give each activity meaning. Or teachers could restate the purpose of a just-completed activity and then lead into the next activity. For example, a teacher could say, “We’ve just discovered that Jesus is God’s gift to us. In this next activity, we get to thank God for Jesus.”

Mistake #4. Over Explaining

Some children’s ministry teachers feel they must expound on everything. This feeling comes from a good place—Sunday school teachers want their kids to know all the important truths in the Bible. But in teachers’ fervor to communicate these important truths, they may drone on about Bible minutiae while children long for the “bell” to ring.

Solution: Let kids discover what they need to know.

First, teachers must decide the key concepts that they want kids to know and understand. Then, teachers can consider how kids could discover what they need to know on their own.

For example, if it’s important for kids to know all about sackcloth and ashes, don’t tell them about it. Instead, bring burlap and ashes in and have kids put them on their bodies. Ask lots of questions such as “How does it feel?” or “Why do you think people wore this when they were sorry for their sins?” or “Would you want to wear it?” or “What do we do when we’re sorry for our sins?”

Mistake #5. Too Much Curriculum, Too Little Time

Imagine: A Sunday school teacher flips through her lesson book. Her eyes widen at the amount of content and activities. As she walks through her classroom doors, all she can think is “I gotta cover all the material!” So she speeds through the lesson, refusing to allow kids to share their personal experiences or ask side questions that would derail her goal.

All teachers have been there.

But here’s the truth: Curriculum—even the really great options—is only part of helping kids learn Bible truths.

Solution: Facilitate the rabbit trails.

There are God-ordained lessons for kids to learn that aren’t written in the curriculum. Teachers can let children talk about topics that seem to only remotely connect to the lesson. Children will remember how a teacher answered a question they’d been itching to know the answer to all week. And those lessons are often more memorable than what a teacher read directly from a book.

Mistake #6. One-Upmanship

You’ve seen it happen a hundred times. In fact, you’ve probably had it happen to you at some point. You venture to give an answer to a question. It’s a good answer. In fact, the teacher thinks it’s such a great answer, that he goes on and on giving further background and related information to shed light on your great answer…until, you feel like a dummy because you didn’t think of all that. Maybe you even wish that you’d never said anything at all.

Solution: Keep your response short and sincere.

When a child gives an answer, avoid the temptation to do a mini-lecture on that point. Instead, acknowledge the idea shared, thank the child for sharing, and move on.

Mistake #7. Incomplete Directions

Teachers often tell children to start an activity before they’ve given full instructions. Children excitedly begin, only to be interrupted by a teacher yelling, “Oh! I forgot to tell you!”

It’s very difficult to regain the children’s attention, and it’s distracting.

Solution: Give ALL the directions before you start.

Teachers need to give full instructions, repeat them, answer any questions, and then have children move into position to do the activity. The bulk of the talking during the activity should be the excited hum of kids learning by doing.

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