Help controlling small class!

[PrincessDreamer]

I'm currently teaching a Sunday School class for 4th-6th graders. It's a small class, and I've taught it before without much problem. But this year, I have mostly boys and they're driving me crazy! Individually, they're very sweet, but when they get together with their friends, they're disruptive and loud. It's a struggle to get through the lesson, and I honestly can't imagine doing this for the rest of the year. I'm only responsible for them for 1.5 hours a week, so I don't know how to add discipline. In the past, a mostly discussion-led class has worked for me, but I think a more hands-on approach might work better with this crowd.

Any suggestions of how to control the class, or activities that they may like?

 

[wilkeliza]

I'm currently teaching a Sunday School class for 4th-6th graders. It's a small class, and I've taught it before without much problem. But this year, I have mostly boys and they're driving me crazy! Individually, they're very sweet, but when they get together with their friends, they're disruptive and loud. It's a struggle to get through the lesson, and I honestly can't imagine doing this for the rest of the year. I'm only responsible for them for 1.5 hours a week, so I don't know how to add discipline. In the past, a mostly discussion-led class has worked for me, but I think a more hands-on approach might work better with this crowd.

Any suggestions of how to control the class, or activities that they may like?

I think a short discipline is needed. We use to split misbehaving kids up in our Sunday school classes and then instead of releasing them to service or whatever afterwords some weeks we would ask the parents to come pick up so we could discuss behavior with them.

 

[dimimi]

I have a couple of ideas.

I would have an "activity" for them to do and a discussion like you already do. You may be able to show a short DVD to keep their interest. I am a special education teacher for high school students and I try to change activities every 15 to 20 minutes.

I would discuss expectations with the students and give them a clear plan of your expectations. You could do something like hand out a simple notecard. The notecard would be a reminder to the child to improve his/her behavior. If they "earn' a second card, the student should stay after class and you can discuss the behavior with the parent.

As a volunteer, and as a Sunday school teacher, you should be able to expect good behavior

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I use to split up friends and talkers too.

Do you strictly teach for 1 1/2 hours? I can imagine that getting pretty boring for kids.

Can you add things like a craft, bible apps on an i pad, acting out the lesson, maybe building like for example the wall of jericho with legos, having an interview with a bible character like a pretend mike etc. These were all things we did at vbs.

Maybe its not totally you, but the curriculum might not be stimulating enough to hold their interest for such a long time etc. Is the curriculum interactive or just teacher based etc???

Also sometimes I gave a candy reward and those who did not behave missed out, I would say come and try again next week etc.

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

Maybe at the beginning have them do a really active activity or even a few exercises. It might help get rid of some of that extra energy so they can settle down.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I asked one of the kids (who was usually disruptive) to help with the lesson, either writing on the board, or reading a quote, etc. It gave her the attention she was craving.

We also played games that were related to the lesson, e.g. guess the word (similar to Wheel of Fortune) writing a blank on the board for each letter and the kids filled in the consonants and vowels.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Boys like to act out. You could have them take turns and act out the story in the bible. Like marching around the walls of Jericho. Things like that.

Maybe you they could bring in a snack ( if know one has allergies and check with parents) that they might have ate back then. Have them get creative.

 

[jo_de_vil]

I teach 17 boys and 4 girls, years 3 and 4, I make everything a competition! With a small reward for the winner, like being at the front of the line, going to lunch first. I it works for us. Good luck.

 

[PrincessDreamer]

I think a short discipline is needed. We use to split misbehaving kids up in our Sunday school classes and then instead of releasing them to service or whatever afterwords some weeks we would ask the parents to come pick up so we could discuss behavior with them.

I've been hesitant to split kids up because I'm afraid they won't want to stay in their seat. But, I think this is a risk I'm willing to take, most of the behavior issues I currently would probably not occur if the kids weren't sitting next to their best friend.

As far as not releasing them, there's another teacher who takes over after me, so parents wouldn't come to pick them up. I do know their parents by face though, so I could speak to them, but I don't think we're at that point yet.

As a volunteer, and as a Sunday school teacher, you should be able to expect good behavior

Thank you! I think I may be a little hard on myself, but I need to remember that I'm just a volunteer, I'm not responsible for changing their lives.

Boys like to act out. You could have them take turns and act out the story in the bible. Like marching around the walls of Jericho. Things like that.

They've definitely been the most excited about opportunities to do things like this. Sometimes they get too silly, but I do want them to have fun too.

I teach 17 boys and 4 girls, years 3 and 4, I make everything a competition! With a small reward for the winner, like being at the front of the line, going to lunch first. I it works for us. Good luck.

They definitely love competition! I actually ended today's lesson with a trivia game with candy prizes, which went pretty well, I'm thinking of making it a regular part of the lesson so they have something to look forward to.

Thanks for all the advice- and keep it coming! I don't have kids, so I'm not very good at knowing what grips attention at each age group.

 

[Ceila]

I teach older elementary school kids, so I know exactly what you're talking about. Mixing those ages in one class can be tough, because there is a world of difference between a kid who is 10 and one who is 12. They're fun ages to teach, but definitely can be challenging, lol.

As others have said, keeping them engaged in activities is the key. Sitting and listening is the kiss of death, as you already know. Find activities that the kids can relate to...they could write an ad for a reality TV show based on a Bible story and act it out, or you can use sentence strips and have them "live Tweet" a Biblical event, or they could write new lyrics to a popular song with a Christian message, etc. Getting them outside to play games is always good, and you can Google outdoor activities for VBS to get some ideas.

I would also have a discussion with them about class behavior. You can lead them in creating the 10 Commandments of Class...you would be surprised at how good it will be, and students are often more apt to follow class rules if they helped write them.

Good luck!!

 

[Styx Fan]

OP, thank you so much for giving your time and talents to the church and the kids. A group like you are describing is not for the weak of heart!

My son and his close in age cousins used to all be in Sunday School together. It was nuts! We tried our best to help the teacher out, but there were some family dynamic issues at hand that made it difficult for us to impose the respect/discipline we would have liked. They had a male teacher for a while with a military background for a while. He could handle them (and without being too strict). He also began to bring in bagels every Sunday. Feeding them during the lesson really helped calm them down. When he left, the nursery teacher took them on. She had had them when they were little ones and knew what she was getting herself into. She continued with the bagels and was not afraid of them. She is a sweet person, but very willing to be firm.

As I typed that last line, I realized that is really the key. With some groups of kids, they sense weakness and play upon it. Once they learned she wasn't taking their garbage, they settled down a bit. She also kept feeding them and made the class very, very interactive. Now those boys are pretty much grown-up and she loves them dearly. When I used to comment on what a saint she was, she would just laugh and say it was only an hour a week and she could do anything for an hour

 

[Aliceacc]

The first thing you need to do is to tailor your lesson to the group you're teaching. You have a bunch of pre-teen boys on an early Sunday morning. They're not there by choice. They're NOT going to sit politely and take notes! And most of the high school students I teach would have trouble sitting in a seat for 90 minutes at a stretch.

Second, do not ever try to teach without their attention, Learning is a participation sport; you can't do it without being part of the lesson. Classroom management is the core of any class you ever teach.

I would begin by looking at my syllabus, and thinking of ways to tie in more activities.

Also, the 6th graders I had for Religious Ed last year always responded very well when I could tie the lesson in to current events. Like when the Malaysian Jetliner disappeared-- some hadn't yet heard of it, and I spent a big chunk of time explaining the facts as we knew them, and of talking about why the passengers and their families needed our prayers. Likewise, the year before, we talked a LOT about what they, as 11 and 12 year olds, could do to help local Sandy victims.

As a quick response to the previous poster: with allergies becoming more and more of an issue with schools, check with your Religious Ed director before bringing in any food. Our program asks that we not feed them anything.