It's a valuable teaching tool that can help kids learn, apply and retain God's Word. It's much more memorable and experiential than lecture-based learning. Compare these average student retention rates.
Use role-play to have kids act out Bible scenes.
Example - You're teaching a lesson about David and Goliath. Have a child play Goliath. Have another child play David. Have half the kids be the Israelites and half the kids be the Philistines. As you read the Bible passage, have the kids role-play it. Set clear role guidelines for safety and make it fun!
Use role-play to have kids act out application situations. Example - You're teaching the kids about making wise choices from Proverbs. Have them role play several real life scenarios where they have to make a choice.
Wrap up the role-play with self-reflection and debriefing. Take time for to talk with the kids about what they experienced and learned from the role-play. Provide starter questions that will direct the conversation.
Bottom line - when it comes to effective teaching and making learning fun, role-play trumps dictation every time!
Your turn. The floor is yours. How do you use role-play in your teaching? What Bible scenes have you taught using role-play? What did you have the kids do? Share with us in the comment section below.
