Lesson 6: How to Teach SGC Courses

The teacher should arrange the classroom in advance if possible. Students should be seated in an arrangement that lets them see each other. The teacher should make sure that the space will be free from distracting activities and noises during the class time. The teacher should try to make sure there will be comfortable seating, a comfortable temperature, and good lighting. An outdoor study area can be good if there are not too many distractions.

The classroom should have a large board for writing and drawing.

Teachers should introduce themselves, sharing about their families, ministry experiences, current ministries, and academic backgrounds. They should avoid listing achievements as if trying to show high status. They should remember that the purpose of sharing this information is to build a relationship with the students.

Students should introduce themselves briefly. The teacher could interact briefly with each, asking one or two questions to show interest and build the connections among them.

After introductions could be a time of prayer. Pray that God will use the class to meet the needs of the students. The teacher should show dependence on God to make the teaching life-changing and useful. Future class sessions should begin with prayer and could include brief sharing of prayer needs.

Teachers should tell the students what materials to bring, including Bibles, the printed course, and writing materials. Teachers should emphasize that students should take notes for their own future benefit, not for testing purposes. (All test material is in the course text.)

After introductions, the class time on the first day should be typical of the style that the class will have in the future, so that students know what to expect.

SGC courses are not simply books; they are courses designed for teaching. Each course has directions for the teacher near the front. The courses are similar to each other but are not exactly alike in design.

The lessons of some of the courses begin with lesson objectives. It is not necessary for the teacher to read those to the class.

Many lessons begin with a question or story or some other technique of gaining interest and making the student feel that the topic is important.

Teachers can go page-by-page through the lesson, explaining paragraphs of material. They should prepare in advance by making sure they understand the material and by underlining key phrases to help them explain each paragraph.

Discussion questions occur throughout the text. Sometimes a question introduces the material that follows. Other times, the question asks students to respond to something they just studied. The questions do not call for a “yes” or “no” answer, but for explanation. The teacher should let several students respond. It is not necessary for the discussion to come to a definite conclusion every time, especially when the question is introducing material that follows.

Teachers will need to insert additional discussion questions of their own. Any time teachers realize they have been talking for several minutes with no interaction from the students, they should ask the students a question.

It is always a challenge to keep discussions from wasting time. However, most people do not learn well without discussion. Students need time to think and hear others talk about how the concepts apply to their cultures and church situations.

Most lessons end with assignments. The teacher should explain the assignments. If a class day includes several lessons, the teacher should make sure students understand all the assignments that will be due at the next class.

Assignments for each lesson must be completed by the time of the next class. The teacher should collect assignments at the beginning of class each day. Some student presentations could be made at the beginning, and others later in the class time to provide some variety in the day.

When there is a test or something to be written from memory, it is important to make sure that students are seated so that they can easily avoid seeing what other students are writing.

Besides the assigned student presentations, the teacher should frequently ask a student to present material from a section of the course. This should be arranged ahead of time so the student can prepare.

Prepare the Lesson

1.    Read the lesson completely.

2.    Read the test to find important points to emphasize.

In the lesson, underline what is on the test.

3.    Mark other important things that you want students to learn.

For example, circle or put a star beside a key paragraph. Use the lesson objectives to decide what is most important.

4.    Begin the lesson with a question or story that will build the students’ interest in the lesson.

5.    Prepare 2-4 open-ended questions to ask during the lesson.

Space the questions to keep students involved. For example, ask a question at the beginning of the lesson and a second question in the middle of the lesson.

To encourage discussion, questions should be open-ended rather than closed. For example, “What do you know about Isaiah?” is an open-ended question because it has many correct answers and is easy to answer. “What years did Isaiah live?” is a closed question because it only has one correct answer.

Present the Lesson

1.    Stay focused on the content from the textbook.

Don’t simply read the textbook, but most of what you say should come from the text. Students need to see that what you are teaching comes from the book so they can teach it themselves.

If you make a point that is not in the textbook, keep it short.

2.    If the students do not understand you, repeat the same point in different words.

For example, if a student doesn’t understand when you say, “we are justified by faith in Christ,” you could then say, “God accepts us as righteous when we believe in Jesus” or “salvation is a gift of God received by faith.”

3.    Do things throughout the lesson to keep the attention of your students.

For example, ask a question or call on a student to read a Bible verse or a paragraph of the lesson.

Conclude the Lesson

1. Review the most important points.
   For example, “Today, we learned…” or "In summary…”

2. Explain all assignments, making sure students understand the instructions.

3. Remind the students to read the following lesson in preparation for the next class.

Reflect on the Lesson

Ask yourself:

1. What did I do well?

2. What should I do differently next time?

3. What did I learn about teaching today?

4. Did I achieve the lesson objectives?