We love it when our customers tell us about their ideas. Recently, a pastor in Baltimore called to share that his church was starting their Sunday School back up again. He also mentioned that he thought it would be a great idea to use Arch Books as part of Sunday School. We agree! In fact, most of our Sunday School lessons do tie in with an Arch Book. These are listed on our Sunday School Director CDs, but we have also compiled them here [1] to make the list even more accessible. In addition, we have some creative ideas for using Arch Books in your Sunday School lessons. Check them out below.
Host a Readers Theater
Read the Arch Book as a sort of Readers Theater. Have students take turns reading stanzas, pages, or even the whole book. This would make a great opening activity or lesson review.
Create an Arch Book Trailer
Have kids try to create a suspenseful “plug” for the Arch Book that ties in with that day’s lesson.
Here’s an example:
He was small. His adversary: a giant! He had only five smooth stones, while his enemy had a spear as long as a weaver’s beam. Thrill to the challenge! “Ha, ha, ha! Come out and fight, pip-squeak!” Tremble with fear! “King Saul, what shall we do?!” Read it for yourself and find out who comes out victorious! Available now at your Sunday School library! One Boy, One Stone, One God: The Story of David and . . . (bum, bum, baaa!) Goliath!
Have a Dramatic Presentation
Or, do a dramatic presentation of an Arch Book, and share it with another class. If the upper grade students do one story as a drama or trailer, make sure the lower grades see the final results. Let the younger children perform for the upper grades as well.
Encourage Students to Create Books
Have students create their own rhyming book with illustrations. Take digital pictures of the illustrations and make them into a PowerPoint slide “book.” These could be performed in a chapel service or during the opening in Sunday School.
Add to Children’s Worship Bags
If your church provides Worship Bags to help keep young children focused during the worship service, consider inserting the Arch Books for the quarter in those bags. With each new quarter, change out the Arch Books to include the applicable stories.
Start an Arch Book Library
Since Arch Books cover so many Bible stories in such a fun way, why not start an Arch Book library in your classroom for families and teachers? They’re great to have on hand for children to have some extra reading time in and out of the classroom. Consider allowing students to take turns checking out an Arch Book for the week.
We’re so glad that this pastor told us about his Arch Book idea. We always love to hear from our customers. If you have any ideas that you would like to share with us about Sunday School, please contact us at sundayschool@cph.org [2]. Be sure to download the chart below. Happy planning!