USING OBJECT LESSONS TO TEACH MORE EFFECTIVELY
As Tools of Reflection: Tell kids to think about the things in their bedrooms and than share in any one of these ways, depending on your topic:
Personal parable: Name something that can be used to explain what God is doing in their lives right now. “In my room there is a clock that is a lot like…”
Visible Expression: Name something that reminds them of some truth about God.
Object Lesson Scavenger Hunts: (try out these activities for a great way to connect on your “off week”:)
Pathfinding: Send students out to look at objects. Use sites around town as stations of meditation. Give kids a map with six or seven sites identified, and when they get to those sites, give them an object to observe; the big tree in front of the Library, the garbage somebody dumped near the picnic table, the cross in the cemetery, the boarded up church in the country, etc. Then give them some questions on which to reflect, and tell them to write out their responses at each location. Have the kids meet somewhere (your house) to talk about their experience and share a snack together.
Trail Signs: Take a bike or foot trail hike and ask students to find something that illustrates the answer to questions you ask them along the way about their relationship withGod, for example (a rock, flower that’s been stepped on, the weather conditions, etc.)
As Tools of Response:
Stick Up For Your Opinions: Students can be given a range of items to choose from as a way of expressing their opinions. Let’s say they’re given four items: a popsicle stick, a carrot stick, a match stick and a pick-up stick, each one representing their opinion on some topic. For example: match stick-strongly disagree, pick-up stick-disagree, carrot stick-agree, popsicle stick strongly agree. Then, as you survey their opinions, they indicated their responses, not by speaking, but by holding up one of the items.
Hard Share: Give kids a range of tools from a hardware store, and invite them to use the ones they choose to describe their responses to a spiritual challenge. For example: hammer-this lesson hit really hit me, sand paper-this lesson exposed a few rough edges I need to look at, level-this lesson showed me some areas that I need to get in balance in, etc.
Lay It on the Altar: Lay out several objects, each one symbolizing a different spiritual response (gratitude, confession, surrender, doubting, etc.), then, as you close your lesson, let kids pick up and place on the “altar” the objects that best symbolize their responses to the lesson.
Prayer Focus: Students are given three objects, each of which symbolizes a different prayer response: eraser (confession), lifesaver (thanksgiving), candy heart (intercession). Then, during prayer time, as you go around the group, students will hold out in their hands the items that symbolize their silent prayers.
As Tools of Group Building:
Tell the students to work together to create a totally new invention out of a three items they choose from a bunch of items. (1)
As Tools of Retention: (memory marker)
Give the students some object to take home as a reminder of the lesson you’ve talked about. For example: a match - be a light to the world, candy lips - sharing your faith, etc. The Dollar Store is an excellent source for inexpensive memory maker items. Object Lessons material from Youth Specialties Youth Ministry Conference Booklet (1). This idea is from Marlene LeFever’s excellent book, Creative Teaching Methods.