One of the essential aspects to be considered while conducting a Sunday School is the correct division of classes. Normally Sunday Schools are conducted in two parts.
· Common session
· Class-wise session
In the initial Common session, song sessions/ worship, announcements, Bible quiz/ Games etc. are conducted.
In the Class-wise sessions children are divided according to their age and the Sunday School lessons are taught.
Both Common sessions and Class-wise
sessions are essential for a well-balanced and effective Sunday School.
One of the essential
aspects to be considered while conducting a Sunday School is the correct
division of classes. Some of the factors that need to be considered while
dividing classes are.
· Size of the Sunday School / Number of Children - If there are more number of children in the Sunday School, then it is possible to have more divisions. In such instances, children of the same age can be grouped together to form a class. If the number of children or teachers is less, then children of different age groups have to be combined to form a single class.
·
Homogenous
/ Heterogenous Class: A
Sunday school Class is considered homogenous when the children in the class are
of similar age group. A Sunday school class is considered heterogenous when
children of different age are brought together in the same class.
·
It is ideal
to have a homogenous group or children of the same age in the same class, since
their physical, intellectual and emotional maturity will be similar.
·
Most of the
time, Sunday schools must be conducted in less-than-ideal situations. During
those instances, it would be beneficial to keep the following aspects in mind
while dividing classes.
·
Younger
children at least till 8 years of age have rapid exponential growth in physical, language,
intellectual and emotional abilities. Hence there will be drastic differences
between each of these age groups. The sitting behaviour and concentration level
will also be very different. A 5-year-old child will be very much different in his/her understanding and language abilities than a 3-year-old child. Hence when
different age-group children are combined in younger classes, the teacher has to modify and teach the same lesson in different ways to suit each of these age groups. It
will take more effort and time.
·
In older
children above 12 years, physical, language, intellectual and emotional
abilities will at least be comparable, if not the same. Hence it would be
possible to combine these different age groups and teach them.
·
Number
of dedicated teachers available - This is also another important factor to be considered.
Sometimes when there are more children, Sunday schools are forced to take in
individuals who don't have sufficient skills or spiritual maturity to be a
teacher. But it should never be done. Only teachers who are spiritually strong and
have the necessary skills to be a teacher should be selected.
·
Availability
of space, resources - Too many classes should not be crowded in the same
room. There should be enough space between classes, so that they are
not disturbed. Safe outdoor spaces with less distraction could also be used to
conduct classes.
The following are some of
the other ways to divide the Sunday School classes!
METHOD - 1
Pre - Kinder - 3 years & below (Preschool / Nursery)
Kinder - 4 & 5 years (LKG & UKG)
Primary - 6 & 7 years (I & II Standard / Grade)
Sub-junior - 8 & 9 years (III & IV Standard / Grade)
Junior - 10 & 11 years (V & VI Standard / Grade)
Intermediate - 12 & 13 years (VII & VIII Standard / Grade)
Senior - 14 & 15 years (IX & X Standard / Grade)
Super-seniors - 16 & 17 years (XI & XII Standard / Grade)
METHOD - 2
Pre-Kinder - 3 years & below (Preschool / Nursery)
Kinder - 4 & 5 years (LKG & UKG)
Primary - 6 & 7 years (I & II Standard / Grade)
Junior - 8, 9 & 10years (III, IV & V Standard / Grade)
Intermediate - 11, 12 & 13 years (VI, VII & VIII Standard /
Grade)
Seniors- 14, 15, 16 & 17 years (IX, X, XI & XII Standard / Grade)
Dividing classes as
suggested in methods 1 & 2 could be done when there are sufficient children
and teachers.
The ideal number of
children per class would be 5 - 7.
In classes for younger children, a volunteer / helper to assist the teacher could be assigned to help with activities and crafts.
METHOD - 3
Kinder - 3, 4 & 5 years (Preschool, LKG & UKG)
Primary - 6 & 7 years (I & II Standard / Grade)
Junior - 8, 9 & 10years (III, IV & V Standard / Grade)
Intermediate - 11, 12 & 13 years (VI, VII & VIII Standard /
Grade)
Seniors- 14, 15, 16 & 17 years (IX, X, XI & XII Standard / Grade)
METHOD - 4
Primary - 4, 5 & 6 years (LKG, UKG & I)
Junior - 7, 8 & 9 years (II, III & IV Standard / Grade)
Intermediate - 10, 11 & 12 & 13 (V, VI, VII & VIII Standard /
Grade)
Seniors- 14, 15, 16 & 17 years (IX, X, XI & XII Standard / Grade)
Dividing classes as
suggested in methods 3 & 4 is more advisable when the number of Sunday
school children and teachers are less.
When the number of
children or teachers are less, it is more beneficial to combine children of
higher classes as much as possible than the lower classes, since the
understanding level will be much more varied in lower classes.
Special
Classes
It is advisable to create
special classes for children with severe learning issues especially in the
senior classes, so that the lessons could be taught at their pace. Senior
children who newly enroll in Sunday School without basic Biblical knowledge should
be taught basic Biblical lessons for one or two years and only then should be
integrated with regular senior classes based on their progress.
Ideal Number
of children
The number of children in each class should be maintained such that
there are enough number of children in each class to interact, observe and
learn from and at the same time it should be manageable for the class teacher
also.
Younger classes less than 12 years - 5 to 7 children
Ideal
Duration:
Younger children (less than 12 Years) - 30
minutes (This includes 20 minutes of teaching & 10 minutes of arts /
crafts).
Older
children (Above 12 Years) - 45 minutes – 1 hour (This includes 30 -40 minutes of teaching, 10 -15
minutes discussion, worksheet activities etc).
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