The Kids 4 Truth Curriculum was originally designed so that one person or a rotation of teachers would teach the main lesson plan to the 1st-6th graders all at one time. However, we realize that some churches prefer to split their kids up either into two groups of 1st -3rd and 4th-6th or by level. So what are the pros and cons of doing it in these different scenarios?

Lesson Time Taught by Level
Positives

• This allows each small group leader to really delve into the material which might enhance a Focused Group Study setting.
• This may allow for more question and answer time with a smaller group of children.

Negatives

• Not all small group leaders feel comfortable or are as gifted to teach the lesson plans each week.
• This does not promote unity for the club as a whole and can quickly become disjointed.
• This would make it challenging for the director to make sure that the kids are being taught accurately and that the proper scope and sequence is followed. It’s easy to miss out on the purpose and to lose focus as a whole with everyone doing something different.
• Some levels may be much further ahead than others and children in the same family could be learning different verses on different themes.
  

Solutions

• This could work very effectively as long as the Club Director has very clear guidelines and helps his workers along each step of the way.
• Guidelines might include:

1. Teachers must all be on the same lesson plan each week.
2. They need to keep to the same basic time frame for teaching, discussion, and bookwork if possible.
3. Kids should still be progressing through the books at the same rate (keeping them all together in a theme regardless of whether they completely finish a theme or not). Kids should not be memorizing from a theme different then the theme being taught during lesson time.
4. The director should sit in on lessons on a regular basis to see how everything is going and provide help as necessary.
5. The director or a designated person should be the one to provide lesson plans to teachers far enough in advance so they are adequately prepared.
   

Lesson Time Split into two groups (1st through 3rd grades & 4th through 6th grades)
Positives

• This aids in the teacher being able to better reach the understanding level of the group they are working with.
• This may allow for more question and answer time with a smaller group of children.

Negatives

• There may not be enough workers or space to split the children up in this way.
• There is still the possibility of a lack of unity as a club.

Solutions

• Again, the director would need to be very clear on basic guidelines for the teachers and timeframes.
• If space is an issue, you could split up teaching times by having one level doing something different (possibly an activity outside or book time) while the other group is being taught.

Lesson Time Taught All together (1st - 6th grades as a whole)
Positives

• This gives unity to the group as a whole.
• This allows for more competition between levels and group excitement (during review games, object lessons, awards time, etc.)
• This is ideal when there are few workers and maybe only one or two who are really gifted teachers.
• There is more of a sense of importance and value placed on this time when it is done all together as a whole. It’s a special time and one that they should look forward to.
• This allows for all of the workers to hear the lesson plan being taught by a single teacher and ensures that they are all on the same page. They can then use that lesson as a jumping off point during small group time.
  

Negatives

• There may not be one worker who can commit to teaching every week.
• The teacher may struggle keeping the attention of all three levels. 
• Small group leaders may want more involvement.
  

Solutions

• Have the small group leaders or other individuals in the church rotate teaching the lessons.
• Use interactive object lessons and excitement to keep the attention of all levels. 
• Reward listening and attention and make sure to get the children involved in the lesson through questions.
• Set up clear behavior guidelines with the children and enforce them with both positive and negative reinforcements. This helps when small group leaders are sitting with the children during the main lesson time.
  

So after that long diatribe, what are your thoughts?  How do you run it in your church and what have you found to work?

Great summary, Sarah! In our first two years of Kids 4 Truth, we've tried each of the first two methods. We started by splitting the lesson time into 2 groups (1 teacher at two separate times), and this year we have separate lesson times for each club (different teachers). I think we've been seeing advantages to using the second method, but I agree with your pros/cons of each. I also think our clubs are getting more tightly knit as a result of spending the additional time studying together independent of the other groups.

Thanks for the feedback, Josh! I'm glad to hear things are working well with your small group/teaching time. It's amazing how differently each church runs their club, and it's always great to see what works for each one. Would you mind sharing some specific ideas on how your church is able to keep the whole club on the same page and as a united group while still keeping the seperate and intimate teaching/small group times?