Overview
Reviewing is a great way to help children truly internalize lessons from the past. By recalling information or lessons they have learned before, children are more likely to remember them in the future.
Suggested Activities:
1. Answer Circle
Materials:
Small object such as a bean bag or a soft toy
Description:
Children sit in a circle and pass a small object (bean bag, soft toy, etc.) from one person to the next around the circle. Either you or one of the children should turn your back to the group. Wait a few moments, then clap your hands or ring a bell and turn back to the group. The children should stop passing the object when they hear the sound. The child holding the object when you clap your hand must answer a Bible question.
2. Artistic Review
Materials:
Printed picture from Bible stories you have learned together
Description:
Print a picture from each story you have recently covered and ask the children to put them in chronological order.
3. Bible Verse Drill
Materials:
Bibles
Description:
Have “Bible drills” where you call out a scripture reference (book, chapter, verse), and the children race to find it in their own Bible and read it aloud. The first child to correctly read the verse wins. Keep in mind that some children in the group have never been taught how to look up a verse in the Bible. Take the time to show them the table of contents, names of the Bible books, chapters (big numbers) and verse numbers (little numbers). Even very young children like to look up Genesis 1:1.
4. Costume Party
Materials:
Clothes to dress up as Bible characters
Description:
Everyone can come dressed as a character from the stories you have covered.
5. Describe the Character (with Cards)
Using characters from the Bible that you have taught about, make up character cards with the names (or pictures for younger children) of each character. On each card, include a description of the character and perhaps a little of what happened in the story. Let the children take turns drawing the cards and reading the description out loud. Other children must guess who the character is. Don’t forget the obscure characters for unusual discussion, such as the innkeeper, donkey, man asking Jesus the questions, etc.
6. Dress-up Review
Materials:
Costume for a Bible character (use a pillowcase, tie, towel, etc.)
Description:
Dress up as a Bible character and tell the Bible story from that character’s point of view. Your costume might be as simple as a towel or pillowcase on your head with a man’s tie for a headband. You could also let the children take turns being the characters.
7. Finger Puppet Review
Materials:
Pen, small cloth or rubber band (optional)
Description:
Use a pen to draw a simple face on your finger. Use this as a puppet to tell the story or ask the children review questions. You could also “dress up” the character with a small cloth for a head covering or a man’s headdress. You could use a rubber band as a headband to secure the fabric. You have ten fingers, so you could be ten characters if you have the talent!
8. Freeze!
Materials:
Paper, pencil
Description:
Before the lesson, write various Bible scenes or life application scenes on pieces of paper. During the lesson, each child will get a piece of paper. When it is their turn, the child reads what their assigned scene is. When you say “go,” the child starts acting out the scene. When you say “freeze,” they should stop where they are and hold the position. At this time, everyone can guess which scene they are acting out.
9. Guess the Character (blindfolded)
Materials:
Paper, pencil, blindfold (use a cloth, scarf, handkerchief, etc.)
Description:
Write the names of the main characters in the lesson’s story on slips of paper (or show their pictures if the children are too young to read). Blindfold one child. Hold up the name of one of the characters so that the other children know which one it is. Let the children give hints to the blindfolded person so they can guess which character it is.
10. Hangman
Materials:
Paper or whiteboard, pencil or whiteboard marker
Description:
Play hangman using words from the story. For a change, you can try using different pictures that relate to the story instead of drawing gallows. For example, when studying manna and quail, you could add parts to a quail (head, body, wings, beak) when an incorrect letter is chosen.
11. X and O Review Game
Materials:
Bible, pencil or pen, scissors, paper, coloured paper or game markers, small bag, bowl or basket
Description:
This simple game is a great way to review a Bible story. Children list words and ideas and then play a game similar to “tic-tac-toe” or “noughts and crosses.” Each child can prepare their own game board to take home later, or alternatively, the game can be done as a group. This game can be played over and over and adapted to any Bible story. Instructions here.
12. Parent Participation
Materials:
Parents or adults!
Description:
Invite parents or other adult guests to join the group for games. In addition, children can demonstrate what they have learned. Children love to have competitions with adults.
13. Memory Game Match-Up
Materials:
Pictures printed on paper, scissors
Description:
Print pairs of pictures depicting words or pictures from the story you have covered and cut them into equal sizes like playing cards. Make sure the paper you use is thick enough that the word or picture cannot be seen through the paper. Lay all the cards on a flat surface such as a table. The cards should be facing down. Children take turns turning over two cards at a time. If the cards do not match, then they turn them back over. The next child then takes a turn, turning over two cards. If any child turns over two cards that match, then they take that pair of cards off the board and get to have another turn. The player who has gathered the most pairs of cards by the end of the game wins.
Variation: Write a question on one card and the answer on another. This becomes a pair, and children have to turn over matching pairs of questions and answers.
14. Memory Roll
Materials:
Dice, prepared activities (see below)
Description:
Before the lesson, think of actions or activities that go along with whatever you are reviewing. Assign a number 1-6 to each activity. Children can take turns rolling dice to see which activity to perform. Here is an example of activities for reviewing the parable of the lost sheep:
- Roll a 1-Recite one of the memory verses.
- Roll a 2-Name one thing people in this story might have smelled.
- Roll a 3-Say something you have learned from this parable.
- Roll a 4-Choose two people to help you sing “Baa Baa Black Sheep.”
- Roll a 5-“Baa” like the lost sheep.
- Roll a 6-Ask the teacher to say the memory verse.
Another way to do this is to let the children think of the six activities before you start.
15. Puppet Review
Materials:
Hand Puppet
Description:
Use a hand puppet to tell or review the story from a different point of view. For example, if you were reviewing the story of Daniel and the Writing on the Wall, try telling the story from the point of view of Daniel, Belshazzar or even – with great imagination – one of the cups.
16. Press Conference
Materials:
Microphones and costumes (optional)
Description:
Conduct a “Press Conference” with one or more children acting the parts of the main characters in the story. The rest of the students can be reporters asking questions you have prepared. For fun, provide microphones or costumes (they can be toys or makeshift props)
17. Puzzle Hunt
Materials:
Picture coloured in or printed with colour, scissors
Description:
Before the lesson, colour a picture depicting the story and cut it into jigsaw puzzle-type pieces. Hide the pieces around the room. At a suitable time during the lesson, have the children hunt for the picture and put the puzzle together. You could do the same thing by writing letters of a word or parts of a phrase and hiding them. Have the children find them and then put them together.
18. Spinner Game
Materials:
Paper, pencil/pen/marker, paper clip
Description:
Create your own game by drawing a circle on a piece of paper and drawing lines to divide it into equal wedges (like a pizza). Write a question on each wedge. Hold a paper clip down in the centre of the circle and spin the clip around. Whichever wedge the paper clip lands in is the question the children answer. Click here for complete instructions.
19. Story with Sound Effects
Materials:
None
Description:
Let one of the children retell the story while the other children provide sound effects.
20. Teacher, Teacher
Materials:
None
Description:
Children take turns “teaching” the group. They can take your place and ask the group review questions.
21. What’s in the Bag?
Materials:
Review questions on paper, bags/boxes/containers, prizes, number labels
Description:
Write a list of review questions. For this example, write 20 questions and number them 1 to 20. Collect 20 bags, boxes or any other containers (they don’t need to match). Put a little prize in each container. The prizes don’t need to be elaborate (I always throw in some “special” ones and some silly ones). Attach a number (from 1-20) on each container. Question number 1 will correspond to container 1; question 2 will correspond to container 2, etc. One at a time, each child gets a chance to choose one bag. If they choose bag number “5,” then read question number 5. If they answer the question correctly, they get to keep what is in the bag. If they get it wrong, then it goes back into the pile. Other children will choose the same bag (and the same question) later. This allows you to throw in some tough questions.
22. Win, Lose or Draw
Materials:
Paper, pencil, whiteboard (optional)
Description:
Write simple phrases from the story on small pieces of paper and fold the papers. For example, if you were studying the parables of Jesus, you would write phrases like The Lost Sheep, Wise Man, Salt of the Earth or Treasure. Children draw one of the papers and look at the phrase. They have one minute (or longer if you wish) to draw the phrase and get everyone to guess what it is. They cannot talk, write words, or signal with their hands while drawing.
23. Word Scramble
Materials:
Paper, pencil
Description:
Scramble phrases or words from verses and write them on paper before the lesson starts. Let the children work in teams to unscramble the phrases. For Example: “het slot eehps” is “The Lost Sheep.”
24. True or False Toss
Materials:
An object to toss such as a beanbag or a ball
Description:
In this activity, children determine whether a statement is true or false and then toss an object into a container to score a point. Complete instructions for this game here.
For hangman we draw a prayer man.
🙂