During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
Unit Introduction: This is the first of 4 lessons focusing on communication. You may have already noticed that many of the children in your class struggle to express themselves. Some children may have only heard negative or incomplete communication from those around them. Even if they have heard good communication in the past, they may not know how to communicate well themselves. Communicating using right words and actions is something everyone can do. By helping the children apply communication skills to their lives, you are enabling them to have a better future.
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14
God is a great communicator. He is never negative in His communication. His communication always brings life to the hearer. Yet too often our own communication can be filled with complaining or tearing others down or misunderstandings. As we pray for our hearts and words to be pleasing to God, our communication with others will also be better. As our hearts and words please Him, what we communicate and how we do it can build up and encourage others. Ask God to show you if there is anything in your heart or words that is not pleasing to Him.
As you prepare to teach the children in your class how to communicate well and with kindness, reflect on these questions: How can I clearly communicate God’s love to others? How can my words and actions show the same kindness that God Himself shows me? Then throughout this week, ask God to help you grow in your own communication skills so that you more clearly reflect His kind nature each day.
Let the family members of your students know that their children are starting a 4-week unit on communication skills. Encourage them to share times when they have seen both positive and negative communication in the past week. What was the result of each?
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet each child by name as she arrives. Ask the children about their weeks. Model good listening skills as they share. As children join you for the lesson time, have them sit in a circle.
Today I have a special message for you. I will whisper my message into someone’s ear. That person will pass on the special message by whispering it into the ear of the person sitting next to him. That person will then say whatever she heard. Continue passing the special message around the circle until it reaches the last person, who will then say it aloud to the whole group. There are 2 rules. The first is that each person can only whisper the message once. The second rule is that you must try to say the message very quietly so no one else can hear it.
The result will usually demonstrate how messages can be misunderstood and how miscommunication occurs. A person hears a wrong word or misses a word. So he adds what he thinks the word might be. When this happens 2 or 3 times, the message at the end is nothing like the message at the beginning.
Here are a few ideas for your whispered secret message (or you can make up one of your own):
Today’s secret message is: We will try to pass this message all around the circle without mixing up the words.
How many children does it take to pass a secret message all the way around the circle?
Surprise! Surprise! I have a secret message. It is even more surprising when I say it in a whisper.
After the secret message has been passed around the circle, ask the children:
Learning how to communicate with right words and actions is an important part of getting along with others. Today we will be learning about communication. We will discuss and practice clear, kind communication.
After a couple of children share their ideas, explain that to communicate means to share ideas or information.
We communicate with people every day. Sometimes we use words. Sometimes we use actions and facial expressions. Learning how to communicate with right words and actions is an important part of getting along with others.
Children’s answers will vary depending on the cultural norms of your community. Answers might include speaking, writing, texting, email, singing, and other things.
Messages can get mixed up when someone understands things that are not what the other person actually said. When that happens it is called a miscommunication or misunderstanding.
Communicating well with others is one of the most important skills everyone should learn. Many problems are linked to a lack of clear communication. Hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and regrets over what we wish we had or had not said can often be avoided when we learn healthy ways to communicate. In the next 4 weeks, we will learn how to communicate in positive ways and express feelings appropriately.
God’s Word has a lot of instruction for us about good communication. We are going to do an activity while we learn what God says about communication. You will be placed in groups and given a Bible verse about communication. Your group will have 5 minutes to create a skit showing a situation that shows what the verse is about. Then each group will perform the skit for the whole class.
Divide the children into 6 groups of 2–5 children each. If you have more children in class, you can copy these verses and more than 1 group can have each verse. Give each group 1 of the verses cut or torn apart from the page at the end of the lesson. The verses are here for your reference too.
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.
James 1:19
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.
James 3:9–10
Pleasant words are like honey. They are sweet to the spirit and bring healing to the body.
Proverbs 16:24, NIrV
Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Ephesians 4:29, NLT
But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others.
Colossians 3:8, CEV
Let the words you speak always be full of grace. Season them with salt. Then you will know how to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:6, NIrV
After 5 minutes, call the class together. Allow each group to read their verse and share their skit. If you do not have enough children for all 6 verses, be sure to read those that were not used by a group. Then talk about the verses together, allowing 2–3 different children to respond to each question.
Answers might include that kind words are sweet, positive communication makes people want to listen, it can encourage others, and other ideas.
Answers might include that negative communication tears people down, we cannot praise God and curse people at the same time, it can be cruel or hurtful, and other ideas.
Be sure that children do not mention names, only what was said or done. Share an example from your own life, if needed, to help them.
Be sure that children do not mention names, only what was said or done. Share an example from your own life, if needed, to help them.
Focus on what the other person is saying. Other answers may vary based on your culture and community.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, allow the children to guess the character’s emotions on the page.
God is the best communicator! He communicates with us, and we need to listen to what He says. We know that God speaks to us through the Bible. We communicate with God when we think about what we have read in the Bible and when we pray. Communication is very important to God. He wants us to talk with Him about the good things and the hard things, the happy things and the sad things we experience in life. He loves us very much.
The Bible says that God created people in His image, or likeness. God is a wonderful communicator. Because we are made in His image, God has also given us the ability to communicate well and kindly with others.
However, it takes practice to become a good communicator. It is not something that comes easily for anyone. It is easy to have your feelings hurt when someone communicates poorly, and it is just as easy for you to hurt others when you communicate poorly. As you become skilled in communicating with others, you will see your relationships grow.
Let the words you speak always be full of grace. Season them with salt. Then you will know how to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:6, NIrV
Explain that everyone will practice communicating. Assign each child a partner. Have partners spread out and ask questions to learn more about each other. Tell them they will each have 2 minutes to ask their partners questions. They might ask what things the other person enjoys doing, what skills she has, what his favorite and least favorite foods are, or what she hopes to do when she is an adult. Encourage the children to be good listeners and focus on what their partners are saying. After the children have had a few minutes to talk, explain the next part of the activity:
God created us in His likeness. He communicates in positive ways with us, and we can communicate in positive ways with others. Take time now to say 1 kind thing to your partner. For example, you might say, “You use your hands to help you communicate clearly. I like that.” Or “I like how you smiled kindly while I was talking.”
Give the children about 1 minute to share kind words with their partners.
Optional:
Pass out a piece of paper and pencil to each child. Each child will write a nice thing about his partner. Encourage the children to exchange their papers and read what their partners wrote.
End of Option
God shows His love every time He communicates with us. Likewise, we show God’s love to others when we communicate clearly and with kindness. This week, look for opportunities to communicate kindly with others, just like you did with your partner. You can use words, body language, or both.
Close class by praying this blessing over the children from Psalm 19:14:
Blessing: God loves you and made you in His image. He communicates clearly and kindly, and He gave you the ability to do the same. With His help, may your words and thoughts be pleasing to Him.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
