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The “lesson sketches” found below on this page below will
help you understand HOW to incorporate Let’s Talk into a lesson plan. With some
additional tailoring and tweaking they are ready for use.
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IN
A NUTSHELL...
LET'S TALK makes the computer
SPEAK OUT LOUD, whatever gets typed.
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The point is to get kids expressing themselves
through the computer (Some kids are shy or
intimidated by having to express themselves on the
spot in front of others. Let's Talk gives them an
indirect way.)
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Teachers and Students can use the
Lesson
Builder module to create spoken lessons &
quizzes for each other.
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Or... you can simply use the TALK NOW module
to have students respond out-loud through the
computer to your questions after a Bible study.
WHEN & HOW to use Let's Talk:
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Before
Bible study...
teachers use TALK NOW or LESSON BUILDER to introduce a Bible
story or concept in a fun way.
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As the
Bible study... students read scripture and make a
presentation in the LESSON BUILDER for others to view .
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After
Bible study... students use the Lesson Builder to
review/rephrase a learned story or concept. Or they use Talk
Now to respond to teacher's follow-up questions. See my
"stand and ask" example below....
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To
reflect on a story or concept... students use TALK
NOW or CONVERSATION NOW to come up with a Life Application
statement ("this story tells me I need to...") or create a
prayer to play back at the end of classtime.
USING Let's Talk to
in CONJUNCTION with OTHER SOFTWARE:
Sometimes I use
Let's Talk to follow-up on an idea or discussion AFTER we have
used another CD, such as one of Life of Christ CD's short
presentations, or a Bible crossword puzzle, Cal & Marty's
Scripture Memory Game CD, or a tour of one of
the 3d maps in HolyLand 3d CD. (In fact, I first came up with
the idea for Let's Talk after teaching a Life of Christ CD
lesson where I wish I had a tool to get the kids discussing the
lesson they had just seen.) See Lesson Idea Example 2
below.
Other
times, we do the Bible study first, then go into Let's
Talk to rethink the story or re-imagine some dialog. I've
even used Let's Talk to have the students create spoken
prayers to close the class with.
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LESSON IDEAS:
1) "Stand and Ask" ...a
popular way to use Let's Talk.
After the
study, the teacher stands in the middle of the room and asks
each computer workgroup to respond to the teacher's
questions one-at-a-time using the "Talk Now" module. We play
back their answers, I comment, then I ask another question.
(It helps to tell them they have "2 minutes" to create an
answer. And 30 second warning helps!)
Example: What are the Disciples thinking when they
see Jesus on the shore cooking fish? and... What would you have asked Jesus when you saw him cooking
that fish? and... Who are the lambs who need fed
in your life?
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Here's a classic lesson idea for using Let's Talk to follow up
on learning a Memory Verse...
2)
Using Cal & Marty's Scripture Memory Game CD
and Let's Talk
"Teaching Philippians 2:5-11 ....Paul's understanding of the Cross"
In many of our customers' labs, you see both of these
workhorse programs installed on all their computers. Here's a great
lesson plan for using them both together for a memorable and fun lesson
about the meaning of the Cross. Philippians 2:5-11
"...he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross..." In a mere 7 verses, Paul summarizes God's purpose in the life,
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's powerful stuff!
...and a great passage to have kids memorize, or at least become
extremely familiar with. Step 1: Conduct a Read Through
Bible Study around the table. (10 min)
FIRST: Identify and
EXPLAIN key vocabulary BEFORE your class starts reading
the verses together (otherwise you have to start-stop your
way through the verses and this doesn't help comprehension).
There are several different interesting translations of this
verse. Probably the most important variant is found in verse 6. NRSV uses the word "exploited" where other translations use the
word "grasped" or "held on to." Lots of discussion fodder
there! You might even want to have kids following
DIFFERENT translations to note the differences.
SECOND: UNPACK the
verses. Don't assume your students "get" what the
verses are alluding to. "Being found in human form" is
strange English, especially to kids, and they may not
realize Paul is talking about Christ's birth. Ask and
EXPLAIN how Jesus was "obedient to the point of death".
They won't catch the ALLUSION to Isaiah 9 when Paul talks
about God giving Jesus a name above every name. So read
Isaiah 9 for the famous list of names for the Messiah
(wonderful counselor...Prince of Peace). They won't
understand that "under the earth" is a dramatic way of
saying "everywhere" ....as it is a reference to
numerous Old Testament descriptions of where water was
stored (God separated the waters and made the dry land
appear).
Step
2:
Working in groups of 2 or 3, have your students type the
passage(s) into the Cal & Marty
Scripture Memory Game's Verse Editor. (15 min)
You
can have each work group create the entire passage as a set in
Cal & Marty, OR you can assign verses to different computers.
Note: I have also uploaded a
Philippians verse
set here for use in Cal & Marty's Scripture Memory Game if
you're really short on time.
Step 3:
Play the game.... Unscramble the Verses! (10 min)
When they are done using the verse editor, make sure they check
their work, then have the teams play their own game. After that,
switch computers and have them play the same set of verses on
another computer and try to beat the other team's score!
If you are short on time, either type the verses into the editor
yourself, or skip right to the "How Few Can You Do?" Game
described below. Ideally, you would have your students do the typing
because typing is part of the memory work, and they like
to type. Have one
type while another reads and checks the spelling of the typist.
It should take a fifth grader about 10 minutes to put this
entire verse set into the editor. Add more time if they also choose to add comments and
quiz questions to each verse. Depending on time you have and/or the age of your students,
you might just do verses 5-9, or assign different verses to
different computers.
For younger children, you can edit-in
a shortened and simplified the
Philippians 2:5-11 verses to something like:
Think like Jesus
Become a servant
Be obedient, even to death
Confess Jesus Christ is Lord
Even non-readers can unscramble these short verse
if you're there to pronounce the words for them.
Step 4: Play the "How
Few Can You Do?" game with Let's Talk...
(15 min)
CONDENSING DOWN the Philippians 2:5-11
passage is a Bible study game I call "HOW
FEW CAN YOU DO?"
"Step 4" in this lesson plan can also be broken out as a
Let's Talk lesson activity all on its own. It's a great way
to use Let's Talk with any long passage.
Here's how you play...
 First,
split into teams and discuss the whole passage. Go over
vocab. Explain that this is Paul writing to the churches.
Then, have the teams use Let's Talk CD's "Talk Now" module
to create a character and type in their condensed verses
--which their onscreen character will speak aloud for the
class in Rounds One and Two. (They can also do it on paper
or whiteboard, --but it's not as much fun! Let's Talk is
the software that speak aloud whatever the kids type,
www.sundaysoftware.com/lets-talk.)
Round One: Have them condense the passage IN HALF.
This will give them practice for round two.
Teacher:
compare & contrast what the teams keep/eliminate. Ask
the kids to debate.
Round Two: See who can come up with the SHORTEST
version that still makes sense and captures the essential
ideas.
Rule: they can only use words that are found in the
verses.
Lesson Conclusion:
There are two possible directions you can go to condense
this passage. One is "about Jesus", but the second is "about
us". In other words, the passage is about JESUS humbling
himself. Or, it's about US doing things to confess Jesus as
Lord. --Thinking like Jesus, serving like Jesus, being
obedient like Jesus (taking up our own cross, so to speak).
This technique works for all sorts of long passages and
stories, and gives the teacher a lot of things to talk about
with the kids.
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 Other
Interesting Ways to Use Let's Talk
1) "Virtual
Puppet" "Virtual MC" "Virtual Gameshow Host"
Leaders use an
LCD projector to project the animated characters in TALK NOW or
CONVERSATION NOW at a large group gathering, such as VBS, or
Fellowship, or Children's Church. Kids love this! Example: Instead of talking directly to your kids at
your next gathering, open up the TALK NOW module, create a goofy
looking character, and type what you want to say. You can ask
the group questions and type your responses. There will be big
smiles all around.
You can even
do this as a comedy sketch.... placing the typist under a
bed sheet by the computer, and having them respond to your
discussion by making the character talk on the screen. You can
do this with either the Talk Now Module or use the Conversation
Now Module which looks like an instant messaging session between
two people.
With smaller
groups, you don't have to have a projector, they can just gather
around your largest screen.
Two Ways
to 'Hide' the Talk Now Text Bubble that appears next to the
animated character:
1)
Use a small screen on a stand that's positioned in such a
way and is only big enough to show the animated character.
IE ...make it so the portion of the projected image which
shows the talk bubble text doesn't fit on the projection
screen.
2) If you're doing this on a computer screen, cut
a mask out of paper and lay it over the screen to cover the
talk bubble text. Decorate the mask with keywords or
scripture or designs so it doesn't look so gnarly. Or make
the mask look like a spaceship or house that the character
is coming out of.
2) "The Man Underneath
the Sheet"...
If you have just one computer for your class, have the kids take
turns "going underneath the sheet" to play the role of "God" or
"An Angel" or any key character in the story you're studying.
You the teacher can ask them questions, then invite the students
to ask "the man underneath the sheet" more questions.
3) FUN QUIZ Variation...
Split into two teams, and have each team send a player
"underneath the sheet" (at one or more computers) to answer the
teacher's lesson question with their onscreen character. Keep
score and you'll get better responses!
| BIG TIP!
--Work WITH your students to create their content. Don't
just wait for them to "get done." It helps to have
discussed possible ideas/responses
ahead of time and have these ideas written on a
whiteboard for all to see. Provide phrases and
vocabulary from the scripture and discussion to seed
their presentations and responses. |
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 LESSON
SKETCHES
These basic
ideas can be applied to many other stories.
Peter Sinks in the Water
1-- Start with Life of Christ CD
Lesson #20 -- Peter’s Walk on the Water. Skip the
question asked at the end of the LOF presentation. We’re
going to revise that in Let’s Talk. Take the LOF six
question quiz, then turn on the Let’s Talk program.
Note: If you don’t have Life of Christ CD, you can create
your own talking version of Lesson 20 using the Lesson
Builder module in Let’s Talk, or you can introduce the story
by reading it straight from the Bible.
2--
Go to the “Talk Now” module in
Let’s Talk menu. Have your students create an animated
character to speak aloud their responses to some of the
following questions. Mix and match. Follow-up some of their
responses with more discussion, perhaps creating a new
question to respond to in Talk Now -based on a student’s
comment.
Question to ask in Talk Now:
How do you think Peter felt when Jesus asked him to come out
of the boat? What would you have said to Jesus? What would
you have been thinking inside! What thoughts were
going through the minds of the other disciples? What was
going through Jesus' mind as he decided to walk across the
water to the boat? -What was he wanting to show? What was
going through the Disciple's minds about Jesus and Peter
when they saw Peter sink? Which meaning do you think
this story is about: We don’t have enough faith, or
Jesus is here to help us? What is the safe place in
your life? What are the stormy-wave-tossed places?
What difficult things does Jesus ask us to do? How would you
describe your faith: “ready to get out of the boat -or-
afraid to get out –or- sinking –or- feeling Jesus’ hand grab
yours.” How does Jesus reach out and save us?
(Be ready to provide life examples to the children. This
would be a good time to share some difficult/trying times in
your life when you felt Jesus reach out to you.).
3—After
some discussion, conclude by creating a computer-spoken
prayer for Jesus’ hand to grab us (something like that).
Have each student create a line in the prayer and play it
through Talk Now when you point at their computer. Give them
some hints on what to pray for. Example: for faith, or for
Then have everyone type and play “Amen” at the same time.
Younger
children adaptation: Lesson 20 is ok for them. And they love
to type in Let’s Talk, even if they can’t spell. They just
need someone to help them.
Mary &
Martha’s Argument
Their story
only appears briefly in one other program (Bibleland.com
which I’m not going to use) but can be re-created
center-stage with the Lesson Builder and/or Conversation Now
modules in our new Let’s Talk CD.
Option 1: For my older children,
after studying and discussing the story with me using their
Bibles, they will create their own talking version of the
lesson, then switch computer and play back each others
lessons and quiz about story. When they add their 3
Discussion questions to the end of their lesson, I’ll give
them this idea to work with: “Imagine the conversation AFTER
Jesus had left the house. --How would MARY defend her
actions to Martha? --What could Martha have done
differently so as not to miss the opportunity to learn from
Jesus?
 Option
2: The teacher could prepare the
talking lesson in advance and copy it to each computer for
playback. Then when the kids got to the discussion
questions, they could type in their responses and play them
back for the entire class to hear. The teacher points to
each computer when it’s their turn to playback their
response. For younger children, help them type their
responses. They think typing is fun.
Option 3: After the Bible Study,
students are prompted to open up the Conversation Now module
in Let’s Talk. This looks like an INSTANT MESSAGING
screen. One student creates and names an onscreen character
–which can talk to a second onscreen character created by
the other student at the same computer. The teacher begins
the conversation with a “scenario” which the two onscreen
will create DIALOG about.
Scenario One:
“Student #1 you are Martha. Student #2 you are Jesus.
Martha, ask Jesus to explain his answer to your
complaint. If his answer doesn’t make sense to you, tell
him that and have him explain it again.”
Scenario Two:
“Student #1 you are Mary. Student #2 you
are Martha. After Jesus has left your house, start an
argument. Mary, you job is to explain again why you
chose learning and listening to Jesus over doing your
chores. Martha, your job is to suggest how Mary might
have helped you so you could BOTH spend time with
Jesus.”
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Another Great Tip:
After creating a
presentation in the Lesson Builder screen, if
needed, students can go back and edit their text
before presenting it to the class.
It is especially
important to check spelling -as misspelled words will be mispronounced by the computer during
playback (though sometimes that's pretty funny).
The teacher
will also find this editing screen handy for
making age-appropriate adjustments to
teacher-created presentations when you are
teaching different grades on different
weeks. For certain age groups and
situations, the teacher can also create a
simple presentation, save it, then have the
students open it up and finish it. This is a
great time-saver idea ...if you're
short on time. |
The Woman at the Well
This is
not a story about a "fallen" woman. It is another remarkable
story of Jesus' acceptance and empowerment of someone who
felt forgotten and shunned.
I used to
not like this story for children, because the "many
husbands" aspect turned me off. But then I came to realize
that many of us have been taught the wrong idea about this
woman. ...That there was a different reason she was being
shunned. She couldn't have children. In those days, that
would have been a huge burden to bear for her. And quite
possibly she is now living in the household of a male
relative who has taken her in, ...the "man who is not your
husband." She didn't feel worth to go to the well with the
other women of the village in the morning when they would
have gathered.
Further evidence that she was being shunned or was living
an embarrassed life comes from the fact that she was
able to go to people in the village and tell them about
Jesus, and they didn't reject her. She was part of the
village, but living with shame. Jesus freed her from being
defined by those conventions, and indeed, she became a
leading disciple.
1—Start
with Life of Christ CD Lesson #14 –Jesus tells his story to
a Lonely Woman.
It ends with these two questions and a quiz: Do you reject
people who are loved by God? How do you introduce others to
God? However in the next lesson step, we’re going to get
personal just like Jesus did. He knew what the woman needed,
and she wanted to change the subject.
2—Go to the Conversation Now/TALK NOW module in Let’s
Talk CD.
YOU (the teacher/assistant) will take on the role of Jesus.
The kids will use the Conversation/Talk Now module to
respond to your questions. Stand in the center of the room
and ask your question. Have the students type and playback
their response.
Examples of Questions You/Jesus could ask:
a. Why are you sitting at the well in the noonday (hot) sun?
Why didn't you come with the other women in the morning?
b. Why are you embarrassed that you can't have children?
Why do some people think it is some kind of punishment from
God?
c. How does it feel to be "shunned" by others?
d. How does it feel to think God is punishing you?
e. What went through your mind when you realized Jesus knew
a lot about you?
f. How does it feel to know that the Messiah was willing to
spend time with you, and talk about your problems?
g. What do you think Jesus meant when he said he wanted to
give you "Living Water." What kind of water is that?
h. How and Where can you can get this living water?
(What things in the Church help you find this Living Water?)
i. What did you tell your towns-people about Jesus that
convinced them that HE was the Messiah?
j. You went from being shunned and ashamed, to becoming a
leading disciple in that region. What does that tell you
about the kind of people that God calls to be his disciples?
k. Who are the people today that get shunned or feel like
they of lesser worth: in school, in your neighborhood, in
the community.... world.
l. What can you tell someone who didn't think they were
worth anything, is depressed about their life, thinks God
doesn't care about them, or is being shunned by others?
Where were you Thomas?
Thomas'
story doesn’t appear in Life of Christ CD. And he also isn’t
present when the risen Jesus first meets the disciples!
Where was
he? Why wasn’t he with them? Didn’t he expect Jesus? Had he
lost heart? Was he too busy?
1--
Students will rewrite the
Doubting Thomas story in Let’s Talk Lesson Builder from the
point of view of Thomas. What was going through his mind?
Why wasn’t he there? What did he think of the Disciples’
reports about Jesus? After creating their lesson,
they’ll switch computers and listen to other’s
groups/computers’ version of the Thomas story.
2--
After we’ve heard each other’s
versions of the story, the teacher will pose a series of
questions to the class. The students will respond aloud to
everyone in the classroom by having their onscreen character
voice their responses in Talk Now.
Possible Teacher Questions:
A) What would you ask Jesus if he appeared right now in our
room? B) Jesus can come to us anywhere in our
lives. Name 3 places in your life where you think Jesus
might come and talk to you. C) In what ways does Jesus come
to us and make his voice heard to us today?
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JOHN 1-1-18 In the beginning was the
Word...
It's full of
heavy language and imagery which we needed to "decode"
for the older elementary class.
After a Bible
study, we set them to work in Let's Talk's Lesson Builder
module. Working in pairs they each recreated in their
own words the first several verses of John. They
wrote quiz questions about these verses and created a
discussion question. After everyone was done, we traveled to
each computer to see & hear each presentation, answer the
questions and respond to their reflection question. Class
ended at 10:15 and it took us til 10:25 to shoo them away
from Let's Talk.
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The Temptation of Jesus
Use the TALK NOW module to have the kids
type-in your starter phrases, and finish the phrase by
including "the excuse".
Example:
You write on the board: "It's
okay to take money from your dad without asking because...."
And the kids complete the tempation with
the excuse, "because your dad has more!"
Play them back for all to hear, and then have the kids
create a "courageous comeback" to that temptation. (Let's
Talk software turns kids' text into computer speech).
Other starter temptation lines:
It's okay to only worship God a few times a year because...
It's okay to call a person a bad name because...
It's okay to hate a bad person because...
It's okay Jesus to use your powers to force everyone to
believe in you because...
etc...
Say to the kids: "Temptations are not just about taking
something, they are about the conversation that goes on in
your head and spirit about the EXCUSE you think you can make
to justify the sin.
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Job's Friends
The book of Job
is essentially a series of conversations or monologues, each
trying to explain the nature of evil ("why bad things
happen"). As the teacher, you could pose a series of
questions to your students after study, which the students
would respond to using the TALK NOW module. Or, after study,
you could invite each computer workgroup to compose their
OWN lesson/explanation in the Lesson Builder summarizing
Job's story and the answer God gives him.
For older
students, you should also go ahead and have them try their
hand at ARGUING (convincingly) using the CONVERSATION NOW
instant messenger module. Have them "practice" their
explanation about evil in the world with another student
(who plays the "devil's advocate" or "provocateur" if you
wish). As the teacher, pay close attention to the student's
answers and talk with them about how they might better
respond to the provocateur who says things like "if there
was a God, how could God allow bad things, like genocide."
Help your students learn the vocabulary of arguing their
beliefs. Soon enough, if not already, they will encounter
people who say things that require a response. Help them
learn how to EXPRESS THEIR BELIEFS !
 Call
of the Disciples
Imagine the
disciples were NOT fisherman. Imagine contemporary jobs,
imagine if they were ELEMENTARY students too! Where
would Jesus have approached them? And what would Jesus have
said to them? Create that story. Then... put
some realistic responses in the mouths of those contemporary
disciples. Jesus walks into a schoolyard and calls you. How
does he talk to students in "student" language -as opposed
to fishermen metaphors? What are your reservations?
How to you answer him? What do you say to your parents and
teachers?
You can create
the 'new' story using the Lesson Builder. Alternately, you
can use the 'Conversation Now' module to have kids take on
different roles (you be Jesus, I'll be the elementary
student). Alternately, you can use the 'Talk Now' option and
have the teacher invite kids at two computers to respond to
each other. This would work best if you have older
helpers/assistant teachers helping kids to think through
their responses before typing them. Alternately, the teacher
could be a one computer and pose questions to the kids at
another computer who use 'Talk Now' to respond to the
teacher out loud. Lots of options here depending on your age
group, number of computers, and number of helpers.
Karen at St.
James United in Toronto liked this lesson idea so much that
she expanded the "Let's Talk" concept out onto their walls.
They had the kids outline themselves on big sheets of kraft
paper, cut them out, decorate them, and add talking points
to each "disciple". It's a great example of combining
computers and artwork in a lesson to great effect!
Resurrection 'Breakfast'
with Jesus by the lake
If I was on a boat fishing and saw the
resurrected Jesus on the seashore cooking a fish, I'd have a
million questions, wouldn't you? That's the premise
behind this quick lesson outline, a version of which I did
two years ago in my own lab. Using the "Talk Now" feature in
Let's Talk (which allows kids to create quick spoken
responses to playback), each computer station creates a
talking character then composes responses to the question I
pose to them while standing in the middle of the lab. Then
we playback their answers and discuss them. Then I pose
another question. With some questions, I pose as Jesus
talking to them -asking my disciples (the kids) questions.
With other questions, I pretend that I'm the disciple and
they craft responses as if THEY were Jesus. If you
have younger kids, they like to come up with responses,
-just need an older child to help them type.
Sample
Questions:
Jesus
to his Disciples:
What was going through your mind
before you saw me?
When you saw me on the shore, what did you think to
yourself?
Why were you out fishing instead of telling
people about me?
How come Peter is the only one to jump
out and run to me?
How are you going to stay faithful to
me after I'm gone?
The Disciples to Jesus:
Where have you been
since your resurrection?
Why are you cooking us a fish?
Why not just stand there and yell to us?
Why did you
want to meet us here in Galilee?
How are we supposed to
Feed your Sheep? We can't even catch fish for ourselves! How
can we do this without you?
 Wedding
at Cana
We did a fun
Let's-Talk lesson writing "Letters About the Wedding" that
was quite fun. The idea: Jehoshaphat was at the
wedding and is writing to his friend Betty. They discuss
what it means, who Jesus might be, and what to do NEXT with
this information. Betty is a bit of a skeptic.
"Dear Betty,
I was at this wedding over the weekend and you'll never
guess what happened."
"Dear
Jehosaphat, I don't believe you! Who can turn
water into wine and what do you think it means?"
Dear Betty,
Here's what the people there were saying to each other
about Jesus. What do you think I should do next?
How will I know he's The One?"
You can do this
a number of ways:
1) Have the TEACHER pose as
"Betty the skeptic," and pose questions to the kids at the
computers who respond with the "Say It" module Ex: "Okay
Jehosphat, you're pulling my leg. WHO can turn water into
wine and WHY would anyone do that? What are they trying to
prove?"
2) You can have
older kids use the "Conversation Now" chat module to take a
role and respond to each other at their workstations. Give
each workstation a list of suggested questions to go
through. You can also use this module in a small group and
have everyone gather around, assigning some to be
"believers" and some to be "skeptics in the the crowd"
debating what happened and then coming up with a plan to
"figure out who this Jesus is"... what they can do to
investigate him and his message more closely.
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Let's Talk Lesson Idea
Quickies:
»
Imagine the conversation
between Paul and his Philippi Jailer after the
earthquake. What helped the man believe? Assign someone
to be Paul and someone to be the Jailer. Or, have the
teacher be the jailer (in order to push Paul on his
answers).
»
Imagine what
Peter was thinking as he sank. What part of YOUR
life is sinking? And what does Jesus have to say to
him/you about that?
»
Imagine what
the other officers said about Cornelius behind his
back when Cornelius asked to be baptized. And how did he
respond?
»
Imagine you're
at the cross... create an onscreen rebuttal to those
who are hurling insults at Jesus. Defend him.
»
You're
Nicodemus
asking Jesus to explain what he means by saying "born
from above...water and spirit."
»
Rewrite the
Psalm!
»
Have each
student ask a question to the class about the story
through their onscreen character.
»
Play "Stump the
Rest of the Class" ... student key in a Bible
Question into their Talk Now Module and play it for the
rest of the class.
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| Tips
on Using Let's Talk with OLDER students and NON-READERS
Sometimes
older students
like to goof around with Let's Talk's speech
capabilities.
That's okay! ...just don't let it get out of hand. I
will often invite them to "create one funny response,
and one serious response" and that seems to take care of
their need to make the computer say funny things. After
a few lessons with Let's Talk, they'll have that out of
their system.
For the one or two who
can't get that out of their system, I will often ask
them to come help me with the younger grades. Once they
feel like "one of the teachers" they tend to settle down
even with their peers.
Another approach that
works well with pre-teens and
teens is to tell
them they are "making the presentation for the little
kids." Sometimes when they think they are just
making it for themselves, they are reticent or
will try to impress each other (not in a good way!). By
signaling that "this is for the little kids" it takes
the pressure off some of your older kids to think they
have to be cool. It's also
educational
gold. "Translating" a Bible
story and concepts into pre-school or early-reader
appropriate language helps older students think through
the concepts in a new way.
As the teacher, you'll
have to help them think about what's "age appropriate."
Vocabulary is important, but so is creating simple
sentence structure and grammar. If you can, it's a
great idea to invite the younger kids to come in at the
end of the lesson to view the presentations. If that's
not possible, save the presentations and invite a couple
of your older students to 'present' them to the
Kindergartners when they are scheduled into the lab.
Younger children
who can't type still love to make their animated
character talk.
I've used Let's Talk with four year olds! They
think it's magic. This is where having an older
"typist" help them is essential. The older "typist"
can help them formulate their thoughts, and correct
their spelling. Sometimes, I'll write "keywords" on the
board based on the passage or our discussion, and let
the kids pick the keywords they want to put in their
Talk Now or Lesson Builder presentation.
You can also PRE-MAKE
a Lesson Presentation, then have the younger
children (with their helper) select
EDIT a LESSON, to go in and add their own
thought on top of yours. That makes for a richer
presentation, and they will still be thrilled to hear
"their" words. (See "another great tip" above) |
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SPECIAL DISPENSATION!
If you've read this
far, you're on "Neil's Great Teacher List" ...and I want to make
sure you spend plenty of time preparing with Let's Talk.
Therefore, you are VERY WELCOME to install a copy Let's Talk
to your office or home computer for the purposes of lesson
preparation (and wowing your kids and staff). This is
not a copyright violation because I own the copyright and am
giving you this limited permission! If you need extra
copies of Let's Talk for TEACHING purposes, you need to buy a
copy for each computer. If you have 5 or more computers, we have
a site license edition you can purchase. I hope you enjoy Let's
Talk, and discover more ways to use it! We had a lot of
fun making it, and teaching with it ourselves.
Questions? Email me
at
neil@sundaysoftware.com <>< Neil MacQueen
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Quick Tech Tips:
1) If you want
the same Let's Talk content on multiple computers, you need to
buy one copy of Let's Talk for each computer, THEN you can copy
yourlesson.txt from the lessons folder (where you saved it) to
the lessons folder on another computer where you have Let's Talk
installed. The lessons folder is created in the same
directory/folder where you install Let's Talk.
2) Always save your
work. If your lessons do not save, make sure you're logged in as
the Admin on your computer with full 'write' permission to the
harddrive.
3) Only use letters
and numbers in your lessons.
-
Do not include
non-standard symbols, such as, > or & in your typing.
-
Do not type long
sentences in the "intro" field.
-
Do not type in a
wordprocessor then paste into the fields.
For more tech
tips, go to
www.sundaysoftware.com/lets-talk/support
View more SCREENSHOTS
from Let's Talk
Order Let's Talk Now Online at
www.sundaysoftware.com/order.htm
Go to our Let's Talk Tech Support Page at www.sundaysoftware.com/lets-talk/support
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