The Workshop Rotation Model An exciting, creative, kid-friendly, practical, flexible, multiple learning styles-informed approach to organizing and teaching Sunday School, or Summer Sunday School, or Wednesday evening programs, or VBS -that doesn't necessarily require the purchase of printed curriculum, and can include a computer workshop This is the model that TIME magazine called "one of the most innovative models in Sunday School." Order the Workshop Rotation Model Book Look for it in the book section at the end of the online order form Read more about the Book |   Read an article below about the Model   |  Learn more at www.rotation.org  |  About the Authors  The model is on the loose in thousands of ELCA, UMC, UCC, Christian (Disciples), Baptist, Evangelical, Episcopal, and Presbyterian churches across North America ~and is spreading to many other denominations and countries across the world.   Workshop Rotation ~ A New Model for Sunday School ~ a book by Melissa Hansche and Neil MacQueen This is the first and best book about the Workshop Rotation Model. It was written by two of the Model's creators. You can purchase the book from this website. Look for it in the Printed Materials section at the end of the software order form. Why is it at this website ? Because Neil MacQueen, the co-author of the book, is also the founder of Sunday Software. About the Book... Workshop Rotation ~ A New Model for Sunday School describes how you can reorganize your Sunday School and reassign your teachers -to not only teach God's Word creatively and faithfully, but to address the chronic problems facing most Sunday Schools.  This book was written by two of the originators of the Model, Melissa Hansche and Neil MacQueen. It details the problems they faced and how the Model solved their problems. It is written for both educators and volunteers. It helps committees understand the chronic problems most Sunday Schools encounter, and HOW the Model will address those problems. It tells an inspirational story and shares "getting started" insights and resources. The book is written in an easy-to-read & easy-to-understand, non-denominational, non-technical style. We share the story of how and why we created the Workshop Rotation Model in the suburban Chicago church where Melissa and I served on staff. It is a book many churches order extra copies of for their committees and teachers to study and discuss. This book is on the required reading list of many seminary Christian education classes, including Chandler Seminary, Trinity Lutheran, and McCormick Theological Seminary.   This model was featured in a December 16, 2002 TIME magazine article which called Workshop Rotation "one of the most innovative Sunday School models."   The model has been written up in most of the major Christian education magazines, including Alert, Christian Educator, and Children's Ministry.   Several major curriculum publishers now publish "rotation" curriculum. It is estimated that over 10,000 churches use this model. What is the Workshop Rotation Model? The Workshop Rotation Model describes a kid-friendly, teacher friendly, and facility transforming way to teach Bible stories and truths. Teachers stay-put for 4 to 6 week tours of duty in the workshop medium of their choice -- teaching nearly the same lesson each week to different classes which rotate through. Classes rotate into a different workshop each week but stay with the same story for 4 to 6 weeks learning it in-depth through a variety of media without getting bored. Rooms become transformed by the learning activity they host. Lesson plans are gleaned from the resources of your choice and adapted from other rotation churches. This book describes our Sunday School, what we thought was wrong with it, what, how and why we changed, as well as, results and reaction. You'll read detailed descriptions of the model, including: workshops descriptions, design ideas, educational philosophy, photos, sample lessons, a six year plan, and sample schedules, -plus comments for educators across the country. Click here to order this $19.00 book Look for the book in our "printed resources" section at the end of the online order form. <><Neil MacQueen, Sunday Software  Spirit of Hope A Church educator describes the Rotation model and how it transformed her Sunday School by Ardys Sabin Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church, Golden Valley Minnesota Reprinted with permission from Church Educator Magazine Church Educator Magazine Editor's Note: In 1993 Church Educator published an article by Neil MacQueen about a new model for Sunday School called The Workshop Rotation Model. At the time the model was barely known outside the few Presbyterian Churches in the Chicago area that had been working with it. Little did we know how important that article would soon become to many of you around the country. Having watched the model grow by leaps and bounds over the years, Church Educator asked Neil to bring us an update. He suggested that we let one of those whose ministry was changed by that original article tell their story. Ardys Sabin is Director of Nurture at Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church in Golden Valley Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Says Neil MacQueen, "Ardys and Spirit of Hope represent one of the country's best examples of the model's creative spirit." About eight years ago I began to have second thoughts about our approach to Sunday School here at the Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church. Our format, curriculum and teaching methods left much to be desired. As a Christian Educator I faced the same recruiting and erratic attendance problems that many of my colleagues faced. The most critical concern for me was the overall lack of Biblical literacy I was seeing in the children who had gone through the system. Sunday School as we were conceptualizing it was not engaging our children in a way that was stimulating them to learn at their best. I began to dream of a new approach that would incorporate cutting edge media and technology. For several years visions of a media center with video, computers and a drama production studio danced in my head with no realistic way to actualize it. Then in March of 1996 a colleague shared with me an article from the June 1993 Church Educator written by Neil MacQueen about the Workshop Rotation Model. It was an epiphany! The church where Neil worked as an Associate Minister had created a new model for Sunday School by converting their traditional class rooms into exciting multi-intelligence learning spaces. Teachers were recruited for a six week unit and taught the same lesson each week with simple adjustments depending on the age level. The children rotated through the different spaces spending a week in each workshop. [See the sidebar for more model details] In May of 1996 I attended a conference on the Workshop Rotation Model and toured three churches in the Chicago area who had each designed this model to fit their unique situations and learning spaces. I returned to my church of 500 with a realistic and exciting vision for our program. My enthusiasm was contagious and my church eagerly embraced the transformation of our conventional 1st through 6th grade Sunday School into six Discipleship Discovery Zones (our name for our Sunday School using the model). Without looking back we were off. We had no money budgeted for such a dramatic change but our creativity, ingenuity and excitement more than compensated. Our first task was to turn our outdated classrooms into the fun learning spaces the model calls for. We ordered the largest dumpster available and began to dismantle our 1950 style classrooms. Our objective was to create learning spaces that attracted kids (and parents) while facilitating creative teaching methods. Over the summer we borrowed other churches' rotation curriculum and used their ideas to stoke our own. The model lessens the dependence on purchased curriculum, instead sending you into the creative materials most churches already have and unleashing your own church's creative input. By September we were up and running with; Abundant Life Theater, a fifteen seat theater with large screen TV, VCR, theater style popcorn machine and a chasing light theater marquee (one of our salvaged finds)!. Thou Art, an art studio with a full wall of cabinets, loads of counter space, and a deep stainless steel sink for cleanup. Mary and Martha's Kitchen incorporated our kitchen as a teaching medium. The Computer Mouse featured three new pentium computers and three donated older models. Parable Productions our puppet and drama center boast full wall scenic murals as well as a versatile puppet stage that can adapt for shadow or hand held puppets and marionettes. Video taping capabilities allow us to capture each classes interpretation of the story. Father Abraham's Arcade houses our Bible skills and game center. This year Matter of Faith Science Center was added where experiments and nature studies have enhanced our units on Creation and Miracles. The Rotation Model gave us a way to teach the same Bible stories we've always taught -- only now in a kid friendly, teacher friendly, and facility friendly way. The results have been astounding. Our Sunday School registration doubled the first year and growth continues to exceed our expectations this year. Biblical literacy has dramatically increased as children retain the stories of faith and their implications for today. Our only "problem" has been parents having to literally drag their children from our Discovery Zones. I jokingly asked one little boy if I would have to lock him out of the Church Mouse and he shot back with "couldn't you just lock me in," what a wonderful problem to have. We are blessed with a number of highly creative people whose ownership of specific Discipleship Discovery Zones has been instrumental in their success.. Many others have offered generous financial support. The level of support of our pastor and the members of Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church has truly been outstanding. Our success was also due in no small part to the wonderful guidance provided by Neil's manual for the Workshop Rotation Model and the Sunday School software ministry he has started. (See the sidebar for how to get these). What a wonderful journey these past two years have been. It has taken a substantial investment in time, energy and financial resources but the blessings abound. Children and their families are really excited about Sunday School. New families are being attracted in record numbers. Most importantly the faith story is coming alive for another generation. -------- At the time of this article, Ardys Sabin was the Director of Children's Ministry at the Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church in Golden Valley Minnesota. Go to our Order Form, Scroll to the Bottom, and Order The Book About the authors: In 1990 Neil MacQueen and Melissa Hansche created what became known as the Workshop Rotation Model for Sunday School. The two worked together at the Presbyterian Church in Barrington Illinois (in suburban Chicago). Neil was the Associate Pastor and Melissa the Children's Educator. They didn't "invent" all the methods or ideas used in the Model. Most of the ideas and methods have been floating around Sunday School for years!  Rather, they were the first to combine these ideas and methods in a workable, sustainable, and on-going model for the entire Sunday School. After creating the Model, they began sharing it with other church through a series of seminars and articles. The original Workshop Rotation Manual (1995), -which evolved into the Workshop Rotation book,  was based on their original seminars. The "Rotation Model" has since become an ecumenical grassroots movement to reinvent Sunday School with many leaders and creative people leading the way. Over the years, Melissa and Neil sold at cost, -and then later gave away over a thousand copies of their original manual through the website at www.rotation.org. Later, the book was completely re-written and published through the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Click here to order the book from this website. Another great resource about the Model is the Rotation model website .