Tour Stop: Overview of The Teach, Take & Tell Curriculum

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Overview Video: Teach, Take & Tell Basics Overview  Video

Handout to go with the video: Teach, Take & Tell Overview pdf

In Teach, Take and Tell, the children are introduced to 12 Big Questions in 12 month-long units.

They learn one Bible story and one Bible verse with each unit.

Based on a model of introducing the new concepts on the first week, then reinforcing them on the subsequent weeks of the unit, the children have an opportunity to master what they are learning.

Four or five weeks of Sundays may seem like a lot of repetition for the same story, verse and concept, (and the curriculum is written so you don’t have to do that many weeks of repetition), but we have found that it actually allows them to really master the concepts. If you have spent much time with preschoolers, you will notice that often they asked for the same story to be read or story to be sung again and again—sometimes to our frustration! But this is what they enjoy and it is how they learn. In addition, preschoolers rarely get the chance to play “expert” at something. Repetition is how they get to be that expert…and they love it! Of this is not to say they don’t enjoy new things, too. That is why different games and craft activities are used each week of the month to provide variety to the concepts.

What the Curriculum Includes

A variety of activities

Crafts, games, songs and other activities are suggested to help the children learn and remember the key concepts.

The Teach, Take & Tell Books: Do It Yourself Resources

For some churches, and most families, you don’t want to or need to use a format with the resources. You want the stories and the resources, but you want to use them your own way. The Teach, Take & Tell Books work great for people like you. They include all the key concepts and many of the activities as well as track numbers for all the songs. You can either download an individual unit book or all twelve in one big book. Links to even more resources on the website are included for each unit, too.

Teach, Take & Tell Lesson Plans and Resources: Fully-Scripted, Five-Week Units

Many churches (and schools) are looking for a lesson plan that guides teachers through the curriculum. They want the structure and continuity that a regular lesson format provides. They include all the crafts, flannelgraph, and games used for five sessions, so you have enough to teach a unit for even a month with five Sundays in it. Yet they are structured so you can spend fewer weeks on a unit, if desired. .

Lesson Plans in Two Different Session Lengths: Regular and Extended Sessions

Some churches teach their preschoolers during just Sunday School or just the Church Hour. The Regular Session version of the curriculum is designed for these churches. Other churches—like ours—stretch out their teaching time over both Sunday School AND Church hour. This allows for longer play times between teaching times, which refreshes the children; and, it allows for both the Sunday School children as well as those only in attendance for the Church Hour to both receive teaching.

Do you have to do all the lesson plan suggests?

Absolutely not! What you do with your children will depend upon your church. No matter what the curriculum you use, always think of it as a toolbox of tools. You will have to take into consideration your time constraints, your teachers and your children to know what will work best for you. While the curriculum is presented in the format as we use it, you can also choose to just pick out what you want to use. The website makes this easier by providing a choice of downloading all lesson plan and resources as one big file—if you are using it all, or close to all. Or, as separate resources—if you are just using portions of it.

What's the best way to learn more about Teach, Take & Tell resources?

#1 Continue on to the more in-depth Teach, Take & Tell tour.

#2 Download the Teach, Take & Tell Scope & Sequence. This will show you what concepts are covered in twelve units.

scope & sequence pdf

#3 Download the Teach, Take & Tell brochure. This will give you a feel for the activities and lesson plan formats available.

Teach, Take & Tell brochure pdf

#4 Download the Introductory Materials from the Teach, Take & Tell Book.

A short introduction and a longer, more in-depth look at teaching with Teach, Take & Tell (Appendix A) are found in both Teach, Take & Tell Books. These give you a lot more information about the curriculum and how to make a good fit with your children.

Introduction from the Teach, Take & Tell Books pdf

Appendix A from the Teach, Take & Tell Books pdf

#5 Download the Teach, Take & Tell Book for Unit 1 and other resources. This will be a great way to familiarize with the concepts and the flow of the curriculum.

Download Teach, Take & Tell Book 1 pdf

Flannelgraph Pictures for Unit 1 Story

Crafts for Unit 1:

1. Week 1 Craft
2. Week 2 Craft
3. Week 3 Craft
4. Week 4 Craft
5. Week 5 Craft

Take-home Sheet Unit 1

Supplemental Bible Stories Unit 1

#6 Download a lesson plan from Unit 1

The lesson plan gives you an idea for how you might want to structure your own Teach, Take & Tell class. There are two that are included in the Teach, Take & Tell Book with each unit (or of course can be downloaded off of the website with the other Unit 1 resources).

Download Regular Session Lesson Plan, Unit 1 pdf (for a 1 -1.5 hour session)

Download Extended Session Lesson Plan, Unit 1 pdf  (for a 2-3 hour session)

#7 Download a fully-scripted resource

If you are looking for more help in understanding how a regular or extended session class uses the curriculum, download one of these resources. They are fully scripted, meaning they include words and transitions between the resources in order of use. The fully-scripted lesson plans have a text look to them, while the E-Z Read Cue Cards actually are the entire session in full-size signs that you simply flip through in order.

Regular Session Fully-scripted Lesson Plan pdf

Extended Session Fully-scripted Lesson Plan pdf

Regular Session E-Z Read Cue Cards pdf

Extended Session E-Z Read Cue Cards pdf

Time to choose your next tour stop...

Go on to a More In-depth Teach, Take & Tell tour

Go on to Big Questions & Answers for little people tour (not available yet)

Go on to the Praise Factory tour (not available yet)

Go on to the Sing & Say along the Way tour (not available yet)