"Where'd that come from?" is part of the "Pulling Back the Curtain" forum here at Rotation.org. For a cat theme, see the companion article on "lesson brainstorming."

This article is related to two other articles:

• How to Do a Bible Word Study that will Expand Your Teaching Vocabulary and Stoke Your Creativity
• Low Hanging Fruit: Picking words from the scripture text that inspire creative ideas
  

"Where'd that come from?"

An article about the real sources of creative lesson ideas,
with examples from many of the Writing Team's creative ideas.
For the creative teacher, writer, and leader.

by Neil MacQueen, Lead Writer for the Rotation.org Writing Team

Introduction

It's flattering when people call you "creative." And I suppose there is some part of creativity that is a gift (i.e. given, not earned). But the unflattering fact is that I was not always a creative writer or teacher. Rather, when I look back over my journey, what others see as "creativity" looks more to me like the product of my "ridiculous curiosity,” along with my love of play, willingness to change, and collaboration with talented people.

For the past several years at Rotation.org, we've been reinventing the Rotation.org Writing Team process and lesson plans to set a new standard for Sunday School lesson creativity and share our approach with others. It would be easy and self-serving to shroud what we do on the Writing Team in a fog of creative pats on the back (or not want to share our "trade secrets" at all), but that is not the Rotation.org way. We're here to share what we've learned with those like us who aspire to be more creative in their teaching, lesson writing, and leadership.

Where do creative teaching ideas come from?
Looking back on the past couple of years of Writing Team experience, it seems really obvious to me that creative lesson writing IS NOT a "gifted burst of inspiration," but rather, it has usually been the product of curiosity, collaboration, experience, and perspiration. Sure, we do sometimes feel like we have a "flash of insight," but as the following examination confesses, most of "flashes" doesn't really come out of the blue. In the examples below, we'll explore what is meant by "curiosity," "perspiration," etcetera, in the context of trying to come up with creative lessons.

This photo is a visual parable of "How you get to creative."

I am writing this article and others in our "Pulling Back the Curtain" forum at the behest of the Rotation.org Board to "share what I know about how to write creative lessons."

In addition to my years working to invent, support, and teach in the Rotation Model, for the past four years I've written or been part of writing over 300 creative lessons for the Writing Team, and I'm now training new writers in "how we do it." I have also written and developed 18 different creative Bible story software programs and taught countless numbers of Sunday School classes.  Experience is a great teacher.

I reference these "credentials" not to impress, and certainly don't claim to have done it "all by myself." Rather, I reference them to reinforce my argument that what others see as "creativity" to me looks more like curiosity, experience, being willing to change, and then doing the work of "being creative."

It also helps to have a sense of humor, playfulness, and lack of stuffiness, but that's another article.    --Neil

Before I start with the examples from the Writing Team, let me take a moment to tell you ...

How the Rotation Model forced me to become a more creative person -- and what traditional model teachers and leaders can learn from that without doing the model.

You can read more about the Workshop Rotation Model here, but suffice to say, the Rotation Model's different way of organizing classrooms, teachers, and activities FORCES US out of the "Talk & Craft" Dead Zone. (I was going to call it "comfort zone" but let's be honest.) Being "forced" to be creative is often just what the doctor ordered.

In the Rotation Model, you don't have the option to write or teach the same kind of boring lesson each week. Instead, we have an Art Workshop that REQUIRES an art project, a Video Workshop that needs video, a Games Workshop that needs a great teaching game, and so on.  By slowing down the rate of story change and repeating the story each week through a different medium, we forced ourselves to BROADEN HOW WE TEACH each story, while at the same time giving the teacher the opportunity to hone their same lesson each week with a different class. This simple reorganization solved the learner's need for variety and repetition, the teacher's need for repeating a lesson to make it better, and the lesson writer's desire to move beyond crafts and worksheets.

"Crisis is often the mother of invention," and the creation of Rotation Model "workshops" was the "crisis" we invented to force us to get out of the "craft mode."

So.... If you are still using the traditional "new story each week" model, and yet want the "necessity" that different workshops compels you to create for, then you need to STEAL THIS IDEA FROM THE ROTATION MODEL:

Force yourself to use a different teaching technique each week. Our model does that, and yours can too. Stop using curriculum that turns every lesson into "read, talk, craft."

And where can you find all these new creative lesson ideas?  By "stealing" from the Writing Team Lesson Set and our public forums. That's what it's there for.

Like any lesson dog knows, looking in new places instead of the same old bowl is a great way to BROADEN your creative writing and teaching talents.

In the early days of the Rotation Model, we HAD to write our own curriculum for workshops like Cooking, Games, Software, and Drama. And honestly, the early stuff wasn't awesome, but it was more fun than the traditional "talk & craft" garbage that the traditional publishers were recycling (and continue to recycle). There's still a lot of "mediocre" Rotation curriculum out there, but starting in 2015, the new Writing Team decided to aspire to something better ...and there it sits for the picking.

In addition to aspiring to do better, the Team gets results by collaborating. Unlike Picasso, we don't have the luxury of selling a lesson for millions of dollars and leaving it to teachers to figure out what we meant to say. Collaborative brainstorming and peer-review help our Writing Team lessons strive for a higher standard.

So if you are a "Lesson Writing Lone Ranger," go find people to discuss and read your ideas and lesson plans. It's humbling and invigorating, and it will make you a more creative and intelligible writer.

And now, on to what you came for...

Where'd THAT Come From?

Neil examines where some great Writing Team lesson ideas came from.

Jesus Toast

From the Writing Team's "Jesus Feeds the 5000" Cooking Workshop

How a photo of toast inspired us to figure out how to get Jesus' face on toast.

We have a "no more bread" rule for Cooking Workshops (it's over done) -- but we broke it for this lesson because the story features a bread miracle and Jesus calling himself the bread. Duh.

The Bible Background and Lesson Objectives for this set dictated that we needed to focus on the miracle as a revealing of Jesus' identity, something which Jesus himself confirms 20 verses after the story when he calls himself the Bread of Life come down from heaven (John 6:35f).

During a Google brainstorming search, we saw this art display of an EYE MOSAIC made of toast --which looked like Jesus' eye to us.  We dabbled with the idea of doing a toast mosaic, but then realized we wanted to EAT the BREAD, not just turn it into an art project.

So... Donna and I debated and then experimented with various ways to draw on toast.

Our solution for drawing on edible toast came from a lesson a few years back where kids drew the Hebrew name of Elijah in the dough, sprinkled it with sugar and baked in the name. From there, the idea of broiling toast was born, and we added the technique of transferring an image of Jesus to the toast (using a fresco technique I saw on a TV show) which the kids could then trace into the bread and fill with colored sugar before toasting.

Inspiration?  Not so much. It was the product of collaboration and perspiration over test ovens, combined with a previous technique we had learned a few years back. How does Jesus feed us? Often it is through each other.

The Table in the Presence of My Psalm 23 Scripture Lesson!

When the Team was brainstorming "Cooking Workshop" activities for Psalm 23, we would have been crazy not to have addressed the TABLE sitting right in the middle of the Psalm. It was a gift, a beacon. There are a lot of these kinds of "activity clues" we can pull from scripture for various workshops. You just have to LOOK for them. This article on "Low Hanging Fruit" should help.

The presence of the Table in the Psalm also forced us to look beyond the typical question of "what food are we going to make?" and consider the larger idea of what "Table" represents in the story, in our church, and in our homes.

A Table is also a super familiar piece of furniture that kids gather around.  The School Lunch Table, for example, is for many kids literally "in the presence of my enemies."  How do we treat "others" and those who might not like us? What "instructions for peace and reconciliation at the Table" would God give to your family table? Communion table?  Lunch table?  These sound like drama skits to me!

Ultimately our cooking workshop idea included food in the form of an "edible arrangement" --but it was done in a certain way that reinforced both the memorization of the Psalm and the importance of the "table" that God gives to us.

Singing in the Shower

From the Writing Team's "Jesus Feeds the 5000" Drama Workshop

An idea that started as a response to a common lament, and was solved by using an old camera trick in a new way.

This lesson started with a lament, "Why won't my kids sing in Sunday School?!?" And its solution began with an observation, "They sing in the shower, though......"

Those two comments created a brainstorm that pulled together ideas from several previous singing and video techniques we'd used over the years, as well as an idea from a popular television show, James Corden's Carpool Karaoke. After writing the lesson, it was "proofed" by a group of kids at a church in Canada to wild success.

Our Solution: Create a "shower" out of a refrigerator box that students could sing songs in (songs we adapted to teach the point of the story), and broadcast their performance *LIVE* to the rest of the class watching on a TV behind the box (to avoid self-conscious eye-contact between singers and their peers). To make it *LIVE* we put a video camera (or cellphone) in front of the singers, and connected it by cable to the TV.  One of the songs was titled, "Baby Shark 5000" (doo-doo-doo-do-da-doo).  Where'd that *LIVE* idea come from?  From me messing around with connecting my iPhone to my TV, and decades of watching kids watch themselves on the TV when we hooked up our old videocamera to it.

BTW: This one lesson may have just invented a whole new kind of Drama-AV-Music Workshop.

Kandinsky Circle Painting

From the Writing Team's "Jesus Feeds the 5000" Art Workshop

This lesson began with a great idea for painting expressively using a famous abstract technique ...but needed a practical approach to keep it from turning into a painting free-for-all. Where'd that format come from? We stole it from our experience with children's Passover Seder scripts.

One of the elusive goals of the Art Workshop is self-expression  -especially with paint. But most Sunday School paint projects end up a big glompy mess of paint, and amount to painty versions of a Bible coloring page.

Along came this cool idea to paint in the style of Wasily Kandinsky, the "Father of Abstract Art," who was famous for using circles of color to express feelings and ideas. How do you think the small boy felt after they took his lunch? After Jesus multiplied it?  After he went home and told others?

But you can't just tell teachers to "remind the kids that" and then let the kids paint. What we needed was a "scripted" approach to painting different parts of the story using circles and colors to represent various ideas, insights, and developments. That's when the writer and I basically "stole" the idea from the Seder Passover's practice of a scripted meal, with scripture AND eating to create a script the teacher could use to guide the kids through the story and different parts of the painting, while allowing the kids to express their own thoughts about what the story and teacher were saying.  Also fresh on our minds was a recent lesson about the Cross where we retold the story through a "Cross Seder" (scripted meal).  Inspiration? Or Perspiration? Or maybe just Preparation?

Word Study #1:  How the Greek led to Foil Sculptures of the Magi

from the Writing Team's "Magi" Art Workshop

How a cool sculpture project became the obvious choice for an art lesson BY FIRST studying the scripture text itself.

I love flexible sculpture as a creative teaching medium. It's tactile, posable, and go-home-able. A few years ago I had done a foil sculpture with my kids. Aluminum foil is cheap, easy to form, and super bendable. Shiny too --which makes it look like a nice Xmas decoration. BUT THAT'S NOT HOW this lesson came to have foil sculptures of the Magi in it.

Rather, I had done a word study on Matthew 2:11's familiar words, "they bowed down and worshiped him." "Bowed," the English translation, initially caught my eye because that's a MOVEMENT we could get the kids to work with and think about what it meant -- AND steer away from the typical (and over used) emphasis on the gifts they brought Jesus (bowing was their greatest gift, it's the discipleship Jesus wants from us). But then I looked up the word in the original Greek and "prosukeo" ("bowed") literally means to lay face down on the floor (prostrate). That's quite a humbling position for 3 wisemen or kings, no?   

So not only could we get the kids DOING that, we could make a posable sculpture which the kids could use to DEMONSTRATE that position and ATTITUDE  (and take home to demonstrate/reinforce to others), AND we could also demonstrate some "not so healthy postures" some people have about Jesus. Hence, Foil Sculptures.  Inspiration? No, it was the "perspiration" (work) of a Word Study, ...and "experience" (an art idea stuck in my memory).

Word Study Perspiration #2:  "How a Fig Tree Got Its Leaves"

How simply looking at key WORDS in a passage and thinking about their SYNONYMS led to a super life application and the 2018 Christian Song of the Year.

From a lesson suggestion posted in our Teachers' Help Lounge.

A teacher asked for help with a lesson about the Fig Tree (producing or not producing figs) that would appeal to her Middle Schoolers. Love figs, so that was my first idea. But my first ACT was to go do a word study of the passage and google search about fig trees to learn more. And there I discovered that "perish" can also mean "destroyed," or "ruined," or "lost" ...all of which are three things older kids can relate to with regard to reputations, friendships, families, and their own feeling of well-being.

It also just so happened that I listen to a lot of Christian contemporary music, and there's this great music video and 2018 Song of the Year titled the "Reckless Love of God" which asks the question: "Am I ever too far perished (lost, ruined) that God cannot find/save/restore me? No, God's love looks reckless because it doesn't give up on us  --and isn't that the real lesson of the Fig Tree --that even STUMPS can send up shoots? BINGO.

By the way, looking up and discussing SYNONYMS for words found in the Bible is a great way to teach their meaning. Every writer and teacher should have a thesaurus, and there are tons of them online too.

For more on this, read the article:  How to Do a Bible Word Study that will Expand Your Teaching Vocabulary and Stoke Your Creativity

Word Study #3: God's Eye from Above

From the Writing Team's "Nicodemus: Born from Above" Art Workshop

The idea of making a God's Eye craft seems obvious and time-honored, but the idea of doing it with THIS lesson about Nicodemus did not jump out at me until I took the time to learn that "Being Born from Above" can mean seeing the world and others as God sees them.

I've seen a lot of lessons that have kids making God's eye crafts, but none so perfectly matched to the MEANING of the scripture as this one. Had I not read about or tried to understand "born from above," I would have totally missed it.

So yeah, I'm a BIG FAN of actually studying the passage before trying to get all creative. And often, the creative idea is inspired by the actual verses (see "Low Hanging Fruit" below).

In these next couple of examples of "where'd that come from" you'll notice the importance of EXPLORING and EXPOSING yourself to new resources.

Rotation.org is a huge archive of great ideas ready to be used or adapted. So are many other websites like YouTube which is a treasure trove of techniques, "how-to," and inspirational videos and music.

What a friend we have in ...Google Images and YouTube

From the Writing Team's "Peter Sinks, Jesus Saves!" Art Workshop

How googling can stoke your creativity, and help you with the "how-to."

I was tasked with coming up with an Art project for Jesus and Peter walking on water, so I started by Googling images of the story. Paintings, Illustrations, Cartoons. What caught my eye and heart was THIS image of Jesus reaching down through the water with his hand, and that got me thinking about what a great representation that image was of the point of the story: Peter Sinks, Jesus Saves.

So I googled "drawing hands" and found an art project in some "art blog" showing you how to draw "3D" hands with a simple but really neat effect. Then I found the technique explained on YouTube. Thank you Google!

Search Google for keywords and phrases from your scripture and from your creative ideas that are taking shape. Look on websites, blogs, in Google Images, and on YouTube.  And don't forget to search sites like Rotation.org. Unlike many curriculum sites, Rotation.org STORES many great and "medium" ideas for the long haul -- knowing that the inspiration you seek needs to be here when you're seeking it.

Yes, sometimes the tail does wag the dog

We've all been there -- a cool idea or resource we can't wait to use in class, but it doesn't fit the upcoming lesson. The worst thing you can do is try to force a good idea on the wrong story. I've see some creative ideas that were simply in the WRONG lesson (or taught the wrong point for that lesson) simply because the lesson writer was ENAMORED of the idea and couldn't let it go.  Creative writers and teachers need PATIENCE and a good MEMORY (or a good website like Rotation.org to find things in). And we need to know when to let go.

I have been loving the song "Hills and Valleys" by Tauren Wells for two years now, and can't wait to build a Psalm 23 lesson around it. Both the song and the scripture are full of images, action words and "scenes" that I'm chomping at the bit to turn into a creative lesson or two.

On the mountains, I will bow my life
To the one who set me there
In the valley, I will lift my eyes to the one who sees me there
When I'm standing on the mountain aft, didn't get there on my own
When I'm walking through the valley end, no I am not alone!
You're God of the hills and valleys and I am not alone.

A Butter Song-Inspiration

From the Writing Team's Peter Sinks, Jesus Saves! Cooking Workshop

How a neat idea and great song were just waiting for the right lesson to come along.

Been wanting to make butter with my Sunday School Cooking Workshop kids ever since I discovered how easy, tasty, and fun it is. Only thing missing was the RIGHT lesson!!!  (I refuse to "force" an activity onto a Bible story just because I like the activity.)

So along comes the story of the disciples on this boat, a whole lotta fearful-shaking going on, and this terrific song I've had saved on my YouTube song list -- Finding Favour's big hit, "Shake the World."  It was the "perfect storm" if you'll pardon my pun  So we married the rolling and rocking of the "butter boats" (Tupperware with heavy cream in it) with a teaching "patter" and then the song, and VOILA !   Butter and point made.

The song is a nice butter-churning length too. (BTW: Butter churned by trusting Jesus and not being afraid tastes great on Communion bread, too.)

When the sons and daughters start singing this song
Then everybody all around 'em will be singing along
It's gonna shake the world

(Pictured: Two butter-makers from Church of the Epiphany in Summit, PA)

"Low Hanging Fruit"

When I read a story that I have to teach, I keep my eye out for the "low hanging fruit" in the story -- the words, objects, and actions that can become a creative activity.

Examples of creativity-inspiring "low-hanging fruit" in Bible stories include:

• Any story with a road, hill, river, sea, etc.
• Any story with food.
• Props, objects mentioned in the text or you can imagine are there.
• Water  -- well, boat, sea, river, rain, sweat; water is fun to teach with.
• Any story with an obvious Scripture Memory Verse in it.
• Something being thrown, hidden, built, destroyed, lost, found, moved, which I can build a movement or game around.
• Strong reactions to what's being said, seen or done either in the text or that can be imagined
• Interesting arrangements, settings, or poses or facial expressions. (What pose did the rich young ruler or Lawyer have when they first approach Jesus?  and afterward?)
• Is there a traditional or contemporary song that uses the same passage or topic or keywords? (do a search on Google and YouTube)
• ...and when you say "skit" I immediately think "how can I video that?"

Read the article: Low Hanging Fruit: Picking words from the scripture text that inspire creative ideas

The Point of Being a Creative Teacher or Lesson Writer

I'm sharing this one final image and will talk more about it in another post. Suffice to say, none of our creativity means a thing if our lessons don't teach the scripture and help make disciples.

We're not in the entertainment business. Creative teaching is about engaging kids, creating focus, engaging learning faculties, and creating strong memories. It's easy to get enamored by a creative idea that doesn't focus on primary content or help create a strong memory about the lesson. Sometimes, however, I'm just looking at the creative idea the wrong way and need help seeing how to change it to serve the lesson. Almost every example above in this article is an example of how creative ideas need to be modified ...or lead you to a better idea.

And then those ideas need to be turned into "instructions" -- actual lesson text someone can follow. The "devil" is always in the details, and perhaps that's the MOST CREATIVE thing about a creative lesson -- how well it explains itself to a volunteer teacher. In that, we are always striving to do better.

I hope you've enjoyed these insights and example, and invite you to share your own in reply.

<>< Neil
for the Rotation.org Writing Team

P.S.
Seeing as how I've mentioned "me" a few times, let's give credit where it is due: the teachers I have learned from, the churches and kids who have let me experiment on them, the writers and members of the Rotation.org Board who have inspired and edited me, and the real source of all creation who himself took 6 days to make the universe, but called each step of the way "good."

There's a lot more to say about writing and teaching creative lessons, and we'll try to get around to it all. In the meantime, feel free to leave your insights by replying below.

Learn more about our Writing Team

View related article on Lesson Brainstorming

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View the Writing Team's Lesson Sets and read the lesson summaries which briefly describe the creative approaches used in each lesson.

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