| The bottom line in evaluating Sunday School | | | | - Is it attractive? |
| curriculum is your evaluation. You, your selection | | | | - How effective are the materials? Will the children |
| committee, and your Church leadership need to | | | | learn what is being presented? |
| establish the criteria for selecting the best Sunday | | | | If you have a small Church, consider: |
| School curriculum for your program. Design an | | | | - Are the games meant for more than 10 children? |
| evaluation sheet to help you compare your options. | | | | - Do the crafts or activities require helpers? |
| With a properly prepared evaluation sheet, once | | | | - What about expensive materials? |
| you've chosen your winner, you can confidently | | | | - Will the lessons work with multi-aged groups? |
| explain that selection to anyone who needs to know. | | | | Teacher Resources |
| Prepare an Evaluation Sheet | | | | - Is this Sunday School curriculum teacher-friendly? |
| An evaluation sheet is a tool to help you keep track | | | | - For both new and experienced teachers? |
| of, and to compare, the features of various curricula | | | | - How much teacher preparation is needed? |
| you are considering. However, before you can design | | | | Parental Involvement |
| one, you will need to determine both your goals and | | | | - Is the Sunday School curriculum designed in such a |
| your constraints. | | | | way that the parents are encouraged to be involved |
| To identify your goals, begin by answering this | | | | in their child's spiritual formation? |
| question: What impact do you want to have had in | | | | - Are there 'take home' materials that parents are to |
| the lives of your students by the end of the year? | | | | use together as a family, to reinforce the lesson? |
| With that answer firmly in mind: | | | | Cost |
| - Consider your educational goals. If it's important to | | | | - Can this Sunday School curriculum be used more |
| your Church that children learn a wide extent of Bible | | | | than once? |
| content in a given year, a curriculum that spends | | | | - What is the physical quality of the product? Will the |
| several weeks exploring each covered Bible story in | | | | materials last as long as you will need them to? |
| detail would be a poor fit. | | | | - How does the price compare to other Sunday |
| - Consider your physical space. How many classrooms | | | | School curricula? |
| do you have? How large are they? If you have | | | | - When evaluating the cost, remember to factor in |
| limited space, then materials that require several | | | | the materials included, as well as any extra cost |
| 'workstations' in each classroom might not be | | | | items, if you are likely to purchase them. |
| appropriate. | | | | You can add other questions that are relevant to |
| - Consider your available staff, how many teachers | | | | your situation, or your denomination. What's |
| and assistant teachers will you have? | | | | important is having a framework to work with. |
| - Consider your budget. How much money can you | | | | Add Weights to the Evaluation Sheet |
| realistically spend for Curriculum materials? | | | | Once you have listed all the factors (questions) that |
| Next, identify important curriculum features for your | | | | you need to decide the relative importance of each, |
| program. Here are some questions you may want to | | | | using a scale of one to five. For example, for the |
| include in your Sunday School curriculum evaluation | | | | question, 'Are there 'take home' materials that |
| sheet. | | | | parents are to use together as a family, to reinforce |
| Conceptual content | | | | the lesson?' a yes answer might be worth five |
| - Is this Sunday School curriculum produced by any | | | | points, while no would get zero points. (In these |
| particular denomination? | | | | examples, the more points, the better the curriculum. |
| - What is the theological stance? | | | | You could make it work the other way, if you |
| - Is the biblical content and art faithful to and | | | | wanted.) |
| consistent with Scripture? | | | | For things like cost, you would assign both an weight |
| - What is the balance between the Old and the New | | | | and a bracket level. For instance, if your Sunday |
| Testaments? | | | | School budget is generous, perhaps you'd assign cost |
| - Is this curriculum lectionary based? | | | | a weight of three. You might bracket cost like this if |
| - Is this an inclusive curriculum when it comes to race, | | | | you'd never pay more than $26 per student per |
| economic status, gender and disabilities? | | | | year: [0 - $3.99] => three, [$4 - 12.99] => two, |
| - Are the lessons practical? | | | | [$13 - $25.99] => one, and [$26 and above] => |
| Physical Content - What is actually included in the | | | | zero. |
| price of this Sunday School curriculum? | | | | A Scored Example |
| - Teacher's Guide? | | | | Curriculum A: |
| - Lesson plans? | | | | Lectionary based: Yes (5 points), Take Home |
| - Activities? | | | | Materials: Yes (3 points), and Cost: $10 per student (4 |
| - Song sheets? | | | | times 3 = 12 points): Total Score: 20 points |
| - Crafts? | | | | Curriculum B: |
| - Cassettes, CDs or Videos? | | | | Lectionary based: No (0 points), Take Home Materials: |
| - Memory work? | | | | No (0 points), and Cost: $2.50 per student (5 times 3 |
| - Games? | | | | = 15 points): Total Score: 15 points |
| - Take home student materials? | | | | Even though curriculum B is much less expensive than |
| Audience | | | | curriculum A, curriculum A scored higher. Curriculum A |
| - Is this Sunday School curriculum appropriate to the | | | | can be selected with confidence. |
| ages you will be teaching? | | | | |