I love asking the kids questions and soliciting participation throughout singing time. It is one way to keep the kids focused, excited, and involved. It took me a few years, though, to figure out that if I just asked the kids a question, they would all shout out their answers. In Junior Primary that answer is almost always "Jesus!"...luckily they are correct a lot of the time. I finally learned that I needed to give them more directions and expectations before the question was asked. I needed to give them a way to let me know they had an answer without allowing them to say it aloud.
I learned to make it very clear how I wanted them to show me they wanted to answer. I also learned to preface any question with the direction to "keep your mouths closed" and "think the answer in your brain". I then would give them a way to use their "helper hands" (I love those things!) to show me they had an answer. Some examples of where to put their helper hands are: nose, ear, head, tummy. Basically I tried to pick a body part that would be easy to touch and not cause them to move too much and be distracted. I also found that it worked really well to direct all helper hands to the mouth the first few times of doing this. This helps to remind them to have closed mouths and only think the answer. If you think Senior Primary is too old for "helper hands", just omit that title for their hands.
Once the kids are showing you they are ready to answer it is time to pick one (or more) kids to say their answer aloud. I usually do this (especially when first introducing this technique) by saying, "Mary, your helper hands are telling me that you have an answer". This helps to reinforce the idea and praises the reverent behavior instead of reminding another child to not shout out their answer. Those kids who always shout out the answer will eventually pick up on the expectation and thier teacher will usually help them remember as well. The final piece to this technique occurs after you have chosen one or more children to give the answer(s). You have to thank all the children for thinking and saying their answers and invite them to put their helper hands back in their laps.
I use this technique all the time and have found that it helps to promote and increase reverence and participation much more than saying "shhhhhhhh","don't shout out the answer", "quietly raise your hands if..." and other such phrases commonly used in sharing and singing times. In print the idea of helper hands may seem silly and simple, but I promise it works. I have gotten to help out in many primaries and have had reverent participation and success with it. Give it a try!
Happy Singing!
I learned to make it very clear how I wanted them to show me they wanted to answer. I also learned to preface any question with the direction to "keep your mouths closed" and "think the answer in your brain". I then would give them a way to use their "helper hands" (I love those things!) to show me they had an answer. Some examples of where to put their helper hands are: nose, ear, head, tummy. Basically I tried to pick a body part that would be easy to touch and not cause them to move too much and be distracted. I also found that it worked really well to direct all helper hands to the mouth the first few times of doing this. This helps to remind them to have closed mouths and only think the answer. If you think Senior Primary is too old for "helper hands", just omit that title for their hands.
Once the kids are showing you they are ready to answer it is time to pick one (or more) kids to say their answer aloud. I usually do this (especially when first introducing this technique) by saying, "Mary, your helper hands are telling me that you have an answer". This helps to reinforce the idea and praises the reverent behavior instead of reminding another child to not shout out their answer. Those kids who always shout out the answer will eventually pick up on the expectation and thier teacher will usually help them remember as well. The final piece to this technique occurs after you have chosen one or more children to give the answer(s). You have to thank all the children for thinking and saying their answers and invite them to put their helper hands back in their laps.
I use this technique all the time and have found that it helps to promote and increase reverence and participation much more than saying "shhhhhhhh","don't shout out the answer", "quietly raise your hands if..." and other such phrases commonly used in sharing and singing times. In print the idea of helper hands may seem silly and simple, but I promise it works. I have gotten to help out in many primaries and have had reverent participation and success with it. Give it a try!
Happy Singing!
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