Whether you teach every week or just got asked to fill in, these 12 lessons are ready to go. Each one has a story, a question to talk about, and a simple activity. Pick a memory verse from the passage to go with it. They work for roughly ages 5 to 11, and you can stretch or shorten them to fit your time.
How do you plan a simple Sunday school lesson?
- Open (5 min): a question or game that leads into the story.
- Story (10 min): read it or tell it in your own words, with kids acting out parts if you can.
- Verse (5 min): say it together a few times.
- Talk (5 min): one or two questions.
- Activity (10 to 15 min): worksheet, craft or game.
12 lesson ideas
| Story | Where | Talk about | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creation | Genesis 1 | What's your favorite thing God made? | Draw one thing for each day |
| Noah's Ark | Genesis 6 to 9 | When is it hard to obey? | Pair up paper animals two by two |
| Joseph and His Coat | Genesis 37 | How do you treat people when you're jealous? | Color a coat of many colors |
| Crossing the Red Sea | Exodus 14 | When have you needed help to get through something? | Walk through a "sea" of blue streamers |
| The Ten Commandments | Exodus 20 | Why do rules help us? | Make paper tablets |
| The Walls of Jericho | Joshua 6 | What does it mean to trust? | Build and "march around" a block wall |
| David and Goliath | 1 Samuel 17 | What "giants" feel scary to you? | Measure a 9-foot Goliath on the floor |
| Daniel in the Lions' Den | Daniel 6 | When is it hard to do the right thing? | Paper-plate lion masks |
| Jonah and the Great Fish | Jonah 1 to 3 | What happens when we run from what we should do? | Fish-shaped word search |
| The Good Samaritan | Luke 10 | Who is your neighbor? | Make "kindness bandages" with sticky notes |
| Zacchaeus | Luke 19 | How can you make something right? | Climb-the-tree verse game |
| Jesus Calms the Storm | Mark 4 | What do you do when you're afraid? | Make a calm-sea / stormy-sea flip card |
Tips for mixed-age classes
- Give older kids reading parts and younger kids actions.
- Offer two levels of the same worksheet: a simple coloring page and a word search with questions.
- Keep a "done early" basket with Bible word searches and coloring.
Printable Sunday school worksheets
All of the stories above except Noah's Ark have a matching one-page worksheet with the story, a word search and questions, using KJV wording. Every one has a free sample page, and the full set of 20 stories is available as one pack.
Bible Story Activity Pack: 20 Stories with Word Searches & Questions (KJV)
The Good Samaritan Sunday School Worksheet: Story, Word Search & Questions (KJV)
Sunday School Words Bingo: 40 Printable Cards (Regular + Large Print)
