Before class, print out two copies of the recipe for homemade ice cream found here. The recipe should produce enough for each of your students to sample a spoonful of the homemade ice cream (unless your class is extremely large), but you might also want to provide store-bought ice cream treats for all students (be sure to provide an alternative snack for students with food allergies). Set up a table with the ingredients, plastic bags, and utensils. Optional: You might want to print out enough recipes to give everyone a copy to take home to try on their own.
Select two volunteers to demonstrate the ice cream making process to your group. One person will be the “teacher,” the other will be the “learner.” The “teacher” on the team will get the ice cream recipe printout (the other copy is for you, the teacher, so that you can monitor and assist as needed). Instruct the person with the recipe that they have to teach their partner how to make the ice cream. They can use any teaching tactics they wish (they can read the directions out loud, tell the directions in their own words, demonstrate how to do it, let the “learner” read the instructions with them, etc.). Once the “learner” has had a try at shaking the bag vigorously, pass it around the room so that each student has a part in shaking it.
After they have gone through the process of teaching, following instructions, and producing the ice cream, allow students to sample the results and eat their ice cream snacks (or the alternative snacks) while you discuss the following.
Ask the volunteer ice cream “teacher”:
- What teaching tactics did you use to teach your partner how to make ice cream? (Answers will vary, but may include: I told them what to do. I showed them a part of the recipe. I modeled it for them.)
Ask the large group:
- Do you prefer to be a teacher or a learner? (Answers will vary.)
- What is your favorite way to learn something new? (Answers will vary.)
- What are some things we need to be taught to do—things that don’t just come naturally? (Answers will vary, but after some discussion, students will find that almost everything requires a teaching/learning process of some kind.)
While your preteens are finishing their ice cream, introduce the video clip to them. In the movie The War Room, Miss Clara teaches Elizabeth how to pray, and in turn, Elizabeth teaches her daughter and husband the power of prayer. In this short clip, Elizabeth meets Miss Clara for the first time and Miss Clara challenges Elizabeth’s prayer life.
Share the following clip [2:31]:
War Room Scene: Lukewarm Coffee
In this clip, Miss Clara is just beginning to introduce Elizabeth to the idea of a strong prayer life by comparing it to a cup of coffee.
- If a person has a “hot” prayer life, how would he/she pray? What would that look like in a real life? (Miss Clara implies that a “hot” prayer life involves attending church regularly and knowing the Lord. Someone who has a “hot” prayer life probably prays often. They may pray using Scripture, pray by themselves, pray with others, sing their prayers, write out their prayers, ask for pray requests, pray for other people’s prayer requests, etc.)
- What do you think a “cold” prayer life looks like? (A person with a “cold” prayer life probably doesn’t pray at all.)
- What do you think a “lukewarm” prayer life looks like? (Someone with a lukewarm prayer life might only pray occasionally such as at church or mealtimes.)
The Bible tells us to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). But many of us are like Elizabeth—we just don’t think much about prayer. Good prayer habits are like anything else—they need to be taught. Today we are going to find out how to pray from the greatest Prayer Coach of all time! Let’s hear what He has to say.
