The second half is 6 weeks on the fruits of the Spirit: Self-control; Joy; Peace; Faithfulness; Gentleness and Patience. There is also a small thing in the end titled: How Do I pray?
This is where the curriculum takes you and I must admit Kara does a great job of getting you there. Each session is set up with several different options for ice-breakers and teaching interactions. All of the lessons and activities are well done and very creative. Something that did bother me slightly is that each lesson is so filled with activities, that the biblical points seem to get minor importance. I know we're dealing with Middle School students and we need to keep them engaged but playing a huge game that takes about 10-15 minutes to only make one small point about a Bible passage seems a bit odd. Don't get me wrong, the games all line up with the point being made and they do it well...I just don't want the Bible to be secondary to the teaching. Remember, this is just "one mans" opinion.
Like I said, this book is very well done and extremely well laid out. The content is right on and the level is right at a 5th-7th grade level which will hit most Middle Schoolers, so I am excited to see that. Some Middle School stuff is either too low or too high but Kara does a good job of getting to the right level. I appreciate her insights and the time she took making each session have impactful interactions as well as teaching. I must say my favorite part of this Uncommon Series is the front page of each session, because it gives The Big Idea; Session Aims, The Biggest Verse and Other Important Verses right up front. It helps the teacher know whats coming, what they're teaching on and what point the lesson serves to drive at. This is extremely helpful!
My only piece of criticism (besides the minor role of Bible at points) is that to get the teaching materials, the teacher is constantly pointed outside the book they are holding. Whether it is to get supplies or to go to a website or to get the DVD of the curriculum, they are asked each session to get materials not in the book itself. This kind of annoys me because when I teach or hand a book to my Sunday School teachers, I would love for the majority of the stuff needed to be gathered in the book itself. Now I know for activities there is always a need to get supplies, but the need to buy a DVD to get the certain PDF's or video intros is what I don't like. I feel like the DVD should be supplied in the back of the book like in Novelli's Shaped By The Story. This brings all things together for the teacher.
I understand the need to sell a cheaper book to Churches, but if you're making them get the DVD anyways to fill most of the needed materials, have you helped? If Gospel Light were to provide all the materials online in one location that too would work...as long as it was easy to find and all in one location for each certain book.
I do like this curriculum and think I will definitely use portions of it in my own teaching. I feel it is better honed to a smaller church setting and is effective in helping youth pastors have good material on hand. I enjoyed reading through and gleaning new insights on what kinds of activities we can have our Teens engage in.
If you are interested in this material, you can buy it here: Uncommon: The Christian Life Jr. High
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