Role Playing as a Teaching Tool

Would you like to make the Bible live for your students? Transport them back in time to mingle with Bible people, smell the aroma of fish frying on a fire by the Sea of Galilee, feel the sting of the blowing desert sand, or hear the sounds of people walking the streets of busy Jerusalem. Do it through role-playing!

From the time they first say, “You be the mommy and I’ll be the daddy,” pretending is a fun way for children to learn. Why not capitalize on it? Role-playing can make characters that once were only names on the pages of Bible history come alive for your students. Through drama, your students can experience the joys, fears, and hopes of many different characters.

Role-playing is the acting out of a situation followed by a discussion of what happened in the situation and why. The teacher’s job is to help clarify the role for the students and to ask questions exploring how the Bible character might have felt and reacted. Role-playing usually lasts only a few minutes, and ends when the important elements of the situation have been presented.

Written role-play can be utilized for students old enough to feel comfortable with a writing project. Provide each student with a piece of paper and a pencil. Read the Scripture text together, and then divide your class into groups that will focus on various characters in the lesson.

For instance, suppose you are studying Peter’s prison experience in Acts 12. Ask group one to pretend they are Herod. Why did he have Peter imprisoned? How did Herod react when he heard about Peter’s escape?

Group two might imagine they were Peter. Let them discuss and note how he felt when he was imprisoned, when he saw the angel, when he was released. What might Peter have learned about God through this experience?

Ask group three to take the part of Rhoda. What were her thoughts when Peter knocked on the door? How did she feel when people refused to believe her?

Group four could assume the part of the people praying for Peter. What were their feelings before the knock came? afterwards? What did this do for their faith in God’s ability to hear and answer prayer?

Allow several minutes for the groups to discuss their thoughts. Then have a person from each group share what they have written. By encouraging the entire class to apply the story to present?day situations, this can be used as a springboard for discussing how God answers prayer today and how our faith in Him can be strengthened.

Dramatic role-play can be an interesting teaching tool as well. Assign character roles to your students and allow them to act out incidents from the Bible text. Simple props or costumes can add to the effect and help the students really get involved in the role they are playing. Your students might even enjoy putting on a presentation for the whole department.

The next time you are looking for an innovative way to present your lesson, rely on a role-play!