10 Commandments Lesson for Kids

This free Ten Commandments Sunday school lesson teaches kids that God's rules are good: God gave His commandments because He loves His people, and they show us how to love God and love other people (Exodus 19–20). It comes in four age levels, each a separate printable teacher lesson, plus one take-home sheet for families. Pick the one that fits your class. Everything is in the order you teach it.

Choose your age level

• Preschool (ages 3–5), 20–30 minutes, 2 pages: a get-ready game, a short story with hand motions and repeat-after-me lines, four of the commandments little ones can live out, three simple questions, the memory verse with a motion, and a two-stones drawing activity.
• Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 45 minutes, 3 pages: the Stop and Go game, the story in simple words with all ten commandments counted on fingers, five recall questions with answers, the Stone Verse game with four paper stones, and a ten-finger review.
• 3rd to 5th grade, 45–60 minutes, 4 pages: kids look up verses in their own Bibles during a fuller story (the eagles' wings, the third day on Mount Sinai, all ten commandments, the tables of stone), five thinking questions and three recall questions, and a "Love God or love others?" card sort from Matthew 22:37–39.
• Preteens (ages 11–12), 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: an "In the Ten or not?" opening game, students read Exodus 19 and 20 out loud themselves, then discuss why God's rescue came before His rules, loving God and people, and who Jesus is. Six discussion questions, a journal page, and two memory verses (Exodus 20:3 and John 14:15).

Lesson at a glance

• Bible passage: Exodus 19:1–20:21 and Exodus 31:18
• Main point: God's rules are good. God gave His commandments because He loves us, and they show us how to love God and love other people.
• Memory verse: Exodus 20:3 (KJV), with John 14:15 added for preteens
• Ages: preschool to preteen, in four versions

Lesson outline (the same in every version)

1. Opening game: a short game about rules and why good rules help us.
2. Bible story: God's people camp at Mount Sinai, get ready for the third day, see the thunder, lightning, cloud and smoke, and hear God speak the ten commandments. Then God gives Moses the two tables of stone. Every fact has its verse reference so you can check it.
3. Questions to ask: with answers, at the right level for each age.
4. Memory verse: a game or motion to help kids learn Exodus 20:3.
5. What this means for us: love God most and love others, the gospel (Acts 2:38), and a challenge for the week.
6. Activity: the Ten Commandments word search, crossword, maze, worksheet, the Ten Commandments craft, a card sort or a journal page, depending on the age.
7. Prayer.

Tips for teaching the Ten Commandments

• Read Exodus 20:2 before the commandments. God rescued His people first and gave the rules after: we obey because He loves us, not to earn His love.
• The Bible calls them "the ten commandments" (Exodus 34:28) but doesn't number them. These lessons count them in the order Exodus 20:3–17 gives them.
• The seventh commandment (Exodus 20:14) is explained at a child's level as keep your promises in marriage. Each lesson gives you a one-sentence answer if a child asks.
• Short on time? Do the story, three questions and the memory verse. That is a solid 25-minute lesson.