Ahead of time, prepare 3-5 personal questions to ask them that are related to the lesson you will be teaching. The questions should be yes/no questions – they can respond quickly by raising their hands if it applies to them. Just ask the questions in “rapid fire”format. This not only piques their interest because it relates to their personal experience, but it activates their background knowledge and will help them remember the lesson better.
For example, for the story of Jesus calming the storm you could ask these questions: How many of you have ever been in a row boat or canoe? How many of you have ever been in a boat when there was a storm?
Another example would be for the story of Jonah. Possible questions could be: Have your parents ever told you to do something you didn’t want to do? How many of you have had to play with or help someone you really didn’t like?