One of the things we have to realize about children is, just because they are in church, it doesn't mean they won't be children. Kids need stimulation, and if you don't have the right Sunday school materials, the lessons simply will not sink in. Not only are good Sunday school lesson plans required, but the activities must be timed perfectly. You need to strike the right balance between individual work, group work, lectures, and games. Your Sunday school material has to be fresh, up-to-date, interesting, and relevant to the lives of the kids you are teaching. I am not saying that you shouldn't use the Bible in your Sunday school materials – of course you should. Nonetheless, there is more than one way to teach that book.
I try to never use the same Sunday school materials for more than two years in a row. That way, I will change my Sunday school lesson plans as frequently as possible. I am not saying that all of the Sunday school material gets old. A lot of it remains relevant for decades at a time. Nevertheless, it is important to make yourself constantly re-examine and rework in the Sunday school materials that you are using. There are too many Sunday schools that preach in an outdated manner to kids who are no longer listening. You can talk about the decline of teenage culture as much as you want, but the fact remains that unless you talk to the kids in their language, they won't listen.
Some of my favorite Sunday school materials have been made by the kids themselves. The more you can get the kids to participate, and the more ways you can get them to work together, the better. This means that it can be a lot of fun to make the kids do the lesson plans themselves. I always have each of the kids come up with some of the Sunday school materials. One day a month, the children will teach the lesson. They'll make their own Sunday school materials, plan out their own mini lessons,and be quizzed on what the other children presented. In this way, they have to engage with the materials Sunday school more fully. They have to become aware of what is involved in teaching, and learn their lessons well enough to explain them to the other children. You never really understand the subject fully until you have had to teach it!
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