What divisions do you use for Bible over four years (grammar or logic)?

[Janie]

Using a good Bible story book in grammar, what divisions do you make? I.e., grammar year 1: Genesis -- ?, year 2: ? --?, year 3: ? -- ?, year 4: ? -- ?.

I want to use the same sequence for logic stage but using the Bible itself.


Thanks!

[dalynnrmc]

Personally, we plan to use Heart of Dakota's programs for grades K-2 and do not start the rotation until after this.

We begin ancient history halfway through the third grade (after a half year of state studies), at which time we also begin Christian Liberty Press' "Studying God's Word" series beginning with Book E. Book E is Genesis through Ruth. This takes us through almost the first half of our history book, which we take a year and a half to complete.

We then continue with CLP, SGW Book F which covers Samuel to Malachi, the second half of the OT. Book G continues with the gospels, and book H with Acts. This gets us through at least 4th or 5th grade.

Each of CLP's books could be used over an entire school year if one saw fit to do it that way.

After this, we plan to meander through the New Testament with letters to the churches, a study of Paul, and eventually conclude with a study of end times prophecy. I don't have curriculum outlined for this; it's just "the plan." ;)

So, essentially, we take a year and a half to cover the Old Testament. We take another half year or so to cover the gospels and Acts, followed by an academic year study of the New Testament... either including or followed by a study of end times prophecies. That's only a three year rotation, though! LOL


Sorry, I may not be much help....

[strider]

A couple years ago I wrote a post to someone on this board that may help you--I have amended it just slightly from the original:

For context--I teach inductive Bible method seminars and have written Bible studies for all ages. I find most pre-packaged curriculums a sad disappointment.

There are three steps to good inductive study:

1--Observation (basic facts and reading comprehension)

2--Interpretation--What does this mean? And even more importantly, what did it mean to the audience to whom it was originally written?

3--Application--How do I respond? Can be action, prayer, worship, journaling, etc. Be careful in this stage to avoid studying the Bible only to find a prescription for behavior.

Okay, so understanding that, what are your goals at each stage?

In the grammar stage, I focus heavily on observation. Then I as the teacher guide the process of interpretation and application. We typically go over observations together, and then I might ask, "What did we learn in this Bible story?" or "What did we learn about God in this part of the Bible?" That's the interpretation, and then we talk about our response.

Also in the grammar stage, they are relying on study aids to determine their observations. In other words, the child is either answering homework questions or responding to my (the teacher's) questions. In the younger years, we do this together. In 3rd-4th grade the child does homework, which I then discuss with him/her.

In the logic stage, they should learn to generate observations without study aids, and they should master the three steps of inductive study. Study aids (like study guides) are not a bad thing, but the student should progressively work more and more with Bible text exclusively. Or another idea is working with Bible text alone, first, and then bringing in study material after independent study. An example of this might be to require the child to write one fact per verse, answer the question, "What is the main lesson?" in ONE SHORT sentence, and determine a response. Then the child can read a study guide or interact with a teacher and compare his/her own conclusions with that of the teacher or study aids'.

A warning for this is to always compare what a teacher or study aid says to what the Bible says. It is all too easy to assume that the "expert" (teacher or study aid) is right.

In the rhetoric stage, the student should be able to generate notes on all three stages of inductive Bible study, and use their notes to write their own Bible studies and/or commentary style reports. Also in the rhetoric stage a student should be able to appropriately use biblical reference materials (concordance, Bible dictionary, etc.). Further, the student should be able to compare the Bible to other things (to itself, to church doctrines, to historical trends, to other philosophies like Buddhism or Islam, etc.). This comparative study will strengthen the student's understanding of the Bible and equip the student to respond to "the world" as he/she emerges into adulthood. A specific goal at this stage is for the student to generate reports on various topics of doctrine and comparative reports on the kinds of topics listed above.

Additionally, my personal goals for my kids include the following:

--Creation to Christ Bible study (this is something I wrote for our church--it looks at the OT underpinnings for the Messiah, and then at the person of Christ.)

--Church History in Plain Language--wonderful text, very readable and thorough.

--Doctrine overview--I will probably tie this closely with a study of Romans.

--Old Testament overview

--New Testament overview

**Both overviews include both biblical text but also cultural and historical teaching.

--Apologetics

--Comparative World Religions

I hope this helps you--let me know if you have further questions.

[strider]

At the logic stage I worry a lot less about covering a certain amount of material, and a lot more about making sure the PROCESS of inductive study is learned. You might start with a rough plan for covering the Bible in four years but be willing to amend that plan as needed, and not worry about covering every iota of content. Does that make sense?

If you do schedule out a four year plan for the Bible, keep in mind that historical narrative is easy to read (stories). You can whip through those sections of the Bible more quickly. Prose varies--some of the epistles go quickly, while others (like Romans) have more depth and need more time. I find the poetry sections fairly easy, but I find that prophecy requires more time and effort. Your schedule should allow for these differences--allow less time for some things, and more for others.

FWIW SWB seems to say the same about history study--if I read TWTM accurately, she advocates starting with a plan for the four-year cycle but says to focus more on the process of researching, to go ahead and enjoy greater depth as interest allows. I remember sitting in a seminar of hers wherein she spoke eloquently about how important it is for a kid to learn to think and research like a historian at this age.

In summary--worry less about covering a certain amount of material, and focus more on learning the process of good study really well so that your child is then equipped for deeper study of the Bible in high school, as well as in-depth comparative study.

[Texas T]

Strider, that post was so very helpful!! I didn't even post the question and I feel blessed from reading your responses.

I had to laugh. I haven't been very good about giving rep points. I decided to add to your reps on this and it said "You have to spread more rep points around before adding to Strider's again." That is a paraphrase of it. I guess you're just too darn helpful for your own good and I need to go saying good things about others before I say anything else positive about you. :001_smile:

BTW, is your study on OT and Christ something you'd offer to the masses? My dh and I have just started having a say in what is taught to the children at church. This sounds like some of what I'm trying to do in our children's ministry...I so want to give these kids a solid background in the Word and not just fluff. Tips?

Teresa

Teresa

[strider]

Strider, that post was so very helpful!! I didn't even post the question and I feel blessed from reading your responses.

I had to laugh. I haven't been very good about giving rep points. I decided to add to your reps on this and it said "You have to spread more rep points around before adding to Strider's again." That is a paraphrase of it. I guess you're just too darn helpful for your own good and I need to go saying good things about others before I say anything else positive about you. :001_smile:

BTW, is your study on OT and Christ something you'd offer to the masses? My dh and I have just started having a say in what is taught to the children at church. This sounds like some of what I'm trying to do in our children's ministry...I so want to give these kids a solid background in the Word and not just fluff. Tips?

Teresa

Teresa

The Bible study I wrote was based in part on the New Tribes Creation to Christ children's curriculum, and partially on the book Stranger on the Road to Emmaus. I wrote a yearlong study for second graders and a corresponding study for high schoolers. The kids studied directly from the Bible--the books were used both for worksheets (crosswords and such for the little kids) and for additional, explanatory commentary for the teachers.

There are two reasons why my study is not currently available:

1. I would have to modify it for others' use. The little kids study is homework only--I added in tons of material each week from the high schoolers' study. So I would have to write up teacher's notes that are specific to the little kids' study. With regard to the older kids' study, that was written for a once-a-week meeting. I would have to modify it (and actually have plans to do so in the coming year) for use as 5-day homework with a once-a-week meeting.

2. Because I used Stranger on the Road to Emmaus as our back-up commentary text, I would need to request permission from the publisher before making my study available to the public. I can teach from it, myself, as long as I do not profit from it or distribute it. At the time that I wrote it I intended to request this permission but never got around to it. :glare:

I CAN, however, enthusiastically recommend Children Desiring God for your church curriculum. I have found it a very definite cut above the rest. Here is a link for you:

http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/index.php

[strider]

The very best resource I have EVER come across for Christian teacher training (whether church or even just for parents) is the book Follow Me As I Follow Christ. It would be easy to use for a team of teachers over the course of 2-3 years. The chapters are short, to the point, practical, and focused. There are questions for reflection at the end of each chapter.

One of her strongest chapters shows clearly some of the mistakes children's Bible curriculum publishers make. If you are trying to bring about changes within your church's handling of children's programming, there is a chart in that chapter that is phenomenal.

Here's a link:

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=10953&netp_id=213554&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=details