Bible Study Guide for All Ages

by Mary Baker

Bible Study Guide for All Ages

Four separate units (or volumes) covering the Bible along with student books for the appropriate levels are the essential part of this non-denominational program. Optional resources are Children’s Songs tape and Wall Maps/Time-Line.

The courses are designed so that they can easily be taught either at home or in a classroom setting. This is quite a comprehensive program.

The entire Bible is studied over the approximately four years you spend going through all four units. You should purchase the first unit to begin. It is recommended that you use the units in order because of the somewhat chronological nature of the study and because of the built-in review. It generally follows the order of the Old Testament storyline, but it also periodically jumps forward to the New Testament to demonstrate connections between the Testaments. Especially helpful is the teaching of prophetic books simultaneously with the historical books to which they correlate.

Detailed instructions and lesson plans come in a single binder for each unit. Each one-page lesson includes drills on basic Bible knowledge, review questions, list of Scripture passages and/or verses for the lesson, some additional background information that will help students understand the lesson, questions for that lesson (coded for review use in future lessons), map and/or timeline assignments, names of songs to use (found on the optional song tape), a personal application activity, prayer time, and directions to draw a story page for the lesson. While lessons are neatly arranged on a single page, you do need to refer to other sections of the book for drill, activity instructions, and visual aids.

Visual aids in the back of each unit are drawn with cartoon and stick figures. The idea is that parents/teachers will recreate their own, larger story pages from the examples, as will students. When children create their story pages at the conclusion of the lesson, they need not worry about artistic ability, and when parents illustrate lessons, they too can concentrate on the story rather than the art.

The Wall Maps and Time Line add more visual impact to lessons. It includes three large, colored maps and a timeline that is more than six feet long. Both are printed in color. Movable Bible character pictures and name labels, which can be attached and removed with tacky tape, can be placed on the wall maps and timeline as studied. The sets of names and labels are packaged such that there are two packages per unit. The first package is your starter package, so it costs more than the others.

There are many different types of activities incorporated into the lessons. Some examples are familiar activities such as making murals, role playing, puzzle pictures, and finger plays, while others are creative twists on familiar games such as “Knock, Knock” and “Twenty Questions.” (There are at least forty game ideas from which to choose.) Some of these activities work as visual aids in telling the Bible stories, while others are used for review and reinforcement of lessons.

Student activity pages reinforce the lessons with a variety of activities. These come in four packets per unit. They also come in three different levels for Unit 1: Beginners for ages 3 through K, Intermediate for chidlren in grades 1-3, and Advanced for children in grades 4-6. Units 2 through 4 only have two different levels at this time for Beginners (ages 3-7) and Intermediate (ages 8-12), although these will likely be updated to the same format as for Unit 1 in the future. The new format for Unit 1 is very professionally done in both content and attractiveness. You need to purchase student activity pages for each student.

Thorough knowledge of the Bible is the goal throughout the curriculum. Personal application of Biblical lessons is also stressed and impetus for application occurs at the end of each lesson.

The lessons are designed for teacher presentation rather than independent study. The inclusion of activities helps the active learner, although there is much classroom-like instruction. All ages can work through the material together, each with their own student workbook. Also, it will be important to choose activities according to the ages and needs of your family members. Some families might choose to take longer with each lesson so they have time to do everything while others might adapt lessons to save time by skipping some parts.

Children's Songs is the name of either the 2 CD set or single audiocassette with a total of 91 songs sung acappella. There is also a set of Bible Book Summary Cards--11"x17" posters that have an illustration of one of the books of the Bible on one side and information and questions on the reverse. You don't have to buy these extras, but they are helpful.