Teaching Middle School Kids How to Study the Bible

5th and 6th graders are a special group to teach. They are in the process of learning how to study the Bible themselves and take on a faith of their own. Many people are always asking how to teach them and things they can do with this age group. One of our ministers' wife taught this age group and developed this system that other teachers have continued. It has been a big hit with the teachers, students and parents. Each child was given a 3-ring binder. Before class, each child was given a copy of the text for the next class. You can find different versions of the Bible that you can print off on the internet. The teacher would print off and copy the text for each child to have. This way everyone had the same version of the Bible to study from. Before the class meeting, the students were to study this text by following this formula in the picture. 1. Pray - before you read

2. Circle and define words you do not understand

3. Highlight the verses you like

4. Ask yourself these questions:

a. What is this about?

b. What don't I understand?

c. What's one thing I know now but didn't know before?

d. What does this have to do with me?

5. Pick a verse to memorize.

All of these questions were done before class so when the students came to class they were able to discuss questions, words and ideas that came up in their individual study time. Of course, with anything, you can take this and make it your own. I hope this helps your middlers learn more about God and His word

Trash-Filled Thursdays - Milk Carton Lids

Recycle your milk cartons and turn the lids into game pieces!! Yes, they are great game pieces. This game was made by taking a file folder. My friend found a sheet that already had flower patterns all over it, but you could also make it very easily as well. This game was a way to review the books of the Bible, specifically the New Testament. On the game board, some of the books of the Bible are listed on flowers (see picture). Some of the flowers on the game board have the names of the books of the Bible. Some are left blank. The lids of the milk cartons have the names of the books of the Bible that are left off the game board. The students will take the milk lids and place them on the right flower so the books of the Bible are in the right order.

Don't Hesitate to Ask Part I

When you are different places don't hesitate to ask them for supplies for your classroom. Arby's is great to give your french fry holders. They have the best because they can stand up all on their own!!! So, make a game out of them!! We have a french fry die cut we use to make our french fries but you can make your own out of yellow construction paper or a yellow sponge. French Fry holders are great for sorting games. For this one, our students were putting the books of the Bible into the different divisions. Each book of the Bible was on a french fry. At the start of the center game, all the french fries were in the fry holder labeled "Books of the Bible." To play the game, the students place the fry in the correct holder.
You can also do "Kings of Judah vs Kings of Israel," "Judge or King," "Writers of the Bible," and even descriptions of Bible characters. It is endless what you can do!!

Building Bible Vocabulary

While the Bible is written in simple terms, there are some words that we all have trouble understanding the meaning. This is true especially for children. Again, I have adapted this idea from another lady who taught me so much about teaching. Her idea was basically this: Before the lesson begins, talk to the children about one or two words that they will hear or see in the story. Talk about these words - what they mean, who they are, where they are, etc. Then, when the word is used in the story, they will have an idea of what it is and can grasp the story better. To do this, I use Bear from Bear in the Big Blue House in my 5 year old class. On the Disney show, Bear lived in a big blue house and each show he highlighted a word for the children to learn. Laura Beth had a Bear stuffed animal that she had out grown, and so I borrowed it for my classroom. I made a big blue house out of a science fair project board. I made windows and a door to attach to the board and used the white header the project board came with as the roof.
Bear sits in the house and at the beginning of the lesson, students will find Bear holding the words for that lesson in his mouth. I usually write the words on sentence strips and add a piece of tape to hold it in Bear's mouth. We look at the words in Bear's mouth, spell them, say them and talk about them to open our lesson each Sunday/Wednesday. Once we learn the words, we add them to the house. This serves as an easy review later on because I can point to a word and we can talk about its meaning as well as what story it came from. I also use these words in a center game as seen here.
Of course, not everyone has a bear. You may have a bird and a nest. You could place words on eggs in the nest. You could have bees and a hive. The thoughts are endless.
For older children, you could just have a special word wall where we place the words we need to know. You could even put them at a center with a Bible dictionary and have them find the words and their meanings.
May this idea help you and your students dig into the Word a little bit more.