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| Billie Silvey |
| September 2006 |
| From three decades of experience teaching the Bible, both to children and adults, I have a few suggestions. 1. Pick a theme for a series of lessons. A single, unified theme gives students something to hang discrete bits of information on. |
| 3. Emphasize connections. Using a timeline, a series of illustrations of Bible events, or games that put events in order helps students connect isolated Bible stories into a full concept of God’s dealings with people. |
| 2. Create a total environment. When I taught a series around a camping theme, I borrowed several sizes of artificial Christmas trees and set up a “woods” in the corner of the room, with a nest and artificial birds on the branches. Montages of nature photographs brought the real woods into the classroom, and even teenagers enjoyed sitting around a “campfire” discussing their week. |
| Teaching the Bible |
| Some Bible class material supplies a theme, but even if you’re teaching a single book of the Bible, read it repeatedly and thoughtfully to determine what it’s about, then post that theme prominently in your classroom. |
| 4. Make it real. Using maps and a globe, together with newspaper articles and photos of Bible lands shows that the settings for various Bible stories are real places that still exist in today’s world. Letting students read, write, talk, listen and make things helps make the lesson real no matter how each child learns. |
| 6. Stimulate discussion. Talk with the students about their lives and how they can apply the lessons they’re learning to biblical concepts. Be prepared to get deep. It’s not easy to apply concepts like turning the other cheek or not being greedy in today’s world. Don’t hesitate to admit it. |
| 5. Connect with school subjects. Turn numbers from Bible stories into math problems and measurements and money into their current equivalents to give credence to both scripture and school. |
| Photos by Michio Nagai |
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