Children's Bible Part 3

31 days- Day 7

Storybook Bibles... what factors are unique and need to be researched? 

If you go with the Storybook Bible considerations: (also works for individual Bible storybooks)

• does it quote scripture directly, or does it have an author who has paraphrased (essentially writing their own translation) of the story?  if it does, what translation?
• which stories does it include? and what details does it include/omit?
• how many stories does it include?
• Voice: how is God portrayed? is the storybook written from His voice, or in the child's voice, or is it a narrative?  
• do the story's have the scripture references (at least chapters) mentioned to make connecting it to a regular Bible easier? 
• images- do the pictures reflect the scenarios appropriately? (i.e. are there halos on the angels? do people look real or like magical people? Are people smiling at the Crucifixion?  ...)
• and AM I OKAY with the way it is?   

I find reading reviews at the retailers (like amazon.com) a great start, and if I'm curious about a specific Bible or storybook Bible, if I take that title in "quotes". I can google it and see who has blogged about this product for another avenue of information.  Even http://www.goodreads.com reviews children's Bible storybooks. Just remember some people are given free products for positive reviews!

Child's Bible- part 2

31 days- Day 6

Yesterday, we talked about thinking about my purpose for wanting a specific Child's Bible, and some questions to start my thinking... Today here are some more specific research ideas. 

Research these specifics:

• does it meet the purpose I have?  
• which type of children's Bible is it:  entire Bible, study Bible, or Bible storybook or Biblical concepts/thoughts/devotional or a combination. 
• is it a translation, if so is it complete or just excerpts?
• if it's a story book, is it an author's work, or excerpts from a specific translation?
• what features does it have (pictures, definitions, cross references, questions, ....)
• pictures- are they appealing to me? to kids? to manga readers? comic readers? little kids? cartoon like or realistic? are the colors muted or vibrant? faces on people appropriate or dis proportioned?
• publication date (is it out of print? is it reflective of the era? relevant to my kids?)
• images/pictures- appealing, appropriate details, artistic
• view of God
• theology taught/presented/misconstrued
• readability: funny fonts or 'italics', simple text, size of text, amount of text, reading level of text
• helps- does it end with questions, activities, etc.
• physical size/shape/price
• is it tiny and perfect for purse/diaper bag, is it large enough to hold in front of a group, is it sturdy, is it age appropriate (does it look like a baby Bible, an adult one), will the pages rip easily, will the binding hold up when I carry it back and forth to my teaching scenarios,  is it in the appropriate language?  ...

There are even more considerations if you go with a Story Bible... check in tomorrow!
 

Children's Bibles- how to choose?

31 days challenge- day 5

Choosing Quality Literature?  is it the same when choosing a child's BIBLE?

When I think about this question, it is very simple, yet very complex.   There are some personal preferences that rule out many products. Did you know that CBD has an app to help?  I selected : child, under $25, and hardcover- and I still had 329 choices!

I always make a decision with a series of questions and research on the topic. Here are factors I'd consider.
 

Questions in my mind:  

 

Start with your purpose for wanting this book and answer this questions with that in mind:

• How will I use this version of the Bible?  
• Will a child read it or just look at the images? 
• Will it be a read aloud in a small group or large class?  
• Who publishes it? and what is their basic theology?  
• Who recommends it? and why? 
• What is my purpose in purchasing this book?  
• Will it be read over and over? 
• Will I only read excerpts of it? 
• Should I see if I can borrow it from a friend or the library first? 

Tomorrow factors to investigate when you have a specific Bible in mind.

Reading Comprehension

31 days-- a new idea # 4 : Reading Strategy: Anchor Chart

I mention that we teach comprehension with intention.   I co-taught an entire 3 credit course last spring that focused primarily on how to teach reading comprehension. So I know I will never do it justice in a short blog post! 

But I can send you to my pinboard for a series of resources, ideas, and books to get you going if you'd like to learn what strategies, terms, and concepts are best practice in educational circles.  

I will weave in some of the strategies this month. But I'll start today with the concept that is simple, effective, and trendy: ANCHOR CHARTS

An anchor chart is created often WITH the kids, and then is displayed in the classroom for future reference.  This is an anchor chart I made with our elementary age kids in March when I realized in our quality Sunday School curriculum, AWANA programming, etc. We don't ever intentionally talk about how to read the Bible.  Click on the two links in this paragraph to see both parts of my lesson plan.  

This anchor chart started with the question: 

How do good readers read the BIBLE?  

• a good reader knows the resources/features in their Bible? (a concordance, a list of cross references, vocabulary, pictures, question boxes, etc.) 
• a good reader chooses a Bible that he/she enjoys and can read without a lot of help.  (storybook Bibles with large print/pictures, and with only selected portions of text/retold Bible story is appropriate for an early reader, and then there are translations for different reading levels (ICB is not on this cbd list and it's a 2nd grade level).   
• a good reader tries different Bible types and translations just like any other book. 
• a good reader reads with strategies like any other book. 
•  predicting, clarifying, summarizing, and connecting

Goals of this blog.... what I bring...

Day 3- 31 days

Why is this blog any different than other blogs?   
it's me. I'm different, possibly a bit eccentric, but definitely different than your ordinary blogger.  

Short version: I love kids. I love learning. I LOVE God's Word.

Life goal: I want to make kids love learning with God's Word!   (and I'm trained to teach in fun, relevant, rigorous, and engaging ways) So I should be able to BLOG a few of those ideas mixed together! 

Details (some will say USELESS details)   but this is for people like me who NEED to really know even their 'internet' bloggers who will become role models, mentors, and in many ways real but imaginary friends! 

I am a parent (of 3 kids at the moment, ages 2, 6, 10). I am a trained elementary teacher with a reading endorsement.  I am a teacher trainer who prepares future teachers at Emmaus Bible College to educate children of all ages.   I am a previous (until 10 years ago) regular camp counselor and program director.  I am a Sunday School Superintendent and passionate children's ministry leader.   I've been teaching Sunday School regularly for 25 years!  ( I started at age 15 teaching-- so YES, I am 40 years old!) 

Can you remember I'm a teacher- so I need to start with my goals and rationale... if you can bear with my teacher talk, you might find it helpful!

Goals/Rationale:
Goals:  

• to connect reading strategies/pedagogy to the Word of God.  
• Reading research encourages real readers to use at least 6 comprehension strategies, when we teach these strategies to kids, we think aloud, we model, and we get them to internalize it with MANY types of text.  Do we also teach this with the BIBLE?  
• Kids would read the Bible daily as soon as they become a 'reader'. 
• Kids find reading the Bible fun!  Their knowledge of who God is will be built on the foundation of who God is through the stories of the old and new testaments! 

Rationale:

• Parents and teachers work hard to create real readers, but so often, we focus only on children's literature which is often ALL fantasy! 
• Even when we use non fiction and a variety of texts for reading instruction, do we every specialize and teach kids to really read the Bible for themselves? 
• HABITS are good.  If we want adults to read the Bible every day-- why do we not make it a habit from childhood?  and if we want it to be a habit, it must be fun, it must be engaging, it must be 'easy' enough to do, and 'hard' enough to learn.  Somehow we grow up and all of a sudden most adults have no idea how to 'fit' in a daily quiet time of reading the Word into their busy lives.  Yet most adults desire to be in the Word.  So if we can get kids into the habit from early on, they would see their Bible reading as essential to daily life and not have to grow up and 'find' time to do it. 
• I've met many adult women who don't know how to study the Bible, and seek a secret strategy to really dig into the Word.  The Bible is a living, active Sword. There is no 'secret' way to understand it.  It's the best book ever, and it comes complete with it's own Interpreter (the Holy Spirit).  

• The Bible is God's Story- it reveals Who He is-- and the sooner a person can grasp that, the sooner that individual can claim and trust in the ONE who is the WORD.  It is a life map for all who turn to it.  

Children's story Bibles in Sunday School

Day 2: 31 day challenge

Remember this picture?  I need a new picture (that can be another day this month!) and maybe a third shelf! 

My idea to share today is:   Use story Bibles & Bible picture books to help children of all ages comprehend the story during a teaching time. 

Educational reasons:

• Pictures build connections, a skill essential to comprehending a story. 
• Giving kids picture Bibles/books also engages the visual learners to your 'talk' in a new way. 
• using 10-15 different picture storybooks in a lesson, can also inspire kids to read their own picture Bible or Bible storybooks at home, or to ask for a Bible at their reading level. 

HOW: when you teach a Bible story in Sunday School, AWANA, kids group or with your children at home,  bookmark (post it type book tabs are my new favorite) the story or a page/image from the story and give EACH child or pair of kids, a picture Bible to look at/read while you all explore the story or concept. 

Grade 1/2 example
I've been teaching Faithful to All His Promises in our 1st/2nd grade classroom.  For a variety of reasons- we are using a curriculum geared for grades 2-6 with non readers. They say right in the curriculum, you can adapt it and use it with any age, so we are.  But with non-readers- it is different than the written directions. 

Lesson one focused on: what a promise is, and the example of a covenant/agreement/promise.  We said we had a "magic" word for the year- promise!

The lesson suggested you read the passage in Genesis about the rainbow after the flood.  With so many non-readers, I decided to search for images and the 'magic' word of the day PROMISE, in my story Bibles.

I marked the page, and had all 10-12 kids come and get a picture Bible from me, open to the marked page, find the 'magic' word, and then listen while my helper read the assigned passage from the ICB Bible (written at a 2nd grade reading level).  They loved it!   It was appropriate for early readers- to find a word and see the image of a rainbow, and connect them!

They listened attentively, they argued that they needed more time to 'read' their copy of the story, and they found an example of a promise in a Bible and READ at a developmentally appropriate level.  They also got to move in the middle of the 'sitting' part of the hour. They walked a circle around the room, to pick up their 'Bible' and return to their seat at our tables.

Toddler example
I taught lessons on prayer with 18 month-30 month old kids.  I brought in a stack of picture Bibles and even picture books.  Our lesson was on how Hannah prayed for a child and waited. 

So I marked the picture in about 10 Bibles/storybooks of Hannah praying, and when it was time to start the lesson, handed one to each child.

While I asked questions, they had an image and concept in their hands, and we talked about prayer, this lady praying, and how sad she was that she had no children.  The kids enjoyed it and it gave them a CONNECTION to build their own comprehension of the oral story.  It was fast and simple part of the lesson, but I could tell they felt very grown up 'reading' their own Bible during the story. 

31 days...

Apparently, since October is a 31 day month, and in most of our lives, we've settled back into a 'school' routine.  All good bloggers, do a 31 day challenge! Each blogger appears to pick a theme, and then they link up with others in the challenge, and share their blog....

I've really wanted to get into blogging regularly and keep finding myself full of ideas, and yet out of steam for sharing in a 'publishable' format. 

So I'm jumping into this 31 day blog challenge- my theme will be ideas I'd like to fully develop some day.... and I will make it a goal to share daily SOMETHING big or little so I get in the habit of this blog thing, and maybe in the future will have enough stuff on my blog- to make a go at attracting 'regular readers'.  

So here we go....

Momwithheart you inspire me... and today I'm sharing your post... because it fits into the heart of my blog.... Getting into God's Word-- as an adult and in fun ways with great tools by your kids!   Children's Bibles are a great way to do it!