Wendi Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 From a Reformed perspective, preferably. Something fairly independent, and meaty. Thanks, Wendi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauranav Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 may have something. I was hoping to see what other people responded because I'm also looking for something for my rising 8th grader. Then at the church yesterday I saw a poster about CRC Publications (they go by Faith Alive Christian Resources). I haven't used their resources in awhile, I remember when we taught the Jr High Sunday School my husband and I had trouble finding interesting curriculum (and at that age it HAS to be interesting) so often we ended up creating our own. That was a different time and place, though. I would like something more structured. Another place to look is John Piper's Children Desiring God website. But again, all I'm finding is Sunday School stuff, not year long meaty studies. Greenleaf does seem to have some possibilities for 6th grade. I see the Old Testament Survey, and then they have a lot of Kay Arthur inductive studies guides. I'll keep checking to see if any one else has some suggestions. </div> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Here is a post I wrote some time ago on this topic (copied and pasted): When I evaluate a Bible curriculum, I look for what percentage of questions require the student to answer from the Bible text itself (I shoot for 2/3--most studies unfortunately only hit 50% or less), how factual versus opinion-based any notes are and to what degree there is denominational bias. I also look for how much a good inductive process is reflected in the study--there should be factual observations, an opportunity to summarize the main point of the passage in one concise statement, and finally, application to real life. I also think that younger children do well with circling the right answer, puzzles, and drawing in response to the text. However, as your child reaches fourth and fifth grades, their Bible study should include more short answer and independent work. (SWB's SOTW reflects this same progression--SOTW 1 has a lot of coloring and multiple choice on tests, whereas SOTW 4 has more short answer and not so many coloring pages.) I have not found one single Bible curriculum or study anywhere, ever, that asks for a one-sentence summary of the main point of the passage. I highly advocate adding this feature in to whatever Bible study you use or teach, in any setting. A good way to do this with kids is to ask a question like, "What did you learn about God in this passage?" or "What do you think is the very most important lesson in this passage?" Keep it to one short sentence--there may be many subpoints that are good to know, but it is very valuable to be able to distinguish the main, most important point. My number one pick would have to be the Explorer's Bible study, which is available at http://www.explorerbiblestudy.org. Many thanks to Jessica at Trivium Academy for recommending it. I was impressed. It has a good amount of factual observation questions, is very Bible-text focused but still includes some cultural/geographical/historical notes here and there, and has a small proportion of application questions in each unit. Information is presented from an evangelical perspective but seems more factual than opinionated. For those who may be familiar with Bible Study Fellowship or Community Bible Study, this curriculum follows the same pattern. Each unit is also laid out into five days of homework--a decently challenging but not overwhelming amount. Another key feature of this curriculum is the fact that there are corresponding adult studies as well. For a logic stage student either their older elementary OR high school study would be appropriate depending upon reading fluency and maturity. I also, by the way, recommend both BSF and CBS children's programs. I evaluated both. I think the CBS program has slightly more challenging homework, but also really like the way older children and teens are led to do homiletics at the BSF meetings. (Homiletics is a process of generating an outline of the passage with a final, summary statement.) I recommend either program without reservation in addition to the Explorer's curriculum. I also have used and liked Kay Arthur's Bible study series for children. My own dd has used several books in this series successfully this year. However, I would steer away from *How to Study the Bible* as it is unnecessarily wordy and proved to be quite challenging for the 4th-5th grade girls I taught. The material is not hard--the presentation of it in this book was terribly convoluted, though. If you choose to do that book, take two weeks per unit and plan on really holding your child's hand through it. The other books in the series are much easier and quite doable, though--we have been satisfied with several others in the series. These books have five or seven days of homework per unit, include both factual questions and marking things directly in biblical text, and some application. After that, I consider Rod and Staff to be a decent alternative. There is a solid amount of factual questions and some good information on history/geography/culture. However, there is virtually no application, and no summary statement opportunity (none of those I reviewed include this). And, even at the older grades there is virtually no short answer--format is still multiple choice and simpler responses. There is more denominational bias in the notes but can be overcome by careful Bible study. This curriculum would be acceptable even if it's not my favorite. Christian Light was a lot like Rod and Staff but not quite as challenging. I also thought Christian Liberty was middle-range--not the greatest, but not terrible either. I was really NOT impressed in the least with either Abeka or AlphaOmega and would not recommend those at all. They were simplistic, passive, lacked depth and do not require much from the student at any age. One final thought--for high school I would gravitate towards the Explorer's adult series or towards NavPress study guides. I also think teens should be generating their own inductive notes (observation-interpretation statement--application) rather than passively responding to a Bible study guide. There may well be other wonderful resources out there. This is just what I have reviewed. I'd be happy to answer any further questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 An OPC pastor, Francis Breisch Jr. wrote an OT Survey (The Kingdom of God) and a NT Survey (The Ministry of Christ). It is published by Christian Schools International (but I couldn't get their online store to load!) Amazon often has used copies and you can google other places. Anyway, it was written as a Middle School series. The Kingdom of God is ordered approximately chronologically and divided into 4 parts: Part I The period of Theocratic Beginnings, Part II The Period of Theocratic Establishment, Part III The Period of Theocratic Development, Part IV The Period of Theocratic Decline, and Part V The Period of Theocratic Transition. Each Chapter has a Purpose, Outline, Analysis, Conclusion, and Exercises (questions based on the Analysis), some "Thought Questions" which are a little more in depth and require a conclusion, and finally some memory work. Some books are covered in more than one chapter, others are covered in one chapter. I've gone through about the second half of this book with a Ladies' Bible Study at church (starting after I had my first child) and we're working on the NT book now. We use it basically as a spine and bring in more in depth study, but as-is would probably be about right for a younger student. The Ministry of Christ is set up approximately the same way, although the gospels are harmonized and a vast majority of the book is studying the gospels with much more summary treatments of Acts through Revelation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 My number one pick would have to be the Explorer's Bible study, which is available at http://www.explorerbiblestudy.org. My kids did "God's Perfect Plan" (prophecy) this past school year and it was very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeJM Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Covenant Home Curriculum has Bible courses for all grades. They are quite meaty and are from the reformed perspective. There are teacher helps as well, if you need them. Take a look at their site and see if any of those may be what you are looking for. Blessings, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titianmom Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Hi, Have you considered journaling this year? Our family will be giving this a go and I'm looking forward to it. What's journaling? You buy small, 6 1/2 x 9 notebooks, pref with pockets in them to keep your reading scheds, print off the 2 year reading plan off the Internet (just do a search), and read read read and discuss as a family. I llike the 2 year plan because it is just enough Scripture that you can spend time meditating on it as you read. You make notes of what the Lord has shown you in the passages and you all get together and learn from each other. We plan to get together on Saturdays. Just a thought. Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 The Bible curriculum from Christian Liberty Press fits your request perfectly. It is called Studying God's Word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Heather Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 may have something. I was hoping to see what other people responded because I'm also looking for something for my rising 8th grader. Then at the church yesterday I saw a poster about CRC Publications (they go by Faith Alive Christian Resources). I haven't used their resources in awhile, I remember when we taught the Jr High Sunday School my husband and I had trouble finding interesting curriculum (and at that age it HAS to be interesting) so often we ended up creating our own. That was a different time and place, though. I would like something more structured. Another place to look is John Piper's Children Desiring God website. But again, all I'm finding is Sunday School stuff, not year long meaty studies. Greenleaf does seem to have some possibilities for 6th grade. I see the Old Testament Survey, and then they have a lot of Kay Arthur inductive studies guides. I'll keep checking to see if any one else has some suggestions. </div> I second the Children Desiring God. Our church used this and the children had plenty to do through the week. The discussion is great and my dc learned a great deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann in SC Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 We have loved the Kay Arthur's precept studies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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