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Apologetics/Worldview for teen girls ages 13-18? Help!!


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I will be teaching 3 girls next school year: EK (12th grade), along with a 13yo 8th grader and a 16yo 10th/11th grader. I want to do an apologetics/worldview course with them. Of the 3 girls, only EK has a firm Christian foundation or solid Bible instruction. Also, EK really enjoys reading, while the 13yo and the 16yo have some comprehension difficulties and do not like to read.

 

I own Starting Points and Understanding the Times, and I will incorporate elements of each into the two older girls' history and literature coursework next year (discussing some of the philosophies as we study the relevant historical events 1800-present; reading Mere Christianity, Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Deadliest Monster), but these programs would be WAY too much for the 13yo, and some parts are probably too much for the 16yo. So...

 

I'm trying to decide on a worldview program I can do with all 3 girls together--something that would challenge EK and at the same time not overwhelm the other two girls. :001_huh: A one-semester course would probably be fine, but we would likely stretch it out over the whole school year.

 

Here are the worldview programs I'm considering so far:

 

The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith Student Editions with leader guide

 

Lightbearers from Summit Ministries

 

Thinking Like a Christian and Countering Culture (although it appears that these two are actually "excerpts" of Understanding the Times. Is that correct???)

 

Can you tell me about your own experiences with any of these? Which other programs I should consider? I really want something that is geared to teens.

Edited by ereks mom
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I used On Guard with my student last year. I am sure the Lee Strobel materials are excellent as well, but On Guard (we also used the study guide, which was both helpful and cheap) was, I thought, maximum impact for minimum time. On Guard is apologetics only, by which I mean "does God exist, and is he an all-powerful Creator"; it does not address doctrine, denominations, views of creation, etc., which is exactly what I wanted. We combined this with a study of Origins, the authors of which are old-earth creationists, but it has a straightforward analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a number of different viewpoints on creation. We also used parts of Understanding the Times and finished up with a short study of Sophie's World for its review of the history of philosophy. It was a good year, but On Guard was a highlight.

 

Terri

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I really like the Lee Strobel books (I think he has a DVD for one of those books). We added those to our Worldviews study years ago. I also incorporated a lot of video talks because the kids are really attracted to those. One of my favorite's is Ian Thomas's Rediscovering Christ series particularly episodes 3 and 4(?) (you can see video excerpts

)/ I also found many of the videos from Worldview Academy's Apologetic lecture series to be useful.

 

Another free option is the use of the Capernwray Sunday Sermons. You can access them on iTunes. They are excellent but cover a wide range of topics. You might find some that will work for you there.

 

I started off with WVWW and Starting Points and eventually just created my own study out of many resources. I appreciated WVWW and SP getting me started and helping me understand my own thinking on the subject :)

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We used Lightbears with a small group of kids this year in 8th-10th grades (13-15 years old in the fall when we started), and we stretched it over a year. I thought there was plenty of material for my 10th grader who is well grounded in her faith, especially once we got to the topics outside of what Christianity is. For my 13 year old, who is still finding his way with his faith, it was a good, solid curriculum to reiterate again the things that we believe. I felt they did a good job addressing issues in our society, and the material lent itself to good discussions. We liked the videos, too. Even thought it is said to be a jr high curriculum, I found it very adequate for our 10th graders. Some of that probably depends on how much time you want your student to spend on this subject. I only wanted .5 a credit, so it fit the bill well.

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