www.kidology.org/opensource/ Kidology Open Source Curriculum is a teaching tool you download, remix, and share with others. It consists of three 1-year programs: Old Testament Chronological Study, New Testament Chronological Study, and Value Keepers of the Bible. Originally written by Susan Harper of Caring Hands Ministries, this comprehensive Bible curriculum was provided to share and distribute on Kidology.org. This curriculum is made available "as is" and may contain legacy references to Caring Hands Ministries, a ministry that is now retired. Please direct all curriculum inquires to the Kidology.org Forums or via e-mail to support@kidology.org. For complete information on use, derivative works, attribution, and non-commercial distribution, please visit: http://www.kidology.org/opensource/terms
TEACHER TRAINING INSTRUCTIONS Old Testament Chronological Study Training your teachers is key to a successful program! Ideally you want to have teaching teams for each classroom to maintain consistency and familiarity for the children. Encourage the involvement of both men and women who are strong positive role models. If you have good experienced teachers, include them in the training process (ie. demonstrating effective story telling techniques). This spirit of team participation will enrich your entire ministry and will provide new teachers with others to ask questions to if you are not available. There are three parts of a meaningful teacher training workshop at the beginning of a new curriculum. 1. Review your Children s Ministries Policies A. Attendance Records B. Absentee Policy C. Emergency Procedures D. Discipline Guidelines E. Other Ministry Policies 2. Workshop Preparation A. Make a copy of the Old Testament Chronological Study notebook for each teacher plus an extra office copy to be used for substitutes.(you can take the CD to a service such as Kinko s and they can make the notebooks for you. Each Volume is in one folder and the pages for each lesson should be copied back to back.) B. Order any additional resource materials to supplement this study. (See the Resource Pages in Before You Begin p. 21 and 22.) C. Provide these classroom supplies 1. Student Journals, Prayer Request Books, and a storage container (ie. basket) for journals. 2. Miscellaneous craft and bulletin board supplies D. Photocopy the file Overhead Transparencies onto overhead projector transparencies. Use these to explain the goals of this study and how to use it within your teacher s classroom. The rest of this document will walk you step-by-step through the components of the Old Testament Chronological Study. Note that at the top of each section there is a thumbnail picture of the transparency that should be on your projector as you cover the material on the page. 3. Workshop Follow the directions on How to Use the OT Chronological Study Lessons.
The OT Chronological Study for Kids Grades 1-6 This year we will begin a new educational program developed to teach our children God s Word in chronological order. That is, we want to emphasis the order in which events took place and how these events tie together to fulfill God s plan. We will be building precept (principles) upon precept in a way for our children to understand the Bible as one continuous story. Our younger students will be learning the basic Bible stories while our older students will learn how these stories fit in historically with events of the day. What this curriculum does do: introduce each book of the Bible and its major theme tell HIS-STORY by exploring the lives of His people teach kids how to apply Biblical principles learned to their daily lives What this curriculum does NOT do: teach any specific denominational doctrine address topics such as spiritual gifts, baptism or prophecy CM Director s Side Bar: Caring Hands Ministries has chosen to focus on the HISTORICAL events of the Bible and not those principles that lead to some of our denominational differences. Our team of writers and editors include Godly men and women from several different denominations who consciously work to free the curriculum from any doctrinal bias. Because of this effort, it is successfully being used by many differ - ent denominations.
CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLE STUDY SERIES One of the common concerns of those in Christian Education is that many kids are growing up in the church today think Jesus was a contemporary of Moses. No wonder this was a problem with some of the curriculums teaching the Old Testament one quarter, church history another and New Testament still another! We, too, recognize the flaws in teaching in the matter and want to educate our children to a fuller understanding of the most precious Book in the world. With this in mind, we chose the CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLE STUDY SERIES. This is how the study works. This year the children in our 1st - 6th grade classes will do a CHRONOLOGICAL study of the Old Testament. By the end of 40 weeks, the children will have an excellent overview of the entire Old Testament with name and major theme of all 39 books memorized, an understanding of the major Old Testament stories studied, and scripture passages memorized! There is also a skills requirement included. All students will learn how to use the index in their Bible and the older students will also learn how to use a Bible Dictionary, a Bible Atlas, and a Concordance. In addition, each child will have their own OLD TESTAMENT JOURNAL in which they can record what they have learned in a fun activity format. Next year this same format will be repeated as we study the New Testament in chronological order. The third year we will emphasize Christian values in VALUE KEEPERS OF THE BIBLE by looking at the lives of godly men and women in the Bible and using the acronym WWJD? to answer four questions before making a choice as to what to do in a given situation. What an awesome way to learn not only what is in the Bible, but the order in which it happened! And their journals will serve as a handy reference for them for years to come! STATS CM Director s Side Bar: Review the statistics and the question on this overhead.
THE OLD TESTAMENT TIME LINE One of the most important items included in our study is the OLD TESTAMENT TIME LINE. It is a visual cue to help your class remember the chronological order of events that took place in the Old Testament. Starting with Week 3 there are pictures included in your lesson that can be used as a coloring sheet or on the time line. (CM Director s Side Bar: These pictures are colorized in a folder on the CD. You may want to print these time line pictures out for each of your classes.) Each week review the time line being sure to note the date and previous stories. Then add the new picture for the day s lesson. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THIS LEARNING TOOL! It will make all the difference in the children hearing a bunch of different stories or hearing one continuous story. DIRECTIONS FOR TIME LINE These directions are in the Before You Begin section of each teacher s notebook. 1. Purchase a ribbon (any color) 1-2 inches wide and 12 feet long.staple it across the top of a wall in your classroom approximately 2 feet from the ceiling. Leave at least 1 foot to the left of the ribbon for the first picture (Creation) of your Time Line. 2. Photocopy each Time Line picture in this study.* (In this first quarter there are eight pictures. See Lessons 3-10.) Trim each picture so there is only 1/4 on the outside of the frame and the name of the picture. Color each and laminate them if possible. *In the 2001 edition these pictures are already colorized and are included in the Director s Info folder on the CD 3. Photocopy the Old Testament Books and Dates. Follow the color code at the top of each sheet. This will help your students recognize the different classifications of the Old Testament. (IE Law Books) Cut each one out on the dotted lines. 4. Staple the Dates across the top of your Time Line on the wall. Space them about 21 inches apart. 5. As you teach about the books and the stories each week, put the appropriate Bible book and story picture up on your Time Line. Example: Week 1: Put up Genesis. Explain the Bible Classification Color Code and what a time line is with numbers (dates) starting off large at the beginning (IE 2300 BC), explain BC means Before Christ, and show how the dates get smaller as you move in time towards Jesus birth. (Explain that after Jesus birth the dates will get larger. IE Jesus as a boy in Jerusalem is 12 AD and Jesus was crucified in 33 AD. Explain AD means anno Domini or in the year of the Lord. ) Week 2: Put up Exodus Week 3: Put up Leviticus and the Creation picture.
HOW TO USE THE SAME STORY TO TEACH THE DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS Another important element in our study is consistency of the stories for all elementary children. This study includes ways for parents to review what was taught in our classes with our children by providing a newsletter that goes home every five weeks and Table Talk discussion starters. (Both of these will be explained more thoroughly later on.) But how can we use the same teacher s notebook with all of the different age groups? Let s look at the comparison chart. All grade levels concentrate on The Book of the Bible and it s major theme. Then grades 1-2 spend the majority of their lesson time on The Story making sure each student understands the story. This is done by including snacks and crafts to reinforce the story as well as a workbook (Journal) written on their ability level, games and discussion questions. Grades 3-6 review the story and then emphasize it s historical significance with events happening in the world at that time or to examine a deeper spiritual meaning. Their journals and discussion questions are age appropriate for their cognitive development. To put it in a nutshell: the story is the same, the application is different. HOW THIS CURRICULUM IS DIFFERENT CM Director s Side Bar: Review the elements on this overhead. Explain the importance of wise steward - ship in your ministry program when you get to the final element. EVERY GAME TEACHER S AID IS REPRODUCIBLE! At your leisure, look through the Before You Begin section of your notebook. It will give you some additional resource suggestions, developmental guidelines for the age child you are teaching, discipline guidelines and much more. It will also provide you with a review of how to make the most of this study which we are about to do together. Please turn to the page in your notebook that looks like our next overhead.
LOOKING AT A LESSON TOGETHER There are several parts of this study which when combined will provide you with 1 1/2 to 2 hours worth of learning material. Each page of this study has been designed to guide the teacher through the lesson. Emphasis has been placed on using all three learning styles of a child: auditory, visual and kinesthetic. The average learner has the potential of remembering up to 10% of what they hear, 50% of what they hear and see, and 90% of what they hear, see and do! Lets look at each page of a lesson together. The first page is the OVERVIEW. Overview: An outline that consists of five lessons. Five lessons are called a UNIT. Each UNIT OVERVIEW is identified at the top of the page. In this study there are eight units with five lessons in each. The author of this study purposely left out two sundays in the development of this chronological study. These sundays are Christmas and Easter. Since these sundays are more outreach in nature and there are more visitors at this time than on a regular basis, she chose to celebrate the birth of Christ and His resurrection with a special event. As we get closer to these sundays on our own church calendar, I will give you more information about special lesson plans for these events. Lets take a closer look at the UNIT 1 OVERVIEW. The most important thing on this page is the Bible Memory Passage. In every unit all students will memorize a Bible passage. This passage will be repeated in every lesson during the unit. As we move through each unit, we will periodically review former Bible passages so that they are not forgotten. Next, please note the Sections going down the left hand of the page and the Weeks across the top. This overview gives you the Story that will be emphasized during each lesson, the Book of the Old Testament, the title of each Journal entry for Grades 1-2 and Grades 3-6, Activities and Games options, Crafts, Snacks and additional Resources. CM Director s Side Bar: Other Resources can be found in your local Bible bookstore. You may want to have them on hand in your church resource center.
STUDENT JOURNALS The next several pages are the masters for your students journals. Use the journal that is appropriate for your age group. This journal represents the only student written aspect of this study. All of the other activities are motor or discussion in nature. CM Director s Side Bar: You may choose to have the journals made ahead of time,or, if you have a large turnover of students every week, you may choose to hand out a half sheet each week with that week s journal lesson on it. TWO DIFFERENT COVER SHEETS This is the Lesson Cover Sheet. Lesson Cover Sheet: An overview of the lesson s Goal, the Bible, the Book of the Bible, the Bible Story, and the Activity Choices. Other Resources includes supplementary resources such as songs, videos and drama that can be purchased to enhance the lesson. (Point to each of these categories as you mention them.) CM Director s Side Bar: Make note of those you have in your church resource center. You may want to hand out a supplementary list of these resources. Please note the differences between these 2 cover sheets. Instead of a normal lesson plan, Lesson 1 (and Lesson 2) replace The Story with The Bible. These two lessons cover some of the historical background of the development of the Bible as well as the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Lesson 3 actually begins The Story sequence with Creation. For the purposes of today s teacher training we will look at Lesson 1 in depth and briefly look at Lesson 4 for more of the normal lesson characteristics. Let s now look at each of these sections in more detail.
ABOUT THE OBJECTIVE Please turn to the About The Objective page in Lesson 1. Lets look at the similarities between the two pages. Both have the Impact Goal written at the top. Since this is a new study for both you and your students, the Impact Goal for Lesson 1 is: To introduce The Old Testament Bible Study and to generate enthusiasm for learning about the books and stories of the Old Testament in chronological order. The Impact Goal for Lesson 4 is: To explain what sin is and the consequences of sin. This overhead represents the normal About the Objective page in your lessons.our purpose in Lesson 1 is to introduce our study. The objective in Lesson 4 is to teach a truth found in God s Word. The second similarity is The Teacher s Prayer. This is an important part of the study. We need to prepare our heart to impart God s Word to our children. It is great that we read our lesson plans ahead of time instead of leaving them to the night before. It is fantastic that we are ready to do tell the story, assemble the craft, prepare the snack and play the games; but none of these are as important as asking God for His guidance. The Teacher s Prayer will help lead you into communication with God. Remember the special needs of your students. Remember the special needs of your congregation. And remember your own special needs. This is YOUR time with God. At this point the similarities end. In Lesson 1 the author has written a special opening message to you. I hope you take the time to read it. In Lesson 4 this section is divided into two parts. The first part is the Review. One of the strengths of this curriculum is the constant review. This is how we can best help our students to remember the chronological order of events and some of the important information already learned. Whenever possible, use the Time Line during your review process. The second part of this section is the Lesson Emphasis. These are specific questions that will be answered during the course of the lesson that will help meet the Impact Goal. Look at the goals of YOUR age group. This is what you want to accomplish during your hour with the children.
ABOUT THE BIBLE & THE BOOK The next two pages in Lesson 1 covers About The Bible and About The Book About The Bible gives the historical development of the Bible as we know it today. Lets look at About The Book which is a part of every lesson this year. In the top block is the name of the book as well as a word or short phrase that describes the content of the book or meaning of it. It is important to use this terminology when you are reviewing the books of the Bible on a weekly basis. Just under the top box is a verse that summaries the major theme of the book. You may want to have your older students look this verse up every week. (We want to get the children into the habit of using their Bibles so whenever you have the opportunity to have them practice these skills, please do. In the third unit of The Old Testament Chronological Study all grade levels will be doing an in-depth study of how to look up verses in the Bible.) Under the verse is a summary of the important events found in the OT book. Whenever a new classification of books begins, such as the Old Testament Law books, an explanation of this classification is given as well as the book summary. On the bottom of About The Book is a section called Bible Time Line. Every time you are to add a classification and book of the Bible to the time line, it is listed in this area. Note: There are 40 lessons in this study and 39 books of the Old Testament. We cover one book in each lesson with the 40th lesson a presentation for the adult congregation.
ABOUT THE STORY About The Story - This section covers the Bible Story for the day ( A long time ago... ), what we can learn from the story, and the Historical Perspective (Background information). Under the title of the story, you will find the Bible references. In preparing for your lesson each week, take the time to turn in your Bible to these passages and read the story first hand. Then read the summary of the story that appears on this page. Each story begins with the phrase A long time ago.... This phrase was used to show that it really did happen. (When we get into the New Testament and we use a parable instead of a real event, we use the term Once upon a time... to help identify the difference.) Some of the stories have a picture that can be used with it. Younger students may use it as a coloring sheet or it can be used on the Old Testament Time Line. (You can either color these pictures yourself or use the pictures available on the CD.) The third component of The Story is the Historical Perspective. This is particularly important for those students who are VERY familiar with the story. It will give them additional information that will make the story more relevant to them. ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES PRAYER REQUEST BOOK This section covers Journal Entries for Gr. 1-2 & Gr. 3-6, two Games, one - two Crafts, a Snack and Small Group Questions... all supporting the lesson goal. It also includes the Prayer Request Book. Prayer is VITAL part of this study. Each class should be divided into groups of no more than ten students. Ask if there are any answered prayers and if there are new prayer requests. This book is for YOU, the teacher. It is a visual reminder to show children how important prayer is and how God answers them.
FAMILY INVOLVEMENT The final part of this study we have touched upon briefly at the beginning of this training session. It is the Family Involvement section. This part consists of two parts. The first is OT Notes. This is a parent newsletter that is sent home at the beginning of each UNIT. The second part is Table Talks. This is a guided discussion that applies what was learned in class to the family. It, too, is sent home at the beginning of each UNIT.