Promoting Biblical literacy in the elementary classroom
By Rod Dreher
Rawlings School of Divinity
CLED 720: Biblical & Theological Foundations of Education
Genevieve Hamer
July 1, 2022
Promoting Biblical literacy in the elementary classroom
Introduction
Biblical truths and Christian values underpin all genuine Christian education. If we are to
educate resilient and committed Christian young people who have developed the skills,
techniques and moral courage to use this knowledge in an informed and practical way, it is
imperative that teachers convey and transmit these truths and values in an engaging and
realistic manner. Because children are most susceptible and impressionable during the early
years of their schooling the earlier these concepts are conveyed by committed and
knowledgeable Christian teachers, the greater the opportunity for positive outcomes.
In recent years as a lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Avondale College, I have noticed
with some concern a subtle decline in the biblical literacy levels of pre-service teachers. So I
was intrigued to read in the August 1999 edition of Christianity Today, an article titled, I love to
tell the story to those who know it least. Written by Lillian Daniel (1999), a minister in the New
England district of the USA, the article discussed her parishioner’s lack of biblical literacy. She
then listed what she saw as the main reasons for a biblically illiterate congregation. Her first
concern was the perception that discussions of “cultural relativism” and “situational ethics” had
replaced Bible study. Secondly, she found that many young people had been taught how they
should feel about God, but had little information about their Creator. Thirdly, she realized that
biblically illiterate parents were inadequately prepared for the responsibility of educating
biblically literate children. In an attempt to rectify this situation in her congregation she
outlined several recommendations. Pivotal to them all was the need to encourage her
parishioners to engage in meaningful private as well as corporate Bible study.
Interestingly, a number of recent articles (Hutchens, 2001; Knox, 2000; Robson, 2001)
share her concerns regarding the subject of biblical illiteracy. Other surveys seem to be
unearthing similar concerns and issues. In 2004 a study, National Study of Youth and Religion
(Smith, 2004) found that less than a third of USA protestant teenagers read their Bible privately
and then maybe only once a week. Conversely a study conducted by The Barna Research Group
in Californian reported that there had been an increase in the number of adults reading the
Bible, from 37% in 1994 to 44% in 2004 (The Barna Research Group, 2004a). Other statistics
included in this report suggest that the older generation read the Bible more frequently than
the teenagers.
The Adventist Church has become increasingly aware of similar issues in its own
congregations. As early as 1993, the South Pacific Division became interested in researching
and studying the faith development and value formation of adolescents and youth aged 12-18
years. A report of the study, Valuegenesis-Study 1, indicated that approximately two-thirds of
all adolescent and youth respondents agreed that personal devotions were important in the
development of personal faith. However, only 24% respondents reported consistently finding
time for private Bible study. Interestingly, findings of a more recent report, Valuegenesis 2:
Adventist Church in Canada (Gillespie & Smith, 2002), also indicated that only 37% of students
in grades 9-12 read their Bible once a week or more. Again, another recent global Adventist
study indicated that a low involvement in daily Bible study was one of the “areas of concern”
for the Adventist Church (Adventist News Network, 2002). Supporting anecdotal evidence from
a retiring Faculty of Theology lecturer at Avondale College mentions changes he has noticed
since his arrival on campus in 1973. He commented that Biblical discussion and doctrinal
analysis were very evident in the 70’s but “a matter of spiritual warmth and meaningful
relationships” had now replaced it (Young, 2004).
Results from a number of surveys and research studies thus leave us with the distinct
possibility that our church community, like many other faith communities, is becoming biblically
illiterate. This possibility has serious implications for the Adventist Church.
Biblical literacy is more than Biblical knowledge. One definition that elaborates this
concept is found in the Lutheran Bible Ministries Mission Statement.
· The foundation of biblical literacy is factual knowledge - knowing all the people,
places, events and teachings in the Bible.
· A second and higher level is that of assent - accepting this knowledge as truth, and
believing that the Bible is the word of God.
· The third and highest level is knowing the God of their Bible personally through a life
changing commitment (Lutheran Bible Ministries, 2002).
As Adventist educators we would concur with this definition because our aim is to
encourage our students to reach the highest level of biblical literacy. Also, Adventist educators
have been given insightful instruction regarding effective Bible teaching strategies that should
encourage our students to become biblically literate. Under the section titled, The Bible as an
Educator, in the book Education, (White, 1952), topics such as Bible Teaching and Study are
filled with challenges and ideas that we can share with our students whether they are in an
elementary, secondary or a tertiary school setting. One very important aspect of biblical
literacy, that we seem to gloss over many times, is the intellectual benefits it affords the reader.
“There is nothing more calculated to energize the mind, and strengthen the intellect, than the
study of the Word of God” (White, 1943, 460). Other benefits of Bible study are a balanced life
style as well as engendering a resilience of character and the discernment of truth (Brown,
2002; White, 1943).
As teachers we want our students to become literate in their first language and we spend
dedicated time each day in the elementary classroom to ensure that this skill is learned early in
life. Biblical literacy is the “language” of Christianity. It also needs a specific, dedicated,
allocated time slot, each day, in the classroom. However, biblical literacy, as compared to
language literacy, has eternal consequences and therefore should have a high profile and
priority in each Christian classroom. Consequently teachers need to capitalize on these early
introductory biblical literacy experiences because children are most susceptible and
impressionable during the early years of their schooling and the earlier these biblical literacy
concepts are conveyed by committed and knowledgeable Christian teachers, the greater the
opportunity for positive outcomes.
Another original technique created by the writer involves the use of the HA Principle of
Bible lesson preparation and teaching. This technique is a way to structure a biblically based
Bible lesson. It is one way of checking that all the relevant ingredients of a successful Bible
lesson are covered. It includes the essential daily reading and interaction of each student with
his/her own copy of the Bible.
Teaching scripture songs is another creative strategy for teaching Bible reading and a fun
way of engaging and interacting with the Bible. This idea requires each student to find and then
highlight the scripture songs as found in his/her Bible. The writer includes these songs as part of
the early literacy development program. The method is outlined below:
· Firstly, turn to Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV) and highlight the words, “The joy of the Lord is
your strength”.
· Next, the children repeat these words after the teacher.
· Then the children are taught the song.
· Finally, each child can open his/her Bible to read and sing these words straight from
the Bible as part of the daily worship program (see appendix 2).
The reading of the Bible in the elementary classroom is often seen as tedious and boring so
the following selection of original, age-appropriate, fun Bible reading strategies and ideas were
developed by the writer in an attempt to change these attitudes. All these Bible activities
require each student to have access to their own copy of the Bible.
Lower School:
As the Teacher reads a stated passage from the Bible:
· The children look for a given word (sheep) in their Bible and raise their hand every
time they hear the word read aloud from the passage.
· The children look for a given word (fish) in their Bible and do the actions every time
they hear the word read aloud from the passage.
· The children look for several words (Jesus, sheep, Shepherd) in their Bible that are
written on cards and given to different class members. Every time he/she hears his/her word
each child holds his/her card up.
The children read along together from their own Bible as the teacher reads a verse aloud
from her Bible.
Middle/Upper School:
· Read the Bible story from the Dramatized Bible in Reader’s Theatre format.
A group of children read a stated passage together from their Bible.
· Listen for a special word that it is read aloud and write a mark on a piece of paper to
keep count.
· Individually read the passage silently and complete a sheet listing the number of
times selected words are found in the passage.
Read his/her favourite section of the passage aloud to the rest of the class.
· The Teacher reads the passage and the students have to listen for the incorrect
words that are read. They then state the actual correct words from the passage.
· Give different students a speaking part to read and the rest of the passage is read by
the class or a narrator.
· The Teacher reads the passage and leaves out words. The children then orally state
the words that were missed out or write them down.
Conduct a Bible chase to see how quickly the children can find a given verse.
Teaching age-appropriate Bible study skills is a challenge because the available resources
are almost non-existent. It is a unique challenge because it can assume an evangelistic role in
the nurturing of Christian values and biblical truths in the Adventist elementary school.
Outlined below is one simple Bible study method that the writer has adapted for any age group.
The program is entitled “MY QUIET TIME” (see appendix 3). It is a simple technique that can be
used to help a student establish a personal devotional time. The only requirement is access to a
Bible and the ability to read independently. At school the children are given a specific passage
related to the Bible lessons for that week. They are encouraged to follow the guide taught in
class and then complete the activity at home. Several times a week small group sharing is
encouraged in a non-threatening atmosphere. As the student’s faith matures more
sophisticated methods and programs can be discovered, introduced and implemented.
Personal devotions and Bible study go hand-in-hand and therefore can assist in the
development and formation of biblical truths and Christian values.
Conclusion
If the next generation of Adventist young people is going to embrace Christian values and
biblical truths in a meaningful way we need a generation of church members who from infancy
have learnt to know and love the scriptures. Teaching age-appropriate biblical literacy skills is
one way of developing in children a greater interaction with and love of the Bible while they are
still very impressionable. Hopefully this will then inform and underpin their developing moral
and spiritual values with the goal of nurturing well-balanced moral and spiritually minded,
biblically literate, resilient young people who embrace a Christian worldview and life style. The
prevailing attitude, that Bible study and Bible lessons are boring, dull, irrelevant and outdated,
needs to be challenged, researched and remedied. It is a well-known maxim that we can’t give
what we don’t have, therefore children need teachers who are committed to modelling their
faith in an engaging and realistic manner and who are energized by their own contact with the
Bible and their Lord.
References
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