Bible Studies - Homeschool Curriculum

Biblical studies are inherently text based because they are based upon The Bible. Finding ready-made visual materials for teaching can be difficult. As noted in "Using Multimedia Resources in Teaching the Bible", the authors point out "Theological education (especially in the Protestant Christian tradition) has largely neglected the pictorial-spacial capacities of the brain. The emphasis on the primacy of the Word in Protestant circles has maginfied this tendency to look with suspicion on the making of images. Nevertheless, visual thinking continues to be the clearest learning 'channel' for many people."

Thus, most bibles are simply text. There are, however, several illustrated bibles with drawings in them to help convey meaning to young visual learners, particularly for very young learners. Illustrated bibles are great for any visual learner, because it has been shown "the highest level of recall comes from the simultaneous presentation of corresponding verbal and visual input." (Dalton & Farmer, 2002). There are many illustrated bibles available at Amazon.com, and our favorite is probably the DK Illustrated Family Bible, which contains additonal information on history, artifacts, traditions, etc.

For a true multisensory learning experience, which is best for all types of learners, you might want to consider a fully multisensory curriculum. In their multimedia study, Dalton & Farmer found that "caricatures worked better than photographic images for supporting or illustrating ideas and that the more abstract the concept to be communicated, the more cartoon-like the related image needed to be." This is important because it is the main element that makes the curriculum we use 'ideal' for Bible studies. I have found only one curriculum that is "ideal" -- Grapevine Studies' "Stick Figuring Through the Bible". (continued below)..

The Grapevine Studies' "Stick Figuring Through the Bible" provides basic Bible studies through daily reading assignments and plenty of space for the student to draw their "rendition" of the Bible passage in stick-figure form. While my youngest was very reluctant to draw in the beginning because he thought he was "not a good drawer", he has decided it's fun to come up with entertaining renditions of the Bible verses. The GREAT thing about the Grapevine Studies is through the act of reading, then drawing a meaningful rendition, the child engages his visual and kinesthetic learning styles, which will allow the daily concept to be more fully retained. While the concept is simple, it is a highly effective way of helping children remember what they've read.

The Stick Figuring curriculum comes in several different levels. The various levels add on small levels of higher level thinking, so for a child who is behind in reading ability, it is not a problem to use the simpler versions. There the child will have fewer, and less intense, questions to answer in consideration of the verses he's read. The verses appear to be largely the same across versions.

The authors of the Multimedia Resources study also examined the American Bible Society's "New Media Bible" - targeted towards high school students. While I couldn't find this resource available on Amazon, I did find McGee's New Media Kids' Bible for younger children. I also found http://www.newmediabible.org/, which is a website of the American Bible Society, which hopes to provide online, interactive, multimedia Bible stories. Currently, the story of "The Good Samaritan" is the only one available.

We have also been able to find some great educational videos about Jesus' life, "Walk Through the Bible" and Biblical times through Discovery Channel Videos & DVDs . You can search the Discovery store for "Bible" or "Religion". As always, the Discovery Channel videos are very colorful and visually "rich". You'll also find visually rich videos or DVDs through National Geographic . When you go and land on the main page, search for "religion" and the results will be for videos of some of the biblical lands, Easter, or the Geography of the Bible. (continued below)..

While it can be difficult to make biblical studies into multisensory experience, it can be done. Some of the best options include using arts or crafts supplies to create visual representations in a hands on manner, or enacting mini skits to act out scenes. You might not be able to find readily available multimedia representations of the Bible, but your child's mind is well-equipped to creatively represent the Bible in his own way.

*Dalton, R.W. & Farmer, K.A. (2002) Using Multimedia Resources in Teaching the Bible. Teaching the Bible Today. Interpretation.

Bible Study Curriculum