The crazy life of the ClarkClan. Living a life of grace through Jesus Christ.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Review—Bible Study Guide for All Ages

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About the Product:

Bible Study Guide for All Ages is a unique product in that all ages will study the same Scripture lesson at the same time. The materials are tailored to different age groups, but the lessons correlate with each other so all the kids in one family will be studying the same lesson.

Mary Baker, a mother of four children, began writing a Guide to use with her own kids as well as the kids in her church Bible class. The first Teacher’s Guide Unit was published in 1980 and since then has grown and expanded to make it easier to teach specific age groups.

The core value of Bible Study Guide for All Ages is for all children and adults to learn and understand the Bible, while applying it to their own lives. It is not affiliated or controlled by any denomination, but strives to present the Bible alone.

The Bible Study Guide covers the entire Bible in 416 Lessons. This is a four year cycle. The lesson pages are sold for a quarter year at a time. They are consumable and should not be photocopied.

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5th-6th Grade Advanced Level

The Advanced Level is designed for grades 5 and 6. Students are challenged to think for themselves and apply what they are learning to their lives. The lessons are interactive and illustrated along with  a time line, maps and application activities.

The Bible Book Summary Cards are “flash cards” for learning about every Bible book. They provide a quick reference to teach students the basic content of each and every book of the Bible. The cards are 81/2” X11” and printed on card stock. The front of the card has pictures that focus on the main content of the Bible book. The back has a brief description and questions for  the teacher to ask while reviewing the card.

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ClarkClan Experiences

I used the Bible Study Guide for All Ages with Ben(11) and Rebekah(10). I used the 5th-6th grade level with both of them. They each had their own student pages and one set of Summary Cards.

We would start the lesson by going over the Remember It? section. Then we would go through the Bible Summary Card. Then we would use the Discover the Bible Section to read the selected passage and complete the activities that comprise the back page of the worksheet. These are illustrated, easy to follow activities. Ben and Rebekah have two different learning styles. Ben has not trouble completing pencil and paper work but Rebekah tends to get distracted if asked to write to long. These pages worked well for both of their styles. Ben enjoyed the lessons and Rebekah did not find them too long or drawn out. I liked that she was able to complete the work with very little complaining about how long it was.  After the Bible Discovery page we would do the Time Line and Apply It sections. If we had time we would complete the Get Active section.

It took us about an hour to complete one lesson and we worked on two lessons a week. I liked the variety of activities for the Bible Discovery page. It was not just fill in the blank answers but sometimes you would fill in the blanks, sometimes draw pictures, draw circles or boxes around the right answers. This is why this curriculum worked well for Rebekah. The variety helped her so she did not feel like it was a never ending sheet of writing answers. I liked the timeline portion. A timeline on every lesson helps to place the lesson in a student’s mind in the correct time in history. There is a wall time-line available to purchase that would work very well for a Sunday School classroom.

There is just one aspect of the program that hits one of my pet peeves. I realize not every one feels the same, but my pet peeve is Bible lesson pictures drawn as cartoon figures. The pictures were a little too “cartoonish” for my taste. I prefer realistic pictures for Bible lessons so kids have no confusion over what is real in the Bible and what is not real like cartoons they watch on TV.

Recommendation

I would recommend the Bible Study Guide for All Ages to other parents. I like the idea that all ages will study the same lesson together, just at different levels. ( I cannot speak about how well this is accomplished since my kids are at the same level, but I like the idea and see it working well.) I liked the cost of the program. Each quarters lessons were only $5.95 for the consumable Student Pages. The Bible Book Summary Cards only need to be bought once for the entire program.

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The Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed many different levels of the Bible Study Guide for All Ages. Visit the Crew Blog to read how well the program worked or did not work for others on the Crew.

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