Investigating God's Word At Home

Description

This 14-volume book set will help guide families through an overview of the entirety of the Bible, making note and touching on every book found in the canon of scripture. Each volume touches on a book or series of books from the Bible. Some mature content has been excluded from intentional scriptural study, but you and your family can make that decision to include these verses and stories. Books that are lumped together in one volume will generally be centered around the same biblical theme, ex. minor prophets, Torah books, poetry, or those found sequentially in scripture. There is not study material covering Psalms, Proverbs, or Song of Songs. Following the volume order of use is suggested as the Drill Time review can pull from previous lessons.

The approach to learning is impart knowledge and is centered around good and intentional interactive discussion. Each volume book contains everything needed to guide discussion through the course. Every lesson is fully scripted to help facilitate discussion with introductory material, discussion questions with answers, application questions, the full text biblical readings in the ESV translation, and is not reproducible. This is truly designed to be a whole family or group-based time, as conversations tend to flow within small groups and learning happens all together.

Each lesson is broken into 5 different areas of learning and is designed to last a week. The Opening section is a time to prepare with a question being posed, or a reading from Psalms or Proverbs. It is designed to call participants in to a time of scriptural study. The Drill Time section functions as a trivia and instruction time on previously covered material or other Bible knowledge that all should know. This section provides a great way for you as parent or leader to assess how learning is taking place. The W.O.W section stands for Word of the Week and introduces and builds Christian vocabulary. These words may be words that will come up in that lessons readings or words that can speak additional life and truth into the lesson.

The Bible Investigation section is the meat of the Bible study lesson. Passages of scripture are provided in the guide to read from. The intention is for students to be read to but this is not a hard-and-fast rule. This can be a great time to have them read aloud in turn. Scripture is broken into manageable portions with discussion questions provided accordingly over what was just read. This section provides the structure to investigate, observe, interpret, and apply what the scriptures say. The final section is Scripture Memory and is self-explanatory. You end each lesson with a challenge to memorize scripture. Keeping a scripture memorization chart can help the whole family see their scripture memorization progress.

These books are designed to be the teacher's guide but can easily be passed around to have each individual read and lead discussion. Students might find it helpful to have their own Bibles (even if it is a different translation) and a journal to document their thoughts and answers during the discussion.

Teaching Method
Traditional
Teacher-centered curriculum commonly used in classrooms that may include a text, teacher manual, tests, etc.
Charlotte Mason
A methodology based on the work of a 19th century educator who maintained that children learn best from literature (Living Books), not textbooks.
Classical
A methodology based on the Latin Trivium (three stages of learning), including the grammar stage (memorization and facts), logic stage (critical thinking), and rhetoric stage (developing/defending ideas).
Unit Study
A thematic or topical approach centered around one topic that integrates multiple subject areas.
Montessori (Discovery)
A methodology based on the work of a 20th century educator that emphasizes student and sensory-driven discovery learning and real-life applications.
Other
Other methodologies
Religious Content
Secular
Contains content contrary to common Christian beliefs (i.e. evolution).
Neutral
Avoids religious or theoretical topics or presents multiple viewpoints without preference.
Christian/Religious
Faith-based or including instructional religious content.
Learning Modality
Auditory
Learns through listening, talking out loud or reading out loud.
Visual
Learns through seeing, prefers written instructions and visual materials.
Kinesthetic/Tactile (Hands-On)
Learns through moving, doing and touching.
Multi-Sensory
Curriculum that employ a variety of activities/components.
Presentation
Sequential
Curriculum progresses through well-defined learning objectives. Emphasizes mastery before moving to the next topic.
Spiral
Topics and concepts are repeated from level to level, adding more depth at each pass and connecting with review.
Conceptual/Topical
Focus is on the “why,” often with a unifying concept as well as specific skills; coverage may be broader.
Teacher Involvement
Low Teacher Involvement
Student-led materials; parent acts as a facilitator.
Medium Teacher Involvement
A mix of teacher-led time and independent student work.
High Teacher Involvement
Teacher-led lessons; may utilize discussions, hands-on activities and working together.
Additional Materials Required
No other materials needed
Everything you need is included.
Other Materials Required
There are additional required resources that are a separate purchase.
Other Materials Optional
There are additional resources mentioned or recommended but are not absolutely necessary.
Consumable
Consumable
Designed to be written in; not reusable.
Non-Consumable
Not designed to be written in; reusable.