Just about every Christian school I've ever heard of has a Bible memory program. As a teacher, and more importantly as a mother, I have to admit that sometimes I've dreaded the bi-weekly or monthly "due date" of the Scripture memory writing or recitation.
BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!
THERE IS A SOLUTION!
My students have done really well with their Bible memory passages for about ten years now. Pretty painlessly, too. Here's what I have found that works for 1st-12th graders.
1. Students should learn a passage of 8-10 verses at a time.
2. Students should have an entire month to work on the passage.
3. The Scripture passage should be reviewed daily (if not 2-3 times a day), preferably in ways that will help the students to memorize it.
After about 12+ years of working with students who are learning (or attempting to learn) their Bible memory passages, I have found that one month is an adequate amount of time for students to learn and internalize about 10 verses. And I do mean internalize. I had one 7th grade student say the entire scripture passage the first day or so that the passage was assigned. How? He had learned it word-for-word as a song in the 2nd grade, and five years later, he could recite it easily from memory, even though he hadn't reviewed it much in those past five years. THAT is learning God's Word and hiding it in the heart -- not this super-cramming method that many of our students attempt, and sadly, sometimes make a decent grade doing.
Secondly, it is most helpful if we teachers assist our students in learning their scripture memory in the four following ways.
1. The scripture passage can be taught to the students using a melody. (There are several of these available. See resources below.)
2. After listening to the song while reading the passage, and then singing it together, it should be recited aloud together. (This takes about 5 minutes every morning.)
3. Using a mnemonic device, students can be taught a "secret code" that will enable them to recall the verses when they write or recite them.
4. *NEW* After talking to a teacher friend, we started doing this and it worked! Once a week, the students are required to write 25% of the verse. The first week they write the first quarter, the second week the first half, the third week the first 3/4ths, and then, to reward them for their diligence, they can sing or say the whole verse out loud the fourth week. This really helps those procrastinators and holds them accountable weekly instead of monthly.
When I have done all of this in the past, the average class grade was about 95%. Sometimes the lowest grade was a 99% -- seriously.
On the left is the secret code we made up for one Bible memory -- "DOIST RPMs", as in you'll have good RPMs if you keep your engine moist-- only we changed the "m" to a "d" to fit the verse.
I will point out that I'm not their Bible teacher, nor are they responsible to write or say their Bible verse for me. I'm just their homeroom teacher, and I care. I know Bible memory can be hard for some of them, so I play the song and sing it with them every morning, and I make up silly hand motions and ways to remember the order. I also invent and write the "secret code" on the board for them to look at while we're singing, and we review writing it from memory every morning. Sometimes my students will make up one on their own.
I have a few more opinions on this.
1. We, as teachers, should be learning the Bible memory passages as well if we expect our students to be doing so. It's just good leadership. We should model what we expect them to do.
2. We, as teachers, have a responsibility to teach the Bible memory passage to our students if we sincerely care and want them to learn it. There is no other subject that we expect them to do completely on their own. (Here is your math book. The test over chapter 7 is in two weeks. Good luck!) Granted, they can already understand the Bible at some level (although I often talk about the Spiritual truths in the passage as we are learning it), but I personally feel that if it is important (and indeed, it is!) then I should be a responsible teacher and teach it to my students. Disagree? Read number three.
3. Here is what happens if it is not taught to the students. The top fourth of the class will learn it and maybe take the entire two weeks or month to do so. They will probably not internalize it though, and most likely will not be able to recall it within one week. The remaining three fourths will cram the verse into their brains (I refuse to use the word learn here) probably the day or evening before. I've often heard of students doing this the morning that the verse is due. They sometimes do a decent job, boast about it to their fellow students, and then not worry about the next Bible memory until the night before or the morning it is due. If left to their own, that's just what a majority of the students do. They haven't really learned anything except how to cram. I don't want God's word to be handled like that, so I do what I do.
Here are a few resources available if you are interested in trying this method.
Jeff and I have used this recording of Psalm 119 (word-for-word KJV) for a three-year Bible memory program. A free download of the audio is available from http://www.pursuinglife.com/scripture-songs.php.
The hymnary.com also has free printable copies of the above music and free downloads of the audio recording at
https://hymnary.org/hymn/P1192002/F
Here are the Bible memory passages that Shalom Mennonite School used last year, and our planned ones for this school year. There are simple Bible memory songs for all of these that I can share in audio form free of charge if you are interested in trying this approach in your classroom.
Shalom has grades 1-8 do the same Bible memory verse every month. They sing it on the bus, in the car, wherever. Siblings help each other at home, and the parents love it.
Bible Memory 2017-2018
Bible Memory 2019-2020*
September John 14:1-10
October John 14:11-20
November John 14:21-31
December John 15:1-10
January John 15: 11-19
February Psalm 8
March Psalm 32
April Psalm 46
May James 5: 11-20
*Recordings of the above will not be available until the beginning of the month listed.
And I do have the printed music for a few of these as well. If you are interested in any of these, please email us at littleflock7 at gmail.com.
BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!
THERE IS A SOLUTION!
My students have done really well with their Bible memory passages for about ten years now. Pretty painlessly, too. Here's what I have found that works for 1st-12th graders.
1. Students should learn a passage of 8-10 verses at a time.
2. Students should have an entire month to work on the passage.
3. The Scripture passage should be reviewed daily (if not 2-3 times a day), preferably in ways that will help the students to memorize it.
After about 12+ years of working with students who are learning (or attempting to learn) their Bible memory passages, I have found that one month is an adequate amount of time for students to learn and internalize about 10 verses. And I do mean internalize. I had one 7th grade student say the entire scripture passage the first day or so that the passage was assigned. How? He had learned it word-for-word as a song in the 2nd grade, and five years later, he could recite it easily from memory, even though he hadn't reviewed it much in those past five years. THAT is learning God's Word and hiding it in the heart -- not this super-cramming method that many of our students attempt, and sadly, sometimes make a decent grade doing.
Secondly, it is most helpful if we teachers assist our students in learning their scripture memory in the four following ways.
1. The scripture passage can be taught to the students using a melody. (There are several of these available. See resources below.)
2. After listening to the song while reading the passage, and then singing it together, it should be recited aloud together. (This takes about 5 minutes every morning.)
3. Using a mnemonic device, students can be taught a "secret code" that will enable them to recall the verses when they write or recite them.
4. *NEW* After talking to a teacher friend, we started doing this and it worked! Once a week, the students are required to write 25% of the verse. The first week they write the first quarter, the second week the first half, the third week the first 3/4ths, and then, to reward them for their diligence, they can sing or say the whole verse out loud the fourth week. This really helps those procrastinators and holds them accountable weekly instead of monthly.
When I have done all of this in the past, the average class grade was about 95%. Sometimes the lowest grade was a 99% -- seriously.
On the left is the secret code we made up for one Bible memory -- "DOIST RPMs", as in you'll have good RPMs if you keep your engine moist-- only we changed the "m" to a "d" to fit the verse.
I will point out that I'm not their Bible teacher, nor are they responsible to write or say their Bible verse for me. I'm just their homeroom teacher, and I care. I know Bible memory can be hard for some of them, so I play the song and sing it with them every morning, and I make up silly hand motions and ways to remember the order. I also invent and write the "secret code" on the board for them to look at while we're singing, and we review writing it from memory every morning. Sometimes my students will make up one on their own.
I have a few more opinions on this.
1. We, as teachers, should be learning the Bible memory passages as well if we expect our students to be doing so. It's just good leadership. We should model what we expect them to do.
2. We, as teachers, have a responsibility to teach the Bible memory passage to our students if we sincerely care and want them to learn it. There is no other subject that we expect them to do completely on their own. (Here is your math book. The test over chapter 7 is in two weeks. Good luck!) Granted, they can already understand the Bible at some level (although I often talk about the Spiritual truths in the passage as we are learning it), but I personally feel that if it is important (and indeed, it is!) then I should be a responsible teacher and teach it to my students. Disagree? Read number three.
3. Here is what happens if it is not taught to the students. The top fourth of the class will learn it and maybe take the entire two weeks or month to do so. They will probably not internalize it though, and most likely will not be able to recall it within one week. The remaining three fourths will cram the verse into their brains (I refuse to use the word learn here) probably the day or evening before. I've often heard of students doing this the morning that the verse is due. They sometimes do a decent job, boast about it to their fellow students, and then not worry about the next Bible memory until the night before or the morning it is due. If left to their own, that's just what a majority of the students do. They haven't really learned anything except how to cram. I don't want God's word to be handled like that, so I do what I do.
Here are a few resources available if you are interested in trying this method.
Jeff and I have used this recording of Psalm 119 (word-for-word KJV) for a three-year Bible memory program. A free download of the audio is available from http://www.pursuinglife.com/scripture-songs.php.
The hymnary.com also has free printable copies of the above music and free downloads of the audio recording at
https://hymnary.org/hymn/P1192002/F
Here are the Bible memory passages that Shalom Mennonite School used last year, and our planned ones for this school year. There are simple Bible memory songs for all of these that I can share in audio form free of charge if you are interested in trying this approach in your classroom.
Shalom has grades 1-8 do the same Bible memory verse every month. They sing it on the bus, in the car, wherever. Siblings help each other at home, and the parents love it.
Bible Memory 2017-2018
August 23-September- 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13
October- Colossians 3:1-11
November-Colossians 3:12-17
December-Colossians 3:18-25
January- Romans 12:1-8
February- Romans 12: 9-21
March- Romans 5:1-10
April- Romans 6:1-10
May- Romans 6:11-18
September John 14:1-10
October John 14:11-20
November John 14:21-31
December John 15:1-10
January John 15: 11-19
February Psalm 8
March Psalm 32
April Psalm 46
May James 5: 11-20
*Recordings of the above will not be available until the beginning of the month listed.
And I do have the printed music for a few of these as well. If you are interested in any of these, please email us at littleflock7 at gmail.com.