Fun Ways to Teach How the Bible is Organized

As with most memory work, there is an element of repetitive rote learning when it comes to learning how the Bible is organized (the divisions of the Bible books). However, just as there are fun ways to teach kids the books of the Bible, there are fun ways to teach how the Bible is organized as well.

Making A Bible Library

Making a Bible library can provide a great way to see how the Bible is organized. It also creates a visual tool that can be used over and over to practice the books of the Bible. A Bible library can be made easily with poster board, Velcro tabs, construction paper and contact paper (or a laminating machine if you have access to one). Use your construction paper to create a “book spine” for each book of the Bible. A simple rectangle works fine since you want your books to look as if they are sitting on shelves. Laminate or cover each one in contact paper to make them more durable. Using Velcro tabs (these can be found in most department stores or hardware stores), fix one tab to the back of each book spine.

BibleBooksNow you are ready to make your Bible book case(s). Using poster board, decorate your board to represent a book case with 10 shelves or sections. (See picture.) You may want to create an Old Testament book case and a New Testament book case. Each shelf or section should have the appropriate label on it. Be sure to place the sections in their proper order. Putting the sections in order gives this project the added benefit of helping kids put the books of the Bible in order as well. The 10 labeled sections are:

  • The Law
  • History
  • Poetry
  • Major Prophets
  • Minor Prophets
  • Gospels
  • Church History
  • Paul’s Letters
  • General Letters
  • Prophecy

Be aware that the picture in this article has two shelves for Paul’s letters. Also, remember that some divisions of the Bible contain more books than others, so make sure the shelves or sections on your poster board are big enough to hold all of the books in that group. Within each section, affix the appropriate number of Velcro tabs for the books that belong in that section.

Using Your Bible Library

You are now ready to use your Bible Library in several ways. Here are some options…

  • Divide children up into teams and time each team to see how quickly they can place each book of the Bible in its correct category (and order).
  • Give each child a stack of “books” and let them put the library back together.
  • Take out just one book (the book your lesson is from that day) and quickly ask a child to place it in its correct spot before the lesson begins.
  • Keep “Bible Olympic” records of best times, allowing different students to attempt to break the record of who can put the books in order (and in the proper divisions) the fastest. Be ready to hand out prizes!

The more time you spend with this great teaching tool the more ideas you will come up with.

Learning the books of the Bible and how the Bible is organized is all about exposure. Your kids won’t learn them all the first day, or perhaps even the first month. But devoting a few minutes during each lesson to review these important Bible skills will help kids become more and more comfortable with navigating their Bibles, which gives God a greater opportunity to speak to their hearts through His Word. Just remember, there are fun ways to teach how the Bible is organized. Use them!

Sarah Reeves

You can see all of the articles by Sarah on Sunday School Zone.

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