Firstgraderoundup : bible verses

Showing posts with label bible verses. Show all posts

Memorizing scripture is an important and meaningful activity for kids (and adults!) of all ages! I blogged a while back about the routines I use with my preschoolers... (SPOILER ALERT: yes, 3 and 4 year olds CAN and DO memorize Bible verses!)

Today, let's talk about what those Bible verse routines look like for older kids who are no longer emerging readers. Some of the strategies are similar, and others are different. Here's a look at how I help 1st and 2nd graders memorize Bible verses.

Read the Verse with Motions

I set up our Bible verse white cards in our pocket chart.

We start by reading the Bible verse together as I point to the words.

As we are reading, I have them do motions for the verse. They don't have to do motions for every word, but I try to have at least 3 motions for every verse. The motions help the kids attach the verse to movement which helps them remember the verse more easily! I have suggestions for motions for each unit verse in my Bible unit curriculum!

Match the Color Word Cards

Depending on your first and second graders, you may or may not need to do this. I have found that we start this way at the beginning of the first grade year, and end up skipping it by the second half of the year. If your kids struggle reading, match the cards. If they are reading independently, you can move on past this!

After we read the verse once, I pass out the color words to some kids...one card per kid. I call one kid up at a time. They read the word (or I help them read it) and find it's match.

After each kid puts a word match in, we re-read the verse with the motions. So, not only are we working on matching and reading words, but we are repeating the verse and committing it to memory in a fun and engaging way!

Sequence the Verse

If most of your kids are able to read, you can skip the matching and do the sequencing routines instead. To sequence, I start by passing out one card to each kid. Then, I ask, "Who has the word 'The'" and kids bring up their cards one at a time.

After each card, we read the cards we have, predict the next word, and I ask who has that word card. We continue this way until we have sequenced the entire verse!

Later, when this becomes easy for kids (especially for 2nd graders), you can give each kid a word card and have them work together to sequence the Bible verse without your help!

TPR Reading

Once we have all of the words matched, we read with Total Physical Response (TPR). This is my kids' favorite part! We do some motion on each of the words. The first one we do is, "Let's clap on each word." Then, we say the verse and clap on each word.

Depending on time, we usually do about 5-7 repetitions of this with different actions each time. The actions we've used are....

Clap

Snap

Pat Your Leg

Touch Your Nose and Whisper

Bear Claws on the Ground and Growl

Stomp Your Feet

Independent Matching

This last part of the routine is only done on the last day of the unit. The other weeks, we just read, match, and TPR read. The last week, we only do the independent matching.

Each kid gets a white paper with a space to sequence the Bible verse and word cards copied on colored paper. My first and second grade units come with two handout options: One is like shown below with the Bible verse on it and one does not have the verse on it. I pick the one that best fits my kids' abilities.

After we read or say the verse, the kids sequence the word cards by cutting and pasting.

These routines are quick, easy and an engaging and effective way to help young learners hide God's Word in their hearts! You can find all of these routines and materials in each of my Bible Units!

Whitney

About 2 years ago, my then 5 year old Cooper started having night terrors. They. Were. Horrible. As night terrors go, he would "wake up" (seem awake, but really still asleep...eyes open and all!) screaming or crying at the top of lungs...talking out of his mind and pacing in his room or even walking out of his room (SOOOO scary)!

The silver lining in night terrors is that kids don't remember them. And he didn't. But there were a couple that were so very bad that we couldn't settle him without completely waking him up. And he was absolutely terrified with what happened to him when he woke up.

Y'all, it got to the point that he was scared to go to sleep because he was scared he would have another night terror (even though he wouldn't remember them!) Crazy, right?? It was. And it was also heartbreaking.

In no way could I tell my son, "Don't be scared. There's no reason to be scared." Because his feelings were absolutely real. And I had to validate his feelings. But I also couldn't allow him to live in his fears...and sleep with mom and dad every night!! :)

One of my favorite Bible verses ever is Philippians 4:8.

We started speaking this verse over him every night. We prayed this verse. We repeated this verse. And this verse was the last thing he heard before he fell asleep each night. It became Cooper's Bible verse.

Along with the verse, we also made a list of 3-5 things that made him feel happy and safe. When he began to feel scared or upset, we taught him to literally grab hold of that thought and throw it up to God, based on the verse, "Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7 (and thanks to a friend who told me she used this when she felt anxious).

Once he had thrown his scary thoughts up to God, he repeated his 3-5 things out loud. Sometimes, his list was longer and sometimes he repeated the same 3 or 4 things over and over.

"Sharks, Mommy, Daddy, dinosaurs, and trains. Sharks, Mommy, Daddy, dinosaurs, and trains. Sharks..."

He was literally fixing his thoughts on good things. Just like Philippians 4:8. As he called out the good, you could actually see his face change from scared to a sense of safety. We would quote Philippians 4:8 and kiss him goodnight.

We did this for a solid week without fail. And in the meantime asked some people to pray for him. And praise the Lord, God chose to heal Cooper of his night terrors! And he hasn't had one in over 2 years after having them every single night for several weeks.

We learned a lot during those weeks of night terrors. And the main thing was how to handle negative emotions in a healthy way. That's one of the reasons I felt so strongly about adding this lesson into my Kindergarten Sunday School unit on health. ALL emotions can be healthy within reason and God created us as emotional people. So, it's important to validate them and not dismiss them. But we do have to CHOOSE to deal with them in a Biblical, healthy way.

We can honor God with our emotions by reacting in a healthy way.

You can grab these response sheets for FREE here. They are also included in my Christian Health unit along with the lesson and 5 other lessons!

Whitney

I often get asked how I get my preschoolers to learn their Bible verses during our Bible units. Can 3 and 4 year olds really learn Bible verses and remember them?

YES! Of course they can! And it's so important that we teach them early that hiding God's word in our hearts helps us make good choices and shine our lights for Jesus!

If you follow this blog, you've already read about my schedule for preschool Sunday School. Our Bible verse time is the last 5 minutes our our morning! Here's a look at those 5 minutes of powerful Bible verse learning! :)

Read the Verse with Motions

Yes, I'm aware that most preschoolers cannot read. But a few do read early. And the majority who can't will only learn through exposure to print and words. I set up our Bible verse white cards in our pocket chart.

I always tell my preschoolers, "Let's read our Bible verse," as I point and we read it together. No, most aren't reading like adults would expect them to. They are simply saying the words as I read them. But they FEEL like readers because I've told them that we are reading! And they are practicing tracking print with my finger and their eyes. They are learning to read from left to right. And they are learning what a word and sentence looks like!

These are all HUGE skills for emerging readers. And THAT's why we "read" the verse together.

As we are reading, I have them do motions for the verse. They don't have to do motions for every word, but I try to have at least 3 motions for every verse. The motions help the kids attach the verse to movement which helps them remember the verse more easily! I have suggestions for motions for each unit verse in my Bible unit curriculum!

Match the Color Word Cards

After we read the verse once, I show one color word card at a time. We read the word and then I give the color card to a kiddo who comes to find it's word match. They put the color card in front of the white matching card.

This helps my emergent readers attend to print and focus on the shape of the letters and words. For my youngest readers, I cover up all but the first word on the color card and have them look for that beginning letter to add even more support.

After each kid puts a word match in, we re-read the verse with the motions. So, not only are we working on print features, but we are repeating the verse and committing it to memory in a fun and engaging way!

TPR Reading

Once we have all of the words matched, we read with Total Physical Response (TPR). This is my preschoolers' favorite part! We do some motion on each of the words. The first one we do is, "Let's clap on each word." Then, we say the verse and clap on each word.

This is important because it helps kids hear the difference in words and syllables and words and sentences. It's so good for building that phonemic awareness in our littlest readers.

Depending on time, we usually do about 5-7 repetitions of this with different actions each time. The actions we've used are....

Clap

Snap

Pat Your Leg

Touch Your Nose and Whisper

Bear Claws on the Ground and Growl

Stomp Your Feet

Independent Matching

This last part of the routine is only done on the last day of the unit. The other weeks, we just read, match, and TPR read. The last week, we only do the independent matching.

Each kid gets a color paper with the Bible Verse on it. We "read" it together. I say, "Show me your reading finger," and they point and read. No, they may not all point accurately, but they are getting a chance to independently practice moving from left to right and pointing and reading word by word.

After we read it, we go through a similar routine as the word matching in other weeks, just doing it independently! I read the first word and they find their cut out white word card. I cut out their words for them to save time since I only have them for 45 minutes and I don't want this to take the whole time! :) But if you have longer, cutting would be great practice for those little guys!

Once they find the matching word, they glue it down. Then, we move to the next word. For older kids or kindergartners, they can easily match them on their own without needing to go word by word with teacher support!

These routines are quick, easy and an engaging and effective way to help young learners hide God's Word in their hearts! You can find all of these routines and materials in each of my Bible Units!

Whitney

Yesterday, I posted this picture on my personal Facebook page...

And since I've had a few friends request this template, so you can find the link to this FREE at the end of this post!

What is our family prayer routine?

Each night, we read our prayer verse from James 5 out loud. Then, we ask and share any prayer requests that our family has and add them to our list. We mark off any prayers that have been answered and praise God for his healing!

Then, Cooper prays. The list is perfect because it helps him (and us) remember what to pray for.

When we use up the entire page, we simply print a new page, add the unanswered prayers to that list and keep going.

Why have a family prayer routine?

I love that this is just built in and part of what we do. It's habit forming for us and makes us consciously think about prayer every single day. Those are habits that I definitely want to form in Cooper.

But we don't just want it to be a habit. We want it to be a building block for a relationship with God AND a relationship with others. Many times, when we have had a prayer on our list for a long time, Cooper will say, "How is ____ family doing? Do we still need to pray for them?" And then we can encourage him to ask that friend or family and let them know we are praying for them. There have been several times he's started doing this on his own and asked about one of our own needs: "Daddy, is your headache better today?" Or the other day, when he thought on his own about praying for Mrs. Patricia's arm because he noticed it was in a sling at Bible Study. I love that this habit encourages empathy, and compassion and empowers him with a tool to help.

Grab this prayer page for FREE here and let's build and strengthen our family prayer life together!

Whitney

We have been super busy this summer learning about the 7 days of creation in Sunday School! My preschoolers absolutely LOVE this unit and all of the engaging activities that go along with it! Here's a look into this unit...

Exploration Stations

This unit's stations are all about numbers!

We build towers of blocks to match a days of creation number.

And we also use playdoh to form our numbers in lots of different ways!

I have these stations set up in our room for the first 15 minutes as kiddos are coming in. Some are specific like the one above and some are as simple as puzzles or coloring our coloring page for the week...

Bible Lesson

We start by singing our creation song to the tune of "Are You Sleeping?" {All the verses as well as the total physical response motions are included in the unit.} We sing as many verses as we have learned so far and then add the new day for the week.

Many weeks, we sort cards by their differences. For example, on day 2 we sort things in the sky and things on land.

We always close our creation Bible story by saying, "God looked at _____ on day ___ and said...IT IS GOOD!" and give a big thumbs up! {It's totally silly, but they love this part!}

Then, we cut and sort our own cards. Here is the example from Day 2: Sky and Land....

Then, we practice our Bible Verse for the week with motions and by matching our verse word cards (I blogged about those routines here.)

Our end of unit activity will be to order creation numbers 1-7 and glue them on our "Days of Creation" mini-charts...

Check out these activities and so many more in my 50+ page unit!

Whitney

As I've been blogging, we are in the middle of our final Common Core Unit on Fables. In the past, we've taught this unit from Thanksgiving to Christmas. This year, our district moved this unit to the end of the year.

I loved it around the holidays because we could focus our "life lessons" on giving back to others and service projects.

I love it at the end of the year because my firsties are more independent and we have time to do more with the stories...and I've even been able to focus on more "springy" fables this time of year too, since we are way past the holidays!

Somehow, no matter when I teach fables, I just fall in love with it! Fables are classics and I love reading and discussing stories that I treasure from my childhood.

But fables are also my opportunity to share Jesus with my first graders.

As a Christian teacher in a public school, my hands are legally tied. I cannot freely share my religious beliefs, teach my Bible units, or even start conversations about God...although I will never ever shut a kid down who wants to willingly talk about our Savior during class discussions.

And as a Christian teacher, I see public schools as my mission field. My calling. So, when fables just so happen to bring out spiritual truths, I jump all over it.

Common Core calls them, "life lessons." My faith calls them, "doctrines," "spiritual truths," or even "fruits of the Spirit."

The education world calls them, "fables." My Bible calls them, "parables." And many of these fables mirror bible characters' experiences.

My Christian teacher lens allows me to see the spiritual truths behind the life lessons and weave those thoughts and scriptures into the hearts and minds of my sweeties.

Here is our almost finished Life Lessons anchor chart...

And here are the legal, Biblical conversations these fables have allowed me to have in my room.

The moral says, Treat others the way you want to be treated.

The Bible says, So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. Matthew 7:12.

The Bible says, Be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

The moral says, Slow and steady wins the race.

The Bible says, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 2 Timothy 4:7

The Bible says, Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. 1 Corinthians 9:24-26

The moral says, Hard work pays off.

The Bible says, So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31.

The Bible says, Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. Proverbs 10:4

The Bible says, For whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. Galatians 6:7

The moral says, Always tell the truth.

The Bible says, Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Proverbs 12:19.

The Bible says, You shall not bear false witness. Exodus 20:16.

The moral says, Be happy with what you have.

The Bible says, For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Philippians 4:11.

We have had some powerful and very spiritual conversations the past several weeks. As silly as it may sound to you, I know God was directing those discussions...helping me plant a seed...however tiny it might be.

So, even though May is upon us and the end of the year crazies are about to begin, I'll continue to focus on teaching fables because I may be the only spiritual voice these kiddos have in their lives. And that is not something I take lightly. That is a calling that will push the end of the year crazies back just a couple more weeks for this Christian teacher teaching in a public school. Thank you, Common Core, for giving me a unit to express my religious beliefs in a legal way...And thank you to my Savior, Who has guided these discussions in a way that is most meaningful to my firsties. Because people need Jesus. Including my first graders. And I want to choose to be Jesus to them every opportunity I get!

Whitney

It's week 2 of my PreK Sunday School Valentine's Unit, Love One Another.

I love being able to make Valentine's Day a spiritual holiday for my preschoolers. I've taught variations of this same unit for about 3 years now and we have so much fun! And what I love about is that I've used the some of the same concepts and craftivities with my firsties over the years {minus the Bible verses...darn you, public schools!} and they have been perfect for that age group too! Church goer or not...we can all use a little more practice in loving one another, no matter your age!

Exploration Stations

The first 10-15 minutes of each week in Sunday School we spend in exploration stations. The preschoolers are welcomed in and then choose a station to explore. Most stations are themed to support our big idea or lesson for the day or unit. Here are some a couple of my favorites from this unit!

My preschoolers LOVE puzzles! These heart puzzles show kids with all kinds of emotions. They match the emotions and talk about ways to show kindness to friends showing that emotion!

Of course, we must always have blocks to play with. But I love making their play purposeful and connecting it to our big ideas. This one was last minute, so I just drew a heart and wrote in the "I can" at the top. But I've added this to the unit if you already have it!

We also have mirrors for the kids to play with and show people that God loves!

God Loves Me

The first week, we learned that God loves me! No matter what I look like and no matter what kind of choices I make, God will always love me! We made self-portraits and talked about how much God loves our differences!

Love the Lord

Then, we learned that God wants us to love Him back. We read a trade book and talked about how we give people we love things. When we love God, we want to give him our heart. We learned the Bible verse, "I will love the Lord with all my heart..." Luke 10:27.

Then, we made heart crafts to hang as a reminder of our gift of love to God!

Love Others

Our last week, we learned that we are to love other people the way God loves us. We read about The Good Samaritan during our Bible Time.

Then, we brainstormed ways to show love to others and added the heart leaves to our kindness tree!

I also did this with my own kid and added hearts each time he did something kind on his own.

Such fun celebrating Valentine's Day with my Sunday Schoolers! And check out my TPT store for my other Sunday School units.

Whitney

***Every now and then I just need to use my blog as therapy for my teacher and mommy soul.***

Last week, my 2 year old woke up saying, "Poop, eveweruh, Momma!" to which I came into his room to find it on his sheets, up his back, down his leg....and because of the extra time it took me to clean him all up, I was 5 minutes late to school.

The struggle is real.

Every so often {or more often than I want to admit}, I shed tears on the way to work at the thought of leaving my son for the day to teach instead of staying home with him. Regardless of the passion I have for my job. Regardless of the wonderful team I work with. Regardless of the calling I have to teach. 2 years later, I still shed tears.

The struggle is real.

In the middle of the 60 degree weather--in January--I have 25 firsties who have caught spring fever. And it's winter. For 2 more *loooooooooong* months.

The struggle is real.

Getting 6 year olds to decode, read fluently and comprehend what they read on a *grade level* text is a daunting task. A task that, for a few, is a breeze. A task that, for some, is just demanded too early. A task that, for others, is developmentally inappropriate. But a task that is expected of all.

The struggle is real.

Working day in and day out and giving 150% at my job is what I do every day I come to school. I don't know how to do it any other way. And there are wonderful, wonderful things that happen in my classroom every day because of that philosophy. But sometimes, for some people, that's still not good enough. Sometimes, in a data driven world, it doesn't produce the results others want. Sometimes, it doesn't produce the results that even I want.

The struggle is real.

But the calling is real, too.

Before school started I blogged about my calling to teach. Despite my teaching struggles. Despite my mommy struggles. Despite my wife struggles. This is what I'm called to do by my Creator.

Because in the end, I'm not in this struggle to get praises from others. Not from my firsties, not from my co-workers, and not from parents of my first graders. I mean, let's be honest, it sure is *nice* to get praised, complimented, appreciated, and patted on the back. In the words of my precious late grandfather, "Even an old dog likes to be patted on the head." Sure, I crave compliments from my husband, family, friends, administrators and others. I'm human. But my real purpose is pleasing my Savior. Because His opinion of me is what really matters. Because He sees my heart. Because he knows my thoughts. Because what He has to say about me is eternal.

And THAT is real.

So...as a reminder to the teacher, wife, friend, and mommy inside of me, and since 2015 is the year I *ENCOURAGE*, here are some encouraging verses that are good for the soul when the struggle is feeling ever so real.

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

"For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts." I Thessalonians 2:4

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Colossians 3:23

Whitney

Tomorrow is back to reality! At least in our district we get to start off with an inservice day so we can slowly adjust to working full time again!

I don't know about ya'll, but my first semester was 50 shades of crazy. New district initiatives, new literacy AND math units to learn, more new district initiatives, staff changes, and rough situations with kids that I just can't blog about...To say that I needed two weeks off was probably the *understatement* of 2014. Anyone else out there feel that way!?!

And I soaked up every. last. minute. of my break. Not much school work got done around here. {Although I did work on some new Sunday School packets for church...} Just a whole lotta playin' with this lil' guy...

Who can complain about that?

But with a new year and a new semester starting, I needed a break. A refreshing of sorts. And for only the second time I can ever remember in my life, I made a New Year's and New Semester's Resolution for my personal and professional life...

My dad told me about a book he read that emphasized choosing *one word* to live by instead of a list of goals a mile long. So, after a two week break to reflect and relax, I've come up with my one word goal for this New Semester...

With all of the ups and downs of last semester, I need to spend more time thinking more on the positive by encouraging my teammates and myself. And I need to spend more time encouraging my husband and my son after a long day of work... I can't always change the circumstances, but I can change me.

My *ENCOURAGING* prayers for 2015...

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be pleasing to you, Oh, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

Psalm 19:14

"Do not use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them."

Ephesians 4:29

"Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up."

1 Thessalonians 5:11

So here's to an encouraging, productive, fun-filled, and quick second semester.

Happy New Semester, friends!