Developing a Biblical Studies Program Stage 2
Introduction
The following is an exercise that details the plan of how A Biblical Studies Program for Stage 4
is going to be executed. It is a plan for a program that will run for a total of one year. The plan is
divided into different sections that indicate the guiding principles to be followed coupled with
the actual steps that will be implemented on the ground for the students. These are guidelines
that will be used mainly during the organization of specific classes and also the measures that
will be taken to measure the effectiveness of the programs as they are being taught to the
learners. Assessment guidelines for investigating the manner in which the students are
understanding the content will also be detailed in this exercise. The second component of this
exercise will detail the manner in which this one year program is going to be implemented on a
Biblical Studies Program Stage 2 group of learners whose main focus will be primary
participation in the different practical elements of Christianity according to the scriptures. The
content of this course plan will reflect the foundation statements that has been prepared and
presented in the first section.
Foundation Statements
Vision Statement: To become the region’s most positively influential religiously affiliated school
based on the outstanding morals of the students who have passed through the institution and the
endeavors they engage in.
Mission Statement: To deliver high quality Bible Education to each and every student who sets
foot into the institution through the use of highly qualified personnel, a conducive learning
environment and a student-centered curriculum based on empirical data and international best
practices in the area of instructional processes.
Specific objectives of the mission statement
Employment of highly qualified an experienced personnel.
Open door policy for students from all backgrounds.
Timely and relevant assessments for the students.
Subjective handling of the students in appreciation of their different strengths and weaknesses.
Mentorship programs that will be accessible to all students.
Rationale
It is very important to impart upon children skills that will empower them to make sound
decisions good for them as well as the society they live in. Many a times it is stated that the
youth put together are a lost generation due to the profound extent of moral decadence that they
exhibit in their actions on a daily basis. Parents and other stakeholders who have a responsibility
to guide these children often ask themselves where they went wrong and the blame quickly goes
to the many negative influences that this population is exposed to during their formative years.
These sources include mass media, the entertainment industry, the advertising industry and also
video games. Many have tried and failed to curb these forms of media from negatively
influencing the young generations and it is by now clear that it will be impossible to stop these
industries from this. The alternative that parents are left with is to ensure that their children are
given the capability to effectively distinguish right from wrong. This is based on wisdom that is
found in Proverbs 22:6 which states “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is
old he will not depart from it.” This concept is therefore not just based on folk wisdom but also
on writings from the wisest man who ever lived. What better way to do this than to teach them
how to use the Bible on their own? The Bible is undoubtedly the most appropriate source of
information on how one can live a life that is morally and spiritually upright in a world as chaotic
as this.
Aims of the Program
The purpose of stage 2 education is to impart upon the young learners skills that will enable them
to get the most out of Bible stories and see beyond the narrative aspect of these stories. To the
average child, Bible stories will be nothing more than fairy tale narratives or stories about heroes
and villains. There is usually little if any reflection upon the stories and as a result they have a
greater chance on missing out on the moral implications of the different Bible passages. When
the children learn that they can derive moral lessons from the stories in the Bible, they gradually
develop skills on how one can learn basic lessons from scripture. By and by, the Bible becomes
the child’s most important moral compass since it is a habit that they will have developed at a
young age. These moral lessons that they learn are simple and they include teachings against
deceit, stealing and even hatred. The sourcing of these lessons from the Bible has the effect of
cementing the morals that have been gained. Moral lessons are not the only things that can be
derived from scripture by these children. The program also promises to ensure that the children
get to learn spiritual lessons which will go a long way in defining their personalities and their
Christianity. The content of this stage two bible study program will empower learners to derive
the spiritual lessons that are contained in the Biblical Passages. These include lessons on the
importance of prayer, trusting God and loving one another among many others. The skills they
will get in this stage will help them to appreciate the value that the Bible has in their lives. This
way they will get to learn the significance that historical biblical events have on the manner in
which Christians express their culture today. Given that the derivation of spiritual as well as
moral lessons takes place in a subjective non-uniform manner, these skills need to be acquired at
an early age so as to empower the child to make informed moral and spiritual decisions in the
present as well as the future.
Outcomes of the Program
The program will enable students to effectively complete various tasks such as responding to
bible passages, sharing what they have learnt, pin-pointing the lessons contained in various
stories, praying with respect to the content of select scriptures. Understanding Bible Chronology
and also distinguish between different accounts of the same stories.
Responding to Bible passages refers to the learner reacting to a given story that they have either
read or listened to. They do this by appropriately relating the lesson contained in the story with a
given situation in their lives or environments. The most important aspect of these responses is the
way forward that the learners give in relation to what they have read.
Pin-pointing the lessons found in the bible is done through a cause-effect approach to bible
stories with the lessons learnt being more on the effect side. This should be given in a general
manner that can be applied out of the context of these stories. These can be moral as well as
spiritual.
The learners should also be able to make prayers that are done in light of what they have learnt
from a given Bible passage. These are passages that touch on faith or God’s power.
The program should also enable learners to have a somewhat solid idea of the order of events in
the Bible. While it is not mandatory for them to have the exact order of specific events, they
need to be able to appropriately place major events such as Creation, the Exodus, Jesus’ Birth
and he Revelation appropriately.
Learners should also be able to tell if there exist several accounts of the same events in the Bible.
This is mostly applicable to the gospels whose content tends to overlap with the focus of the
writers being different in each one.
Assessment Guidelines
The assessment of the student’s learning will focus on three core areas. These are the knowledge
the students have, the attitude they have towards bible studies and finally the skills they have in
conducting Bible Study. The knowledge component of their learning can be tested through
written examinations that are issued periodically as Continuous assessment sat the end of every
topic and final examinations at the end of the semester. These should ideally feature open ended
questions so as to test the depth of knowledge.
Skills on the other hand can be tested through examinations as well as the students’ responses to
bible passages read in the classroom. A Chapter from the book of Acts can be focused on to see
if the students can tell what the author is saying about early Christians. The child’s ability to
focus on specific areas of the narrative and use them as guidelines is an indication of his or her
use of skills learnt in class.
The child’s attitude is something that will be tested mainly through observations by the teachers
on how these students’ perceive the Bible. They should recognize its power and not just gather
its content cognitively (The Church in Wales, n.d.).
A one year Primary Participant’s program for year 5
Learning Objective Activities to accompany the objectives
Learning Chronology of the
Bible
Discuss the significance of estimated dates to different events in the
Bible. These include BC, BCE and AD. Possibly estimate when
different Bible Characters lived.
Understanding the use of Briefly use metaphors as in English language/literature teaching.
Figurative Language
Show where figurative
language is used in Bible
Show the same in the Bible with concrete examples as used in
parables of Jesus.
Identify the use of figurative speech in the Bible, its applications
then and its applications today.
Christ’s trial in the four
Gospels
Analyze different accounts of Jesus’ trial as narrated in the four
Gospels. Compare to contemporary legal procedures.
Study ancient world’s
representation in Bible
The life of Jews under Roman rule, the conflicts that existed and also
comparison to relevant examples today.
Establishing the sequence
of events through Bible
Study
Analyze similar stories such as Jesus’ betrayal and Joseph’s sale by
his brothers.
Sodom an Gomorrah against the great flood. Find out similarities
and differences in narration and the lessons contained.
References
The Church in Wales (n.d.) RELIGIOUS EDUCATION SYLLABUS FOR PRIMARY
SCHOOLS.
