I am now 3/8 of the way through The Great Adventure Bible study from Ascension Press. CHECK IT! And you thought I was just sunning myself on the beach. Hardly! First of all, People of the No Pigment do not Sun. Second, this is a Working Beach Trip. Third, I have to do something while I wait for my daughter to fall asleep, an event that currently occurs at “oh-dark thirty.” I am going to have to do some SERIOUS reprogramming when we come home.
Anyway, so I am 37.5% of the way through with the study, and I cannot recommend it enough. The purpose of the study is to give a broad overview of salvation history by reading a selection of historical books of the Bible. The study also provides a detailed explanation of where the other books fit in this timeline. I am cheered by the fact that I haven’t learned THAT much new information (after all, I am a theology teacher…with an economics degree). But what’s great is the sense of getting the “big picture,” with stops to expand upon the significance of various events, locations, etc.
The materials themselves are very “content-rich,” as we say in the Eduspeak business. There is a book of study questions broken into 24 units, with an accompanying set of responses to be used after the group has discussed the questions. (I’m just zooming through this on my own in preparation for teaching Hebrew Scriptures/New Testament in the fall, but these materials are really designed for a group setting). There’s also another booklet with maps, charts, and room for taking notes. My one quibble is that it’s complicated to flip back and forth from the questions to the other booklet, and it would make more sense to me if they were combined into one volume, with space built in for additional notetaking as you answer the various questions.
But my favorite thing is the colors. The colors! Each period of salvation history has its own color! There’s a bracelet! You can color in your guide! And you can (AND SHOULD) order tabs for your Bible that let you coordinate books according to historical period. I LOVE COLORS!
Anyway, I am still typing on my recalcitrant laptop at a Starbucks, so I cannot elaborate further or edit this post. But you should definitely check it out. I am using the CD set, which is just as helpful as the videos, I think, although the videos would probably be better for a group setting.
I started going through this study once I’d confirmed that I do want to use their T3: Teen Timeline videos with my students next year. More later on the exciting organizational schema which will flow from this decision. The T3 materials consist of a set of 8 35-minute talks on DVD, a student study guide, a blank timeline chart for them to fill in, a more detailed timeline chart, and a teacher’s guide. The student kit also includes a bookmark (with the colors!) and a bracelet (the colors!)
I think the T3 kit is perfect for a parish setting. The student study guide is not designed to serve as a year-long classroom supplement, and so I’ve decided against ordering a study guide for each student. It has helpful information, and will be a good resource for me, but there’s not enough there to justify having each student purchase one. There is also the confusion of – what would we use it for? In addition to their regular binder? Instead? (NO!) But I did order each student a Bible Timeline chart and a set of the colored tabs for their Bibles. (This cost just a little bit less than ordering the student kit, so it’s not necessarily a bad idea to order the student kit for the classroom if you really love it).
More thoughts to follow. Starbucks time almost up!
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