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| Sharon Johnson MB Conference Staff Joined Feb 8, 2002 171 posts Location: Kitchener, ON |
 I Can Read! |
Posted Jan 6, 2003; 12:24 pm |
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First, some background:
Reading Level (RL) is an educational term that signifies readability according to a set of guidelines. RL includes difficulty and length of words, length of sentences, and level of understandability.
“Material that is challenging, but not frustrating for the student to read successfully. Note: Although suggested criteria vary, better than 95 percent word-identification accuracy and better than 75 percent comprehension are often used as standards in judging whether a student is reading at this level.” Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes™ 1998-2001
Remember: RL is not tied to chronological age. IE a precocious child in kindergarten could be reading at a grade 2 RL. Many adult Bibles are written for a grade 6-8 RL.
A perusal of Christian publishing presents the following offerings:
1. There are Bible Storybooks, where an author has taken an account from scripture and created a preschooler-sized rendition of the story. These are great read-to-me books for the very young. The church library should stock an excellent variety of these for parents and early childhood ministries to use. Look for engaging, accurate narrative and child-targeted artwork when choosing these books. Authors and artists who love the God of the Bible will do their best to convey this love to children.
2. There are Early Readers, where an author has taken an account from scripture and re-phrased it according to progressively difficult reading levels (remember “See Spot Run?). These are great for children who want the challenge of being able to read biblical stories themselves. Again, the children’s library could stock a series of these books.
3. As soon as children are ready, give them the privilege of reading the scriptures from the Bible itself. This is where information regarding RL is beneficial, even for parents. Many “Children’s Bibles” will frustrate children if they are based on a translation that is too high a reading level. Two translations, the International Children’s Bible (based on the New Century Version) and the New International Reader’s Version (NirV) are written for a grade three RL. In comparison, the New Living Translation is written for 6.3, The Message (now available as a complete Bible) is 4.8 and the NIV is 7.8. For further information about adult translations, see www.zondervanbibles.com/translations.htm
4. Guidance in choosing where and how much to read from such a big book will make reading God’s Word a joy. “Tell It Again” is an online resource that parents can use to encourage their children to read their Bibles. Some children’s ministries have staged a “TIA” contest to stimulate as many children as possible to begin reading their Bibles at home. http://new.mbconf.ca/cem/children/tellitagain/index.en.html |
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| vanislandwoman |
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Posted Sep 3, 2004; 2:32 am |
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I have been involved with the Girl Guides organization for a long time. In the past few years I have become involved with and now am a member of an MB congregation. I will be a Brownie Guider this year. This is a community unit, not sponsored by the church. I found out about the MB Religion in Life Program, which is an option for the girls. Each church sets its own criteria. The MB Stage 1 has sections called Word, Worship and Witness.
I am hoping to do a Religion in Life program at my church for kids involved in Scouting/Guiding at the age 7-9 level. We are a very small church in a very small community, so there would only be a handful of kids involved.
The Bible reading part of the program seems quite extensive-
John chapters 1-4; 1 John chapters 1-5; Matthew chapters 5-7; Jonah chapters 1-4; Psalm 119: 1-176.
Also, read and be able to give content of Psalm 1 and Psalm 23.
Most of the kids I am dealing with are just entering grade 2 (7 years old) although there may be some older ones come. Which Bible would you recommend for these ages and this program? |
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| Bro Member Joined May 4, 2004 912 posts Location: Richmond B.C. |
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Posted Sep 4, 2004; 11:07 pm |
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| How about the N.I.V., or their may even be newer versions of it around. |
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| Marshall Member Joined Feb 7, 2002 1191 posts Location: Langley, BC |
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Posted Sep 5, 2004; 1:15 am |
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| I think there's also a version of the NIV that uses simpler vocabulary, and the Contemporary English Version (CEV) is simpler yet. The CEV is available online at Bible Gateway. |
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| vanislandwoman |
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Posted Sep 5, 2004; 1:54 am |
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In Sharon Johnson's initial post on this thread, she wrote:
| Quote: | | Two translations, the International Children’s Bible (based on the New Century Version) and the New International Reader’s Version (NirV) are written for a grade three RL. |
Does anyone have kids who are using these? I am going to make some inquiries at church tomorrow as well, see what the kids have.
Anyone remember when you started to read the Bible on your own? Did you like it, what version were you using, did you understand it, did it put you off?
I think my first experiences would have been at summer camp the ony year I ever went, when I was about ten, I think. I'm trying to remember what bible I had. I read a bit, but didn't understand it even though I was a voracious and good and high level reader in school. After my mid-teens, I didn't read the Bible again until adulthood, when I read a Gideon's in a hotel room. |
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| Marshall Member Joined Feb 7, 2002 1191 posts Location: Langley, BC |
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Posted Sep 5, 2004; 12:46 pm |
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D'oh! I should have read to the end of Sharon's first post before responding. That Zondervan link is quite useful, and it shows that apparently the NIrV is written to a younger age level (2.9) than the CEV I mentioned (5.4).
| vanislandwoman wrote: | | Anyone remember when you started to read the Bible on your own? Did you like it, what version were you using, did you understand it, did it put you off? |
I remember trying to read a Gideon's KJV New Testament sometime in grade 1 or 2. I memorized a few verses from it, but I don't think I really understood them. Later, upon "graduating" to the grade 4 Sunday school class, I got a Good News Bible from our church. I read that a lot more and had no trouble understanding it. Sometimes during the sermon in church I would read a few chapters out of this Bible. It was easy to read and easier to understand than the pastor!  (Hey, I was ten.) |
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| Dora Dueck MB Conference Staff Joined Apr 26, 2004 19 posts |
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Posted Sep 5, 2004; 2:04 pm |
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I've enjoyed reading this discussion; thanks Sharon for bringing it to our attention. I'd like to just add this: even as we think about and choose accessible Bibles for our children to read, I think it's important to remember that most children enjoy hearing (and will comprehend) at a higher level than they may be able to read themselves. So long after they know the fundamentals of reading, we should be reading TO them -- good novels of course and also the Bible. This reading could/should often come out of the better, more accurate translations, even the more difficult ones. Especially those with good cadence in the language. When our children were small, I was sometimes discouraged by the quality of the Bible story books I encountered, and found that reading "straight" from the Bible was a good alternative. I still remember one evening reading the entire narrative of the Joseph story to the kids in one sitting, and believe me, we were nearly all in tears at the end, it's such a powerful story. The biblical text has that spare but beautiful power in it (I guess because the Spirit lives in it! ) that sometimes attempts to dramatise or embellish or explain in "dumbed down" texts can destroy.
I realize I've veered off a little here - I do think the exchange of ideas is great. - Re. my own childhood - I cannot really recall my first experiences of reading the Bible, but we did have a strong family and church tradition of hearing the Word and being read to as children so that they kind of blurred into one. I tried to do the same with our children, though they will have to be the judges of their experience. They're all grown up now, sigh, and I miss our reading together.... |
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