TRUTH 66: Homeschool Bible Drill

I am so very excited about this! Each year it is such a challenge to plan out our Bible memory work and actually stick to that plan. We never accomplish as much as I would like. This year our homeschool group decided to do a Bible Drill to encourage families to memorize Scripture and increase their knowledge in handling the Word of God. Using LifeWay's Bible Drill as a guide, TRUTH 66 was born! Year one is based on the verses of The Lifeway Bible Drill Red Cycle. TRUTH 66 is a guide for Christian families and homeschoolers to memorize the 66 books of the Old and New Testament, 25 verses, and 10 key passages, learn to do sword drills and book drills. Middle school and high school participants are encouraged to learn James chapter 1 in addition to the verses outlined below. We have created some fun printables that might be helpful in your homeschool. We are so excited for some friendly competition as we diligently hide God's Word in our hearts!

The purpose of TRUTH 66 is to:

·        Increase knowledge of the Bible

·        Develop skills in effectively handling God's Word

·        Memorize, in order, the names of the books of the Bible

·        Memorize selected verses and key passages

·        Provide an outlet of healthy competition for Homeschool families

·        Grant an opportunity to reward hard work and the commitment of God’s Word to memory.

TRUTH 66 can be used as a Bible memory plan in your own family or as a group. Here is more information if you are interested in doing TRUTH 66 as a group or competition: 

How does TRUTH 66 work?

TRUTH 66 consists of memorizing the 66 books of the Old and New Testament and how to find them (sword drills), committing 25 verses to memory, as well as 10 key passages.

TRUTH 66  Components: 

• Driver’s Licenses: In order to travel TRUTH 66, register your children and receive a driver’s license which will have their name, grade, and memorization material. There is also a place to put a picture of your child. This will serve as a check list that will need to be signed off on before they can participate in the GRAND PRIX.

• Road Map:  Your Road Map is the memory work for this years’ TRUTH 66 Bible Drill. This is available in a list form, as well as in "card" form. I printed the card form, laminated them, cut them out and put them on a key ring for ease of use. 

• GPS: No road trip is complete without a GPS! We need to see where we are and where we are going!  Each family can download and print a racetrack printable to track progress. As your child memorizes a verse or key passage, have them place a sticker on that space. Older kids can use the Road Map as a checklist.

• Pit Stops  Every 2 months the participants of TRUTH 66 will meet for a “pit stop.” In racing and road trips, pits stops are where you fuel up and check on your vehicle. Be sure you have all you need and are headed in the right direction. This will be a time when all of the participants will have a chance to practice for the Final Destination: TRUTH 66: GRAND PRIX.  This will be an excellent opportunity for your children to see how the GRAND PRIX will work, what is expected of them, as well as offering accountability for working on memorization!  You won’t be able to cram it all in the week before! Bring your driver’s licenses and your TRUTH 66 leaders will sign off on the verses and passages you have memorized. All verses and passages must be signed off on before you can participate in the TRUTH 66 GRAND PRIX.

Pit Stops will be as follows:

First Pit Stop:  Genesis – Ezra; Key passages 1-2; Verses 1-6

Second Pit Stop:  Genesis – Obadiah; Key passages 1-5; Verses 1- 12

Third Pit Stop: Genesis – 2 Corinthians; Key passages 1-8; Verses 1-18

Fourth Pit Stop:  Genesis – Revelation; Key passages 1-10; Verses 1-25

• TRUTH 66: GRAND PRIX  

        The final Bible Drill/Competition for TRUTH 66 will be the road to the TRUTH       

        66: Grand Prix !  All participants must have all material committed to memory to     
        participate in the Grand Prix, and have had their drivers licenses signed off on by your 

        TRUTH 66 leader (at the pit stops).  The participants depending upon participation 

        will be split into groups by age. Sample groups would be K-2 and 3-6, and then    

        middle and high school (if any). (This is subject to change depending on ages of  

        participants).

 THE TRUTH 66 GRAND PRIX: There will be several components of the Grand Prix. (This is modeled after the state Bible Drill of the Southern Baptist Convention)

• Books of the Bible drill:  K-2 will say one book at a time in order.  All other participants: The caller will call out a book of the Bible, the participants find the book, place a finger anywhere on the page and step forward. If they are called upon they must say the book of the Bible before the one called, the one called, and the book after the one called.  For example: Galatians. The child would step forward and if they are called on would say “2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians.” Here is a site to help with this: http://quizlet.com/6008325/bible-books-before-sword-drill-flash-cards/  The participant may not step forward until the caller calls “start.”
• Sword Drill: The participants will have an opportunity to put into application the memory of the books of the Bible. A passage of Scripture will be called out. Attention (participants stand straight, looking forward with Bibles by their side), Present Bibles (Bibles held in front of them with one hand on top, one on the bottom no thumbs or fingers over the sides of the Bible), the Call (at this point the passage is read, the participants repeat), Charge (the caller’s call to begin). When the participant has the verse, he must place his pointer finger on the verse and step forward. If called upon he must repeat the passage as well as read the first few words of the verse until the caller calls stop. The participant may not step forward until the caller calls “start.”  (K-2 will only need to find the book of the Bible).
• Memory Verses:  There are two components to the memory verse drill: the quotation call and the completion call. In the quotation call, the address is called out and if the participant can quote the verse he steps forward. If called upon, the participant quotes the verse with reference. In the completion call, the caller gives the first few words of a passage and if the participant can complete it he steps forward. If called upon, the participant will state the complete verse and reference. The participant may not step forward until the caller calls “start.” You are permitted 2 helps per verse before you are asked to step back. Each help counts as a “miss”. Winners are determined based on number of misses at the end of the drill.
• Key Passages: A key passage will be called. The participant will locate the key passage in his Bible, place a finger anywhere on the passage and step forward. A participant will be called upon and must state the key passage with the reference. The judge will then ask the participant to read from a verse within that passage. The participant may not step forward until the caller calls “start.”

*At any point a participant realizes he has made a mistake he simply raises his hand, waits for the judge to acknowledge him and steps back. For example they step forward and realize they have found the wrong book or passage. Or they step forward only to realize they do not recall the verse called. They can raise their hand and acknowledge their mistake before being called on.

How are winners determined?

The judges will tally helps and misses to compile a final score after all rounds. Winners will be selected based upon least number of mistakes.

What are the prizes? (this will be different per your group, but here is a sample).

Every participant that has his driver’s license signed off upon completion of the memory work will receive a medal. Medals will be awarded at the end of the year/graduation celebration. First, second, and third place cash prizes will be awards in each group. Amounts will be determined upon number of participants. Other prizes will be available as well based upon donations.

Family Hints and Helps:

Spread it out!***

Don’t procrastinate! Learn it as you go so there will be long term recall.  There are 66 books of the Bible, 25 verses to memorize, and 10 key passages. Spread them out! Plan to learn a verse a week, 3 verses a month and use the last week of the month to review all those you have previously committed to memory as review. There are 9 months and 10 key verses, commit one to memory every month with one month having an extra. Don’t try to learn all of the books of the Bible at once. Start with 2-3 at a time. When they have those committed to memory add one or two at a time. There are several songs out there that would help with this.

Play games: Remember those memory verse games from Sunday School as a child? Play is the best way for a child to learn. Make it fun!

Here is a video demonstration of a Bible Drill to get an idea of what it will look like.

http://www.lifeway.com/ArticleView?storeId=10054&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&article=bible-drill-basics

Printables:

TRUTH 66 Road Map (1 Page)
TRUTH 66 Verses (9 per page)
TRUTH 66 Driver's License
TRUTH 66 Racetrack Progress Chart