Have you ever participated in an inductive Bible study by Precept Ministries? If you have you know that you will need colored pencils for this study! This inductive Bible study kit comes with a CD and a workbook. It focuses on Genesis chapters 11-25, but there are a few other passages to help the students understand Abraham. There are observation sheets included in the book, which are the Bible verses from the New American Standard Bible.   Each student should have their own workbook. The workbook is three-hole punched for easy assembly into a three-ringed binder. The curriculum comes with a teacher's guide. The guide provides answer keys, discussion guides, scope and sequence, tests, and more resources.

It was designed for use in grades 6-12. As the students encounter common inductive words such as "cross-reference" or "context" there are little text boxes on the page for the students to be acquainted with the terms. One of the things that makes this inductive study more student-friendly is that there are additional graphics on the lesson page for the students to gather information from the observation sheet and then rewrite it in the empty graphic. For example, after reading Genesis 11 and 12 and marking "Lord" and "Abram" on the observation pages the students then wrote their finding in empty boxes in the lesson. That allows the students to absorb the information one more time. The students are told to look for the answers to the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How questions. They are taught to look for key words, and mark them in a distinctive way in the passage. Sometimes the book will tell them to mark a certain word with a certain color or symbol. After reading the passage and marking it up then the students are to answer some comprehension and application questions.

Our family has used the inductive Bible study books Discover 4 Yourself series for children in the past. They had a lot of interesting dialogue in the book and great inductive technique. This book is a good step between the children's books and the adult series. My kids and I appreciated that the Bible is included in the book so that all we need to gather for Bible time is our own individual book. My daughter liked being able to remove the observation pages from the book and put them side by side with the assignment. My kids love inductive Bible studies because there is always something to do. They grab their colored pencils and mark the key words. Then they re-read the passage and look for the answers to the question words. I like that they read, and re-read a passage to absorb more of God's Word. As a mom, I also like that I just have to find one book and not a Bible study book and a Bible.  

This study can be done by the student alone, without a parent. This was my only "con" as I really enjoy doing inductive studies with my children. However, as my children grow up into teens and then adults I do want them to transition from mom-driven study to independent study. This is a great in-between book. It is independent, but it is not designed for adults so the workbook has more guidance than an adult study. The questions have a little more guidance and not too many life applications. For my kids this was great because they enjoy studying God's Word and learning more about it but are still a bit young to look at their life and see similarities between their life and Abraham's life.

The inductive Bible study curriculum is a great addition to the Precept books.

Product Review by Maggi Beardsley, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, October, 2011