It seems to me, as I work with the teenagers and children in my Bible classes, that Biblical literacy is at an all-time low. Children think that they know all about the Bible, but when we actually begin talking about the Bible, I realize that they have very little idea of the big picture.  The details that they do know are ones that they often don’t understand or don’t know how they fit into the big picture of the Bible. Kenneth Berding is a college professor, who in his struggle with same issues, has created a curriculum and kit to try to help teens and adults grow in their knowledge of the Bible and the big ideas that it contains.

I received, for review, a copy of the Bible Fluency Complete Learning Kit. This kit includes a DVD set of Bible Fluency teaching videos, an instructional guide to allow for notetaking from the videos, a workbook for deeper study, a set of personal-sized flashcards, a CD of songs to go help memorize the flashcards, and a copy of Berding’s book, Bible Revival. Although the kit is self-contained, there are additional downloadable worksheets and lesson plans on the author’s website.

The kit does not come with clear instructions for use. However, use of the kit is fairly self-explanatory, and those needing more detail can download the teaching curriculum online.  For my own personal use, I simply popped in the teaching DVD and watched the video for each section, taking notes in the instructional guide. Although the video length varied, they each averaged 20 minutes.

Then, I began learning the section of the songs that would go with that week’s book of the Bible and I would use the workbook to delve deeper into the materials for the week.  The workbook includes of more in depth study of different chapters and verses from the Bible to explain the song stanzas. There are questions included as you go throughout the study. The flashcards, of course, helped with learning the songs that would give me the key cues for the material in each book of the Bible.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the time that I spent with this material as I have found that I have learned more clearly themes of each book of the Bible and how to differentiate the major themes of the books in places where I have trouble remembering or differentiating like Paul’s letters and the Old Testament prophets. I think that this is a great and effective curriculum for both teenagers and adults who want to be more literate with the Bible. It would be a great use for a homeschool Bible survey curriculum for both families and co-op groups.  I plan on using pieces of this curriculum with my students in the Bible study co-op that I teach at, so my one wish is a classroom sized set of flashcards for use inside the classroom. That would make classroom use of these materials handy as you go through the lessons and songs. However, overall I really have enjoyed my time with this material and look forward to using it with family and with students in the future.

If you are using the curriculum as Berding designed it, there are twelve weeks each for Old Testament and New Testament, making this a 24-week course. It would make a great survey of the Bible for both middle and high school students, although I do feel that it is more appropriate for high school students because of the amount of reading involved if you are going on pace with the workbook work.

I also really enjoyed the inclusion of Berding’s Bible Revival in the kit. As a Bible teacher, I am keenly aware of the issues faced with Biblical literacy and teaching the Bible to children and adults. It was so nice to have a book to read to both let me know that I’m not alone in my feelings and to provide a practical help with suggestions for me to implement as a teacher.

-Product review by Rebecca Ray, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, May 2016