I once asked a group of Primary children what was in the Bible. One three-year-old said with certainty, “And it came to pass!” While the adults in the room struggled to avoid laughter, I realized that this preschooler had pointed out an important lesson: No child is too young to benefit from scripture reading. Certainly, the Sunbeam hadn’t understood every word of the scriptures his parents had read to him since his birth, but clearly, he was listening to at least some of it. The scriptures were making an impression in his growing heart and mind. Primary teachers should remember that it is as important to read directly from the scriptures when teaching children as it is when teaching adults.
Nursery children probably don’t need to be encouraged to bring their own scriptures, since they are under the age of three. When teaching your lessons, be sure to include at least one scripture. You needn’t read all of it-sometimes a sentence is enough. Mark the scripture verse in red, and before reading it, tell the child that the scripture is in the Bible, in the book of Matthew, for example. Then give the reference while holding up the Bible and pointing to the verse you will read. Then read it directly from the Bible, even if you have it memorized. By doing so, you teach the children to be familiar with the scriptures and to know that it is a source of our information.
When children move into the regular Primary program, they should be encouraged to bring their own scriptures to class. In addition, teachers of non-readers may want to bring scriptures from the library. Have one book for every two children. Before class, prepare a simple bookmark with the scripture reference written on it. Place it on the appropriate page in the scriptures you brought.
When it is time to use the scripture, hand out the scriptures and show the children how to carefully open the book to the page marked. Then go around the room and place the child’s bookmark under the verse, and show him how to hold it there. Now give the complete reference, explaining what it means. “I’m going to read James 1:5. This is in the Bible, in the part called the New Testament. The reference is in chapter 1, verse five. Here is what it says.” Then read it to the children. Have them put the books under their chairs when they are done. At the end of class, let each child have one of the bookmarks. While they color it, you can mark the pages of the scriptures children may have brought from home. Encourage them to share the scripture written on the bookmark with their families.
Once children can read, they should be bringing their own scriptures Send regular notes home to the parents asking them to either provide them, or to help their child borrow them from the library. You might want to take the children to the library one day (after arranging in advance with the librarian) and teach them how to check out and return books. Ask the librarian to discuss how to care for them. At the end of each class, remind children who have borrowed books to return them.
Plan in-class reading in advance. Look at all the scriptures you need to present. If some depend on good reading skills or an emotional presentation, plan to read it yourself. Notice which scriptures are easiest and shortest to read, so you can call on less-skilled readers. Know which of your children read well.
If you have older non-readers and want to use a lot of scriptures, use the pass-it-on technique. Hand your scriptures to the first child. Tell the children they may each read one verse. If they don’t want to read, they may simply pass it on to the next child. Teach children to be kind when poor readers make the courageous attempt to read aloud and never tolerate unkindness.
Be sure to teach children the language of the scriptures. Choose one or two words from the verses and write them on the board. Teach the children how to read the words. I have even used this technique with preschoolers. We had a word of the day, written on the board and then sent home on a file card. I wrote the word one letter at a time as those children who knew their letters
called them out. Then we sounded out the word. I told them what it meant if they didn’t know, and since it came from the lesson, they learned about it all day. Throughout class, I would point to the word and ask what it was. I sometimes repeated important words, and by the end of the year, some of the children had learned to read those words, since they practiced them at home. Explain words like “thee” and “thou” as well. Remember that they are not learning scripture words in school. It is up to the parents and Primary teachers to teach those words, so that children will become personal scripture readers.
Try to share several scriptures with your children each week. Show them how much you love the scriptures and help them to develop that same love.
Removable Book of Mormon Scripture Stickers, Part 4
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