Be Strong and Courageous

These pictures are the culmination of a lot of hard work!  Last week and this week the kids began the test taking skills.  Much of the Texas Bible Bowl test is on Scan Tron.  Some of the kids are young enough that they have never seen a scan tron and in the public school setting, scan tron is becoming old technology.  Many schools use an app to scan an answer key and then proceed to scanning student answers.  In any case, these kids need to know how to fill out a scan tron, how to manage their time and how to make an educated guess when they don't know the answer.    

To practice for these test, I have written practice test for my class, keep in mind these tests will cover all twenty-four chapters of Joshua, twenty-one chapters of Judges and four chapters of Ruth!  The sheer amount of information these kids have read and studied is amazing to me.  I get overwhelmed some days trying to write these tests out and I get to use the Bible for the answers!  The test for Texas Bible Bowl will be administered in five rounds with the older youth taking an additional Power Round test.  

The 7th-12th graders will take the Power Round which is a combination of all information presented in the text and is generally more difficult than any of the other rounds. All of the youth grades 3rd-12th will take Round #1 which is the Verse Find.  It is forty questions, open Bible and they will be given a phrase and need to locate it in the text.  For example, "leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her" and the kids will write in "Ruth 2:16.   The purpose of this round and most of the rounds is that the kids know the stories in the Bible and that they could find those stories again to teach someone else.  From the example above they learn the compassion Boaz had for the widow Ruth and Naomi, the importance of providing for the less fortunate and where to find that lesson for future references in life.  

Round 2 is the Fact Finder, it is also forty question, timed for twenty minutes and open Bible.  Many of the these questions will be 'which' or 'why' or 'how many' type questions.  Round 3 is Identification, also forty question, timed for twenty minutes and open Bible.  Many of the these questions will be 'who' or 'where' type questions.  Round 4 is Know the Chapter Headings and Events, it is closed Bible with 40 questions timed for twenty minutes.  This test gives a chapter heading like Samson Defeats the Philistine and the youth would identify via multiple choice that it occurred in Judges chapter 15.  Again teaching the kids the stories and how to locate them without wi-fi, smart phones, etc.  

The last round, Round 5 is Know the Chapter Quotations, again closed Bible and timed.  This round will give quotes from the passages studied, like 'be strong and courageous and do not be afraid.' The kids will need to know where to find it.  Many of the quotes they will be tested on with be passages of exhortation or words of God, again for the purposes of writing them on their hearts and the ability to refer to God's wisdom when needed in life. 

It still blows me away that these kids willingly study for six months to take a 250 question test, which most of them will not receive a trophy or an award.  But they do it knowing it is profitable in life and the draw is the power of God's Word.  

I thoroughly enjoy teaching these kids, I have no misconceptions in my abilities.  Every bit of the kids success is God magnifying what I have stumble through teaching them and strong moms and dads reinforcing the lessons at home!  But, I will yell and scream and make an idiot out of myself when any of the kids place at the beginning of next week! 

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  Joshua 1:9