Young Children, ages 3-6
Bibles
The Beginners Bible (6 and under)
God’s Story for Me (7 and under)
Jesus Storybook Bible (8 and under)
Developmental Considerations
Need simple, clear directions
Require routine and repetition
Learn through stories, songs, and family routines
Can articulate their love for God
Can pray
Can understand:
I belong to God’s family
God made me
God made everything
God is good
God loves me
God takes care of me
Parent & Mentor Helps
Average attention span: Ages 2 to 4 (2-4 minutes), ages 4 to 6 (from 5-20 minutes)
Remember that the Bible is more than a story, it’s a way of building and fostering our relationship with God
Share a brief prayer before you begin to acknowledge God’s presence as you read God’s Word
Tell the story
Encourage your child to point to the illustrations as they recognize different aspects of the story
Have your children retell the story to you
End with prayer
Keep it short
Watch for daily opportunities to revisit and reflect on Bible stores, concepts, and conversations that make application to “day to day” life and serve as a reminder that God is always present
Elementary, ages 7-10
Bibles
NIRV Adventure Bible (New International Reader’s Version, reading level 3.0)
International Children’s Bible, ICB (reading level 3.0)
Action Bible graphic novel
Developmental Considerations
Learn best by doing
Are learning to read and write
Have the ability to list in chronological order
Can name Bible books and read a bible reference
Have limited ability to reflect on spiritual meaning of Bible stories
Memorize a few key passages
Can grasp simple study of sacraments
Have the ability to engage in simple map studies and use of Bible dictionary
Can hold concrete images of God
Want to belong and please
Parent & Mentor Helps
Average attention span: 20 minutes or more
As they are able, have children read to you and affirm them as they do so.
Ask wondering questions about the story to help discover your child’s feelings about God. For example; “I wonder what Moses thought about God, when God spoke to him from a burning bush.”
Have children imagine being in the story. What would you smell, feel, taste?
Act out the story.
Draw a picture or use a variety of art materials to illustrate the story.
Have your child retell the story to you. If something seems out of place, resist the urge to correct them. Instead, ask them to explain their thoughts and then revisit the story for added clarification and self-discovery.
Middle School, ages 11-14
Bibles
New Living Translation, NLT (average reading level 5.1)
God’s Word Translation, GW (average reading level 5.1)
New Century Version, NCV (average reading level 6.4)
New International Version, NIV (average reading level 7.8)
Developmental Considerations
Are beginning ability to grasp abstract ideas in scripture
Are not satisfied by simple answers
Need challenging activities
Tend to describe God in human terms
Cling to faith attitudes of parents
Like to make own decisions
Need parents but want independence
Face a lot of peer pressure
Parent & Mentor Helps
Encourage children and youth to ask questions about the story. Ask them to share their thoughts about the questions before offering your thoughts.
Consider exploring these questions: What does this passage say about God? What does this passage say about people? What does this passage say about how to live, or how not to live? What is God saying to you? What do you want to say to God?
Explore praying the scripture (Psalms are a good place to start) or journaling to enhance Bible reading.
High School, Ages 15-17
Bible
New Living Translation, NLT (average reading level 6.3)
New International Version, NIV (average reading level 7.8)
New Revised Standard Version, NRSV (average reading level 10.4)
English Standard Version, ESV (average reading level 7.4)
New American Standard Bible, NASB (average reading level 6.3)
Developmental Considerations
Want to know what being a Christian really means
Have interest in other beliefs and faiths
Are able to take another’s point of view
May imagine God as a friend and advisor
May reject situations where failure is likely
Can move away from parent’s faith
Want to see faith reflected in the life of a believer
Are often influenced by friends in decision making
Parent & Mentor Helps
Consider how you are modeling Bible reading and prayer in your own life. Even though teenagers may try to convince you otherwise, young people pay attention to what you do as well as what you say. What you say carries more weight when you practice what you preach.
Remember, you don’t have to have all the answers. Consider using some of the helps below for working through a difficult text.
Bible Helps
Concordance:
Alphabetical index of every word in the Bible
Uses: If you can’t remember where a verse in the Bible is but you can remember a word from the verse you can look it up and find the verse location. It’s also helpful for comparing the use in scripture of a particular word. Try: BibleStudyTools.com Concordance
Commentaries:
Provide commentary on authorship, background, context, and grammar of the biblical text. Often include multiple potential interpretations of difficult passages. Most commentaries focus on one book of the Bible and examine each passage. However, there are also single volume commentaries that provide a more sweeping view and are less detailed. Uses: Can be helpful when trying to understand passages that seem confusing, use figurative language, or when trying to understand the historical context of a passage. Try: BibleGateway.com Commentaries
Word Studies:
Provide background and meaning, and examine use and context of the words in the Bible.
Uses: Helpful in understanding key words in a passage of scripture. Try: BibleGateway.com Keywords
Bible Dictionary:
Offers definition and description of people, places, and key words in the bible.
Uses: Helpful for expanding understanding of biblical words. Especially those not used today (e.g., “ephod” a sleeveless vest worn over a priest’s robe made with red, blue, and purple cloth, woven with gold). Uses: Helpful for expanding understanding of biblical words. Especially those not used today (e.g., “ephod” a sleeveless vest worn over a priest’s robe made with red, blue, and purple cloth, woven with gold). Try: Bible Dictionaries Online
Bible Maps and Charts:
Uses – Maps are helpful in showing geographically where a biblical event takes place, distance between events, and for mapping out the journey of a person in the Bible. Charts may include timelines, family trees, lists of judges, kings, prophets, teachings of Jesus, miracles, the apostles, etc. They are often helpful for understanding order, remembering persons and stories, or for finding passages that include a particular person or story. Try: Bible-History.com Maps or NTGateway.com Maps
The reading levels posted in this resource are based on grade in school, and are provided as a general guide. Reading levels use the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula. Individual books of each Bible may vary, with some being more difficult and others easier than the average grade posted.