Can your Bible students understand what they believe if they don’t know what many of the words they read in the Bible or hear at church really mean? Possibly, but it is a lot easier if they really understand the meanings of key terms. In our last post, we gave you a vocabulary list to get you started. But let’s face it. Memorizing words and definitions isn’t particularly fun. It can be fun though, with the right activities.
Here are some activities you can use to help your Bible students learn and practice key Christian vocabulary words.
- Graffiti Wall – Put up a large piece of paper to cover one wall or paint it with chalkboard paint. Encourage students to create ”graffiti” that can help them and others remember the meaning of key vocabulary words.
- Videos – Have students make short videos about vocabulary words you can share on a private site or have a fun viewing party featuring all of the videos.
- Vocabulary Jeopardy – Play Jeopardy using vocabulary words and their definitions.
- Word Wall – Make a word wall or use your graffiti wall. Give students points for using the words properly in a class comment or question. (If questioned, they should be able to give the definition in their own words.)
- Word of the Week – Remember those ”Student of the Week” posters at many schools? Create one for each vocabulary word containing the definition, the word used in a sentence, a synonym, an antonym and a ”photo” of the word.
- Vocabulary Taboo – This game has students describing a vocabulary word to others on their team. The twist? The words they might normally give as clues are ”taboo” – meaning they have to think of other ways to describe the word accurately.
- Vocabulary Social Media – Create fake accounts on poster board where the vocabulary word is the ”person” owning the account. Have fake Instagram or Facebook posts by the word, with things like status updates of a Bible verse the word was featured in, “photos” of the word in action, etc. Or better yet, have students create the status updates.
Have fun with it, but remember that understanding these words can improve their Bible reading comprehension and make it easier for them to understand and explain what they believe. It’s worth dedicating some class time to it.