Teaching the Old Testament
Catholic Lessons on the Stories of Hebrew Scriptures
The Old Testament can be relevant, enriching and fascinating to young people today, when taught in the right light.
Adam and Eve, Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors, Samson and Delilah, Noah’s Ark, Daniel and the Lion’s Den, David and Goliath, King Solomon, – the Old Testament is full of fascinating stories.
These timeless tales have morals and lessons that are as important for young Catholics today as ever before.
If you’re teaching the Old Testament you can make the ancient scriptures come to life for your students with a little planning and creative thinking.
Explain the fantastic
When teaching children about the stories in the Old Testament, remember that our Catholic faith doesn’t interpret the Bible literally. For very young children, stress the moral of the story and don’t overstress our doubts that some of the details may not have happened exactly as they are written.
As children get older and begin to question the validity of the details in these stories, emphasize that we believe the stories are important enough that God wanted us to remember them, pass them on and learn from them.
We don’t believe that it’s important to put under a microscope whether or not a Biblical event actually happened as it is detailed. We believe these stories are in our Bible because they tell us something about God and how he wants us to live.
Give them a sense of time and place
Make a time line from about 2000 BC to present day. Mark on the time line when Jesus was born, when their grandparents were born and when they were born. As you discuss stories of the Old Testament, fill in when they were to have occurred. Seeing the material “in order” will give students a perspective.
Post maps – one of the Middle East in Biblical times and one of current day Middle East – so students can see the route of Abraham, the Jews’ flight from Egypt, the exile to Babylonia, and the vast expanse of the Roman Empire.
Make it relate
When teaching the Old Testament, try to relate it to something your students know. When telling the old stories, use modern language and discuss with your class what they think the characters were thinking and feeling in each story.
The Prince of Egypt movie was the story of Moses. Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat was the story of Joseph and his brothers. The Raiders of the Lost Ark movies are about Indiana Jones seeking the ark of the covenant, which held the original Ten Commandments.
Other Old Testament Bible stories have been popularized in movies. Veggie Tales videos bring many traditional Bible stories to life. Show your class the movies or videos and your students will connect with the story.
Let them see and feel it
Just like any lesson, showing your students something is far more meaningful than just telling them.
- Have your class divide into groups and act out some of the Bible stories. Bob Snook’s web site has hundreds of free scripts for Christian skits and plays, covering almost every Old Testament story. Many of them are for older children and teens, some are very funny, a few border on the unorthodox, but with your discretion, you can probably at least adapt them or get ideas.
- Offer a craft, something to make and take home, or anything hands-on that your class can do to reinforce the lesson.
- Don’t forget the taste buds! Let your class experience life in the ancient Biblical times by eating figs (or Fig Newton cookies), flatbreads or matzah, bitter herbs, and Lentil soup.
Suite 101's Denise Oliveri has some fun-packed Old Testament Bible Crafts, Noah’s Ark Bible Crafts and Bible Crafts for Toddlers.
