Your students remember to eat and drink every day, right? They remember nursery rhymes and their favorite songs, right? Memorizing scripture can be just as easy.
Memorizing Bible verses is not just something Christians do to pass time during Sunday School. It is a foundation to help children understand God's Word and hide it in their hearts. If we are serious about being Sunday School teachers, then we understand that by teaching children to memorize scripture is giving them ability to stand firm in what they believe and equipping them to recall what the Bible says in any situation that they are confronted with.
Learning scripture does not have to be mundane. It can be lots of fun and very hands-on. In fact, children learn best when they are able to move around and get excited about what they are taught. Hopefully, you will find some of these ideas useful in your classroom.
Erase-A-Word Method. Write the memory verse on the whiteboard and have the students read it aloud together. Next, erase one or two words from the text and have the children repeat the verse, filling in the blank word as they go along. Keep erasing one or two words each time, until all the words are gone. Have volunteers come up and say the verse before the class. It is amazing how quick kids learn memory verses this way.
Bible Footsteps Method. Trace your foot on a piece of paper. Make copies of the footprint so you have one for each word of the memory verse. Print each word of the memory verse on a footprint. Arrange the prints in a trail (in order), so that each child can step on the word and say it, whereas reading the whole verse while following the trail. You will want to tape the footprints to the floor so that they do not move as multiple children step on them. If you plan to use this memory verse in subsequent years, you can laminate them for durability.
Memory Verse Relay. Divide your class into two teams. Make yourself and one other person a team captain. The first child in each line must run up to their team captain and say the memory verse. If the captain says, "yes," because the memory verse was correct, that player runs back, tags the next person in line, and goes to sit down. If the captain says, "no," because the verse was incorrect, that player must go back, tag the next person in line, and get into the back of the line to try again. The first team with no players standing wins.
Bible Verse Scramble. Cut out four or five rectangles from a piece of cardboard (about 6 inches long and 3.5 inches high) and divide the memory verse up to fit on all the cards (Ex. Card 1 - Do not withhold good; Card 2 - from those who deserve it; Card 3 - when it is in; Card 4 - your power to act; Card 5 - Proverbs 3:27). Have the students memorize the verse by holding up each card in order a few times. When you think that most of them know it, lie the cards face down on a table, have volunteers come up to hold one of the cards, and have them line up. Pick a student sitting down to go up and reorder the kids holding the cards, so that the verse is in the right order.
Below are few other ways to encourage Scripture memorization. Feel free to print and use them, or modify them to fit a particular verse.
