How to Teach the Books of the Bible

image shared by holly

To best study the Bible, you need to know the order of the 66 books.  With the tips for teaching them found below, even preschool children can learn them. This Learning objective is found in the: 4 Year Curriculum (New Testament) 5 Year Curriculum (Old Testament) Sunday School Curriculum (Old and New Testaments)

Piggyback Songs

Piggyback songs give new words to familiar tunes. By singing the books of the bible to a melody they already know, children can more easily learn the books of the Bible. For example, in the videos below discover how I set the books of the New and Old Testaments to the song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Stars" for our preschoolers at church.  I suggest teaching the songs one slide at a time.  Read more song teaching tips here. 
 

  ABCJLM Old Testament Song

  ABCJLM New Testament Song

Old Testament Song   Original Source Unknown
Tune:  10 Little Indians

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,  (1 little, 2 little, 3 little Indians)
Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges, (4 little, 5 little, 6 little Indians)
Ruth, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, (7 little, 8 little, 9 little Indians)
First and Second Chronicles (10 little Indian boys)

Oh - Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,
Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Lamentations,

Oh - Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel,
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

Additional Song Ideas

Several song writers and groups have created fun songs to help children learn the order of the books of the Bible.  Here are a few options.

	30 Bible Songs and Bible Stories This CD contains both "The Books of the Old Testament" and "The Books of the New Testament songs.
	The Bigsby Show - Bible Books on You Tube
	Go Fish - Bible Book Bop Song
	Seeds of Truth (Vol.11)- #9 - Now We Know (Old Testament)
	Seeds of Character (Vol. 6)  - #12 - The Only Way (New Testament)

Books of the Bible Teaching Tips

Learning the books of the Bible isn't an easy task, but

1.  Repetition is key.  Work on the list in the car, in the bathtub, while swinging, at the dinner table, or during family time.  My kiddos learned the books (without a song) while riding in the car to school each morning.  

2.  Because some of the book names are hard to pronounce, break the hardest names into syllables to practice individually.

3.  It helps give the process meaning when you tie Bible stories with the books of the Bible.  For example:  Queen Esther with Esther, David and Goliath with I Samuel, Jesus with the Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

4.  For children who can read, create flashcards.  Click for a free option.

5.  Teach with Hand Motions 

Although most of the meanings behind the hand motions are above a preschooler's understanding, using hand motions is one more way to learn the books of the Bible. Hand motions reinforce the major theme of each book.  (Feel free to put together a fun program in which a whole group of kids perform the actions together.)  Reprinted by Permission

Old Testament Hand Motions              New Testament Hand Motions

6.  Break each testament into small groups and then focus on one small section at a time.  See the list below, which explains how and why the groups can be created.