Your kids can learn how to study the Bible with these engaging James Inductive Bible Study Courses for grades K-12.
So excited to share the mission behind the Inductive Bible Study Courses resource: The Book of James. It is such a gift to teach our children how to study and interpret the text of Scripture and allow Scripture to speak for itself. Bible literacy is our goal. Here’s what you can expect from the James Inductive Bible Study Courses for grades K-12.
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What is the Inductive Bible Study Method?
The Inductive Bible Study Method is so named because of the way you interact with the text. In the inductive method, you are making obervations and then drawing conclusions from the passage, or finding the big idea.
Some of these observations might be:
- Key words
- Repeated ideas
- Compare/contrast
- Logic/argument
You’re starting from observation about the text (what does the text say?), then progressing to interpretation (what does the text mean?), and finally application (how should this change me?).
How does this differ from a topical study?
In contrast, a deductive approach to Bible study usually means that you are starting with a topic, a big idea, or a conclusion. Then, you’re studying the Bible to find passages that support this premise.
A deductive approach can work, if the premise is true. But, if you’re starting with a faulty premise, then the whole framework isn’t trustworthy.
Topical Bible studies are a common approach that use the deductive method. They can be helpful, but shouldn’t be all you use to study the Bible. This is because in a deductive method, you’re not really letting the text speak for itself. Instead, you are starting with a general statement, then looking for details to support it.
Studying the Bible in context
The Inductive Bible Study method also typically studies verse by verse in a complete context. Even better, with this method, you are encouraged to study whole books of the Bible at a time! This gives the best interpretation of passages, as you get a more complete view of what the author intended.
James Bible Studies for K-12
So if you would love to study through the book of James using a guided approach with the inductive method, then there are several resource options for your family.
- Little Fishes Bible Study – ideal for grades K-4
- Self Study Workbook – grades 5-12
- Video Lessons – grades 5-12 (includes the self study workbook)
- Family Bundle – grades K-12 (includes Little Fishes, Self Study Workbook, and video lessons)
Update! Our studies are now on Amazon. You can purchase beautiful PHYSICAL workbooks. Find them here:
James Little Fishes (K-4)
Self Study Workbook for James (grades 5-12)
James Little Fishes Bible Study
The Little Fishes Bible Study through James is intended to deep dive into key passages in the book of James. Every single verse isn’t covered, but your kids in grades K-4 will still get a gentle introduction to the inductive method.
This kind of study is setting the foundation for whole-book studies when they reach middle and high school!
I’ve been pleasantly surprised with my own kids’ ability to read and understand the text when guided through an inductive study.
Children at this age shouldn’t be relegated to simplified Bible stories and facts only. They really can learn to understand what the text says.
The Little Fishes Bible study also provides verse copywork practice and plenty of pages for coloring the fun “under the sea” characters.
A four-day week suggested lesson schedule is in the book; however, you can certainly take this study at any pace that fits with your family.
Best of all, if your older kids are studying through James, this Little Fishes component gives your younger kids the ability to also study through – allowing the whole family to have the same Bible study topic!
Want to try out Little Fishes without a big commitment? The SAMPLE Little Fishes is for YOU! It will give you immediate access to Weeks 1 & 2 of our James study. Best of all, there’s a coupon code in the download which will give you $5 off any James Bible study resource!
James Self Study Workbook
James Digital & Physical Workbook Options
We created the James Self Study Workbook for kids entering the middle school years all the way through high school (approximately grades 5-12). It is designed to walk students through the book of James paragraph by paragraph.
Digital Self Study Workbooks can be printed as many times as needed for your family!
Our Self Study Workbooks are now available on Amazon!!
What will students learn?
Students will learn how to use the three steps of the inductive method:
- Observation – What does the text say?
- Interpretation – What does the text mean?
- Application – What should be my response?
How many high school credits is this worth?
Included in the Self Study Workbook are two schedule options. If you want to count this toward homeschool high school Bible credit, then a 9 week (5 days per week) schedule will give your student 1/4 credit. See the suggested schedule for 9th-12th HERE.
However, this curriculum is totally flexible! Check out Gena Mayo’s review of our James curriculum and how her teens used this for over 27 weeks at a slower pace. So you could count this toward 1/2 credit if you take one semester or a full credit if you take closer to 30 weeks to complete.
This middle or high school level Bible course includes 3 projects which help your students deep dive into some theological topics from the book of James. Good news: grading rubrics and complete instructions are included to help the homeschool mom!
What’s the recommended schedule for middle school?
The second schedule option is for a 4-day-per-week study which is ideal for middle school students who may not be counting this toward credit, and whose families may have a 4-day homeschool schedule. One optional project will make this schedule last for 9 weeks as well. See the suggested schedule for 5th-8th HERE.
A separate Answer Key is available for the Self Study Workbook so that you can check your student’s answers.
All your student needs to study through James is this Self Study Workbook, a print out of the book of James (you can buy beautiful Illuminated Scripture Journals HERE), and colored pens or pencils for marking the text.
Want a FREE sample of the first 10 pages of the James Self Study Workbook? <<Click there!
Review from Heather of ThriftSchooling
Heather Vogler of ThriftSchooling.com was able to use our James Self Study Workbooks with two of her kids. This is her review of our resource.
If you are looking for your kids to dive deeper into Scripture, Abby Banks’ Inductive Bible Study on James is the perfect way to teach them how to study the Word of God on their own.
Growing up in a home where the Bible collected dust and was never cracked open, I still remember the first time I was introduced to the inductive Bible study method. A woman from church invited a group of teenage girls over to learn how to study the Bible. We would visit her home weekly, and using a book geared towards adults, we scoured through with assistance. I was intrigued. I loved the highlighting, the digging, the focusing on one verse for an extended period of time. Even though I wasn’t saved until college, I began to develop a hunger for the Word and had the skills for studying the Bible when I would later truly give my life to the Lord.
Now that I am homeschooling, I have been adamant that the Word of God is taught in our home. We memorize Scripture, read through the Bible, and focus on biblical principles throughout our day. Yet the one thing that I never implemented in our homeschool until now is the inductive Bible study method. This method means you investigate a specific passage of the Bible. You dissect it. You look at it in context. You then come to a conclusion of its overall message. So powerful.
Banks does an incredible job of reaching the heart of the youth. The study I personally used as a kid was not specifically created for kids, and having that available would have made it so much easier. Although an adult would gain so much from Banks’ study, it is specifically designed for kids. Through this study, you see that she has a genuine gift of being a teacher. She breaks the teachings down in a way that any student can understand. My higher schooler and middle schooler both worked through portions of this book and she broke the method down in ways they could understand. My high schooler benefited the most from this study since he is self-motivated. The workbook was easy for him to follow. He loved learning about who James was historically, as well as dissecting the words he wrote. This resource is a Christian homeschool must-have!
Heather Vogler, ThriftSchooling.com
The Old Schoolhouse Curriculum Review
Check out this review by Danielle Lenz for The Old Schoolhouse.
Overview
The James: Self Study Workbook by Abby Banks is a fabulous resource for young adults and teens who want to dig deeper into the word and better understand the Bible, book by book. This is a complete, inductive study of the book of James. To complete the study, you need the workbook, the text of James (this study uses the ESV translation, but you could use whichever you prefer), and colored pens or pencils. The workbook includes daily schedules, projects, summaries, and tips for marking your Bible to support your study. This 9-week study includes daily assignments that focus on observation, interpretation, and application. It also offers several different project options throughout the study. The 5-day schedule even qualifies for one-quarter of high school credit! The James: Self Study Workbook is available to purchase on Amazon for $30.
How it works
My 10-year-old son and I recently worked through the James: Self Study Workbook. My son spent time in his room each weekday, quietly studying his Bible and working through thought-provoking assignments that encouraged him to think deeper. The workbook includes two options for daily schedules. The first is designed for grades nine through twelve and follows a five-day program. The other is more appropriate for grades five through eight and follows a four-day schedule. Because my son is in the fifth grade, we chose the shorter, four-day schedule. On the first day of this workbook, we read the entire book of James together. From there on, he worked on this study entirely independently. Each lesson took about 30-40 minutes and focused on a different piece of the book of James by answering the questions “what does the text say?”, “what does the text mean?” and “how should this change me?”.
My daughters and I do many Bible studies together- but my son is much more independent and prefers quiet, reflective time on his own when studying the word. So I was pleased with how this workbook was clear and straightforward enough to allow him to move through it entirely independently. He enjoyed spending time on this inductive study and felt like it truly helped him understand what he was reading in the Bible. Sometimes it can be challenging to understand scripture, especially at a young age. This study assisted my son not only in understanding the words but reflecting on what they meant to him.
Recommendations
The James: Self-Study workbook is an excellent choice for students who enjoy quiet, reflective time independently studying. My son enjoys independently reading, writing, and contemplating big questions- so this was a perfect fit for his learning style! We were able to scale this workbook to fit my son’s comprehension level, as some of it was a little bit advanced for him, but I would highly recommend it for upper middle school through high school grades. Overall, this is a well-done, detailed study, and we will be ordering the next one!
Video Lessons
But maybe you have a student in grades 5-12 that would benefit from video lessons which walk through each lesson? Since the Inductive method is a visual method that includes marking the text, we’ve created video lessons as a supplement to the Self Study Workbook.
Your purchase of the Video Lessons includes a copy of the Self Study Workbook. Your student would complete the assigned markings and answer the guided questions through the passage. Then, he would watch the video to get some instruction and check his answers. Finally, the student would complete the lesson by finishing the application step.
Family Bundle
If you love the idea of studying through James as a family, then the Family Bundle is for you! This bundle gives you access to every resource for kids in grades K-12.
The Family Bundle for James Includes:
- James Little Fishes Bible Study (grades K-5)
- Self Study Workbook (grades 5-12)
- Video Lessons (grades 5-12)
A desire for increased Bible literacy is the reason we created these resources. So excited to hear how your family uses them and grows in the Word!
