Bible
Tony SilvaDeeper Roots
Discovering a Christ-Like Character
http://www.deeperroots.com
$28.95 for Teacher’s Guide, $19.95 Student Edition.
Deeper Roots Publications offers an enviable range of Bible study products. Discovering a Christ-Like Character is a good example of the thoroughness and the richness of way they cover a given topic. We can only touch on the depth of Deeper Roots in this space, but the comments below should give you a picture of what can be done with this curriculum. I encourage you to download some of the sample lessons on the Deeper Roots Website to get a first-hand feel before you order.
Take a Deep Breath
The teacher’s manual is about 340 pages of lesson plans, teaching suggestions and resources. It may seem overwhelming at first, but the guide is well organized, easy to follow and adaptable to your unique situation. Several resources are recommended to support the curriculum. Most of these are not “required”, to get the most out of Deeper Roots but you may want to check them out. Operation World, for example may be available at your local library or your church’s missions office. Other resources are required, such as the Matthew DVD, available from the International Bible Society or the Deeper Roots Website. As with any curriculum, you need to consider all of the other materials you’ll need to round out the program – before you order and well before you sit down for the first lesson.
“World Perspectives” features appear at the beginning of each lesson providing a profile of an unreached people. Another resource worth considering if you want to dig deeper into world perspectives is The Unreached Peoples, Praying through the window III, available on the Deeper Roots Website. The peoples introduced in this curriculum aren’t always nations you consider when think about the mission field. The Uyghur (Wee-gur) people of China are introduced in Lesson One. In Lesson Six, you meet the Bhotia people of Bhutan, a small country in the Himalayas between India and China. Learning about these peoples is a healthy stretch and a prayer challenge for those called to pray light into a lost world.
The “Memory Challenge” is reminiscent of the Navigator’s Topical Memory System with one or two weekly memory verses keyed to the lessons in the guide. If this is a new concept for you, the Teacher’s Guide has a page of tips for effective memory and review.
Journaling
Journaling is a key feature of the curriculum, and it can be a stretch for a junior high boy to stare at a blank page wondering what to write. This is a good place to strongly encourage you to get the Teacher’s Guide if you decide to use this curriculum. The questions and activities that appear in the Student Edition are covered in the Teacher’s Guide in a “wrap-around” style with teacher’s notes, suggested grading rubrics and discussion questions based on the material your student is reading. It is a good idea to introduce the child to the concept of journaling in his or her devotional time so it won’t be a shock when it comes up in a course like this. If you stay ahead of your student – or if you’re teaching the course – you’ll be prepared to shepherd balkey boys through the journey of journaling and writing.
Quibbles & Bits
The Student Edition has all the appearance of being a self-paced independent learning tool, and it could be a great one. However, what we discovered is that an independent learning approach doesn’t do Deeper Roots justice. If you choose to take an independent learning approach, or if you want to use Deeper Roots as a “springboard” to help teach personal devotions, journaling and memory discipline to your junior high student, take the time to follow his or her progress and discuss the lesson questions regularly. The Teacher’s Guide is a gold mine of ideas for presenting the material in the Student Edition. If you’re teaching Bible at your co-op, consider the Deeper Roots series for your group – especially if you have junior high aged students.
Deeper Roots is at its best as a teaching tool. That is its greatest quality, but for many families, it could be its greatest liability too. Discovering a Christ-Like Character, the Deeper Roots product we reviewed is targeted to young men and women in the 7th to 9th grade range. If your children do Bible time together and you need an age-integrated curriculum, check out other resources or find a similar study for the little ones on the Deeper Roots Website.
That being said, this one is an easy to use overview of Christ-like character (fruit of the Spirit) that can be adapted for the little ones while their older sibling uses the Student Edition to dig for “Deeper Roots”.
Posted by Tony Silva on Tue, February 24, 2009.
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