Screen-Free Study Activities

In an age of technology where nearly everything is done on a computer, tablet, or smart phone (including writing this blog post), it is hard to set limits with screen-time. Our kids need to be able to use the technology, and they even need to use it to study for Bible Bee; but I am here to make a case that not all learning should take place on a screen, even when screens are readily available and convenient.

Following are some ideas for using "real" flashcards and a few other basic supplies to learn and review material for Bible Bee. We have always used these types of activities with our younger kids, and have found that they can be more effective than screen-dependent activities, helping our kids to learn the material with fewer repetitions. It is also fun to work together and, as a parent, I am able to quickly and easily assess what each of my children know well and what they need work on.

Flashcards

If you have listened to my Primary Prep Series, you will know that we use a lot of flashcards in our Bible Bee studying. So, it should be no surprise that this is what we use for screen-free learning. I use my own templates to create flashcards that I can print. Writing things by hand on index cards is super simple, but when I have multiple sets of flashcards to make, I am all in for saving time by printing them out.

I like to make double-sided sets and single-sided sets to accommodate different activities.

1. Daily Learning and Review

We start out learning with daily reading of the flashcards. I divide them into sections and a new section is added each week while older sections rotate through review. New flashcards are reviewed more frequently and older ones are reviewed less frequently. This is simple spaced repetition. I put together a schedule at the start of the summer so that everyone knows what to read/review each day.

 

2. Q&A Review

As a first step to assess what my kids have absorbed from their daily study, I will pull out a set of flashcards and quiz them. Sometimes we set aside a specific time for this, but often I do it at meal time when we are already sitting together at the table.

Make this more fun by turning it into a buzzer round. Ask a question and the first person to buzz in gets to answer. If they are right, they get a point; if not, the other player has an option to answer. This can also become a bit of tournament by letting the person who answers correctly stay at the buzzer, facing a new partner until they get an answer wrong.

3. Memory

This can be played with others or alone. We use a set of one-sided flashcards laid out on the table face down. Turn over two cards, if the term and definition match, then put them in your pile and take another turn. If the cards do not match, then turn them back over and try again.

4. Memory Race

For this activity I have two kids compete against each other, or I may be the second player if only one child is willing/ready to play. Place a set of single-sided flashcards face down on the table. Call "Go" and flip over your own cards, then find the matches as quickly as you can. The first person to correctly match all of their cards wins the round.

 For this one I will often split a set of flashcards, giving one half to each child. They may play a couple of times with their half, and then at some point they switch cards to get practice with the other terms. 

5. Match-Up

This is essentially a match-up worksheet without the worksheet. Put a set of one-sided flashcards into two columns—one with terms and the other definitions. Then move the definitions to the correct term. At the end I check my kids' work to make sure they got everything right. I remove correct matches and leave incorrect ones for them to correct on their own.

6. Matching Race

For this activity I put out a set of flashcards with either the term or definition facing up (you can use single- or double-sided cards for this). When I give the term/definition my kids will quickly find the correct card. If they choose the right one they put it in their pile and if it is incorrect they put it back. The person with the most cards at the end wins.

Games

The following games can be used to practice terms, cross-references, random access, or other information that you want to review. 

1. B-I-N-G-O

This requires BINGO cards which can be made for free on this website. I like to put the terms on the cards and then call out the definitions/questions. We sometimes use M&M's or marshmallows as "tokens" to mark off the squares that are already matched. This is a fun way to work on cross-references.

2. Go Fish!

Use a set of single-sided flashcards for this game. Deal seven cards to each player. Place the rest of the cards face down in the middle of the table for the draw pile. Take turns asking for the match to one card in your hand. If another player has the match, they give it to you and you take another turn. If there is no match, then the player tells you, "Go fish!" and you draw a card from the draw pile. Play until the cards are gone. The person with the most matches wins the round.

3. Skip Bo

Use a set of single-sided flashcards for this game. You will want to use a larger set as this will not work well with small sets of flashcards.

Place the definition cards face down in the middle of the table. Deal the term cards evenly between players. Each player should place their cards face down in their stock pile. To start the game, each person should take 5 cards from their stock pile to go into their hand.

Turn over the top 4 definition cards and place them face up around the pile.

For each turn, draw from your stock pile so that you always have 5 cards in your hand at the start of your turn. The player will have an opportunity to match a term from their hand or their reserve piles with one of the definitions facing up.

When a match is made, a new definition card is taken from the definition pile. 

The player may make as many matches as possible during their turn. If they run out of cards in their hand, they may draw 5 more from their own stock pile. The turn ends when the player no longer has any matches. They must discard one card from their hand, face up, into a reserve pile.

Players may have up to 4 reserve piles that may be stacked. However, if you choose to stack, you can only use the top card from the reserve pile.

If no one is able to make a match after going through all the players, then remove the 4 definition cards, place them at the bottom of the pile, and replace them with 4 new cards. Resume play. 

The game ends when the first person uses all of their stock pile and reserve pile cards.

4. Dutch Blitz!

Use a large set of single-sided flashcards for this game. Make a draw pile of definition cards. Deal the terms cards evenly between all players.

Start the game by turning over three cards from the draw pile. Players flip through their stock pile one card at a time. When they find a match with the definition piles they take the definition card and place both cards in their match pile. They must then turn over a new definition card. 

Play continues in this way until the first person uses all of their stock pile.

Dry Erase Boards 

1. Dry Erase Written Answers

Kids love dry erase boards, so I use these for many activities. I often give quizzes and have the kids write their answers on their dry erase boards. We will also lay out a few flashcards on one half of the board and write down the definition/answer next to it on the board.

We like to do a similar activity with all of our kids (across divisions). I will write a series of questions and give about 10 seconds for them to write their answers on their dry erase boards. Each person to get the correct answers earns a point. For fun we will sometimes pull up a video with Jeopardy music to play during the 10-second timer.

2. Dry Erase Match-Up

Just like the match-up activity above, this can be done using single-sided flashcards. Put the terms on one side of the dry erase board and the definitions on the other. Draw lines to match the term with its correct definition. I don't know what it is, but dry erase markers make everyone happy, so even though this is not a novel idea (none of these ideas are), it changes things up enough that it is still fun.

3. "Trivia" Questions

We sometimes write questions with multiple-choice answers and put them on our fridge. We give room for people to write in their answers, or just follow up at meal time. This is a fun way to encourage the kids to practice writing their own questions and provides a way to present the interesting things we are learning in our individual studying. 

Random Access Activities

Here are some activities that I did with my Primary-aged daughters this week. We are working on sequencing the individual verses for Genesis 1. The flashcards I use have the verse text on one side and the reference on the other.

1. Sorting 

We started by sorting the verse cards (without looking at the verse numbers on the back) into the correct day of Creation. 

2. Ordering 

Once the cards were sorted, the girls tried to put the verses from each section in the correct order. They checked their own work by flipping the cards over.

We also do this with single-sided verse flashcards and work to put the verses from an entire chapter in the correct order. Even my older kids will do this activity. 

2. Verse-Reference Match

For an added challenge, I gave each of my girls a few cards (verse text up). They put them on their boards and wrote down the reference next to each one. When they finished they flipped over the flashcards to see how many they got right. (This picture is after my daughter checked her answers.)

 

3. Random Access Buzzers

This is my teens' favorite way to practice recalling individual verses and references from the study passage. The kids will go head-to-head with another sibling, trying to be the first person to hit the buzzer and give the correct reference to the verse that is read. It is a fun and exciting way to test how quickly they can recall the study passage.

Just make sure you know the answer BEFORE you buzz in!