Grade school age children are at one of the best ages to work on Scripture memory due to both their age level development characteristics and psychosocial stage.
Scripture Memory Verses for Grade School Children
Grade school children tend to have a greater sin consciousness so having them memorize a verse like Psalm 119:11 can provide them with motivation to memorize Bible verses. — “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Because grade-schoolers tend to see sin for what it is, this is a good age level to have them memorize verses that teach God’s plan of salvation through Jesus. Verses used in what has come to be called the Romans Road to Salvation can be a great starting place in helping them personally understand but also for those children who have put their trust in Jesus to have a tool to share with others.
Here is a different way to present these verses — Romans Road Signs. When you click on the image to the left, you will find commentary on the signs.
Want a version of the above without the verses to use as a cue card?
— Romans Road Signs – JPG image
— Romans Road Signs – PDF (2 to page)
Also, grade school children are at an industrious psychosocial stage as they begin school, get into sports, etc. Because of this drive and energy to successfully accomplish things, this age will tend to work at memorizing unlike other ages. This also affects verses we choose for them to memorize.
Help for Teachers of Grade Schoolers Desiring to Implement Scripture Memorization
Begin with a broad understanding of the age level traits. Get help with this in the Age Level Characteristics: Grade School Module.
Learn more about how this stage of development affects memorizing God’s Word in the Scripture Memorization Discipleship Guide. This resource includes suggested Bible verses appropriate to the above-mentioned sin consciousness and industrious psychosocial stage of grade school children. It looks at other age levels as well and explores benefits and means of memorizing Scripture, along with some tips.
Learn to build positive attitudes toward memorizing God’s Word with this resource: Effective Scripture Memorization Worksheet Download
Hi, I found your posts on Grade School Children and Scripture Memory and Preschoolers and Scripture Memory to be very interesting. My husband and I have a 15 month old son, and we cannot wait to start memorizing Scripture with him! But I have wondered how and where to start when they are so young. Thank you for your insight! My husband actually developed a website to make Bible memory easier called ScriptureTyper.com. It started as a side project just for our family but is now one of the very top search results on Google for Bible memory. Anyway, just wanted to pass that along as a free resource that may be of interest to you. Blessings in your pursuit of spreading God’s Word! McKenzie
Hello, McKenzie. It will be some time before your 15 month old son will be able to utilize a program like your husband developed which requires typing in the verses. Scripture memorization can begin once the child’s vocabulary begins to pick up. Start with very simple phrases from a verse. As the child grows those phrases can be built upon. Parents have a much better opportunity than Sunday School or other church Bible teachers for helping children memorize Scripture. The repetition of Scripture in every day settings, done in a variety of ways, is what Deuteronomy 6:6-9 calls on parents to do. When that happens, children are memorizing without even realizing it. Scripture memorization can naturally happen without being done in a contrived way. — “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
Add to that, the impact of parents and church Bible teachers working together, reinforcing the verses that are being learned!
Which version of the Bible should be used for kids to memorize?
Some will use a children’s Bible like the NIrV (New International Reader’s Version). Whereas the NIV (New International Version) is written on about a 7th grade level, the NIrV is written on about a 3rd grade level. (If you click on the above link it will take you to one of our affiliate stores.) Personally I prefer to use the version most widely used by your church such as what is used in the sermon. That way as children grow, they will have memorized the verses most like they might hear them elsewhere. The key is to make sure they understand the meaning behind any words or phrases with which they might not be as familiar. Also, remember that they don’t have to memorize the whole verse until they are developmentally ready.