Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Lectio Divina with Kids: Printable Resources


Lectio Divina, or "Divine Reading" as time praying with Scripture, is a priority in my classroom. I use this beautiful prayer technique weekly with my 6th-8th students, and I love the flexibility and potential it presents us. Personally, Lectio has really helped me add depth to my time reading and praying with Scripture and I firmly believe that it can be used with any age as well as bear fruit both individually and in groups.

I posted a year or so ago about the graphic organizer I use to introduce and reinforce Lectio Divina in my classroom, but the more I teach, the more I'm learning tips and strategies to guide students who learn and communicate in varied ways. I still have my original chart hanging up, but often add notes around it on the white board and a couple of weeks ago added these additional resources, which are the ones I will leave up once the students are used to referring to them.



One strategy that has worked well to explain the difference in the steps is using simple symbols:
Lectio- Read- Hold up the Bible- Read to understand
Meditatio- Meditate- Point to your head- Think about how the passage connects to your life
Oratio- Pray- We talk to God
Contemplatio- Contemplate- We listen to God (this one is the most over simplified, but you can't exactly show a visible example of Contemplatio)
So the pattern Read- Think- Pray- Listen is an easy guide for them to remember, and I think makes Lectio Divina accessible even to preschoolers. I've attached a printable below that might be helpful for younger students.

For my middle schoolers, they have the steps memorized, but to hold them accountable and to slow them down, I have them journal a little bit about each step. It's certainly not a requirement for praying Lectio Divina, but helps adapt it for classroom use. We often talk the about the passage together, hitting on Lectio and Meditatio. The students then write down a few reflections and move on to Oratio and Contemplatio individually.

While it is something they are capable of doing, I also know it's not easy, so I try to support (especially the 6th graders) with some prompts. I finally got them all typed up into nice printables instead of just scrawls on our board. ;)

The individual page is great to tuck into their Bible or folder where they work on their Lectio Divina reflections- especially for students who are having a harder time with the concept, or you can cut it into fours to use as cue cards. There is also a set with the same info each on a full page, which works great for mini posters in your classroom.



I hope that these resources help you feel equipped to share Lectio Divina and deeper prayer in Scripture with your students and children! Here are all the printables for you to use:


Click here for the Visual Cue Lectio Divina Cards:

Click here for the Lectio Divina Journal Starter cards:
 Click here for the four 8.5x11" mini posters:


And for a couple of other posts about Lectio Divina, click on the following photos.

Go to this post for both a filled in and a blank graphic organizer about the steps in Lectio Divina:

And this post for these simple Lectio Divina bookmarks, including recommendation for praying Lectio Divina in groups:

15 comments:

  1. This is a great resource - thank you for sharing! I would like to implement this in our children's program and with the discipleship group I lead.

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  2. Thank you! We recently used Lectio Divina in our bilingual family program for a closing prayer. What blew me away was how QUIET the room with 60+ people (including antsy kids) was, when the Spanish speaker and I were going back and forth in English and in Spanish, doing the reading three times in each language. Do you have a printable available that uses the "Read, Think, Pray, Listen" wording, or that was just a suggestion of another way to think about it? Thank you for all these resources.

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  3. An excellent resource to help my class. Thank you and God bless.

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  4. I am using your Lectio Divina prompts and questions for my second grade classroom. I appreciate you sharing these resources.

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    1. I teach 3rd graders can you give some tips how you use this with younger kids?

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    2. I teach 3rd grade. Can you give more details how you do this with younger children?

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    3. With 3rd graders, I would choose a very short passage, even 1-2 verses, or a story that they are already familiar with. Read it outloud slowly, preferably with a copy in front of each student as well. Then let them read it to themselves.
      Hang up the Visual Cues shared above, or draw your own on the board, or use hand motions as you do each step:
      Lectio- Read- Hold up the Bible- Read to understand
      Meditatio- Meditate- Point to your head- Think about how the passage connects to your life
      Oratio- Pray- We talk to God
      Contemplatio- Contemplate- We listen to God
      Follow the pattern Read- Think- Pray- Listen.
      1. For the Lectio step, ask if there are any words that they need clarified. Ask them to share a favorite phrase or part. Read more than one time slowly.
      2. Meditatio- Read the passage one more time. See if they can connect the passage to their lives. Ask what the overall message or lesson might be. Have them close their eyes and imagine Jesus reading the passage or being present when it happens, even using their five senses. (What do you see? What do you hear?)
      3. Oratio- Pray with the children, keep it simple while connecting it to the passage. "Dear Jesus, thank you for being our Good Shepherd. Help us to always follow you closely. Teach us to listen to your voice."
      4. Contemplatio- Give the children the opportunity for silence, even a minute or two, to listen to God. Encourage them to ask Him a question, to tell Him they love Him, and then to be still.
      3rd graders are certainly capable of writing a quick reflection, journaling response, or picture and caption if you would like them to reflect on their own after your group conversation.
      Hope that helps!

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  5. Thank you so much for sharing this! I am using it with my class and it's great. God bless you!

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  6. Wow, thank you SO MUCH! This is so incredibly helpful! I love this method of study and prayer. It is so much more than an intellectual exercise and I really want to teach my kids how to connect with God and hear His voice, not just read about Him. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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  7. In your classroom - do you use the sunday reading with your students?

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    1. Yes, I have used these resources for prep for the Sunday Readings, and that is where I would recommend you start! They are also great to use as prep for an upcoming school Mass using the daily readings. Currently, I don't use them for Sunday Mass prep, but use them in connection to our school virtue program, matching a Scripture reading to the virtue we are studying. They can be used in lots of ways!

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  8. I was given 1 hour notice to teach a CCD class and quickly googled and pulled up this page! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RESOURCE!!!

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