E: William Tyndale and the English Bible

Welcome! The following is the 5th in a series of 24 lesson plans, Learning the ABC’s through Literature, the 1st year. It was written especially for classroom use within a homeschool co-op, and was designed to teach the alphabet, over the course of a school year, using classic childrens literature. The books are primarily taken from the Five in a Row Curriculum by Jane Lambert, with several others added as well. The plans were designed to give just a little bit more, so it could be more usable within a classroom setting. Teachers questions, printables, craft ideas, classroom handouts, etc are included within all the lessons. This is geared towards a K-1st grade class. If you are interested in something similar for older children, the Learning through Literature series is a more developed concept of this same idea, geared towards 1st-3rd, and also uses mostly Five in a Row books. You can find it here, Learning through Literature, the 2nd year.

E: God’s Outlaw: The real story of William Tyndale and the English Bible

This was a good good time with the class. This lesson goes deep into the cost that is often paid when men fight for truth in a dark world. I wasn’t sure how our class of 4-6 year olds would follow, but they loved loved loved this book. If you’ve never seen this one before – it is one you will read over and over again. The pictures are excellent and the lessons deep. This is a sad story, and a glorious story. Tyndale spends his entire life given to the cause that all men may understand the scriptures in their own language. While he didn’t live to see his prayer fully answered, within a year of his death, his prayer was answered, and to this day, we all reap the benefits of his work and prayers.

If you’re following along with the curriculum, this book should end up sometime right at the beginning of October, right around the same time that the first English Bible was publishes (1535) and when Tyndale was burned at the stake, (1536).

What do I need:

English Bible
Hebrew/Greek Bible
Alphabet Stamps, Rubber Bands, Ink Pad, Paper
Letter E Handwriting Sheet (printable version here)
God’s Outlaw: The real story of William Tyndale and the
ENGLISH Bible

Introduce the Book

Begin the class with a Bible on your lap.
Show the Bible, and begin a discussion with these questions:
What is the Bible? (God’s word to us)

Has anyone memorized any verses in the Bible? For Sunday
school? Or with your parents? (Honor your father and mother, for God so loved
the world)Explain that, even as young children, they can open up the Bible and read, “when I am afraid I will trust in God” (Psalms 56:3)… and even though you’re only 5
and 6, you can understand that, right?

But – what if I say.. ***

“ni hao, ni hao ma?” (hello, how are you – in Mandarin)
or “bonjour, coma cava? (hello, how are you – in French)
or “hola! Coma estas? (hello, how are you – in Spanish)
Or what if I said,
“bonjour. Adjoudhui, je voudrais parler de la Bible. Tu comprend? (hello, today i would like to speak of the Bible)

***I used these phrases because I was familiar with them. Feel free to use any languages you know, or look up a few simple phrases online. The point to make here is to use a foreign language to illustrate that when we don’t understand what is being said or spoken, how can we know God’s heart?

And this was the problem.

Introduce Hebrew / Greek Bible** – can you understand this? And how can I
follow God if I can’t read the Bible in my own language? **If you have or can borrow a Hebrew / Greek Bible, this would be a great illustration to show the class how the languages looked different, even the letters different – so they more fully understand that no one understood the Bible.

William Tyndale wanted the Bible in English. Wanted ALL
people to be able to understand the Bible. He said, “How can the people love God and follow Him if they don’t understand his word? God meant for his word to be read and understood. And so this is where our story begins.

Read the Story

Take a few breaks throughout the story to tell this class, “this is going to be a sad part, but there is a glorious ending.” At the end of the book, reemphasize, “Did God answer Williams Tyndales prayer?” Do you think God is going to richly bless Mr. Tyndale for his work and labor and life lived for him?

Some dates to know/reference:

October 4, 1535 – First full English Bible published

October 6, 1536 – Tyndale burned at the stake

Introduce the Printing Press with a Neat Craft:

If you can get your hands on some alphabet stamps for this, they work really well. A stamp will illustrate the point, but alphabet stamps really add something to the illustration.

Johannes Gutenberg Printing Press – was pretty special. In the late 1400s, Mr Gutenburg invented something pretty special. Let me show you how it worked.

Take one of your students names. Have he or she write out their name. This is often tedious job, especially at 4,5 and 6.

Have them write it out a few times, on a chalk board or in front of the class. Ask the student how it felt to have to write their name so much? Was it tiring? Did it take a long time?

Now, make a stamp out of the letters in the students name. You can do this by binding the individual letters together with a rubber band.

Then offer them the stamp, and tell them to write their name 5 times. Ask the student – was it easier? Faster? Of course. So this is what the printing press did for books. Lots of different books, but one of the first books that it was used for was the Bible.

Offer all the students time to make their names in stamps, as time permits.