Bible headlines to use for a classroom quiz for Key Stage 2

Martyn Payne

Introduction

We live in the age of the sound bite and the eye-catching headline, offering us short, snappy pieces of clever wordplay that sum up a news story, a company's ethos or a firm's product. Have you ever wondered what some famous Bible stories might sound like reduced to such headlines or sound bites? This quiz of ‘Bible Bites’ is a guessing game based on characters and stories from the Old Testament and could be used to begin or conclude a lesson outline on the Bible.

Preparation

You will need to enlarge the Bible Bites below onto A4 or A3 card and then put them up around the room. Groups could work as teams with the pen and paper within a pre-arranged time it to identify each hidden Bible character or story. Some may be a little obscure (and strained?) but hopefully fun. Others are very obvious!

Development

Explain the idea of the sound bite or catchy headline using some topical examples from the news or successful advertising. Can the groups work out which Old Testament Bible story or character the following refer to?

1. A seven-day wonder

2. The designer's ten-plates

3. Hair today, strong tomorrow

4. Sinai'ed, sea-led and delivered

5. One bite sinks all

6. Mane lion closures

7. Murder he wrote

8. Drop the dud, donkey

9. A dream come true

10. Walls, I scream at

11. Having a whale of a time!

12. Keep taking the tablets

13. We never clothe

14. No smoke with outer fire

15. Company afloat after liquidation

A simpler approach to the same game is to have two or more sets of questions and answers copied and given to teams to pair up correctly. Include a few false answers to confuse and test them!

Why not have a tie-breaker up your sleeve to occupy those teams that finish quickly – for example, can they think up some relevant New Testament sound bites about the life of the apostle Peter?

Here are the answers:

1. Creation
2. The 10 Commandments
3. Samson's story
4. The Exodus story (in reverse!)
5. The Fall from Genesis 3
6. Daniel in the lion's den
7. The story of Cain and Abel
8. The story of Balaam and his ass
9. Joseph's story
10. Joshua and the walls of Jericho
11. Jonah's Story
12. The 10 Commandments (again!)
13. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
14. Moses and the burning bush
15. Noah and the Ark