Frequently Asked Questions
The Biggest Story Curriculum (General)
What Biggest Story Curriculum products are available?
The complete Biggest Story Curriculum is available as a box set
and PDF download.
Individual print volumes of the curriculum are also available, as well
as standalone activity and coloring books. (Note: all curriculum
content, including activity and coloring pages, can be found in
The Biggest Story Curriculum Box Set.)
What resources are designed to be used alongside The Biggest Story Curriculum?
The curriculum is designed to be used on its own, but lessons can be
supplemented with a number of resources, including
The Biggest Story Bible Storybook;
The Biggest Story Posters,
and The Biggest Story Verse Cards.
What does The Biggest Story Curriculum aim to achieve over its course?
The curriculum aims to introduce children ages 6–12 to the big
story of the Bible in a more formal environment, such as a classroom or
school setting. No matter what timeline the lessons are used in,
children will walk away from the lessons having grown in their
understanding and appreciation of the overarching story of Scripture
from Genesis to Revelation.
How dependent is the curriculum on The Biggest Story Bible Storybook by Kevin DeYoung?
The curriculum lessons and the chapters in the storybook are based on
the same Scripture passages, but the curriculum is not dependent on the
storybook. To present the Bible passage for each lesson, you can either
read from the Bible, read from
The Biggest Story Bible Storybook,
show the animated videos (which are based on the storybook), or read
from The Biggest Story Posters.
Is The Biggest Story Bible Storybook included with the curriculum?
The Biggest Story Bible Storybook content is not included in
the 6-volume set. Both
The Biggest Story Bible Storybook
and The Biggest Story Posters
include the full Bible stories by Kevin DeYoung and are available for
purchase separately.
How is the curriculum structured?
The curriculum lessons walk through the big story of the Bible, starting
in the Old Testament. There are 52 lessons from the Old Testament and 52
lessons from the New Testament.
How long will it take to work through the complete curriculum?
Depending on the desired pace and schedule, it should take 2–3
years to complete all 104 lessons in the curriculum.
What are the different components of each curriculum lesson?
Lessons are divided into three broad sections: Read, Teach, and Engage.
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The Read section contains the following components: A prompt to read
the Bible passage and Before the Lesson preparation tips (5 minutes).
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The Teach section contains the following components: The Big Picture
introduction (5 minutes), Tell the Story presentation (5–10 minutes),
Teach the Story script, and Gospel Connection summary.
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The Engage section contains the following components: Discuss the
Story conversation guide (10 minutes), Activities (10–15 minutes),
Memory Verse, and Crafts (10–15 minutes).
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There is also a coloring page and activity sheet available for each
lesson. These pages can be downloaded for free from TheBiggestStory.com
or copied from volume 6 of the curriculum set.
Can lesson plans be customized for different time durations, age ranges, and class sizes?
A major strength of The Biggest Story Curriculum is its modular
design, which allows teachers to pick and choose the components they'll
use based on the age of the students, specific educational goals, or
available time. (The curriculum contains
sample lesson plans
offering examples for different time durations: 30-, 45-, and 60-minute
class times.)
Can one lesson be used over two different class hours (e.g. Sunday school and children's church)?
Yes, because each lesson is already broken up into modular sections, it
can easily be covered using two class hours. This may require that
teachers fill extra time with snacks, supplementary activities,
discussion time, or play time.
Who created the curriculum?
Crossway partnered with award-winning artists, pastors, curriculum
developers, Sunday school teachers, animators, and software developers
to create The Biggest Story Curriculum.
Can I use this curriculum for my entire K–5 children's ministry?
This curriculum was designed with children in kindergarten through fifth
grade in mind. To engage the children at their respective levels,
teachers are encouraged to consider the age of their class when telling
the story and asking questions. The activities and crafts in each lesson
are broken up into two age ranges: K–2nd and 3rd–5th.
Can I reproduce the coloring and activity pages for each lesson?
Yes. Coloring and activity pages are also available as free downloads at
TheBiggestStory.com.
Does the curriculum line up with the yearly calendar and holidays (i.e., are there lessons related to Christmas and Easter during those seasons)?
No. The curriculum is not organized around the yearly calendar, so it
can be started at any point during the year.
Can I jump around in the curriculum, or do the lessons build on each other?
While individual lessons were written as self-contained units and may be
used at any time, depending on your group's needs, the curriculum's full
value is enjoyed when it is taught linearly. The Bible's overarching
story of redemption develops progressively from Genesis to Revelation,
and this curriculum is designed to help children learn more about that
development.
How do the animated videos relate to the curriculum and the storybook?
The animated videos, narrated by Michael Reeves, feature the full text
of the stories contained in The Biggest Story Bible Storybook
by Kevin DeYoung.
What options are available for playing the videos?
You can either stream the videos or download them for free from the
website. If you want to watch the videos offline, you'll need to
download them first.
Can I download the videos?
Videos will be available to download as they are released. Once all
videos are complete in 2024, they will also be available for purchase as
a DVD.
Can I watch the videos offline?
Yes. All videos are freely available to download from TheBiggestStory.com.
When will all the videos be available?
35 story videos are available on TheBiggestStory.com as of June 2023. As
videos are completed, they will be added to TheBiggestStory.com, with
all 104 videos being available in 2024.
Is the curriculum designed to be used with a specific Bible translation?
No, users are free to use whatever Bible translation they prefer, but it
should be noted that all quotations featured in the curriculum are from
the English Standard Version.
Will the theological approach to the content fit with my church's / denomination's beliefs?
The content in The Biggest Story Curriculum is not overtly tied
to a specific denomination and should fit well with everyone who loves
the Bible and recognizes that all Scripture bears witness about Jesus.
Are there any images of Jesus in the curriculum / suite?
Some stories within The Biggest Story Curriculum include
pictures of Jesus. The illustration style shows that these are not meant
to be depictions of Jesus as he really was on earth. Instead, the
artwork used here recognizes that Jesus is indeed the main character of
the Biggest Story.
Church Use
How many curriculum sets will my church need?
We have developed a
purchasing guide
to help churches, schools, and families decide what materials are
required and in what quantity.
If each teacher is equipped with the volume they're teaching, why does the classroom need its own set?
One set in the classroom is the starting point for each group. If you
don't buy a volume for every teacher or volunteer, or if your church is
very small, there should be a common set available in each class. A
classroom set is also helpful when substitute volunteers fill in,
someone forgets a book, or a pastor wants to review the curriculum.
How much advance preparation is required for each lesson?
Plan to spend at least 5–10 minutes reading and meditating on the
weekly Bible passage and another 5–10 minutes reading through the
Teach and Engage sections before each lesson.
Are the lesson plans reproducible?
Yes, pages of the print curriculum volumes can be copied and
distributed to teachers and volunteers, or users can purchase the
curriculum PDF
for convenient distribution. Both copies generated from the print
volumes and the PDFs are shareable up to 25 times.
Is the curriculum available digitally?
Yes, the curriculum is available for purchase as a
downloadable PDF.
How do I equip teachers with the curriculum lesson plans?
There are a few options available for providing lesson plans to
individual teachers. We have developed a
purchasing guide
to help churches and schools decide what option works best for them.
Home Use
Is the curriculum suitable for a homeschooling context?
Yes. The Biggest Story Curriculum can be used as a homeschool
resource. We have created a
lesson planning guide
that provides example schedules adapted for the homeschool context.
Website
Do I need to create an account to access content on TheBiggestStory.com?
Every week one lesson will be freely featured that will be viewable to
all visitors. Users will need to create a free account to access free
printables for every lesson. In 2024 we plan to launch a subscription
service that will enable registered users to access full lesson content
on the website.
Can I plan my church's children's ministry calendar on the site?
Yes, this will be a feature offered in the subscription service,
launching in 2024. Administrators who have subscribed to a church
account will be able to plan and order lessons week by week and push
that schedule out to teachers and volunteers on their church account.
Will there be a Biggest Story app?
We are planning to launch a web-based subscription service for churches
and other groups in 2025. By signing in to a group account, users will
be able to access all lesson content and scheduling features.
