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: