As Christian school teachers, we want to help our students develop a Christian worldview. An effective way to do that is using enduring understandings that help connect the part of God’s world that they study with God’s Word.
 
Here are 31 sample enduring understandings used in secondary English at Christian Academy in Japan:

1. A Christian speaker seeks to serve her neighbor/audience.
2. All truth is God's truth.
3. An author's personal values and ethical beliefs shape the worldview presented in his/her writing.
4. An identity rooted in God allows for the flexibility to listen carefully to others.
5. As God's creatures, we exist within nature in a special role as stewards; a role that is often neglected or distorted.
6. As image-bearers, we're responsible to seek out and listen to the stories of others so that we can better understand the world we live in, and better understand ourselves.
7. Because people are in the image of God, we are creative, communicative truth-seekers.
8. Being made in God's image means that we must learn to communicate to the best of our ability with a variety of audiences.
9. Belief systems set the precepts from which we live our daily lives and understand the world around us.
10. Christians must act whenever and wherever human dignity is disregarded.
11. Comparing motivations and actions of literary characters from different historical eras reveal man's sinful nature.
12. Creation was designed to function according to God's design and those patterns are still visible despite the fall.
13. Defects in society are directly related to the defects in human nature.
14. God created people to exist in shalom: flourishing in right relationship with God, others, creation, and ourselves.
15. Greed affects everyone, regardless of racial, gender or financial positions.
16. Humans long for restoration and search for transcendence.
17. Humans make sense of the world around them through various art forms, including narrative.
18. Knowing grammar helps us learn other languages, giving me opportunities to restore shalom by increasing understanding of, collaboration with, and responsibility for the neighbors I am to love, regarding both salvation and justice.
19. Knowledge implies responsibility. (If you know a biblical principle, it should make a difference in how you live.)
20. Leaders set the pattern for the whole group, leading to sin or to righteousness.
21. Nature is part of the created order, worth caring for but not worth our worship.
22. Personal belongings and riches do not bring satisfaction; satisfaction lies in being content with what one has.
23. Reading and talking about literature helps humanity understand how to restore what is broken in the world.
24. Romantic love is a good gift from the Creator that has been twisted by the Fall, but can be redeemed through Jesus and restored by his followers.
25. Seeking God's perspective in the midst of chaos brings cosmos and heals the human tendency to escape or blame God in the midst of chaos.
26. The same disregard for humanity that allows for slavery also allows for much more common-place problems like gossip & bullying.
27. Though fallen creatures, we're significant because we bear the image of God.
28. Truth is not relative; the basis for truth can only come from God and His Word.  
29. Understanding God's nature offers a healing response to the problem of evil and suffering.
30. We are called to care for and develop culture--Knowing how to engage information is part of this cultural mandate outlined in Gen. 1:26-28 and 2:15-25.
31. We are fallen and incapable of achieving God's standard of goodness (perfection) on our own. Our instinct itself has been corrupted, and our "natural" drive is to satisfy and serve ourselves.

Question: What’s 1 enduring understanding you can use to help your students connect God’s world and Word?

At Christian Academy in Japan, we’re excited about using the Understanding by Design framework to foster student understanding of God’s world and Word. David Marshall, high school math/science teacher, reflects on using Understanding by Design:

I am a more enthusiastic teacher than I used to be. Mathematics and science are courses traditionally loaded with content and light on connection to anything. I have been increasingly dissatisfied with this. Understanding by Design has given me the tools I need to turn this situation around.

The six facets of understanding have helped me to see what I really want my mathematics and science students to "get" by the time they leave my class. I especially like the facet that looks for how the students gauge the relevance of what they are learning to the world in which they live.

Focusing on enduring understandings has helped to weed out some content that has been there just because it is in the textbook. I now deal with what is really important and do not get tripped by extraneous detail. For example, our geometry course has often dealt with some obscure properties of quadrilaterals. They are interesting to mathematicians, but not necessary in a 9th grade course. Once we understood that measurements with quadrilaterals were more important, we only did that material. This left us time to deal with proportions and trigonometry in more depth, something we knew was important but had consistently not managed to reach in one year.

Mathematics and science do not have great track records with Biblical connection either. Adding an enduring understanding about, for example, how the extreme order of the periodic table supports the existence of a Creator and Designer of the universe, makes me address this and similar issues. The students then have a real connection to what they learn in Bible.

The whole Understanding by Design process has also helped my partner teacher and me plan effectively together. We have common goals, we have common assessments, and we have 47 students who are much more engaged in science classes than I have seen for a long time! We are hopeful that some of them will take their interest in science, combine it with a solid Christian worldview and impact the world of science for Jesus.

At Christian Academy in Japan, we’re excited about using the Understanding by Design framework to foster student understanding of God’s world and Word. Kim Essenburg, high school English teacher, reflects on using Understanding by Design:

Through their study of English, I want my students to understand that God created a good world so that we could enjoy it and participate in developing its potential. I want my students to understand that in this fallen world, God calls us to join Him in working to restore peace and justice. Language helps us all understand God’s truth and communicate it to others. Understanding by Design has helped me focus more effectively on helping students actually attain those goals. 

In English 10, my students hone their thinking, writing, reading, and presenting skills as they grapple with world literature. I want them to connect this content with enduring understandings based on biblical principles they learn, for example:

1. Human search for belonging is ultimately fulfilled in God (Ps. 90.1; Phil. 3.20; Heb. 11.8-10, 13-16). —short story unit
2. God calls us to join Him in His work of restoration (Mic. 6.8, Isa. 1.17, Jer. 22.16, Hos. 6.6 and note, Matt. 23.23). —Cry, the Beloved Country unit

It is exciting to see students make real connections between the content we study and the Bible. Here’s an example of what I mean, taken from an essay on Camus’s short story “The Guest”:

“In contrast to what Camus and Daru experienced, there is inherent meaning and moral guidelines in life given by God—a conclusion based on a Biblical principle. Truth, which is God’s teaching, is apparent everywhere…(New International Version, Romans 1.20). In fact, the truth of the only God is accessible…(Acts 17.20). We must learn what God’s truth is and apply it to our lives because as Daru understood, human wisdom is faulty…. Humans must establish God’s truth as their anchor and base their decisions on his truth, which may not yield the obviously ‘good’ consequences in this life, but are right because they are part of God’s perfect will.”

Articulating enduring understandings ensures that I’m focusing on what I really want students to know. Asking essential questions helps me engage the students with the enduring understanding. And as I use backward planning, I design the assessment and teach the content and skills that I know will enable students to perform well.

You want to more effectively help your students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches. So, you want to deepen your own understanding of the connections between what your students study and what the Bible teaches.

Question: How can you do this?

Answer: By identifying 3 things:

1. What your students study.
2. The Biblical principles that naturally connect to what your students study.
3. The connections between what students study and the Biblical principles you identified.

Question: Can you give an example of what this looks like?

Answer: Yes. In the interview below, Kim Essenburg (English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan) thinks about her introductory unit. Kim identifies what her students study, Biblical principles that connect to what her students study, and the connections between what her students study and the Biblical principles she identified.

What do your students study?
Kim: In my introductory unit, my students study literature selctions from around the world, including:

1. Allende, Isabel. “Writing as an Act of Hope.” Contemporary Chilean author describes her vision for literature in South America to undermines totalitarian regimes, tell truth, and help people love each other better.
2. Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. From “Nobel Lecture.” Winner of the 19XX Nobel Prize for literature, whose fictions depicting life in Soviet prison camps first raised the world’s awareness of human right’s abuses, describes his vision of how world literature promotes human understanding and undercuts lies and violence.
3. Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings.” Well-known short story by the Colombian winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for literature. Using his signature magical realism style, Marquez critiques society by the various reactions to a storm-battered angel marooned in a small village.
4. Narayan, R.K. “Like the Sun.” Contemporary Indian writer explores in a short story form whether it is possible, or even good, to tell the whole truth all the time.
5. Confucius. From The Analects. These aphorisms have shaped Chinese culture for over 2000 years.
6. Hillary, Sir Edmund. “The Final Assault.” New Zealander conqueror of Everest describes the final ascent with great attention to detail, describing the difficulties of his assistant, and Hillary’s own arrival first at the peak.
7. Norgay, Tenzig. “The Dream Comes True.” Hillary’s guide and assistant describes the beauty of the mountains and asserts that he and Hillary were equal partners, helping each other, and arrived at the peak together.

What Biblical principles naturally connect to what your students study?
Kim: I’ve identified 4 Biblical principles:

1. Because people are made in the image of God, they are creative, communicative truth-seekers.
2. God charges us with developing the potentials of creation, including language and culture. This is called the Cultural Mandate.
3. All truth is God’s truth: truth people can deduce from creation as well as truth God reveals in scripture.
4. The Bible is the clearest revelation of God’s truth, the touchstone for all other truth claims.

What are the connections between Biblical principles and what students study?
Kim: What helped me identify the connections was listing the Biblical principles and then writing down the connections between that principle and a given literature selection. Here’s what my notes look like:

(1) Because people are made in the image of God, they are creative, communicative truth-seekers.

1. Allende: Began her first book as a letter to her grandfather (communicative). In this essay she tells how she seeks to communicate the truth of Chile’s history (truth-seeker) through her novels (which use magical realism—very creative!).
2. Solzhenitsyn: Communicates in a speech the importance of writers from all countries in communicating truth to unite people and defeat violence (something he has modeled in his fiction).
3. Marquez: Uses magical realism (very creative!) to explore the truth of how people work, why novelty (spider girl) and position (doctor, priest) exercise more influence than spirit (angel).
4. Narayan: Creatively explores in fiction some effects of truth on social interactions.
5. Confucius: Sought to find and communicate the truth of what makes society work well.
6. Hillary: Wanted to communicate to the world his version of the truth of his conquest of Everest.
7. Norgay: Wanted to counter Hillary’s version and communicate his own.

(2) God charges us with developing the potentials of creation, including language and culture. This is called the Cultural Mandate.

1. Allende: Magical realism is one such potential of language closely associated with South American culture. She talks about the importance of writers and books on her continent, the opportunity to use all media (“not only the cultivated language of academia but also the direct language of journalism, the mass language of radio, television and the movies, the poetic language of popular songs and the passionate language of talking face to face with an audience”) to challenge injustice and untruth.
2. Solzhenitsyn: Power of language to tell truth and counter violence.
3. Marquez: A well-known example of magical realism (see 2.a.).
4. Narayan: Can the power of language to tell truth be overused?
5. Confucius: Power of language to affect people: Confucius’s analects affected Chinese, in fact, most of Southeast Asian, culture for more than 2000 years.
6. Hillary/Norgay: Communicate the beauty of creation we’ll never see, the heroics of human actions we’ll never do.

(3) All truth is God’s truth: truth people can deduce from creation as well as truth God reveals in scripture.

1. Allende: Writes to reveal truth; to counter the mass media that “promote a colonialistic culture, which justifies the unjust organization of the world as a result of the legitimate victory of the best—that is, the strongest. They lie about the past and about reality. They propose a lifestyle which postulates consumerism as an alternative to communism, which exalts crime as achievement, lack of scruples as virtue, and selfishness as a natural requirement.” Writes ultimately so that people will love each other more.
2. Solzhenitsyn: Writes to reveal truth, to counter violence. Aligns with Biblical values of truth, justice, responsibility for our fellow humans.
3. Marquez: Reveals human hypocrisy, self-interest, blindness. Aligns with Biblical
4. Narayan: Explores complex human relationship to truth.
5. Confucius: Understands a lot about ethical behavior.
6. Hillary: Creation is factual, measurable. People are amazing.
7. Norgay: Creation is awe-inspiring! People need each other. The record should be set straight.

(4) The Bible is the clearest revelation of God’s truth, the touchstone for all other truth claims.

1. Allende: Aligns with Biblical values of truth, justice, beauty, love, and insistence on the existence of hope. I admire her strength; it is knowing that God has redeemed the world and will one day restore it that gives me reason for hope and strength to continue working for truth, justice, beauty, and love in the midst of a world that often seems without hope. Questions: What does she mean by truth? Love? What is her basis for hope? Does she ever lose hope?
2. Solzhenitsyn: Truth is powerful and important, words are significant in preserving and communicating it, loving our neighbors as ourselves is furthered by understanding our neighbors through their writers. “Mankind’s salvation lies exclusively in everyone’s making everything his business….” In terms of ultimate salvation, this is not true: Only the atoning death of Jesus could redeem mankind from the effects of the fall, including personal faults, structural injustice, a marred nature, and eternal separation from God; yet we are saved not for our own good, but to do justice and love mercy, to love our neighbors as ourselves, to be our brothers’ keepers. Question: What does he mean by salvation? Will telling truth alone bring this?
3. Marquez: Childlikeness is extolled in the Bible—the humility, honesty, trust on one not caught yet in the adult illusions of independence and importance. Question: His powerless angel and silly priest—are they symbols of the institutional church in South America (the Bible often critiques institutionalized religion) or of the heart of Christianity?
4. Narayan: Truth can’t be divorced from love. Question: How does one discern the relationship?
5. Confucius: Aligns with Biblical values of obedience, humility, respect, integrity, honesty, and reliability; similarity to many verses of Proverbs. Questions: What is the value of women? When should authority be challenged? How do you know?
6. Hillary/Norgay: Many verses in Psalms portray the majesty of the mountains at proclaiming the even greater majesty of their Maker. People are given the charge to care for creation, but this has too easily been interpreted as a self-interested dominion. Questions: Does “conquering” a peak make one fall down in worship at the feet of its infinitely more majestic Maker, or does it confirm one’s own power and pride? How do we relate to creation? To the Creator? And how do we manipulate language to show ourselves in a better light and others in a worse?

Your turn: Identify 3 things:

1. What your students study.
2. The Biblical principles that naturally connect to what your students study.
3. The connections between what students study and the Biblical principles you identified.

Target Biblical perspective. Deepen your understanding of the connections between what students study and what the Bible teaches. Today.

To get an idea of how your teachers can more effectively help students what they study and what the Bible teaches, complete the following assessment (download). Next, use your assessment data to develop action plans. For each statement below, circle the appropriate rating. Use the following scale:

4: Consistently • 3: Usually • 2: Sometimes • 1: Rarely

Worldview: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Articulate Biblical answers to the big questions of life.
___ Explain the creation-fall-redemption-fulfillment/restoration framework.
___ Articulate a Christ-centered philosophy of education.
___ Articulate the implications of a Christ-centered philosophy of education.
___ Articulate that the target is students understanding and then applying a Biblical perspective to the course content and skills, and ultimately to their lives.
___ Articulate what student understanding and application of a Biblical perspective is/is not.
 
Department level: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Develop, document, and explain a Biblical perspective of their academic discipline(s).
___ Develop, document, and explain content and skill standards/benchmarks.
___ Articulate a Biblical perspective of the content and skills they teach.
___ Develop, document, and explain enduring Biblical perspective understandings.
 
Unit level: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Design and ask effective essential questions.
___ Document and teach students Biblical content.
___ Document and teach students skills.
___ Design and give a variety of quality formative and summative authentic assessments.
___ Use rubrics to clarify expectations, assess student learning, and provide feedback.
___ Give students specific, timely feedback.
___ Use assessment data to modify instruction.
 
Lesson level: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Use effective lesson plan models.
___ Use effective instructional strategies.
___ Identify and meet student learning needs.
 
Collaboration: To help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, my teachers…
___ Participate in professional learning communities that set student learning goals.
___ Participate in professional learning communities that provide support, encouragement, and accountability for achieving student learning goals through mentoring, coaching, and group interaction.
___ Contribute to a bank of quality instructional materials.
___ Lead Biblical perspective workshops for other teachers.


Now, ask yourself 5 questions about the data:

1. How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
2. What’s encouraging/discouraging about the data?
3. In terms of helping teachers help students make connections, how would I prioritize the 5 areas?
4. What can I do to address the area I ranked #1?
5. What will I do?

Target Biblical perspective. Help your teachers help your students connect what they study and with the Bible teaches. Today.


* This self-assessment is based on a set of Biblical perspective teacher training standards.

As a result of getting a Christ-centered education, we want our students to love God with their minds. So, we want our students to develop a Christ-centered worldview. One way to do to this is by having our students experience a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum:

• Guaranteed: All teachers at a given Christian school teach specified Bible content in each subject they teach.
• Viable: All teachers have sufficient instructional time to teach the specified Bible content.
• Biblical perspective: The specified Bible content is formatted as Biblical principles. Each Biblical principle is supported by at least 3 Bible passages.
• Curriculum: The specified Bible content is documented in the curriculum.

To move forward on developing a Biblical perspective curriculum, you’ve reflected on 5 key questions:

1. Regarding developing a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum, what are the opportunities/problems?
2. What’s your stakeholders’ perspective of a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum?
3. Where are you/your school in terms of having a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum?
4. Regarding developing a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum, what’s your/your school’s level of motivation?
5. To develop a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum, what do you/your school need to keep doing? start doing? stop doing?
6. Next question: How would you/your school develop a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum?

 
Here are responses from Christian educators like you:
 
Teacher: Here are some thoughts on how I would develop a guaranteed, viable, Biblical perspective curriculum.
 
Step 1: Make sure all the teachers know how to accurately Biblically integrate. This may include teacher inservices to help teachers develop Biblical thinking regarding the subject areas. Sometimes Christian teachers do not have very developed Biblical perspectives on their subject areas. Workshops may include worldview training (perhaps a book study on James Sire's The Universe Next Door) as well as training on how to develop integrated unit and lesson plans. This should also include developing a list of key Biblical principles that should be covered somewhere within the school year, or going through a previously developed list of key Biblical principles.
 
Step 2: Have teachers develop curriculum guides with Biblical integration points that include identified Biblical principles for each unit.
 
Step 3: Have teachers make sure the assessments also assess for Biblical principle understanding.
 
Step 4: Develop a scope and sequence of Biblical integration principles to make sure that key principles are not left out or over instructed. Make adjustments in the curriculum guides where needed.
 
This is no short process, and I would imagine it would need to be structured into some kind of long-term planning. I think a key component in this is allowing sufficient time during working hours to develop this. That could include after school meetings, scheduled teacher work days, etc. The administration will really have to be on board and be passionate about this getting done. I imagine that once teachers get going, they will really enjoy teaching from a Biblical perspective. Developing a guaranteed, viable, Biblical perspective curriculum will really help teachers and students to see things the way God does. The ultimate goal being that people will live as man was designed to live, giving glory to God.
 

Curriculum coordinator: Here is what I see as a series of action steps that need to take place for us to establish a viable and replicable Biblical perspective curriculum:

1. Adopt the creation-fall-redemption-restoration motif as the framework for the Biblical perspective standards and benchmarks.
2. Develop departmental standards for implementing the creation-fall-redemption-restoration framework.
3. Use the department standards to develop Biblical perspective grade-level benchmarks.
4. Develop and implement assessments to determine student performance on Biblical perspective standards and benchmarks.
5. Analyze assessment data and use the findings to set goals for improving student performance on Biblical perspective standards.
6. By department (or other grouping that would make sense given the data), determine instructional strategies that would improve student learning on the Biblical perspective standards. Implement instructional strategies as a department.
7. Measure results over time, and make needed adjustments on a routine basis throughout the school year (at least the end of each semester).
8. Review curriculum on a 5-year plan for making major revisions to the curriculum and/or assessments used to measure the Biblical perspective standards.

Teacher: Our school has a culminating assessment for seniors where they research a global issue, articulate a Christian response to it, and engage in a project that addresses that issue. This is a great expression of what we hope our school's education has equipped kids to know, be, and do. 
 
To take this assessment to the next level, we need to make sure our curriculum in grades 9-11 systematically prepares students for this senior assessment. 
 
In terms of a Biblical perspective curriculum, we would need to develop and teach a scope and sequence of Biblical principles in all subjects in grades 9-11. To do this, teachers would need to:

• List issues addressed by senior assessments in the last couple of years and identify the Biblical principles that address those issues. (Students should not have to be originating these principles; they should have been taught them in a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum.) 
• Look at this list of Biblical principles, seeing which principles naturally fit in their courses or subject areas, and incorporate them into their courses.
• Teach these principles, give assessments, and use assessment results to further develop a scope and sequence.

In short, we would focus on our senior assessment in order to develop our "starter" Biblical perspective curriculum. Then, we would expand it.


Close the Gap Now: Developing a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum is an aggressive, yet achievable, goal. Just as there are different ways to do curriculum, there are different ways to develop a Biblical perspective curriculum. In other words, there’s no 1 right way to do it.
 
Here are 10 possible action steps:

1. Cast the vision for students developing a Christ-centered worldview through experiencing a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum.
2. Set a schoolwide SMART goal regarding students connecting Biblical principles to what they study. For example: By June 2013, 90% of students will score at or above standard on connecting Biblical principles to what they study, scores being taken from classroom assessments.
3. Listen to stakeholders about what they think about developing a Biblical perspective curriculum. Then, address their concerns.
4. Make using the curriculum to help students develop a Christ-centered worldview an operational priority.
5. Define what having a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum means for your school. For example, if your school uses standards and benchmarks, it means that all subjects would have Biblical perspective standards and benchmarks and that teachers would assess the Biblical perspective standards and benchmarks.
6. Do a needs analysis, for example, determine where your school is in terms of having a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum. Determine what you need to keep doing, start doing, and stop doing. Determine the training your teachers need. (Reviewing Biblical perspective teacher training standards might be useful.) On a scale of 1-10 (10 being really motivated), rate your school’s level of motivation. If it is below an 8, take steps to raise it to an 8.
7. Collaboratively develop a schoolwide action plan regarding a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum.
8. Have teachers start small. For example, have teachers adding 1 Biblical principle to a unit map, designing an assessment for how well students can connect what they study and that Biblical principle, and teaching a lesson to prepare students for that assessment.
9. Over time, have teachers add Biblical principles to more units and subjects/classes. Then, use a framework (like creation-fall-redemption-restoration) to analyze all Biblical principles. This will help you find gaps, make revisions, and eventually develop a scope and sequence.
10. Ensure that all Biblical perspective standards and benchmarks are taught and assessed.

 
Again, there’s no 1 right way to do this. The point is to develop a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum and get students experiencing it—the point is not to write a plan for developing such a curriculum.


*This blog entry addresses Biblical perspective teacher training standard #4: To help students love God and impact the world for Him, teachers develop a curriculum that targets students understanding and then applying a Biblical perspective to course content and skills, and ultimately to their lives.

You want your students to connect what they study and what the Bible teaches. You’re clear on what your students are studying. You’re not as clear on what Biblical teaching connects to what your students are studying.
 
Question: How can you determine what Biblical teaching connects to what your students are studying?
 
Answer: By reflecting on 5 questions. As a result of reflecting on 5 questions, you’ll determine Biblical teaching that connects to what your students are studying.
 
Here are the 5 questions:

1. What are your students studying?
2. Which 1 or more items from the list below naturally connect to what your students are studying?: God, people, morality, death, history, creation, fall, redemption, restoration, loving God/neighbor, caring for creation, making disciples, being part of the Church, respect/disrespect of authority, sanctity of life/murder, sexual purity/promiscuity, private property/theft, truth telling/bearing false witness, contentment/covetousness, servanthood/selfishness
3. What does the Bible say about the 1 or more items that connects to what your students are studying?
4. So, what 1 or more Biblical principles connect to what your students are studying?
5. What 3 or more Bible verses support a given Biblical principle?

Question: What does using these questions look like?
 
Answer: Here are Kim Essenburg’s responses. Kim teaches English 10 at Christian Academy in Japan.
 
(1) What are your students studying?
Kim: They’re studying self-realization, human potential, and social obligations as depicted in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.
 
(2) Which items from the list below naturally connect to what your students are studying?
Kim: Well, self-realization, human potential, and social obligations fit in the category of “people.”
 
(3) What does the Bible say about “people” that connects to what your students are studying?
Kim: God made all people. All people have worth. He gave us gifts, and we should use these. We should work to understand what gifts God has given us, and we need to do this while maintaining our obligations to love and serve others.
 
(4) So, what 1 or more Biblical principles connect to what your students are studying?
Kim: Secure in her worth in God’s eyes, the Christian follows Jesus' example of service, humility, and submission.
 
(5) What 3 or more Bible verses support that Biblical principle?
Kim: I Corinthians 10:24 and 12:12-26, Mark 10:42-45, Philippians 2:1-11, and Ephesians 5:21.
 
Target Biblical perspective. Reflect on 5 questions. Help your students learn the Biblical principles that connect to what they study. Today.
 
*To learn more about identifying Biblical principles, click here.

Targeting Biblical perspective is vital. To get an idea of where your academic department is in terms of targeting Biblical perspective, reflect on 8 questions:

1. What’s God’s purpose? 
2. What’s wrong?
3. What difference does Jesus make? 
4. What will you do?
5. What does your department target?
6. Specifically, what does your department want students to connect?
7. To help students make connections, what essential questions does the your department ask?
8. To help students make connections, what assessments does your department give?

Below, Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, reflects on her academic department by responding to 8 these questions:

(1) What’s God’s purpose?
Kim: God made language so we could communicate with Him and with others. Language helps us love God, love our neighbor, and take care of God’s creation.
 
(2) What’s wrong?
Kim: Because of sin, we use language to exalt ourselves, harm others, and grab power. Because of sin, we miscommunicate.
 
(3) What difference does Jesus make?
Kim: Jesus, the Word, used words to proclaim God’s truth. He died and rose to free us from the power of sin. Because He redeemed us, we can use language as God intended.
 
(4) What will you do?
Kim: The English Dept. will equip students to honor Jesus and impact the world for Him. To do this, we will help students enjoy God’s gift of language and use language to learn about God and His creation, effectively communicate truth, and bring shalom.

(5) What does your department target?
Kim: We target students writing insightful essays, giving compelling presentations, grappling with challenging literature, engaging in lively discussion, listening respectfully to each other, and making creative projects. These are important things, but they are not our ultimate target. Our ultimate target is having our students connect these things with what the Bible teaches about creation-fall-redemption-restoration.

(6) Specifically, what does your department want students to connect?
Kim: We want students to connect the content and skills they study with what the Bible teaches. Here’s a sample of Biblical principles we teach at each level:

• Elementary: God created you (Gen. 1.27, Ps. 139.13). God loves you (John 3.16). God gives you talents (Rom. 12.6). God has made each people, country, and culture special and important (Gen. 11.1, 11.8a; John 3.16; Rev. 14.6).
• Middle: God cares how we spend our time (Ps. 118.24, 90.10a, 90.12; 2 Pet. 3.8; 1 Pet. 3.8-9).
• High: God is good (2 Chron. 7.3, Job 2.10, Ps. 34.8). Humans (made in the image of God) are responsible to take care of creation (Col. 1.16 – 20, Ps. 8.3-8, Heb. 2.5-9). God calls us to join Him in His work of restoration (Mic. 6.8, Isa. 1.17, Jer. 22.16, Hos. 6.6, Matt. 23.23). Human search for belonging is ultimately fulfilled in God (Ps. 90.1; Phil. 3.20; Heb. 11.8-10, 13-16).

(7) To help students make connections, what essential questions does your department ask?
Kim: We find students understand the connections better when asked open-ended questions. Here are some questions we ask them:

• Elementary: Why does God want you to learn how to read and write? How does reading help you understand God’s world? What should you read? What connections can you make to this story? to the Bible? to your life? Who are you? Who does God want you to be? How does God treat us? How can you encourage someone with your words?
• Middle: How do authors help you see truth? What makes a story “good?” How do good writers communicate effectively? Why do people have conflicts? How do/can/should you resolve conflicts? What does literature teach you about the need to “take a stand” despite opposition? How can you bridge cultural differences?
• High: How shall we then live? How does literature affect/reflect culture? Why read literature? Who are you? Who is your neighbor? What’s wrong with the world? How do you seek peace? How do you seek justice? How do you respond to man’s inhumanity to man? What is true? How do others help you see?

(8) To help students make connections, what assessments does your department give?
Kim: The primary assessments we give are writing, projects, presentations, and quizzes/tests. We give these assessments to see what connections students have made and to provide students with opportunities to make new connections. Here are some assessments we give:

• Elementary (essay): How can you connect the lesson from The Three Samurai Cats (“Draw strength from stillness”) to a story that you know from the Bible?
• Middle (presentation): Using a book that you’ve already read for independent reading this year, prepare a 2-to-3-minute presentation in which you give an exciting introduction to the plot, a brief explanation of the conflict and theme, a Biblical perspective of the conflict and theme (including how the book shows “taking a stand”), and a satisfying conclusion.
• High (essay): Using examples from various literature and from the Bible, explain the nature of evil, its relationship to suffering, and what you can do to respond Christianly to both. Incorporate 5 – 7 sources.

* Want to read additional reflections?

• Unit: Assessment helps students more deeply connect what they study, their lives, and a Biblical perspective
• Course: Use 9 questions to reflect on Biblical perspective in your course

Targeting Biblical perspective is vital. To get an idea of where you are in terms of targeting Biblical perspective, reflect on 9 questions:

1. What kind of people do you want your students to be?
2. What do you want your students to understand about God and His creation? 
3. What’s your vision? 
4. What do you target?
5. Specifically, what do you want your students to connect?
6. What kinds of connections do you want to see your kids making?
7. To help your students make connections, what essential questions do you ask?
8. To help your students make connections, what student learning needs do you meet?
9. To help your students make connections, what unit assessments do you give?

Below, Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, reflects on her course by responding to 9 these questions:

(1) What kind of people do you want your students to be? 
Kim: I want them to love Jesus. I want them to be joyful, inquisitive, thoughtful people who always connect what they learn with their lives.

(2) What do you want your students to understand about God and His creation? 
Kim: Through their study of English, I want my students to understand that God created a good world so that we could enjoy it and participate in developing its potential. I want my students to understand that in this fallen world, God calls us to join Him in working to restore peace and justice. Language helps us all understand God’s truth and communicate it to others.

(3) What’s your vision? 
Kim: To see students delighting in the creative beauty of language, checking the things that strike them as true with the Bible, reading fiction to vicariously understand the neighbor they are to love, and using language effectively to understand themselves and serve others.

(4) What do you target?
Kim: I want my students to understand that God created the world good, that sin has affected all of creation, that we as Christians have been redeemed by Christ, and that we should participate in restoring God’s creation. So, I target my students connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches.

(5) Specifically, what do you want your students to connect?
Kim: In English 10, my students hone their thinking, writing, reading, and presentation skills as they grapple with world literature, for example, The Analects by Confucius, Cry, the Beloved Country by Paton, “To My Brother Miguel” by Vallejo, Night by Wiesel, and A Midsummer’s Night Dream by Shakespeare. I want them to connect this content with the 11 Biblical principles they learn, for example:

1. Because people are made in the image of God (Gen. 1.27, 9.6; Jas. 3.9), we are creative (Gen. 2.19, 4.21-22; Exod. 35.30-36.1), communicative (Gen. 2.20-24, Exod. 4.10-12, Jer. 1.4-9) truth-seekers. —introductory unit
2. Because the Bible tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must seek the good of anyone it is within our power to help (Lev. 19.18, Matt. 22.39, Mark 12.31, Luke 10.27, Rom. 13.9, Gal. 5.14, Jas. 2.8). —Night unit
3. Human search for belonging is ultimately fulfilled in God (Psa. 90.1; Phil. 3.20; Heb. 11.8-10, 13-16). —short story unit
4. God calls us to join Him in His work of restoration (Mic. 6.8, Isa. 1.17, Jer. 22.16, Hos. 6.6 and note, Matt. 23.23). —Cry, the Beloved Country unit

(6) What kinds of connections do you want to see your kids making?
Kim: Authentic connections—not object lessons. Real connections—not allegories. Here’s an example of what I mean, taken from an essay on Camus’s “The Guest”:

“In contrast to what Camus and Daru experienced, there is inherent meaning and moral guidelines in life given by God—a conclusion based on a Biblical principle. Truth, which is God’s teaching, is apparent everywhere…(New International Version, Romans 1.20). In fact, the truth of the only God is accessible…(Acts 17.20). We must learn what God’s truth is and apply it to our lives because as Daru understood, human wisdom is faulty…. Humans must establish God’s truth as their anchor and base their decisions on his truth, which may not yield the obviously ‘good’ consequences in this life, but are right because they are part of God’s perfect will.”

(7) To help your students make connections, what essential questions do you ask?
Kim: My students say that thinking about open-ended questions really helps them make connections. So in English 10, I ask my students 4 questions: Who am I? Who is my neighbor? What’s wrong with the world? What is the significance of words?

(8) To help your students make connections, what student learning needs do you meet?
Kim: My 51 students come from 13 different countries, and from a variety of Christian and non-Christian backgrounds. Some have little or no Bible background; some are accustomed to connecting the Bible only with church, youth group, and personal holiness. To help my students make connections with what they’re learning and to prepare them for the assessments, I help them value connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches, see that it’s possible to make connections, and know what quality connections look like.

(9) To help your students make connections, what unit assessments do you give?
Kim: I give assessments to see how well my students are connecting what they study and what the Bible teaches—and I give assessments to give my students practice making connections. I give a total of 9 Biblical perspective assessments. I assess content/Bible connections in 5 of 8 essays, 2 of 4 presentations, and 2 of 9 unit tests with 1 or more Biblical perspective questions. Here’s a sample unit test question (worth 12/100 points):

Describe the existentialism of the author we read who wrote both essays and short stories on the topic. Be sure to include the definition, the juxtaposition that makes humanity’s situation absurd, the 2 things the author says give meaning, and illustrate those 2 things from the story. What of truth (from a Biblical perspective) has the author seen, and what has he missed?

* Want to read additional reflections?

• Unit: Assessment helps students more deeply connect what they study, their lives, and a Biblical perspective
• Subject: Use 8 questions to reflect on a subject area

Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, responds:

In English 10, my students hone their thinking, writing, reading, and presentation skills as they grapple with world literature, for example:

• The Analects by Confucius
• Cry, the Beloved Country by Paton
• “To My Brother Miguel” by Vallejo
• Night by Wiesel
• A Midsummer’s Night Dream by Shakespeare.

I want them to connect course content and skills with the 11 Biblical principles they learn:

1. Because people are made in the image of God (Gen. 1.27, 9.6; Jas. 3.9), we are creative (Gen. 2.19 and 4.21-22; Exod. 35.30-36.1), communicative (Gen. 2.20-24; Exod. 4.10-12; Jer. 1.4-9) truth-seekers. —introductory unit
2. God charges us with developing the potentials of creation, including language. This is called the Cultural Mandate (Gen. 1.26-28, Ps. 8.5-8, Heb. 2.5-9). —introductory unit
3. All truth is God’s truth: truth people can deduce from creation (Ps. 19.1-6; Rom. 1.19-20, 2.14-16) as well as truth God reveals in scripture (Ps. 19.7-11, 2 Tim. 4.16-17). —introductory unit
4. The Bible is the clearest revelation of God’s truth, the touchstone for all other truth claims (Isa. 8.20, Acts 17.11, 2 Tim. 3.16-17). —introductory unit
5. God calls us to join Him in His work of restoration (Mic. 6.8, Isa. 1.17, Jer. 22.16, Hos. 6.6 and note, Matt. 23.23). —Cry, the Beloved Country unit
6. We must acknowledge “the deepening possibilities of evil in the human heart” within our own hearts before we can repent and be purified and find union with God (Jer. 17.9, Rom. 7.14-25, I Tim. 1.15). —Dante’s Inferno unit
7. Because people are made in the image of God (Gen. 1.26-27), every human being is worthy of honor and respect; s/he should be neither murdered (Gen. 9.6) nor cursed (Jas. 3.9). —Night unit
8. Because the Bible tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must seek the good of anyone it is within our power to help (Lev. 19.18, Matt. 22.39, Mark 12.31, Luke 10.27, Rom. 13.9, Gal. 5.14, Jas. 2.8). —Night unit
9. Human search for belonging is ultimately fulfilled in God (Psa. 90.1; Phil. 3.20; Heb. 11.8-10, 13-16). —short story unit
10. Every individual value has worth (Gen. 1:27, Psa. 139, Matt. 10.31, Luke 12.7, Rom. 12.3-9). —A Doll’s House unit
11. Secure in her worth in God’s eyes, the Christian follows Jesus' example of service, humility, submission (I Cor. 10.24, 12.12-26; Mark 10.42-45; Phil. 2.1-11; Eph. 5.21). —A Doll's House unit
12. The love God intends for a man and woman is a lifetime determination of the will to seek the good of the other person (Gen. 2.20-25, Matt. 19.3-9, Mal. 2.13-16, Eph. 5.22-33, I Cor. 13) —A Midsummer Night's Dream unit

Through Christian education, we want students to develop a Christ-centered worldview. One way to do this is to have students connect what they study and Biblical principles.

Question: What Biblical principles do you want your students connect to what they study?
 
Here are sample Biblical principles from teachers at Christian Academy in Japan:
 
Elementary school (K-5):

1. All truth is God's truth (Acts 17.16, Rom. 1.19-20 and 2.14-16, Ps. 19.1-6).
2. God cares about people from all nations (Mark 16.15, John3.16, Gen.12.13).
3. God created an orderly world for us to live in (Col. 1.17, Psalm 147.4, Luke 12.7).
4. God created food for us because He cares for us (Gen. 1.29-30, 1.11-12, Exodus 16.12, 16, 20, Matt. 15.29-35).
5. God created this world; God provides a variety of foods at different times for us (Gen. 1.11-13, 1.29, 8.22; Psalm 104.13-16, 19).
6. God wants us to seek to get along with others (Matt. 7.12, 2 Tim. 2.5).
7. We praise God through music (Ps. 69.30).

Middle school (6-8):

1. Be content with what God provides (1 Tim. 6.6-10, Pro. 30.7-9, Phil. 4.12-13).
2. Creation is God's artwork (Gen. 1, John 1.3, Col. 1.16-17).
3. God expects His people to obey Him (I Sam. 15.22, Mic. 6.8, Rom. 2.13).
4. Impact the world for Christ by using your gift (Eph. 4.1, 11-13).
5. Possessions are temporary (Pro. 23.4-5, Matt. 6.19-34, Eccles. 4.6).
6. Respect whatever praiseworthy (Phil. 4.8).
7. We need to use our time wisely to reap rewards (1 Pet. 3.8-9).

High school (9-12):

1. All people have responsibilities to steward God’s creation (Gen. 1.26).
2. Because the Bible tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must seek the good of anyone it is within our power to help (Lev. 19.18, Mt. 22.39, Mark 12.31, Luke10.27, Rom.13.9, Gal. 5.14, Jas. 2.8).
3. Blessings come from following God’s plan for family (Eph. 5.22-6.4, Ex. 20.12).
4. God calls us to join him in His work of restoration (Mic. 6.8, Isa. 1.17, Jer. 22.16, Hosea 6.6, and note: Matt. 23.23).
5. God is sovereign (Gen. 12.2, Isa 25.8, Isa 61.1).
6. Magnify the Lord (Isa. 9.1-7, Luke 1.46-55).
7. Our bodies are God's, and to be used by and for him (Rom. 12.1, 1 Cor. 6.13-20, 1 Cor. 10.31, Phil. 1.20).

Teach your students a Biblical principle. Then have them connect the Biblical principle to what they study. Do this today.

As a result of Christian education, we want our students to love Jesus and live for Him. So, we help our students develop a Christ-centered worldview by:

1. Modeling Christ-like behavior.
2. Providing devotions, chapel, and Bible class.
3. Giving opportunities for service.
4. Helping students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches.

In terms of worldview formation, each of the 4 things listed above are vital. We know this. None of us want to work at or send our children to a Christian school where:

1. Teachers model behavior that isn’t Christ-like
2. Devotions, chapel, and Bible class aren’t provided.
3. There are no opportunities to serve.
4. Students are encouraged to separate what they study and what the Bible teaches.

Analysis: In terms of worldview development, Christian schools do a better job of modeling, providing devotions and Bible class, and giving service opportunities than Christian schools do with helping students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches.
 
Opportunity: Christian schools can take fuller advantage of a key opportunity—to help students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches.
 
Recommendation: That Christian schools develop a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum:

• Guaranteed: All teachers at a given Christian school teach specified Bible content in each subject they teach.
• Viable: All teachers have sufficient instructional time to teach the specified Bible content.
• Biblical perspective: The specified Bible content is formatted as Biblical principles. Each Biblical principle is supported by 3 at least Bible passages.
• Curriculum: The specified Bible content is documented in the curriculum.

Question: Regarding a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum, what are the opportunities/problems?
 
Target Biblical perspective. Today.

*This blog entry addresses Biblical perspective teacher training standard #4: To help students love God and impact the world for Him, teachers develop a curriculum that targets students understanding and then applying a Biblical perspective to course content and skills, and ultimately to their lives.

Want to use your curriculum to help students develop a Christ-centered worldview? Reflecting on the following 7 questions can help:

1. What’s the goal?
2. Regarding developing a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum, what are the opportunities/problems?
3. What’s your stakeholders’ perspective of a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum?
4. Where are you/your school in terms of having a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum?
5. Regarding developing a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum, what’s your/your school’s level of motivation?
6. To develop a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum, what do you/your school need to keep doing? start doing? stop doing?
7. How would you/your school develop a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum?

Reflect with others on these questions. Then, develop a guaranteed, viable Biblical perspective curriculum—and get your students to experience it!

Target Biblical perspective. Today.

*These 7 questions address Biblical perspective teacher training standard #4: To help students love God and impact the world for Him, teachers develop a curriculum that targets students understanding and then applying a Biblical perspective to course content and skills, and ultimately to their lives.

Kim Essenburg, English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan, uses 5 questions to reflect on connecting a Christian philosophy of education with classroom practice.
 
(1) What kind of people do you want your students to be?

Kim: I want them to love Jesus. I want them to be joyful, inquisitive, thoughtful people who always connect what they learn with their lives.
 
(2) Broadly speaking, what do you want your students to understand about God and His creation through one of the subjects they study?

Kim: Through their study of English, I want my students to understand that God created a good world so that we could enjoy it and participate in developing its potential. I want my students to understand that in this fallen world, God calls us to join Him in working to restore peace and justice. Language helps us all understand God’s truth and communicate it to others.
 
(3) In one of your subjects, what are some of the Biblical principles you want your students to be grounded in?
 
Kim: Language is a good gift from God. Because people are in God’s image, they are creative, communicative truth-seekers. All truth is God’s truth. The Bible is God’s Word and is the filter we use to analyze all truth claims. Because people are in God’s image, they are to be respected and honored. The neighbor whom I am to love is anyone I am in a position to help.
 
(4) In terms of your students applying a Biblical perspective to what they study, what’s your vision?
 
Kim: Students delighting in the creative beauty of language, checking the things that strike them as true with the Bible, reading fiction to vicariously understand the neighbor they are to love, and using language effectively to understand themselves and serve others.
 
(5) Helping your students learn course content is a big challenge. Christian education targets a bigger challenge—helping students apply a Biblical perspective to the course content they have learned. Is the “Christian education challenge” worth it?
 
Kim: Definitely. If we don’t teach students that the Bible connects to what they study and to their lives, we by default are teaching them that the Bible doesn’t connect. We simply can’t afford to be teaching that to our children, to the next generation of the Church. 

You want your students to develop a Christ-centered worldview. So, you want them to connect relevant Biblical principles and what they study.
 
2 questions: What 3 Biblical principles will you help them understand? How will you help them understand these principles?
 
Here are sample Biblical principles. Christian teachers like you help their students understand these principles, in part by having their students study and discuss the supporting Bible passages:
 
English 10 unit on Wiesel’s Night, with a focus on discrimination and racism:

• Because the Bible tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must seek the good of anyone it is within our power to help (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8, Matthew 5:43).
• Because people are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), every human being is worthy of honor and respect; s/he should be neither murdered (Genesis 9:6) nor cursed (James 3:9).

Social Studies 6 unit on ancient Egypt, with a focus on major cultural achievement (mummies, pyramids, religion, hieroglyphics):

• God is one, above all other gods (Deuteronomy 28:58, Joshua 1:8, 2 Chronicles 17:9, John 20:31).
• Eternal life is available through faith in Jesus (Revelation 14:13, John 11:26, Hebrews 9:27).
• People are creative because they are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27, Psalm 8:5-8, Hebrews 2: 5-9).
• God values writing (Deuteronomy 6:4, Joshua 1:8, John 20:31).
• Building is not the way to reach God (Genesis 11:4, Psalm 127:1, Hebrews 11:6).

Science 8 unit on electricity and magnetism, with a focus on the impact of technology:

• Be content with what God provides (1 Timothy 6:6-10, Proverbs 30:7-9, Philippians 4:12-13).
• Be unselfish (James 2:1-7, 2:15-16, 4:1-3, 5:1-6; Titus 3:3-9).
• Possessions are temporary (Proverbs 23:4-5, Matthew 6:19-34, Ecclesiastes 4:6).

Target Biblical perspective. Help your students understand 3 Biblical principles. Today.

You want your students to…

1. Study the Bible.
2. Understand spiritual truths through object lessons.
3. Study the world.
4. Participate in devotions.
5. Participate in chapel.
6. Abide by Christ-centered school policies and classroom guidelines.
7. Serve on campus.
8. Serve off campus.
9. Observe Christian staff modeling Christ-centered behaviors.
10. Have opportunities to demonstrate Christian character.

You want students to do these things because you want them to love Jesus and live for Him. Good.
 
Want another option for help your students love Jesus and live for Him? Have your students connect content/skills and Biblical teaching. For example, have your students connect grammar and the Biblical teaching that language is a gift of God. Or, have your students connect their study of light with Biblical teaching about God’s creative power.
 
Having your students connect Biblical teaching and content/skills helps your students:

• See that Christ is the center of everything—including what they study in class.
• See how the Bible applies to everything.
• Connect Sunday to Monday.

Help your students develop a Christ-centered worldview. Today.

What do you want your students to understand?
You strive equip your students to love God and impact the world for Him. Good.
 
Question: What do you want your students to understand about God and His creation through what they study? What do you want them to understand as they study…?

1. Art
2. Bible
3. Computer
4. English
5. Languages
6. Math
7. Music
8. Physical education
9. Science
10. Social studies
11. Vocational arts

Participants in an August 18 workshop held at Christian Academy in Japan considered this question. Here are some of their answers:

• Art/Home Ec: We are made in the image of God and can create.
• English: Language is a gift to glorify God, understand ourselves, and serve others through reading, writing, speaking, listening, critical thinking
• Languages: Language is a gift of God.
• Math: The universe reflects the orderliness of God.
• Science: People are responsible to be caretakers of this world.
• Social studies: We should serve and honor God.

Take action: Identify 1 subject you teach. Then list 3 or more answers to the following question: What do you want your students to understand about God and His creation? Finally, design a lesson in which you help your students understand the answers your listed.
 
Target Biblical perspective. Today.

At Christian schools, we want our students to develop a Christ-centered worldview, to see all of life through the lens of Scripture. This is a big challenge!
 
How can you help your students do this during class?
Have your students connect what they study and Biblical teaching.
 
What Biblical teaching connects to what students are studying?
That depends on what your students are studying:

• If your science students are studying photons, use Biblical teaching on God’s creative power.
• If your math students are studying how to pay for a computer, use Biblical teaching on stewardship and debt.
• If your language arts students are reading Miss Nelson is Missing, use Biblical teaching regarding authority and respect.
• If your social studies students are studying a war, use Biblical teaching regarding government and war.

How can you determine what Biblical teaching your students should connect with what they study?
Good question. You want relevant Biblical teaching that naturally connects with what your students are studying and helps students answer the question “What’s God’s perspective of what we’re studying?”
 
Here’s what you can do: Think of what your students are studying. Then identify 1 or more items from the list below that naturally connect to what your students are studying. For example, if my science students are studying photons, that fits with creation.
 
Here’s the list:

• God, people, morality, death, history, creation
• Creation, fall, redemption, restoration
• Loving God/neighbor, caring for creation, making disciples, being part of the Church
• Respect/disrespect of authority, sanctity of life/murder, sexual purity/promiscuity, private property/theft, truth telling/bearing false witness, contentment/covetousness

 
Got 1 or more items? Good. Now ask yourself, “What does the Bible say about these items that naturally connects to what my students are studying?”
 
What form should the Biblical teaching take?
Bible verses—your students should definitely connect what they are studying with Bible verses. For example, when your science students are studying photons, they should consider Genesis 1:1. Having your students connect what they are studying with Bible verses reinforces the idea that God’s Word is the foundation of the Christian worldview.
 
In addition to Bible verses, your students should connect what they are studying with Biblical principles, principles that are supported by 3 or more Bible passages. For example, when your social studies students are studying a war, have them consider the Biblical principles of submitting to governmental authority (Romans 13:1-6, I Peter 2:13-14, Mark 12:17), preserving life (Genesis 9:6, Exodus 20:13, Romans 13:8-10), and using nonviolence (Matthew 5:39, Matthew 5:44, Romans 12:17-21).
 
Why use principles supported by 3 or more Bible passages? Because it helps students understand what the Bible teaches (not just what 1 verse teaches) and better apply Biblical teaching to what they study. Trust me, Biblical perspective is better communicated with principles (supported by Bible passages), than just with verses. And having students use principles supported by verses decreases the likelihood that they will misquote Bible verses.
 
Bottom line: To help your students develop a Christ-centered worldview during class, have your students connect what they are studying with relevant Biblical principles (supported by 3 or more Bible passages).