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What a pleasure it is to be writing to you about The Fall of Jericho CD. It's very existence as multimedia software is a testament to the faithfulness of its creator, our persistence and loyalty to the developer, and the support of many of you.

Jericho was originally released under the name Journey to the Promised Land. We found the original developer and worked with him as he rewrote the program in a newer program language, revised all the graphics and sounds, AND built us an easy to use QUESTION EDITOR. We also had him put in several special features just for the Sunday School: a short game option, all games beginning at question #1 in a set, and sequential or random selection option for questions. The program was redeveloped AGAIN a few years ago with all new graphics and sound. It has been a bestseller ever since then. Thanks for supporting our efforts! <>< Neil MacQueen, Sunday Software

Installation:

The Question Editor
Jericho comes with a starter set of general Bible trivia, however, you'll most likely want to create your own sets using the Question Editor which installs when you install the game. Click Start | Programs | Jericho and select Question Editor to open the editor. In general, you'll want to create 30 to 35 questions per question set for two teams or more to race to Jericho without repeating questions. This number will vary depending on the difficulty of material and age of players.

Jericho Game Play Options
(for versions so equipped, 2001 and recent)
All games begin with question number one each time the question set is selected at the beginning of a game. Thus, you need only write about 30 to 40 questions on a subject, fewer if you want the questions to repeat. HOT TIP: If you want a short game and only want to write about 20 questions, select "Short Game" option from the Jericho Options menu so you can also get to Jericho faster.

Transfering Questions Sets to Other Computers
Your question sets can be transferred from one computer to another via diskette or flashdrive if you have legally installed another copy of Jericho for that other computer. In earlier versions of Jericho look for .TXT files in the Jericho program directory on the harddrive. In the latest version of Jericho they have a ".mdb" filename extension. Copy them to a flashdrive or diskette and transfer them to your other computer that has a copy of Jericho installed. "Paste" your question set in the Jericho directory on your harddrive. Please note: One Fall of Jericho quiz game CD can only be copied to one computer. Copying question sets assumes you have purchased an additional copy of the program.

What is the "Database Converter Utility" found in the program menu icons?
This converter is for those of you who may have created a question set under an earlier version of Fall of Jericho, and want to import that file for use with Fall of Jericho. If you do not have old sets you want to convert, you can delete this icon.

Please note: The "Teaching Tips" found on the CD are an older version that the one you are currently looking at.

The New Teaching Tips for Fall of Jericho

Fall of Jericho and programs like it have been in use for many years. Here are some of my best insights.

The Importance of Quizzing

Like many of you, our ministry believes in the power of quiz software to reinforce student memories. For years many Sunday Schools have taught lesson after lesson without helping students refresh those memories over time. The result? -- biblically illiterate youth and adults. Early on in the Sunday School computer lab movement, many of us recognized the power of computers to reinforce content and test for comprehension. The Fall of Jericho makes testing and refreshing -fun.

How many Priests Did Saul Kill at Nob?

What kind of questions and answers can best accomplish our teaching goals? The answer, as you might suspect, is not to write mere trivia. Asking about Elijah in one breath and Paul in the next does little to reinforce memories or build comprehension. To illustrate the absurdity of many Bible trivia questions I frequently use my favorite: "How many priests did Saul kill at Nob?" The correct answer: "who cares!"

How to Help Your Students Mine Their Memories

Asking just one or two questions would barely begin to scratch the surface. Instead, we need to create series of questions on subjects that force our kids to mine their memories -dig into them. One good question should be followed by another that digs deeper into the subject. Instead of just asking the trivial question, the question should retell important information and ask more fundamental questions such as "Who was Saul?" "Why was he upset?" and..."What was the effect of his anger?" Good questions are as important as the answers.

The following three questions are pulled from twenty-five questions I wrote about Joseph that illustrates "mining" student memories. This technique can also be seen in the set of questions about the Bible that follows.

13. How did Joseph get to Egypt? He was sold as a slave He went there to find food He went to free the slaves He went there on business

14. Who sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt? Jacob, his father His enemies His brothers Pharaoh

15. Why did Joseph's brothers sell him into slavery? Joseph was mean They were jealous of him Joseph was the youngest Money for food

Stick to the Subject

You can spot trivial questions sometimes by the way they bounce from subject to unrelated subject. Instead, series of questions should be asked that focus on a subject or related subjects. Note how the questions get at both the content and the meaning of the content.

The following quiz set illustrates several important quiz writing techniques. Notice how one question builds on the preceding question rather than jumping into a new subject. Notice also how the answer to a question can be found in the preceding question and how a preceding question's answer can be reiterated in the follow-up question.Read through the following questions and answers to see these concepts in action.

1. The Bible is really not ONE book but many books in a collection.
What does the word "Bible" mean? book collection God's Word The Word

2. How many different books are there in THE BOOK? 33 36 66 73

3. The 66 books of THE BOOK (The Bible) were written by: Moses The Disciples Several people Many people


Skipping to question 6....notice how the content comes back around:

6. God's Spirit guided ____ writers to write ____ books for the bible. A few/36 a few/66 many/66 many/63

7. The two main parts of the Bible are: The Old and New Testaments Genesis and The Gospels Psalms and Gospels Christmas and Easter

8. The word "Testament" means: "part" "book" "covenant" "inspiration"

9. A "Covenant": is "a holy book" is "an agreement" is "a history" is "an inspiration"

If you just skimmed over the above questions, let me suggest that you go back and read through them. Notice how the question content can end up in a later question answer, and vice versa. This kind of attention to question set construction helps your students learn better.

"Oh Teacher....What's the Answer? "

When they are stumped, you want your kids to ask each other and ask the teacher for help. Too often, however, teachers don't offer help, they instead offer the answer! Counsel your teachers to view every "I don't know" response as an opportunity for discovery. The best way to help is to have the students re-read the question and the possible answers, discussing each one.

Question: In what book of the Bible can you find the story of Noah?
Possible answers: Genesis, Exodus, Mark, Acts
Student Response: "I don't know this one."
Teacher Response: "What is the story of Noah about and when does it take place?" "What is the story of the Exodus about?"

** Try and limit the number of possible answers to around three for 3rd through 6th grade and two for Kindergarten through 2nd. Yes, I did say Kindergarten, --they can't read, but they can be read to! They enjoy the game play and can understand simple questions and answers. You can put an '*' in the editing field for answer number four.

Humor Them

Humor is essential to the quizzing enterprise. My quizzes were peppered with jokes, puns, and other goofiness. I once asked "What's on the top of the church's steeple?" ...only to have the entire class rush out the door to go see!

Lesson Strategies for Using the Fall of Jericho

Depending on many factors, you can use Jericho throughout the year, at the end of every month, or during every class. Try several strategies to see what works best for you. Question sets can be created for general review, to test student competency, to find out how well your lessons are being taught (!), and just for fun. Create questions sets that quiz students on content from other software, such as, Awesome Bible Stories CD. Plan out the question sets you will need over the course of the year. I have always found it easier to create several question sets in a row rather than piecemeal throughout the year.

As you begin to create various question sets, keep track of who has done which on a poster board near the computer. Many churches let their young people create their own question sets. This can be an extremely effective way of reinforcing content in that the students have to think through the content before creating it. Kids like seeing their handiwork on the screen too. While they won't have time to create an entire set, they will enjoy adding several questions to a question set you have prepared in advance.

Last but not least, you'll find that adults enjoy playing Jericho a lot. Come up with a fun question set and run it during fellowship time on Sunday morning.

Tips on Game Play and Question Writing

It takes about 60 questions for two or three teams of fourth graders to get to Jericho and see the walls come tumbling down without repeating questions. Let me suggest, however, that repeating questions is a good thing (depending on the questions). Writing 100 questions per question set, however, can be quite a daunting task. Instead, write sets of 35 to 50 questions set to run in sequential mode. If nobody is at Jericho after the last question, the questions recycle.

• To play a short game, or if you only have 20 questions in your set, SELECT "Short Game" Option from the menu bar of the program.
• Include verse chapter and book in your questions to get student to look up the answer. (The Question Editor does have a separate field to input verse info, but it will only show in the answer.)
• Many have found the most success using Jericho with only two or three teams. Four teams can slow play down significantly. Many will have student teams play only a ONE player game with all students at that computer working together.
• If you have multiple copies of Jericho at different computers with the same question set, the one player computer teams can race each other to see which computer gets to Jericho first.
• Try not to pit individual players against each other. Teammates can teach each other as they work together.
• Instead of teams competing against each other, consider having the ENTIRE CLASS compete as one team.
• You can also have up to four teams each WRITE DOWN the answer they choose, then select the right answer in the game to make the player(s) advance. Keep track of individual team scores on a separate sheet.
• Another fun variation on play is the RELAY game. Line up the entire class or two teams. One by one the players come up to answer their question and try to advance their player. Keep the question set short so that questions repeat themselves often. This makes each person on each team pay attention to all the questions, not just their own.
• Have two teams of students do some research and then type in 10 questions per team at the end of a question set you have already begun. They'll enjoy seeing their material come up added to your own.
• When one team is trouncing another, swap some members. The more you do this, the more they'll get used to it and enjoy the game rather than worrying about who is winning.
• Create True/False questions by typing True in answer field #1 and False in answer field #2. Place asterisks in fields 3 and 4.

Use Jericho in combination with other programs to test what they learned in those programs. If you have time, have the students researcj and add several questions of their own to the question set you created on that material.

Technical Notes about the CD:

• The Fall of Jericho CD loads it's entire contents right onto your hard drive. Remember to store your CD in a safe place.
• The CD contains ample on-disk help files . If you need help, however, don't hesitate to call us. These Teaching Tips are also located on the Help Files.
• Sets can be created on one computer and transferred to another using a diskette. After creating a question set, look for your question set by filename in the c:\program\Jericho directory on your harddrive (for Jericho 3-D) or c:\jericho (for Jericho 2-D). For example, say you named it "Ruth" ...look for c:\jericho\ruth.mdb (mdb stands for Microsoft Database file) and copy that file to diskette, then copy it to your other computer which has a copy of Fall of Jericho on it. It's legal to copy your question set. It's illegal to copy your Jericho CD to more than one computer. To run your question set in two places requires TWO copies of the Jericho CD.
• Both Jericho, Concentration and Where's Noah (the bonus programs on the CD) can be started by selecting the START from the desktop and then looking for them under Programs.
  

Hot Tip about Bible Concentration -a bonus game that comes with Jericho: In the directory where Bible Concentration installs (c:\Bible Concentration), look for answers.txt --a list of all the puzzle scripture verses. Please note: Bible Concentration and Where's Noah are bonus game thrown in by Mike the developer. They may not work on some versions of Windows 2000/XP/Vista.

Please remember the 8th Commandment and copy each Jericho CD to ONE AND ONLY ONE COMPUTER. Copying it to multiple computers is illegal. It is wrong to teach the Bible with stolen materials! These Jericho Teaching Tips are the copyrighted property of Sunday Software, 2004. They may not be reproduced for seminar or resource center use, but may be copied for teacher use in the church which originally received them. Comments and suggestions welcome! Call 1-800-678-1948 or email us to receive more copies of Jericho and/or our latest Christian education software catalog.