The Daily RootedHome StoriesGradesChurchesWhat's NewAbout
Bible:
Answer key (separate)‹ Back to chapter 4

Prints on letter paper in black and white. No answers are printed on the student sheet.

Joshua 4 · Grade 5

A Monument That Preaches

Name Date

Read and Think

Joshua 4 slows the story down to make sure Israel never forgets the crossing. Twelve men, one per tribe, lift stones from the very spot where the priests stood firm in the riverbed. All twelve tribes share in the memorial, so the miracle belongs to the whole nation, including the tribes settling east of the Jordan.

The order of events matters. The priests carrying the ark stay in the riverbed until everything Yahweh commanded is finished. Only when they step out and their feet touch dry land do the waters return. The text notes that this happened on the tenth day of the first month, the very day the Passover lamb was to be chosen, linking this new beginning to the exodus.

At Gilgal the stones become a teaching tool. When your children ask, parents must answer with the story: Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. Joshua ties the Jordan to the Red Sea, and gives two purposes: that all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh's hand is mighty, and that you may fear Yahweh your God forever. God's acts are meant to be retold until faith passes to the next generation.

Show What You Know

  1. Why did all twelve tribes share in the memorial?

  2. When did the waters return?

  3. On what day did they come up out of the Jordan?

  4. What two purposes does Joshua give for the stones?

  5. What must parents answer when children ask?

Crossword

42531

Across

  1. They were taken from the Jordan.
  2. Who would ask what the stones mean?
  3. These stones shall be for a ____ to the children of Israel forever.

Down

  1. How many stones were taken?
  2. Where Joshua set up the stones.

Think About It

  1. What stones of remembrance, such as stories, songs, or objects, help you remember God's faithfulness?

  2. How can families tell children what God has done?

Memory Verse

“Then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.”

Joshua 4:22 (WEB)

Copy It

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for all You have done for me. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

  • Why does the timing of the crossing matter?
  • How can one generation pass faith to the next?
  • What is one way you could live out this chapter this week?

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.