When Joseph Went to Bethlehem Song Trivia

If you’re looking for a great way to dive into teaching or reviewing the lyrics, the kids will love the friendly competition in this When Joseph Went to Bethlehem Song Trivia activity!

You’ll use the lyrics to ask a series of questions or use one of the fun alternate activity ideas to help this teaching idea fit your Primary size and needs.

If you’re looking for even MORE ways to teach Primary Christmas Songs see this post with 100+ Christmas Singing Time Ideas!

When Joseph Went to Bethlehem Song Trivia

Song Trivia Setup & Rules:

Divide the room into 2 teams. You might even consider teacher vs kids!

Have one person from each team come up front and stand before a bell or game buzzer, with one hand behind their back.

Read the question and have the contestants race to hit the buzzer! First to hit the buzzer gets to answer the question. If they are right, their team gets a point!

If they miss it, you can give the other side the chance to steal! If the 2^nd contestant doesn’t get it correct either, go to the first team and let them decide as a group (10 seconds!) what answer it might be.

If anyone yells out the answer without being called on – the other team automatically scores a point!

When Joseph Went to Bethlehem Song Trivia Singing Time

Sing through When Joseph Went to Bethlehem song once before introducing this activity. You can grab our When Joseph Went o Bethlehem Flip Chart to help here!

Quickly explain the rules and create the teams. Start with your first two contestants and ask one of the trivia questions.

After each trivia questions, sing through the song again!

Song Trivia Questions:

1. Who is this song about? (Answer: Joseph)
2. What city did Joseph travel to? Was it: (Answer: Bethlehem)
   a. Jerusalem b. Egypt c. Bethlehem
3. Name one of the ways Joseph cleaned his shop.
   (Accept answers similar to: Put away his tools / cleaned up the shavings)
4. True or False: Joseph’s carpentry shop was kept open for business while he
   was away. (Answer: False “Close his shop”).
5. What animal did Joseph take with him on the journey? (Answer: donkey)
6. Who traveled with Joseph? (Answer: Mary)
7. What is one food they brought with them? (Answer: bread / goat cheese)
8. Fill in the blank: In a little linen _ _ _ _ (Answer: sack)

Extension Activities:

• If you want teach different songs or use different activities, you can do 2-3 trivia questions between each time singing through the song so you have time to teach other songs as well.
• For a new twist on the game, use the questions and answers as a line match game! Place all the questions on one side of the board and all the answers to select from on the other half.
• Skip singing all the answers as you find them! Post the answer keywords up on the board to remember which words to skip. It lets the children sing inside their head instead and it’s a great tool for staying focused and memorization!

If you loved this activity, head over to see how we used it in this A Child’s Prayer Song Lyrics Trivia lesson plan!

When Joseph Went to Bethlehem Song Trivia Printable Questions & Answers

This printable includes a 1-page printable with all the questions making it super easy to host the questions as the music leader! Plus, reference the song lyrics to remind you just where the answers are coming from, in case it’s helpful.

You can also choose to print the large questions if you’d like to post the questions or use one of the alternate ideas. And a colorful and black and white option of the answers bank.

For another really fun and interactive way to teach this song, try out this When Joseph Went to Bethlehem Simple Actions activity!

What other fun ways could you extend this When Joseph Went to Bethlehem Song Trivia game?

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