You think I'm kidding, but rearranging the seating has a HUGE effect on classroom management in my experience. Changing up the classroom causes the students to try to figure out what is going on, and they get excited about the lesson. If you normally use tables in Seminary, set up without them. If you normally […]

I learned this extremely versatile teaching technique from Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov. Basically, you assign a writing prompt. Everyone writes the answer. Then, as many people as you choose are invited to share. Sometimes I have each person share their written response. Other times, when there's a big group, I assign a […]

This technique is great for scriptures that have multiple great phrases of advice or wisdom, but that don't require a whole lot of discussion to understand. Either have students go in order through a passage, or write scripture references on the board and use Hey There Delilah or Cold-calling to have random students read verses. […]

Do your best to stay aware of the things your students are doing as service projects or at school. Find out about the things they are doing right, and ask them to share their experiences during class. Be specific with your instructions, and be prepared to ask the students questions to help them with their […]

Write a list of passages or references on the board that have something important in them -- something "worth underlining." Explain to the class that there is something important in each verse and that you will give each student a chance to read their passage and explain to the class what they thought the most […]

You can do this as a group activity or as an individual activity. I generally do it as a group activity. Assign students a passage to read. Have students imagine they are newspaper reporters who are going to write a headline for this passage. What will they write? What headline will tell your readers the […]

If a student uses the phrase: "the scriptures say" or "the prophets say', consider if you can take the opportunity to teach students the importance of being able to find and read a scripture during a discussion. It's best to have scriptures memorized, but if not, teach students how to find scriptures quickly in a […]

A narrator reads a passage of scripture while actors dramatize it. When the teacher yells "freeze", the actors freeze and an actor (or actors -- you choose) comes in from the sidelines. They tap an actor on the shoulder and take his or her place in the action. The teacher says "Action!" and the dramatization […]

Write the main topic of a scripture passage or quote on a piece of paper. Cut each letter out. Let students look at the scripture passage or quote while they race to unscramble the word. This can be done for each individual in the classroom, or it can be done in groups, or even on […]

I used a unique set of questions to teach three parables: the parable of the of the ten virgins, the talents, and the sheep and goats. Before class I taped a set of three questions under each person's chair. Each set of questions included one question from each of the three parables and was unique. […]