Teaching Problem Solution Finder

WordStorm is kind of like brainstorming in that you take a topic word and write down the class' thoughts on the board. Easy Lesson opener.

EXAMPLE: I wrote the word "friend" on the board and asked my students to say words that describe a perfect friend. I noted their words on the board. When they slowed, I pointed out that Jesus Christ called some people his friends in the scriptures. Read D&C 83:77. It was his apostles... transition to the rest of your lesson

Teachers can randomly assign students to read randomly by calling them by name. The key is the order of the direction and the assignment. Here's how: "Turn in your Bible to Isaiah chapter 1. [pause] Everyone look at your scriptures. We'll be reading verses 1-15 aloud one at a time and discussing each individually. Verse one ...[pause]... John?"

The important thing is to direct everyone to the verse, pause, and then make the reading assignment. This direct and pause gets everyone to look at the material and then you make the assignment. Everyone is engaged with the material, and because they don't know who will be called on to read, they are paying attention. Now that the assignment is given, most students will follow along unconsciously because their attention has already been directed to the text.

I think this technique is best used when reading sections where you'll be discussing each verse as you move along. It's a little more serious and good for that kind of reading.

Some teachers are uncomfortable with cold-calling. Please know that cold-calling is not cruel or chastening or a negative teaching method. It's a way of helping each student engage and participate. There is an EXTENSIVE discussion of this technique on pages 111-125 of Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov.

In the gospel classroom, I don't use cold-calling for asking questions. I only use it for making assignments for reading or something else where it's easy for the student to participate. I also rarely use it to get someone's attention who is talking or distracted. Usually I touch that person on the shoulder and point at whomever is speaking. That's usually enough to get the person back on track without singling them out verbally.

Each student has a Styrofoam plate, a wet wipe, and a regular water cleanup (not permanent) marker. Ask students questions that can be answered in a few short phrases. They write their answers and flip over their plates. After a few moments, ask everybody to display their plates.

I have used this as a lesson review quiz and as a Lesson opener to help me determine what students already understand about a topic. When I know a little bit about what students already understand about a topic, I know where to begin our discussion.

You can also use this to have students search for answers in the scriptures, and then write them down.

Sometimes you can get real dry erase slates at the dollar store inexpensively. Styrofoam plates are inexpensive, readily available, and can be reused several times before tossing.

Give each student a pencil and piece of paper. Tell your students that they will be cartoonists and should draw a cartoon of the story you are about to read aloud. Stick figures are perfectly okay -- this is not about drawing skill, but it's about picking out the most important details they hear from the story. Let them know they will get a chance at the end of the reading to finish up their work. At the end of your reading, set a timer for 45-60 seconds to give students a little time to fill in any details they wanted to add.

This helps keep students focused and interested during a moderately long reading. It is also a good opportunity for students to show each other their work and discuss their drawings -- it's your secret way of reinforcing the teaching through repetition, AND they will unconsciously share what they learned from the story. This works well with stories that have lots of concrete details and/or action.

This would be a fun activity to do while discussing the Creation or an event in Church history.

You could do this in a class of adults, too -- many adults can still draw, or at least laugh at their lack of skill!

Give students a few minutes to review a passage that is fairly familiar to them. Have them write down something that was "new" at this reading. They may have remembered a detail they forgot or noticed something new. They may have a new understanding of what certain words or phrases mean. The verses may have triggered a new question. If they can't find something new, I let them share something that was interesting or important to them.

I always do this activity as a timed activity. I set the timer for a few minutes (usually two or three) and let students hunt for something new. They write down their item so I can tell when everyone is finished.

You may want to point out that each time we read scriptures, we are coming from a different stage in our lives which can make even familiar stories "new" to us again.

This is a good way to begin a gospel discussion on a longer passage of scripture. The discussion will trigger lots of questions and answers.

My students love group drawing. It's good for covering material that is easy to imagine visually. I have also used it to cover distressing topics -- like the events preceding the second coming -- because these events seem less frightening when sketched for some reason.

I have done group drawing a couple of ways. One is to divide the class into small groups and have the whole group drawing at once. The other is to have students read a verse or two and then come up one at a time to draw their picture while the next person reads their verse aloud. It will take you a little time during your lesson preparation to determine what to draw and how to split up your groups.

I used the group drawing when we covered Pharaoh's dreams of the fat/lean corn, fat/lean kine, and the baker's dream. Three groups all took one of the dreams and drew what they could remember on the board.

I used the group drawing one person at a time when we covered Joel 2 and D&C 45. Students read a passage of scripture aloud and then went to the board to draw a picture of that sign of the second coming. They could draw for as long as the next person was reading or discussing their passage.

Both activities turned out great -- the group drawing was a fun way to have students retell stories they knew, and the individual drawings of the scary topic helped students learn signs but kept everyone from being afraid. These pictures always end up on Facebook, and the students love to explain what they're about to their friends.

You already know how to play Scriptionary -- one student draws a picture of a gospel story or item and the other students try to guess it.

But in Seminary Scriptionary, I tell my students that they are going to draw a list of items that have to do with a certain gospel topic, like patriarchal blessings. Then I provide students a list of words, like

- Liahona
- scriptures
- holy ghost
- road signs
- prophet
- eyeglasses
- string tied on finger
- happy face
- frowny face
- missionary
- family tree
- temple/married couple , etc.

Students draw while others guess the item. The person who guessed the correct answer must explain to the class what that item has to do with the lesson topic. For example -- a family tree might represent your future family or lineage as revealed in a patriarchal blessing. Use each drawn item as a starting point for a short explanation of the topic.

I did this activity with members from each of the three zones all drawing at once. It kept the activity from dragging and gave us plenty to talk about in between rounds. It also kept the game from going too long.

Students are invited to write a quiz. It can be in the style of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, Jeopardy, or even just plain old question and answer style. Students will stand in front of the class and be the game show host. Sometimes my students write questions to ask the teacher, or other times they ask questions to ask each other.

You can use this method to determine student understanding about a topic. When an incorrect answer is given, don't just give out the correct answer -- seize the teaching opportunity! Have students look for the answer themselves.

The purpose of this activity is to help students learn that they have the skills and tools to answer other's questions. They also learn they can turn their friends for help with gospel questions.

After giving students something to read together, ask every one to write down a question about the passage. Instruct students that the question should be a question that was triggered by reading the passage. They should ask something they wondered about as they read or something they were confused by while reading. Students write their questions on a slip of paper. Put a question of your own in the hat, too.

Collect the questions in a hat or bowl. Each student and the teacher draws a question. Answer the teacher's question as a group, so you can help students learn to use the study helps to find answers. If your students are young or if the questions might need some editorial review 🙂 collect all the questions and look through them yourself. Working as a group, answer each question. This could take several class periods.

We have done this a couple of times in my Seminary class, and it is always so fun! Use this to review material you've already covered or material that students already know very well. In our class, this ends up very silly, so it's best done at the very beginning or very end of class.

I've done this two different ways: as individuals and as a group.

INDIVIDUAL: After explaining to my class that I was going to have them summarize the story of the birth of Christ in poetry. To keep it short, I gave students just 4 minutes on a timer to write whatever they could. I then read them the poem I wrote to get them started:

Bethlehem journey
On a donkey
Stupid taxes
Tired family

Crowded city
Inns too full
Pregnant Mary
In a stable

A baby born
A star arose
Angels sang
Shepherds heard

Glory to god
In the highest
And on earth
Peace. Good will.

Joyful shepherds
Race to see
The baby
In a manger

Would I run?
Would I fear?
Would I tell everyone?

When my students did this I had a few read their poems out -- the last kid ended his with "Peace out, baby Jesus." I laughed so hard I cried.

GROUP: Another time I explained to the class that the book of Lamentations is written in acrostic form, meaning that each part of the poem begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. So after the style of Lamentations, we did an acrostic poem that was Bible themed as a group. Each person chose a letter and wrote a sentence that dealt with the things we'd learned so far in our study. As a group we'd write a couplet to rhyme with it that started with the following letter of the alphabet. It was fun and served as a reminded of what we've learned so far.