Use this tool to solve common problems you'll find in your gospel classroom. Select from the options below to find teaching techniques that will help you solve some of the most common problems in LDS gospel classrooms:
Write on the board the topic of your lesson. Write "[YOUR TOPIC] is like a ____." Give your students a scrap piece of paper and a pen or pencil. Set the timer for 15-30 seconds and let them write their answers. Give them a few minutes to share and explain their answers.
When I did this, I wrote "Prayer is like a ____." and I had the students write their answers on a Styrofoam plate. When time was up, they displayed their answers all at once, and we discussed them. You will get all sorts of responses from good to wacky. One student tried to throw me with "apple," because one a day keeps Satan away. 🙂 I used his metaphor throughout the lesson. Each student described why they chose their word. It helped us start a good discussion on prayer.
This popular technique has been misused and abused in gospel classrooms for many years. It is rare that splitting into groups can be used effectively in the gospel classroom. Read on to find out if you think you can use it in yours:
Be sure that the things you're covering in small groups are truly, truly important -- more important than the free form gospel discussion, questions, and possible interactive media use you're displacing to use small groups. If you're certain you want to use small groups, read on......
Give your groups very clear directions on what they will present and what to look for in the passage. Don't just give groups a cool quote and ask them to share what they learned about it. Groups must be small enough that each person can actively participate. If you choose one presenter, remember that if your group size is over about 4 people, some members of the group will be left out of participation because larger groups have difficulty discussing topics effectively in this format. Your passage and the question should be able to be read quickly and responded to fairly quickly.
Divide the content you wish to cover in a few very short chunks. Either on the board or on a handout, list a few questions that you'd like the group to use the passage to answer. Your questions should be very carefully written so as to encourage group members to share personal experiences and thoughts about the passage, or your question should help students learn how to apply the message to change something in their behavior. Don't ask questions that can be answered in one or two words or that have only one correct answer. Your questions may begin with words like "Why do you think..." or "Have you had an experience that ..." or "Explain to the group what we might change in our lives as a result of this teaching."
Have everyone read the same passage together. Then break into groups. Assign 3-4 questions from the material to each of your 3-4 small groups. Each person in the group has an assignment: presenter, scribe, cross-referencer, dictionary, artist/poster designer, etc. Groups work together to answer their questions for a short period of time (use a timer). Leave time to present answers to questions at the end of class.
As people enter class, hand them a pre-cut shape, like square, circle, diamond, etc. After reading a text or watching a movie together as a group, have each of the shapes group themselves together by shape for discussion. You could make additional assignments, like presenter, artist, etc, by color or word written on the back of each shape.
I have found small groups work best when each group is doing a DIFFERENT type of presentation. For example, last week I had students split into three groups of varying sizes to do a presentation using light/fire, drama, and a third using photography.
Invite a guest to come share an experience with a gospel topic with the class. Listen during sacrament meeting, Sunday School, and other times to find people who have experiences or testimony that is valuable to share with your students.
I've had great success doing this, especially when I take the time to explain the purpose of my lesson to the guest. "We're having a lesson on missionary work; would you speak?" isn't clear enough. "We are studying the scripture Jeremiah 16:16. Would you come to my class next Sunday during the third hour and share a mission experience about hunting people out of the holes in the rocks with our class? Is 15 minutes enough time?" is much better.
Have a short (I mean it -- SHORT), great quote written on the board when students come into class. They will read it and begin to focus on the topic of your lesson before you even say a word. I've done this with gospel quotes and other saying, like "With Great Power comes Great Responsibility" from Spiderman. It helps students get their minds on topic even before the prayer. If they already know your lesson material, they will try to guess how you will use the topic in your lesson, which helps you get great comments and discussion.
EXAMPLE: On the board I wrote, "What are you worth to Heavenly Father?" (1 Corinthians 7:23)
EXAMPLE: During a class on temptation, I wrote this quote from the Art of War by Sun Tzu :
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
This technique is found in the Come Follow Me manual. It's difficult to have several people teaching a class, and it's also not beneficial for other students to watch just one student teach. Here's how I would do it:
Help each student prepare a brief lesson on a gospel principle, while working in pairs. The lesson will probably include thoughtful questions, scripture references or quotes from the prophets, personal experiences or ways to apply the passage, and opportunity for each of the student teachers to explain the things they know are true about the topic (bear testimony). This could be done at mutual or during a Seminary lesson.
Working with another teacher, have your pairs of students teach small groups of students in another class. This will give all students equal opportunity to both prepare and teach the lesson.
This technique does not make a lot of sense in the adult classroom, unless you're teaching mission prep or gospel principles.
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. When called on, each student should state the "one-liner," or the words or phrases that are the most significant in the verse.
I am using this in Luke chapter 6:28-49 tomorrow in class.
You may want to have students write their one-liners on the board, too.
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 don't use tables -- set up one Sunday with them and do a drawing or note taking exercise. The break from routine really helps students get excited about lessons.
I gave a detailed lecture on this topic during the Teaching Saints Virtual Summit over at Leading Saints. The summit was free when it first broadcast, but it is well worth your money to pay for and watch the entire summit. I didn't/don't get paid for promoting Leading Saints and did the podcast for free. Running a podcast is expensive, and Kurt is doing amazing work over there. Check it out!
This is the easiest way to engage kids in scripture reading in my opinion. You'll need something soft like a beanbag or small stuffed animal. A wadded up piece of paper could even be used in a pinch. You may need to lay out some ground rules like :
- do not aim above the shoulders
- no overhand tosses
- no repeats
After you make your reading assignment and everyone has found it, simply toss the critter to the first person. After reading his or her verse, the student tosses the toy to the person of their choosing. That person reads, tosses, and the game continues until the passage is finished. I write the verse numbers or passages on the board so that we avoid that "Which verse did she say? What do I read?" delay. You'll find that many students will turn to the next passage in anticipation of the reading. You may even require everyone to find the passage before making the next toss, but that will take up time.
This simple method really makes reading a lengthy passage much more exciting for the students. Everyone is engaged, they don't know who will be picked next to read, they laugh when someone drops the critter or plucks it out of the air, no one tunes out when their part is done because they want to see what happens when Delilah goes flying again, and everyone gets a turn. You're still covering the same material, but you've made it engaging and fun for the students.
EXAMPLE: In our class, the students voted on names for our silicone caterpillar, Delilah. She promptly fell apart, and so our second caterpillar was named Samson. My Seminary students love, love, love this game and often ask for Samson when we read. This is one of our class's favorite activities. I use it every few days; it never seems to get old. I have even used it with laid back groups of adults. It's always fun.
Since this is my first year teaching Seminary, I'm still learning and looking for ideas on how to teach students to use the Gospel Study Aids like the Bible dictionary, index, gazeteer, maps, footnotes, and other supplements during their scripture study. Here are a few of the things I've used with success, and I'll add more as I find them.
Please share your ideas, too, in the comments section. We're all learning together and can benefit from others' tips.
Seriously. The Bible Dictionary is awesome. I use it over and over during class -- at least once per week, and lately, during the History books of the Old Testament, I'm using it almost daily. Here are some examples of when you can use it:
- A student asks a question about giants or unicorns. (See BD, giants or BD, unicorn)
- A student mentions how the names in the Old Testament fits with their world history courses. (See BD, chronology)
- You're reading 2 Samuel 22:27 and come upon a weird word. (BD, Froward)
- You are introducing a new prophet or book in the Bible. (see the Bible dictionary entry for that prophet or book, Judges and Chronicles are especially helpful)
- Students are getting confused about the timing of Bible events (BD, chronology)
- You're curious about what the Temple of Solomon was like (BD, Temple of Solomon)
- You're reading the Psalms, and a student asks what the word "selah" means (BD, Selah)
- What exactly is Frankincense, anyway? (BD, Frankincense)
- A student asks a question asking for more data during class that you can't answer.
I really can't emphasize it enough: familiarize yourself with the contents of the Bible dictionary so that you can know when to call on it on the fly during class. The Bible dictionary has saved my bacon from being burnt on a difficult question on more than one occasion! It's awesome!
I used the maps when describing the Exodus, but since my scriptures have the old maps..... uh.... yeah it's pretty bad. Any ideas you have would be helpful! Please post them below!
The Index and the Topical Guide are slightly different. While the Topical Guide has information on general topics and covers all 4 standard works, the Index covers only the material in the Triple. The Index also includes a great index of references to the names of individuals found in the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants. You might ask your students questions and have them find the answers to questions like the following:
- You are trying to find a scripture you heard that contains the word "dance". You know it's in the Old Testament but can't remember exactly where. (Topical guide)
- What would you use to find out more information about a person mentioned in the D&C? (Index)
- Where can you look to find out that scripture about the Waters of Mormon? (Index)
- You are giving a talk on obedience. Where might you start? (Topical Guide)
- Where can you look to determine how many Nephis there are in the Book of Mormon? (Index)
If they're getting really good at these, you might ask them some more advanced questions that include the Bible Dictionary:
- You're wondering about the Passover. (BD, Passover / BD, Feasts)
- You know that the parables are recorded in several places in the Bible. How can you find them quickly (BD, Gospels, Harmony of)
- You want to know where Lazarus was raised from the dead (BD, Gospels, Harmony of)
- You're wondering where the Bible came from (BD, Bible; BD, Bible, English; BD, canon)
- You're friend mentioned the Lord's Prayer. What is that, and where can you find it? (BD, Lord's Prayer -- why? because the words "Lord's Prayer" don't appear in the text, it's not going to be found in the Topical Guide)
You have decided to supplement your study of the D&C with the Church History Institute manual to improve your understanding of how events unfolded in the D&C. You notice the revelations are not in chronological order. How can you study the D&C in time/chronological order? (See Chronological Order of Contents in the D&C. It's just after the testimony of the Twelve Witnesses)
Your little sister is bored in church. All you have is your scriptures to entertain her (Show her the Maps, illustrations in the Pearl of Great Price, Maps at the end of the D&C, charts in the Bible Dictionary, get her to read all the verses about unicorns in the scriptures)
You can't remember where Hosea is ... (Title Page, Bible)
Is Titus in the Old or New Testament? (Title Page, Bible)
Is there a map that shows Bethel? (Gazeteer)
You're teaching Sunday School about Abraham and Mount Moriah. Your students like visual aids. Where can you look? (Gazeteer)
This is an activity I use when I see that section from the reading has lots of great things to underline. Write the verse numbers you'd like the students to read on the board. Use something soft, like a beanbag or silicone toy (we call ours Samson), to toss between students.
After introducing your material, explain that you are about to play a game called "What did you underline?". Each student will read a scripture passage aloud and then tell the class what he or she would underline. (You may also ask them to share why they chose that particular section.) After the class discusses the verse, the teacher will call out the next verse, and the student tosses the beanbag to another classmate, who then reads the next verse. You may want to establish a few rules, like no overhand tosses, no aiming above the neck, or everyone gets a turn.
This is a fun activity, that most students really enjoy.
When planning a lesson I estimate about 3 minutes per passage for reading, discussing, and tossing.
Many teachers use a Scripture Journal to help students retain information they are being taught or to help themselves with personal study. Here are some ideas for using a scripture journal that will give you lots of ideas.
My friend DeAnn purchase a composition notebook for each student for use as a scripture journal. Into this book they paste quotes and are assigned to write FITs (Feelings, Impressions, & Thoughts) based on the quote. Sometimes she might ask them to write about a particular passage, especially a scripture mastery. They might write how they can apply that scripture in their lives or describe a time when a passage helped them. This book is private, and the information is rarely, if ever, shared with the class.
Tell the students to open their scriptures to the passages you will be covering during today's lesson (it might corresponds with last night's reading). Explain their writing prompt (they might summarize the material, describe the feelings of a person in the verse, make a list about something in the passage, liken the scripture to their past, present, or future lives, or something else, write how they will teach this topic to their children, prepare a 2 minute talk based on the passage, etc.). Set a timer to a few minutes minutes (5-7) for them to write.
While the timer is going walk around the class and look at the work students are doing. Offer words of encouragement. Remind them when they have 60 seconds left.
After time is up, invite a few students to share what they wrote to the class. This can serve as a devotional or attention-getter. It's also a useful tool to prepare students for material that will come up during the lesson.
You could also use the timer approach at the end of class to keep a lesson from going over.
Here's what the Seminary manual says:
Some people keep a journal in which they write the main idea of what they read, how they feel about what they read, or how they think what they read applies to their life. If you are using this manual for home-study seminary, you are required to keep a notebook to receive credit. This notebook will be like a scripture journal.
It is also good to talk with others about what you read. Writing down some notes so that you remember what you want to talk about and discussing what you learned will help you understand and remember more of what you read.
The Redheaded Hostess has scripture journaling down to a fine art. She suggests that instead of writing in your scripture journal by passage you write in your journal by TOPIC. Using her method, you might record impressions, but the emphasis will be on writing doctrine you learn from the scriptures.
You can choose several topics you'd like to study and then study those one at a time, or you could start reading a book of scripture and add topics to your journal as you come across them. Here's where RHH describes her journal set up.
You could apply this method of journaling to a multi-year seminary program very easily using a 3-ring binder. Students can add pages and quotes into their journals as they are taught, alphabetically by topic. At the end of Seminary, students would have a fantastic resource chock-full of information for preparing lessons, talks, and for enhancing their own study later. RHH is using hers as heirloom gifts for her children. Beautiful idea.
Here are some more links to her great information
http://www.theredheadedhostess.com/category/scripture-study-2/scripture-... - Quotes from her journals
http://www.theredheadedhostess.com/category/scripture-study-2/scripture-... - Journal tips
