Jigsaw was first developed in the early 1970s by Elliot Aronson and his students at the University of Texas and the University of California. To teach using the Jigsaw method, “divide a topic up into, say, four sub-topics. For example childhood diseases could be divided into mumps, measles, whooping cough and German measles. Alternatively students […]

Use LDS.org's website to help students hear and read a talk. EXAMPLE: I asked the students if they had ever heard the story about "What have you done with my name?" Some had. I told them we'd watch a movie about names, and I asked them to listen for the role that commandments play in […]

Look for ways to help students share those ideas that they have in common. For example, all of your students have had experiences with prayer, church attendance, hurt feelings, etc. EXAMPLE: I asked the students to tell me what they had learned about the benefits of scripture study. Going around the room, each student told […]

Assign students to make a movie about a gospel topic. You may want to have students plan their script so that a Primary child can understand it. My students happen to love anything dramatic, so this is very easy for us. I have a big box of dress up clothes and wigs that they use […]

This is a familiar but underused teaching technique. When you invite students to role play, "The students' job is to shore up their friend, and they almost always bear testimony in the process -- almost without realizing it." (Becoming a Great Gospel Teacher, Eaton and Beecher, p 91) "We've had our students play everything from […]

Divide students into pairs and have one student tell [or write] a story from memory in as much detail as possible, with the second student adding in as much missing detail as possible. Now, the entire class looks over the story in the scriptures and adds in any additional details. The teacher and students work […]

A student suggested this method based on something they do in her drama class at school. A narrator reads a passage of scripture while students act out their roles. Someone (a teacher or another person) randomly chooses a character to "vote off the island". This selection can be done by tapping an actor on the […]

I learned this method at a Seminary regional training. It's a great method that requires little or no preparation. This works best with passages that include plenty of action. Assign one student to be the narrator. The Narrator will read a passage of scripture with FEELING. He or she should do the voices and any […]

Write the assigned verses or passages on a post it note. Mix up the order you will be covering the passages in, and stick an assignment under each seat in the classroom. When it comes time to read, have everyone look under their seat for their passage and read. I usually employ this method when […]

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 […]