To help class members share what they are learning, you might ask them to write questions, comments, or insights from their reading on strips of paper and put them into a container. Draw strips from the container to discuss as a class.

Christy Elliott Vogel:  Here is another idea NY coordinator suggested: write the series of questions on the board (search through apply and testify) and ask them to answer one of them in their journals, then share. Those who are more intimidated will pick less personal questions, but at least they will share something.

By Susie Waalkes Kershaw  I thought I would share how our class is doing the "what stuck with you" idea. We have our own "sacred grove" and every Friday they add a leaf on what they learned that week.53  Jeanette Brooks. We do the "what stuck with you" idea also. It so neat to look back […]

This fantastic game ideas was shared by Ricki M on the LDS Seminary Teachers Facebook Group: I had an idea for this game and it was a hit in Seminary this morning. Such a hit that I  am writing it down so I can use it and share with others. This would work great when you […]

If you've got a lot of material to cover in a short amount of time, you can cover the material more efficiently when you know what students already know about the topic.  One way to quickly assess student understanding of series of events is to give them strips of paper with the main events summarized […]

This idea came from a Pinterest post by Erin Guinup.  She didn't post a link to a website, but posted a picture of her chalkboard from doing this activity that you can see at right. You can see her pin on my Seminary Pinterest page. Basically, you start with a topic.  Each student is given […]

Ah, the dreaded Pop Quiz. There's a reason that this old-style teaching method hasn't been thrown out: it's super effective. This evil-sounding tool can be used by the wise teacher to help cover a lot of material very quickly, review previously studied material, or to determine how well students are understanding material.  Plus, it takes […]

One person in the group is asked to present on a topic or review material for the group and then lead the discussion for the group. This person should not be the regular group leader. Hints: When assigning a discussion topic to individual members of the group, you may need to be prepared to allow […]

Form two concentric circles. The smaller, interior group discusses a topic, while the larger outside group observes. Good for larger classes. Hint: Describe how this activity presents students with an opportunity to model or observe group processing behaviors. Reverse roles as needed. Rotate perspectives as an observer. This could be useful for teaching missionary techniques […]

During Think-Pair-Share, group members think about a question/topic individually, then share their thoughts with a partner. Large group summarized sharing also occurs. Hints: The goal of a think/pair/share is to allow participants time to think BEFORE they discuss with a partner. Research shows that when people are given time to contemplate an answer to a […]