When I teach, I try to apply the law of witnesses: "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established," (See D&C 6:28, 2 Corinthians 13:1, Deuteronomy 19:15, 2 Nephi 29:8, Matthew 18:16) to my Lesson preparation. The idea is that as teachers, we're always looking for "witnesses" to the word. […]
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 […]
Eaton and Beecher sometimes give students five minutes to prepare a 60-second talk on a verse from the day's reading. Students then present their talks. If student become long-winded, offer a prize for the student who comes the closest to 60-seconds without going over. Nothing helps students lean a principle so well as having to […]
As Nephi taught, we should "liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning" (1 Nephi 19:23). Where could you or a student place your name or situation into the scriptures and make an appropriate application? Could you substitute your name for someone else's or personalize the situation to make […]
Read the same block with different eyes looking for different things, as if you were wearing a new pair of glasses with different lenses. A parent, a bishop, a missionary, a teenager, someone tired and depressed, someone newly married, someone needing repentance, someone who doesn't get along with their parents, etc. For example, ask the […]
This exercise requires a good imagination. After reading the verses silently (perhaps a few times), invite your class to close their eyes and take a few minutes trying to visualize the scene depicted in the scriptures in your mind. Try to imagine every detail, see how people walked, talked, and acted. What is the scenery? […]
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 […]
Don't be afraid to take the your students outside for a field trip to help them learn a lesson. EXAMPLE: Next I took the kids up the hill to our apple trees. With some small pruners, I pruned off a few branches while explaining to the kids that I had a plan for these trees. […]
Use a respected adult to help you teach the class. Separate into groups and have the other adult teach one group while you teach another. Give the students a few minutes at the end of class to share what they learned. EXAMPLE: When teaching Ruth, I asked my husband to take the boys while I […]
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 […]
