From Jonna C - Print these cards on one side of a sheet of cardstock, so that the answers can't be seen through the back of the cards. SEMINARY SCRAMBLE RULES SET-UP 1- Set up your classroom with enough small tables (classroom tables work great), and 3-4 chairs at each table, to divide your class […]

Brandon C shared his Doctrinal Mastery Case Studies, saying I've been working on some doctrinal mastery resources over Christmas break. My students really enjoy case studies, so I created a case study to go with each of the doctrinal mastery verses we cover this semester. I intentional used a casual tone to make it feel […]

Following is a list of quick Zoom game ideas from the Seminary Teacher Facebook Group: Morning Zoom Poll From Theresa C - I wrote Ten question polls and give a different one each morning sharing the poll at the end and review giving the correct answer - this way there is no shame as no […]

Jeopardy is a fantastic game for seminary! I've used it to review material, train new students how to use the scripture study helps, and review doctrinal mastery. You can make your own games using some of these free online templates: http://sctritonscience.com/ https://jeopardylabs.com/ https://www.playfactile.com/ From Laura T - We discovered this morning that the online Jeopardy […]

Following is a list of escape room game ideas from the Seminary Teacher Facebook Group: Jessi's Escape Room Our stake (3 seminary classes) combined this morning to do this activity so now its time for results feedback for those interested in knowing how it went. We had about 40 kids so we had 4 rooms […]

From Elisa Z. - Hi everyone, I just wanted to share something that went well with my class today. We played Doctrinal Mastery Battleship. It might be hard to share because I created it in Adobe Indesign software. Not everyone has that program and you need to be able to add the hit or miss […]

From Jenny S - DO YOU WANT TO HELP YOUR STUDENTS RETAIN DOCTRINAL MASTERY PASSAGES? If you're looking for ways to help Seminary students retain Doctrinal Mastery passages, you can use brain science plus a little bit of basketball to get better results. It's March Madness Doctrinal Mastery brackets! It's not fluff -- it's science! […]

From Raquel H - There are 18 DM scriptures and 3 bonus questions on a spinning wheel. A question or task will be read aloud by the teacher based on the scripture reference where the spinner lands on. First the ppt slide has to be in full screen [Presentation mode. Click once to begin the […]

Doctrinal Mastery game by Megan M. You'll need 1/2 heart for each student in your class. You need to play with even numbers, so if you have an odd number of kids, the teacher must play. Make the heart puzzles ahead of time with the reference on 1/2 of the heart and the key-words on […]

MEGAN M · TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2020· If you’re playing this in the seminary class you’ll need to prep the students the day before by telling them to bring their backpacks, purses, wallets, etc. into the classroom. Put a note on your door to remind them to bring the items in from their cars. In […]

From Cyndi B. Zoom (or regular) Taboo Students take turns giving clues. Everyone else closes eyes while teacher prepares the clue giver for that round. Clue giver looks at the passage and key word cards that teacher shows on the screen. Give him/her a few seconds to prepare thoughts. After everyone else opens eyes, the […]

From Cyndi B. - Zoom Apples to Apples Give everyone 2-3 minutes to gather 10-12 items from around the house that they could use to teach a gospel principle. One student is "the judge" for each round. Show a DM reference that the "judge" will read aloud. Students choose one of the items from their […]

Kahoot Kahoot... run it from share screen on your computer... Students use two screens [browser tabs] on the computer or one screen with Zoom and one screen with the app operating - LeeAnn L. BoM and DC Doctrinal Mastery ASK DM BoM DM DM D&C Breakout EDU Game One D&C Game Two Play Factile Seminary […]

From Jocelyn F. - A good way to do quick daily Doctrinal Mastery Scriptures in Zoom is to use the "polling" feature. You can ask a few questions (single answer or multiple choice). I found this in some of the training and it has multiple uses! I am very new to this and not an […]

From Laura T: I've created a Doctrinal Mastery matching game for the second half of the Book of Mormon. It works well for playing over Zoom. Thank you to the original creator of these awesome graphics (Janelle L.)! How play over Zoom: If you click on the orange grid icon on the right-hand side it […]

From Jacquie M: We finished zoom seminary today with a little doctrinal mastery game. Not sure if I read it here or not but thought I’d share. I matched up Christmas carols with the doctrinal mastery scriptures and they had to guess which one it was and defend their opinion. For example: Jingle Bell Rock […]

This is an escape/breakout room I created for a combined YW/YM activity a year or so ago. I set up six rooms in the building with identical clues so that each group of up to 8 kids could compete against each other and hopefully escape during the time allotted for mutual. The goal was to […]

From Ken Alford: After giving them plenty of advance notice, invite the entire bishopric or branch presidency to scripture chase against your class. You can set up the rules anyway you’d like — making it as competitive or just friendly, as you’d like. Depending on the parents of your students, you might also be able […]

Ken Alford This information was originally published at http://kenalford.com/semlist/2002/02feb02.htm and sent out as part of Ken Alford’s email list to Seminary teachers. Scripture Mastery Devotional Preparation Activity Day This idea is similar to the idea above, but students are given time to prepare devotionals. If your students are like mine, devotionals are too often done “on […]

Ken Alford This information was originally published at http://kenalford.com/semlist/2002/02feb02.htm and sent out as part of Ken Alford’s email list to Seminary teachers. Scripture Mastery “Be Prepared” Activity Day Allow students to prepare short talk outlines based on various scripture mastery scriptures. Then, whenever they get called upon to give a talk or thought; they’ll have a […]

Ken Alford This information was originally published at http://kenalford.com/semlist/2002/02jan25.htm and sent out as part of Ken Alford’s email list to Seminary teachers. In the next several [Seminary-Notes] messages, we’ll consider some ideas for “non-game” scripture mastery activity days that you might wish to try. The first idea is to hold two “scripture mastery scripture chain” activity […]

Ken Alford This information was originally published at http://kenalford.com/semlist/2002/02jan13.htm and sent out as part of Ken Alford’s email list to Seminary teachers.   It’s helpful for teachers who may be struggling with tardiness in the classroom: Punctuality always seems to be a challenge in the church, but it is especially so when you add teenagers and early […]

This idea was posted on Facebook by Thomas Mark OlsenI took his idea and off I went to plan and set up the details for a super fun Scripture Mastery activity.Who knew...Skateboards and Scriptures would be so fun together!!!(On another note, this may be adapted for a party-scavenger hunt clues, etc. Adapt the balloon colors […]

Well, that went well.  I felt the spirit more strongly during this Relief Society gospel study lesson than in our previous lessons.  I started out by debunking that Mormon myth about the devil having control of the waters in D&C 61.  Easy.  Hopefully it's clear to everyone that the destroyer is not the devil, but […]

By Tara Brannelly Hale Tara Brannelly Hale: #scripturemastery game Takedown I set up the class with the chairs in 4 circles. ( I have 32 students) Each team and myself gets one dry erase board and marker They will need their scriptures (of course) and a paper and pencil Each team picks from a central […]

By Kelly Davider Kelly Davider : OK this may sound like the lamest SM game ever, but the kids really like it and it takes NO prep at all and the class loves it…I made it up. They get into pairs and they speed read the SM. I set my phone for 1 min. Each […]

By Shauna Make a Bingo Grid on the Floor (5×5=25 Scripture Mastery verses) Make a “Sock-O” with any sock filled with beans, popcorn, etc. It is fun to use a sock with a seasonal pattern/print Divide in to 2 teams Place a card turned writing side down with a clue for each Scripture Mastery verse […]

Make a Bingo Grid on the Floor (5x5=25 Scripture Mastery verses) Make a "Sock-O" with any sock filled with beans, popcorn, etc. It is fun to use a sock with a seasonal pattern/print Divide in to 2 teams  Place a card turned writing side down with a clue for each Scripture Mastery verse inside each […]

After last week, I thought that the class might be dwindling to an unsustainable level. Even though people keep expressing "interest" many were not showing up or were scheduling other appointments during class time. I was thinking that we might be approaching a time that we would have reassess the need for the class. But […]

AC expressed a common concern on the LDS Seminary Teacher Facebook Group: "I'm a new teacher this year, not creative at all and need desperate help. I have my two boys in my class and they both tell me I'm boring." Here's what I said: Please know that everything I'm about to say is intended […]

After a lesson is complete, you may feel elated or even discouraged.  Evaluating your teaching is an important, often neglected, step that can help you improve as a teacher.  Evaluating your lessons is the "report" part of the Return and Report pattern taught in the temple.  Reporting, by asking questions of yourself, prayerfully consulting the Lord, […]

I have been struggling with motivation lately. The website has just been something I've not been excited to work on lately. This WordPress update is partially complete, but there are a few thousand images and documents to be uploaded.  I was hopeful that I could get Jared to help me with it while we were […]

Because our class is large, I had to make up a game that let all of my 6 zones compete against each other for points, but keep a basketball theme and keep everyone interested and participating. This game was fun and successful in my Seminary class, and I am certain the kids would love to […]

Well.  This was not the best Seminary lesson.  I was so excited, too. I have to say that I'm not quite sure what went wrong. I have two new students, one of whom is testing me, another student who is trying to get the new student to notice her at any cost, another whose feelings […]

Today's lesson went well despite a minor snafu -- I nearly slept in! I woke up rested, which as all you Seminary teachers know is an unusual and unfamiliar state in your life during winter.  It took a few moments to register that I was probably feeling good because somehow I had slept in.  It […]

So this was quite a day.  My investigator asked to be included in our devotional and prayer rotations, so I added her name to our prayer bucket.  Today her name was drawn for opening prayer.  I asked if she was okay praying, and she said "Yeah, but don't be expecting a fancy prayer." I laughed […]

Shared by Kellee B on the LDS Seminary Teachers Facebook Group: So you get 25 3×5 cards and make sure they are all the same color of card (because these days they are in colors and not just white) and you want to cut them in half and write the keys words on one card […]

From Sharra D on the LDS Seminary Teachers Facebook Group: My class did the Toilet Paper game last week and LOVED it. I got the idea from some ‘minute to win it’ post. I had two rolls of toilet paper hanging on a straight [horizontal] pole at the front of the class. I had about […]

This super fun game was written by a Seminary student for his class.  Here are some notes on how to play it: We had a student plan an amazing week of scripture mastery activities. Yesterday it was hunger games themed on Mosiah 4:30. Their battles were rocks, paper, scissors. The person who lost had a […]

2 Nephi 27 Due to some unforseen circumstances, I was completely unprepared ahead of time for this lesson. I had prayed to the Lord to let him know I had been doing my best, but I just could not get the lesson prepared, and went to bed.  I HATE having the kids come without a […]

Tomorrow is election day which is a holiday here in the Commonwealth, and so I've got a bit of a break tomorrow.  Time to catch up on the blog. 2 Nephi 20-24 This morning a couple of kids had questions about BYU applications and Seminary endorsements.  I showed them the form I filled out and […]

2 Nephi 5 To prepare for this lesson I taped a big sheet of bulletin board paper to the wall and drew this basic map: I will add to it throughout the year to help students keep track of where things are happening in relation to each other as the story progresses. I opened with […]

This lesson was super, super easy.  The manual had a group activity that worked out perfectly.  I was like the others who reported back on the Facebook group -- the activity went too long and bled into the following day's lesson. I didn't make a handout for this lesson because .... drum roll ... the […]

Wow.  This was a difficult lesson.  I read on the Facebook group that one teacher spent five days on 2 Nephi 2.  I thought that was ridiculous, but after today, I can see why. I got a Facebook message on Friday from a student saying that she was bringing an investigator to class. This is […]

Well, today's lesson was not stellar.  I don't know why I keep doing this same lesson -- it's a flop nearly every time.  I'm just expecting too much.  These students just can not write a short script from a scripture text to save their lives.  Three years I've been doing it, and it never seems […]

A group of Seminary teachers has created a Facebook group with the purpose of helping teachers share ideas and get help with problems in the classroom.  Come on over and join us at the link below: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LDSSeminaryTeacher/ Just click the "join" link to become a part of the group.

I nearly cried from exhaustion yesterday.  It has been a long summer.  I can't wait for it to be over. School started for the kids on Tuesday, but Seminary doesn't start until the first Monday.  It's a good thing, too, because what with volleyball tryouts and my ill relative and interviewing/coordinating/training caregivers and managing two […]

My son helped me make a set of online scrpture mastery flash cards using Quzlet.  Before you ask, yes, these include the updated 2013 scripture mastery passages. Each phrase is an actual quote from the scripture so that students can learn actual scripture phrasing. Scripture Mastery Keyphrases 1 Nephi 3:7 - "I will go and […]

Today was our final day of class.  Students cleaned out their cubbies, ate some yummy food, watched some YouTube videos (sorry, kids -- still no Strange Brew), and wrote some questions to Stump the Chump.  It was a fun laid back day to enjoy our time together. New Book of Mormon Manual I am relieved […]

Titus I can't find any notes on this ....  How on earth am I still in this calling. Philemon Philemon didn't seem to have anything of particular value doctrine-wise, so I gave the kids a little background on it and we did scripture mastery.

I've been to several Seminary classes to observe, but Tuesday was the first time someone has come to watch me!  Gah!   My friend, DeAnn, has been teaching Seminary for many years.  She called late Monday evening to ask if she could come over and watch our class.  It was fine with me, but my […]

Today another Seminary teacher came to observe my classroom (more on that later), and she mentioned something that the kids had talked about in class yesterday: the scripture mastery passages have changed!  I decided to take a quick look this afternoon before the kids get home to see what changes have been made. There are […]

The people at Thessalonica must have been pretty great bunch of folks.  Paul gushes over them, and then their faith is so strong in the second coming that they literally quit their jobs in anticipation of the event they thought would be soon!  These were fun books to cover. 1 Thessalonians 1-5 I spent a […]

I've been collecting some links and other information regarding the Armor of God.  As usual, I start out with a very grandiose idea and whittle it down to something simpler.  At first I had planned to have each student make a full cardboard set of armor.  Cool, yes.  Physical reminder of a powerful lesson, yes.  […]

I didn't realize there was a form for assessing student understanding of Seminary lessons until I accidentally found it last year on the Seminary and Institutes website.  I suppose that this file is mostly used by full time Seminary teachers, but I am going to try it in my class tomorrow to see where I […]

 Here is how we do Scripture Chasing:  I call out “Books Up” and students close their books and place their books out in front of them with the spine down and their hands on the front and back covers. No fingers touching the pages. I call out a clue, key word, or state ask a […]

This great idea comes from Shauna at http://seminaryatsixam.blogspot.com/ As students arrive, each seat has 2-3 post-it notes with a word, number, or punctuation mark. When I tell them to go, they must work as a group to get their words in order to make a scripture mastery scripture. Until they see who has the name […]

Youth devotionals -- they can put the most patient of teachers over the edge.  The forgetting, the faking, the false doctrine, the too-familiar gospel cliches all combine in a slow-moving train wreck that can make opening exercises in your class a miserable experience. Students forget or ignore assignments, and we teachers act like it's okay […]

Luke 15 While we were watching this fantastic movie this morning: all of the students were commenting on how talented this sand story artist, Joe Castillo is. Then, one of my least introspective students asked himself aloud: "I wonder what I'll be good at?" Another Freshman turned to him and said, "I know man! Me, […]

Well, it's obvious that I've been away from teaching for a while. I'm feeling like I'm not quite on my A-game yet. I don't know if the kids have gotten out of the habit of discussing with the other teacher or if I'm not asking the right questions. Either way, my lesson today could have […]

After an extended vacation, I'm back! I'm still pretty jet-lagged from the trip, but at least getting up in the morning for Seminary isn't a challenge. I'm waking up at midnight and trying to get back to sleep. Rome is 7 hours ahead and it's taking a little time to get back into this time […]

I am going to be unavailable for General Conference weekend, and I will not be uploading the General Conference Jeopardy game like I did last year. 🙁 I hope to be able to do it for April's conference, but it definitely won't happen for October 2012. If you make one, please share it here so […]

Today we covered Matthew 4, the temptation of Christ. This has always been one of my favorite scripture stories. I'm not sure if it's because Jesus owns Satan so soundly or if it's that I feel like the temptations give an insight into the personality of the Savior... whatever it is, I always like this […]

I came down with a terrible sore throat and fever late yesterday afternoon, and so my husband subbed for me this morning in Seminary. The topic was the first of two sections of the plan of salvation. It was easy for him as a returned missionary to step in. I had already divided the board […]

Saturday was our regional Seminary training. As usual, the presentations were of varying value and interest, but I was glad I went. This time I took notes on my tablet using Evernote. I am in love with Evernote, I have to say. I also use the Swype keyboard, which makes note taking using a device […]

This Scripture Mastery game is to help students recall the references from key words(but just a few at a time); so don’t let students tell each other the references. To play, divide students evenly into rows (no more than 5 in a row). Then each row is given a stack of 25 cards with a […]

Click on the [link below] to download the instructions for the Spin the Dreidel Scripture Mastery Game. This being December, we are approaching the Hanukkah season which has its ties to the Old and New Testament. Your class has learned how the Tabernacle, and other ancient temples, had a large candlestick Menorah which was to […]

Word strip activities can help your students become very familiar with, and memorize, the scripture mastery scriptures. Usually it is best to use word strips with the longer scripture masteries scriptures that they may have gone over already. To save you a ton of time in your preparations, I [John Bushman] have placed the text […]

Divide the class into two teams. For each round, a team will need a Hucker (thrower) and a Shucker (rebounder). Team One will start by yelling out a Scripture Mastery clue to the other team. As soon as the clue is given the Hucker from team one throws “Lucky” (the name of the stuffed animal) […]

Before you can have effective scripture chasing, they first need to learn the references to the key words or clues. This game sharpens that skill. It will also help you see who is your fastest. There are many versions of this game. How I do it is I set a long row of tables and […]

Scripture Samurai is one of my favorite Scripture Mastery Games ever. It is especially good for students to learn the key words associated with each scripture mastery. To play you need to get a pool noodle and cut it in half. That will be your Samurai sword. Arrange the tables to face each other in […]

This activity will only work if you have a gym with polished wood floors and some old blankets you don’t mind wearing out a bit more (a few gunny sacks could also work). The game is simple. Divide your class into 2 or 3 teams. Give a clue to the teams and as soon as […]

The idea is pretty simple. Have one less chair than students in a circle. When you give the clue, they walk around the chairs while chasing to the place in their scriptures. When they have found it, they can sit down. The student who is last to find it and sit down won’t have a […]

Put “Stuff” in small brown paper bags—1 item per bag, one bag per student plus 1 extra bag. Items can be small things like a pencil, chap stick, a pkg. of Kool-aid or hot chocolate, a scented candle, a comb, a bookmark, a piece of candy, a highlighter, anything from good to ridiculous. I always […]

Make up one set of 3 by 5 cards for each group. Cards are best made from poster board or colored 3 by 5 cards. Half of the cards should have a scripture mastery reference written on them and the other half, the key words. You may want to make each set from cards from […]

Divide the chalkboard into as many sections as you have zones/groups competing (2 to 4 groups works well). If you have a small chalkboard, have one zone representative at a time go to the board. Have a representative from the first one draw a picture of the scripture mastery selected by the zone without using […]

Here is an easy one. Each student should draw hangman gallows on a blank piece of paper. Give a clue and let the students chase against the clock for ten to fifteen seconds. If they fail to find the scripture, they add a part of the body to the gallows. Be sure that the parts […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 26, 2008 Duration: >30 minutes Divide class into groups of 2-4. Each group gets a scissors, stapler, 15-20 5.5 X 8.5 sheets of paper, and a copy of the day?s newspaper. Students cut out any article, headline, word, picture, comic, etc?, staple it to a sheet of paper, and […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 26, 2008 Duration: >30 minutes Students can work individually, in pairs, or larger teams. Have students number from 1- 25 on a piece of paper. From a box, teacher places on a table an object that serves as a clue for a mastery reference. A new object is placed […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 26, 2008 Duration: >30 minutes Divide group into 3-4 teams (Teacher assigns them and make sure to mix boys and girls, quiet and loud, younger and older students). Each team gets a grab bag of props ( have some easy-to-use props and some that would take some creativity ? […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 26, 2008 Duration: >30 minutes This is a relay type game. Divide the class into 2 teams. Each team is sitting in a row of chairs, facing a chalkboard with 2 pieces of chalk and 2 erasers. On either side of the chalkboard is a small table. On each […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 26, 2008 Duration: >30 minutes Class is divided into two teams, one on each side of the classroom. Set a time limit, such as 25 seconds, for each clue chased. Teacher gives the key word, and time starts. At the end of the appointed time (such as 25 seconds), […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: June 22, 2008 Duration: >30 minutes Needed: 2 buckets or 2 garbage cans 4 chairs to use as part of the game 2 Wadded up paper balls or nerf balls or bean bags Scripture Mastery Cards ? Use the cards on Bro. Kipp?s Seminary Place or use the cards provided […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: June 22, 2008 Duration: >30 minutes Needed: Everyone needs their scriptures Access to one basketball hoop One chair for each student Two Basketballs Scripture Mastery Cards ? Use the cards on Bro. Kipp?s Seminary Place or use the cards provided by CES (http://home.earthlink.net/~cccckipp/index.htm) List of Trivia/Review Questions ? Use your […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: March 5, 2008 Duration: >30 minutes ****This has been my class? favorite game this year ? it really gets crazy! Goal: Score as many points as you can for your team by finding the scripture mastery reference and shooting baskets Needed: ? Garbage can or bucket ? Nerf balls or […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: March 5, 2008 Duration: >30 minutes Goal: Be the first team to spell a word by finding the scripture mastery references in your scriptures as quickly as you can Needed: ? Scripture Mastery Cards ? Use the cards on Bro. Kipp?s Seminary Place or use the cards provided by CES […]

Goal: Score as many points for your team as possible by moving skittles from the table into a cup using a straw. Needed: ? One paper cup per team ? Large bag of skittles ? Box of straws ? Chalkboard or whiteboard for keeping score Scoring: – Each team is awarded the number of skittles […]

Submitted by: Rick Romney Added: October 1, 2007 Duration: >30 minutes Goal: Score as many points for your team as possible by scripture chasing, riding/pulling a rider on a towel, and shooting a basket. Needed: ? Available gym with basketball hoop ? Large towels ? 3 small basketballs ? Chairs or other markers ? Chalkboard […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: September 7, 2007 Duration: >30 minutes Goal: Score as many points as possible by being the first team to find the scripture mastery reference and retrieve the ?point cups? from the center of the playing area. Needed: ? 8-10 plastic cups ? you?ll need extras! ? Black magic marker ? […]

Submitted By: Chuck Kipp Date: September 7, 2007 Duration: >30 minutes Background: Start the game off with the following: In the summer of 1843, the champion stick-puller of Hancock County, Illinois, was Joseph Smith, Jr., our latter-day Prophet. On June 30 of that year, Joseph met with several thousand citizens of Nauvoo at a large […]

Submitted by: Elizabeth Ingersoll Added: September 7, 2007 Duration: >30 minutes Divide the teams in half.(I handed out name labels with #1-7 in black ink on 7 labels, and #1-7 in red ink on 7 other labels for the 14 members of our class, to randomly create a red team and a black team. We […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: April 1, 2009 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Goal: Score the LEAST amount of points by turning as quickly as you can to the SM verse and grab a spoon as quickly as you can. Needed: – 1 set of scripture mastery cards – Enough spoons for every player or […]

Submitted by: Teri Peterson Added: March 5, 2008 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Needed: ? Straws ? 1 cup for holding straws ? Scripture Mastery key words on small strips of paper, about ½ inch by 3 inches Scoring: – Give one point for the first basket made on each turn How To Play: Roll […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: March 5, 2008 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Goal: Find the scripture mastery scripture as fast as possible with your eyes closed, receiving ?flipper? clues from your partner. Needed: ? Scriptures ? Chalkboard or whiteboard for keeping score Scoring: – Score one point for each partnership that finds the scripture […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: June 22, 2008 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes ***At first glance, this game doesn?t seem very fun. However, I found it to be a class favorite. Needed: – Everyone needs their scriptures – Scripture Mastery Cards ? Use the cards on Bro. Kipp?s Seminary Place or use the cards provided […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: September 30, 2007 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Goal: Score as many points as possible for your team by using a straw to blow a penny to the correct scripture mastery block. Needed: ? Placemats (25 on one page) ?Bro. Kipp?s Seminary Place home.earthlink.net/~cccckipp/index.htm) ? One penny for each pair […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: September 7, 2007 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Goal: Score the most points by guessing which scripture mastery card the teacher is holding by using the number clues given. Needed: ? Scripture Mastery Cards ? Use the cards on Bro. Kipp?s Seminary Place or use the cards provided by CES […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: September 7, 2007 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Goal: Try NOT to be the team to tip over the Jenga stack Needed: ? One Jenga Game or Uno Stacko Game ? A table for music stand to put the Jenga Tower on ? Chalkboard or whiteboard for score tally How […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: September 7, 2007 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Goal: Be the first team to have one of your teammates write the correct answer on a piece of paper, wad it up, and MAKE a basket Needed: ? Wastebasket, bucket, etc ? Many small pieces of paper ? Pencils ? 1 […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: September 7, 2007 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Goal: Collect the most scripture mastery cards by slapping them before your opponent. Needed: ? Scripture Mastery Cards ? Use the cards on Bro. Kipp?s Seminary Place (http://home.earthlink.net/~cccckipp/index.htm) or use the cards provided by CES – laminated cards are best Scoring: ? […]

Materials needed: 3×5 cards (15 – for teacher use only) with 15 different game boards drawn on them. On each 3×5 card divide into 9 sections (like tic-tac-toe) 1. Fill in each game with the same points and words, just in different places on each game board. The teacher will use a different one for […]

Prepare a 5X5 grid, but erase each corner and place a small circle there instead: Divide into several teams and give each team a different color marker. You read the SM clue. The first to locate the scripture (or give the correct answer), comes to the board and draws (with their color marker) a star […]

Draw a 5X5 grid. Each team has a different color marker. You read a SM clue and the team to answer first gets to “X” out a square. Gravity counts (i.e. you must start at the bottom and work your way up; you can place your mark on top of another mark—just no “floating” marks.) […]

Divide into two teams. Select a team to play round one, then alternate teams for each round. Select one player to represent the team. Each team receives three “lifelines” (chances for help) per round, to be used as desired. These lifelines are: 1. Ask a teammate, 2. Look in you scriptures, 3. Have your team […]

2 players face each other across a table with a small candy on the table between them. The teacher reads anything off the card and the one to slap the candy first (and proceed to give the correct answer) keeps the candy. As a bonus, they get an extra 2 candies if they can quote […]

(Game name comes from the fact that students have to rely upon their memories to play. No scriptures or reference pages are allowed. Give a sheet of paper to each team (works best with smaller teams of 3-4 students) and have them number their paper 1-25. Fold the paper in half the long way, forming […]

Divide class into teams of 3-4 students. Prepare a muffin tin for each team by placing a round piece of paper in the bottom of each cup with arbitrary point values (both positive and negative points). Make the points similar for each team’s muffin tin. Give each student a quarter and begin reading the SM […]

Have each student tie a large pompom onto an 18” length of yarn (these are the mice). Grab a large sauce pan lid (this is the cat). Have the students sit in a circle on the floor with their mice in the center in a pile and the “tails” (yarn) trailing out in front of […]

Tape SM references to the backs of the chairs (where their back rests against it.) Each chair can have several references and each reference should be put onto 3 chairs. In the center of the circle, place the “bone” (eraser or a piece of candy, etc.). Teacher reads a SM clue and the three students […]

*TIC TAC TOE. Divide into two teams. Sit away from the board and have each team lay out a set of SM reference cards. The teacher reads the SM clue, and both teams search for the correct reference card. The two students who grab the correct reference, race to the board. Who ever draws their […]

(This is a favorite game!) Prepare cards that say things like: “move 2 chair to the Right” “move 2 chair to the left” “move 4 chairs to the left” “move 3 chairs to the right” “chairs #1 and #4 switch places” “winner chooses any chair” “fruit basket upset (everyone switches places)” Etc. Arrange the chairs […]

Draw a football field on the board (with about 3” between each 5 yard line. Toss coin to see which team is first and place the ball on the 20 yard line. Ask the first team a question and if they answer correctly, they roll the two dice and move accordingly: #2 Touchdown—6 points #3 […]

Give each student 3X5 cards and have them compose riddles about the SM. Read the riddles and have students chase to find the reference. Example riddle: “Christmas and birthdays are so much fun, Getting presents from everyone. Toys and trinkets give a temporary lift, But eternal life is God’s greatest gift.” (answer is D&C 14:7)

Form two lines (snakes). Everyone needs a pencil and only the first person in each row can use their scriptures. Give a sheet of paper to the last person in each row that has a SM clue written on it (same clue for both snakes). When you say “go” the last student looks at the […]

Give each team a grid and label the columns 1,2,3,4,5. Label the rows A,B,C,D,E. Place the grids so that the teams can gather around their own grid, but can not see the other team’s gameboard. Give each team two different colors of markers. With one color they can mark their own ships. Have them place […]

(I like to use this game when I’m teaching the Golden Rule or cooperation, etc. The students usually think this is a competition—see who can find their matching partner first—but when all is said and done, I only give the prize if everyone was able to find their partner before the timer dings. (Although, I […]

The object is to move to the front of the train. Make a train by arranging chairs unto columns of two’s so that each row has only two chairs in it. The students compete only against the person sitting next to them, and all students will be chasing simultaneously. The teacher gives clues and announces […]

Put down a masking tape line (all launches behind line). Out on the landing “field” place 5 sheets of paper each with various bonus points written on them. Also place out two sheets of black paper, the “mines” –no points at all if your plane lands on one of those. Give each team (or individual) […]

(This is more of a cooperative class participation activity than a competition game). Preparation: Have all the students form a line and sit down side by side. Give each student a SM card (at random), a 3X5 card, and pencil. (The first person in line will not need a SM card). On the top half […]

Each student gets a bowling score sheet and keeps track of their own score. Call out a SM clue. Start counting (slowly) as your students determine which SM it is and then look it up. The first student to locate the scripture gets a strike, then the teacher starts counting down from 9 to 1 […]

Divide into teams and give each a digital camera (or use student cell phone cameras ~Jenny). They are to take a picture to represent their SM. They may use themselves or find other props to photograph. You could have fabric (for costumes), or other items lying around to help them out. Or let them wander […]

Give each student three 3X5 cards. Have them write a question on each card that an investigator might ask. The questions should require the use of a SM to answer. (They can look at the missionary application on the back of their SM cards to help them come up with these questions.) Divide the class […]

(Sorry, no guns involved). Students spread out their SM cards in front of them. Teacher gives a clue and when they find the corresponding card, they raise it in the air. First one in air gets the points. Variation. Have one set of cards spread out for every two players. They stand on opposite sides […]

Give each student a 3X5 card and have them write the reference to the SM they “own” (have chosen ahead of time to teach the class) at the top. Now they each choose 5 important words from their scripture to be come the forbidden words and write these below the reference. Teacher gathers the cards […]

Have the students make a collage (from old Ensigns and church magazines) representing their SM.

Prep: Choose as many SM’s as there are students in the class. Divide each SM scripture into 8 parts, writing each phrase part onto a different card (you can use blank 3X5’s turned vertical). Let the students help make the cards, each taking a different SM and writing pieces of it onto 8 cards. At […]

Provide each student with an enlarged copy of the grid (see links below) Students may draw the following symbols in the squares of their choice on their game grid:1 scripture man=100 points1 scripture woman=100 points1 temptation man=Lose 25 points3 smiling faces= 20 pointssquares without a drawing=5 points You need to have your SM cards handy […]

Each student is given a sheet of paper and a pencil. There is to be absolutely no talking (or else they start giving clues to each other about what they will write) and no looking at a neighbor’s paper. Explain to the students that you will give a SM reference and they are to write […]

Place two stacks of scratch paper on the floor next to each other. Place a garbage can about 10 feet away. One player from each team comes forward and stands by a paper stack. You read the clue (or start reading the actual scripture) and the first person (of the two) to answer correctly (or […]

Obtain a ball (a child’s smooth, bouncy, ball ~8”-10” in diameter—like the ones you buy from the tall bins at discount stores). Write all 25 SM references randomly on the ball with a permanent marker. Begin by tossing the ball to a student. He catches the ball and then looks to see which references his […]

Here’s what you need: • Pieces of paper each with a scripture mastery reference (students can prepare these). • Tape • A pair of rolled socks (or soft Nerf ball) (I used dry “splash balls”) (or sponge balls) Here’s how to prepare: • Remove all breakable items from your classroom • Tape the scripture mastery […]

Set up: You need several pieces of paper (equal to the number of half your class). Label each sheet with a number, starting with zero and continuing upward. (For example, I have twelve students, so I need 6 sheets of paper, labeled: 0,1,2,3,4&5) (If an odd number of students are present, then I play with […]

Prepare 5 cards (3X5 cards work well) each with a different point value (100, 75, 50, 25, &10). (You may also wish to laminate them.) Divide players into several teams (5 teams if possible). Physically separate the teams and place a small table in the middle of the room. Place these 5 point cards face […]

Have a certain color balloon assigned for each team. Each set of balloons contains clues for the 25 scripture masteries. (You don’t have to use all 25 balloons and clues). Put the balloons scattered all over the floor in one area by you. When you say “GO” one member of each team runs to get […]

Lay out 10 to 25 SM reference cards, face up in a circle—this becomes the “game board”. Inside the circle, lay out the matching keyword cards, upside down. Place a penny (to use as a moving marker) on any of the reference cards. All the students sit around in a circle so they can all […]

Make 2 game cards per SM—one with the reference and one with the keywords. (Ken Alford suggests using magnetic business cards that you can purchase at an office supply store—if you have a blackboard or whiteboard that is magnetic, of course.) Place all of the game cards on the board in pairs (either one above […]

Divide into teams. One student comes up and teacher hands him a SM card. He must draw a picture to represent that SM while his team guesses the reference. (Can be timed if needed.) Cannot draw words or numbers, no making sounds or hand gestures. If you want to take this to a new level, […]

Set up – 9 chairs in the center of the class in a tic tac toe formation. XXX XXX XXX Divide into two teams (x’s and o’s). Everyone on each team gets a number (We had 8 on each team so numbered them from 1-8) Object – your team makes a tic tac toe before […]

Divide into teams. One team rolls the die and follows these directions: #1—choose any category #2—Historical Setting #3—Doctrinal Teaching #4—Missionary Application #5—Personal Application #6—other team chooses a category for you The teacher mixes up the SM cards and randomly reads clues from the correct category [from the backs of the scripture mastery cards]. Some of […]

Teams bid for the right to name the scripture, (lowest bid wins). The captain of team #1 says “I can name that scripture in ____words.” Other teams can bid lower or say “Name that Scripture.” The teacher then reads the number of words bid. The words can be at the beginning of the scripture (or […]

(This is a good one to play the first few weeks when you are first learning the “magic square”). I play this game using a Nerf dart gun (the kind with a suction cups at the end of the darts. You could also use one of those balls covered in suction cups.) To prepare, draw […]

Pass out 3X5 cards and have the students prepare clues for quizzes. Quiz ideas: Have each student choose three important words from the scripture they “own”. Mix up the cards and teacher reads off the clues while students write the references. SM shapes. Each student writes out the entire scripture they “own” on a card. […]

Students stand in circle. One student steps out of circle and faces away from the others. He begins reading (or reciting from memory) one of the SM, while everyone else tosses the bean bag back and forth. The reader stops mid way and turns to face the group. Who ever is holding the bean bag […]

Tape a piece of paper with the key words onto the ceiling. Give a treat to the first student to notice it and a treat to the first student who shouts out the reference. (or finds it in their scriptures).

Enlarge SM and cut into strips. Hide around the room before students arrive. On “go” the each hunt for a piece and then must assemble themselves into the correct order and recited the SM to you.

Print out the SM (in 90 pts, landscape), then cut and tape into one long line. (Roll it up.) (Or have the students write out the SM on a piece of adding machine tape—which you can buy at Walmart.) Do this 3 more times so you have 4 copies. Divide the room into 4 squares […]

Enlarge the SM (print it in big font so it fills the page) and make a copy for each team. Cut into 12 equal squares, mix up, and place in an envelope (one envelope per team.) Phase one: teams open their envelope and race to put together the puzzle. Award a point for completing the […]

Type the scripture 3 different times on the same sheet of paper, but each time have different words missing (replace them with a blank line). Fold the paper so only the first is showing. First round: students fill in as many missing words as possible without using scriptures (and then may peek to complete the […]

Give the students 2 minutes to memorize as much as possible. They all stand. The first person recites the scripture until they miss a word (or can’t remember any more). That person then sits down, looks at the word they missed and tells it to the class. The next person tries to say more than […]

Enlarge the SM (or use the large poster once you are finished with it) and cut it into puzzle pieces.

Give each team an envelope with the SM cut up into small phrases. The students lay out the pieces onto a table. Teacher says “go” and they must transfer the words to a second table and put them in the correct order. The catch? They each have a straw (to suck up each piece for […]

You need 12 styrofoam cups per team, each marked with a colored stripe so the teams know their color. On the board write out the SM so that the entire scripture is divided into four equal lines, and number the lines 1-4. Have all the cups separated and grouped in colors. All students begin sitting […]

Divide the class into teams of 3 students. Each team has two dice, a pie tin, a set of scriptures, a pencil and paper. Open scriptures to the SM. When teacher says “go”, the first student on each team begins to read the scripture while the second student writes down exactly what the first student […]

Divide the SM into phrases (or lines from the SM card). Number each phrase or line. Assign each student a number (several students should have the same number). Give a few minutes for students to memorize their line. Call up a student per phrase/line and have them recite the SM (each their own line). Then […]

One student stands and reads (or quotes) one of the scriptures. The object is for the reading student to finish reciting the SM before all the others can locate and find the reference in their own scriptures.

Prepare by making two copies of several “quizzes” on the SM or SM’s you are focusing on. These quizzes can be “fill in the blanks” “match key words to references” “unscramble the phrases” “first letter only (write the scripture with only the first letter of each word given as a clue)” etc. Divide the class […]

Prep: Divide the SM scripture into short phrases and write each phrase onto a popsicle stick. (Let the students help you prepare the sticks.) You’ll need two sets of sticks for each scripture if you want to race teams against each other. (You could use a different color ultra-fine Sharpie marker for each set. Make […]

All team members are given a few minutes to review the scripture. Each person is given a piece of paper and when the teacher says go they must write the scripture down on a piece of paper. The trick comes when the teacher tells them to switch papers. All persons in their team must switch […]

Enlarge a SM card and cut it up into each individual word. (Or cut up the large poster if you are done with it). Place the individual words of a SM on a table. Everyone surrounds the table. Teacher reads the SM stopping suddenly mid-sentence. The students try to be the 1st person to grab […]

Supplies per group: 1 die,1 pie pan,1 pen,1 piece of paper per student, and scriptures for each student. Game: Sit in a circle with scriptures opened to a pre-selected SM. Student will roll die into pan trying to get a 6, the pan and die continues around the circle with each student rolling the die […]

Game is like musical chairs, but played with paper plates. Written on each plate is part of a scripture mastery. Divide the scripture up so only parts of the scripture is on each plate. (Let students write their part on the plates). Play music while the students exchange their plates with each other, (no order […]

Each team has chalk and board (if only one board, divide board into half with a line). Each team forms a line and when the teacher says “go” the first person starts writing the scripture on the board. When the teacher says switch the next person starts writing where the first ended. Eventually 1 team […]

Each student finds and writes out the SM. As they finish, teacher assigns them a number. When all are done, roll the dice (or choose # from a draw bag) and a candy is given to the number rolled. (This eliminates the “racing” –anyone who finishes has equal chance at the prize.)

A student gets to shoots baskets (one point each) for as long as it takes for all other students to locate SM in their own scriptures. (or write it out)

Divide the scripture into parts and have each student draw a rebus for the SM. (A rebus is when you replace words with symbols or pictures, i.e. “I” becomes a picture of an eye, “be” becomes a picture of a bee. Etc.

One student is given a piece of bubble gum. As soon as he starts opening the wrapper, all students start to write out the SM (copy from scriptures if necessary). See who can write the most down before the gum chewer blows a bubble.

Have one student read the scripture aloud while you time how long it takes. Write the time on the board. Now, have one student say the first word, the next student say the next word, the third student say the third word, etc. Time and see how long this takes. Do the same thing again […]

Have one student read the scripture aloud while you time how long it takes. Another student tries to beat the time, while everyone else listens for missed words, etc. Must be understood and accurate to qualify.

Have everyone look at the poster and write down or discuss what they think the key phrase is. Compare the phrase to the phrase on the bookmark—did you pick the same phrase?

Using the large poster with the scripture written out (that the student prepared), have the class recite the SM together. One student then places a block of paper (these blocks can be different sizes and shapes) over some of the words. Recite again. Cover more of the poster and recite again, etc.

Pass out 3X5 cards and have the students prepare “quizzes” on the SM they “own” (owning means they have chosen scripture masteries ahead of time to lead the class in learning ~Jenny). Make copies and save until the week you are concentrating on that scripture. Quiz ideas: Fill-in-the-blank, first letter only, unscramble (each line on […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: September 7, 2007 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Goal: Unscramble the words to get as many points as possible. You can use this game for scripture mastery or to introduce concepts, etc. Needed: ? List of words to unscramble ? this is a great web page that will scramble words […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: September 4, 2008 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Needed: – Scripture Mastery Cards the cards on Bro. Kipp?s Seminary Place (http://home.earthlink.net/~cccckipp/) or use the cards provided by CES – You could also use the full size 8 ½ x 11 version of the SM cards from Bro. Kipp?s Seminary Place […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: September 7, 2007 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Goal: Score the most points by landing pennies into the cups. Needed: ? Box of pennies ? 3 Paper or Plastic Cups ? the wide, low-profile plastic cups work best ? Masking Tape ? Small Table or Music Stand ? Chalkboard or […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: September 7, 2007 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Needed: 1 bucket and 1 small ball. We used a ball made from duct tape. Object: The object of the game is for each student to score as many “two-point” buckets as possible, while the other students open their scriptures to the […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: September 7, 2007 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Goal: Be the first team to try to determine which Scripture Mastery card the teacher is holding using ?yes or no? questions. When the correct reference is given, be the first team to have your scriptures open to the reference. Needed: ? […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: October 10, 2007 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Goal: Score as many points as you can by recognizing the gesture clue and finding the reference in your scriptures, as quickly as you can. ***This game needs some preparation beforehand. You will need to either review the ?gestures? that come with […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes It is played by dividing into teams. You give a scripture clue, and they work as a team. The first team to all find the scripture gets a point. They then give the teacher a number between 1 & 40. The teacher […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Divide class into two teams. Divide chalkboard in half, or use two boards if available. Tell the class the SM reference. Upon the command of GO!, students go to the board and write one word per student until the entire reference is […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Pass out a deck of SM cards among the class. Show an object, read a poem, play a popular song or video clip, etc?. The goal is to somehow apply all 25 SM. http://home.earthlink.net/~colby.kipp/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfile…

Materials needed: two flyswatters paper marker Break a scripture mastery verse up into words or phrases. Write (or have students write — even better!) a scripture mastery passage on pieces of paper or 3×5 cards. Put the papers on the floor. Read the scripture mastery verse aloud, stopping before the first word found on the […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Divide the class into two teams. Give each team a fly swatter. Have Scripture Mastery flash cards stuck up all around the room. Teacher calls out a SM clue. Kids take turns using the fly swatter to smack the correct SM flash […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Class is divided into two teams. Each team gets a deck of SM cards, which are divided among its members. Team 1 selects a clue of any five consecutive words to give to Team 2. Time starts after the clue is given. […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 10 to 30 minutes Divide the class into two teams. Chairs are lined up one behind the other, one line for each team. The teacher, using two SM decks, hands the same card to the first person in each line. When the first person finds the […]

Submitted by: Chuck Kipp Added: September 20, 2007 Duration: 5-10 minutes Goal: Memorize one of the scripture mastery verses. Needed: ? 15 ? 20 paper plates ? Permanent Marker Scoring: ? No scoring for this game ? everyone should learn the scripture mastery verse! How To Play: 1. Write the scripture mastery verse that you […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 5-10 minutes Give scripture clue. Say, “those wearing sandals!” OR: “Juniors!” “Girls!” “Those wearing shorts!” “Those wearing jewelry!” Etc?. Those called are the ones who chase the key word, clue, or key phrase.

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 5-10 minutes Announce a time limit (such as 20 seconds). Time starts after the clue is read. All who get the SM within the time limit get a candy (such as the Brachs? pound candy).

I have a Shock Ball that I bought at Amazon.com for around $20. It’s a small plastic ball with metal discs around the outside that emit a small electric pulse at random. Set a timer for 1-3 minutes. Allow students to look over a scripture mastery passage until the buzzer sounds. Students sit in a […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 5-10 minutes The teacher picks a student to start off. The teacher says a SM clue or shows a SM flash card. The student has to say the correct scripture reference. A student rolls the die. Whatever number comes, you count people to the right of […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 5-10 minutes Using an overhead projector, have students apply as many SM as possible to what is displayed. (For example, display a picture of candle, temple, or a seed. ~Jenny) http://home.earthlink.net/~colby.kipp/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfile….

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 5-10 minutes Announce a time limit. Give a key word, and chase. http://home.earthlink.net/~colby.kipp/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfile…

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 5-10 minutes It is played with straws. NO HANDS can touch the scriptures or they’re disqualified. Everyone has to “blow” the pages or “suck on the straw” to get to the correct page. Be careful! Sometimes scriptures can get wet! http://home.earthlink.net/~colby.kipp/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfile…

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 5-10 minutes Have students turn to a hymn that you have directed them to. Have them tell you which scripture mastery verse(s) match and why. For example: Lead, Kindly Light [Hymn # 97] could go with Matt. 5:14-16 Choose the Right [Hymn #239] could go with […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 5-10 minutes Write the first letter of each word of a mastery reference on the board. Have students identify the reference. Use it to recite the reference as a class, first with their books open, and then again with their books closed. http://home.earthlink.net/~colby.kipp/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfile…

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 5-10 minutes Each student gets a piece of paper numbered 1-25. You need to begin counting 1-25. [Decrease the time as you go, until they are all around 10-15 seconds.] Give the key word and start counting. They write down whatever number you are on when […]

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Added: September 23, 2008 Duration: 5-10 minutes Have closing prayer a few minutes before class time ends. Tell the class you?ll take the first two to get the SM. Give the key word. The first two to get the SM can leave. Repeat until the class is gone.

Submitted by: Kelly Miller Duration: 5-10 minutes Show a random object. Have students take turns telling how the object applies to each scripture mastery verse. They cannot repeat a SM that someone has used before them.

For the past several days we've had the entire family here for a reunion. Phew. Fourteen people running around here. It was fun. Due to the chaos, the only thing I got done Seminary related was to start work on the first few lessons for the first week of class. I'm not even done reading […]

I love the functionality of the new gospel library app, and I've been seeking my own holy grail of smart devices on which to run it. My husband bought me a Nexus seven as a surprise gift. It came in the mail yesterday. I'm writing this blog entry using Dragon dictation. Dragon is very accurate […]

Last week I read a blog entry from Leading LDS titled "What if Elder's Quorum was Forever Cancelled". It really got me to thinking about the meetings we hold in the Church. Would people have missed Relief Society if it was cancelled when I was president? How about now in Seminary? Do my students consider […]

I read in USA Today this article:http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-07-03/religion-courses... It describes how students are allowed to receive credit toward graduation through released time courses. Wow. Of course the grading that equates to a high school course, I wouldn't enjoy as much..... Tuesday I had my meeting with the SI representative and the new Stake Representative. They gave […]

The new sticker designs are here! I meant to order them two months ago and got busy with some other projects. I had initially thought they would be the first things I'd add to the new website, but unfortunately, that upgrade hasn't worked out. It's pretty much making me crazy. I am very excited about […]

I started work this week on the reading schedule for New Testament. Wow. This is going to be SO much easier than Old Testament was! There are just 260 chapters in the new testament, so It's pretty easy to finish the New Testament for these students. Students who read just one chapter a day, 7 […]

I was positively giddy when the kids left this morning after our very last official class of the year, but now I'm feeling a little sad. I can now understand when teachers say how hard it is when you get released from Seminary teaching. I can honestly say I've never felt sad about having a […]

It's the last full week of Seminary, but who's counting? ME!!!!! *I* am totally counting down! Jonah 1-4 For our lesson opener I used the manual idea and had the kids write on a apiece of paper the last place they'd ever want to visit. I told the students it had to be a geographical […]

Here's my lessons up to today. I will post pictures and handouts as soon as I can. Hosea 1-3 Lesson objective: Students will learn that God loves his people and desires them to enter into his covenant. He is willing to "pay" to have them. On the board I wrote, "What are you worth to […]

So, the last entry was about me failing to journal. On April 23. 🙂 It's really not my fault tho -- the website has been down even worse since Jared started tinkering with it. Dies about every 15 hours, and I don't have the will to fight with it when we are close to moving […]

I spent a bunch of time at the library reading Psalms and trying to decide what was the best way to teach the kids the Psalms. I've mentioned before that I didn't like how little time the Seminary manual spends in the Psalms. The lesson schedule gives 4 lessons to cover the ENTIRE books of […]

I admit it. I totally faked the Job lesson. Maybe not *totally*, seeing as I did read the text and had kind of an idea what I'd do if the lesson went short. A student, impressed with the "One Small Voice" video from Josiah movie asked to see the Esther music video today. I showed […]

On the weeks that we meet 5 times, I plan in a free day. Sometimes we watch a movie. Most of the time it's scripture mastery. This week, our activity fell on (fabulous) Friday. I usually prepare my lessons for the upcoming week on Thursday, and Thursday I had discovered that there was a really […]

Today's lesson objective was "students will learn what a great blessing it is to have the words of the law available to them." In order to keep the kids on track with this lesson, I had to help them understand the context. I explained the setting using the Bible dictionary entry we read the day […]

It's getting easier to get up for Seminary now that the days are getting longer again. It's such a relief to send the kids out in actual sunlight instead of in the dark like we did during December and the start of January. They still arrive in the dark, but sunrise is just 30 minutes […]

I was setting up the video for last Friday's lesson, when to my surprise, in came a student with our un-enrolled Seminary student! I was delighted! I was so distracted that I forgot to celebrate one of the student's birthdays, in fact, but it was all good. I started out by describing the setting where […]

After Tuesday's lesson, I was ready for a break. I tried to find a substitute for my class, but by the time it was 4:00 in the afternoon I knew it just wasn't going to happen. My lesson topic was "Saul, David, and Solomon: What Went Wrong" based on a CES document by the same […]

I felt terrible after this lesson today. I can honestly say that this is the first time I was glad to see the kids go. It really wasn't a bad lesson, but I just could not get the kids to STOP TALKING. It was so rude and distracting. I actually had to have the worst […]

Today I taught the beginnings of 2 Samuel. We started out class by having some of the kids who either didn't have time or who didn't follow the instructions complete their work on the scroll. Some of them forgot their names. Some didn't write power phrases. One was absent, and I had two visitors, so […]

This week is a weird one. The kids are off Wednesday and Thursday for exams. The other teacher is having a surgical procedure this week, too, and so his class isn't meeting Friday, which means mine isn't either. Next Monday is a school holiday (which I forgot). And yesterday, the federal government called a 2-hour […]

What a fantastic lesson we had in Seminary today! I'm not sure what happened to make things go so well, but wow, this was really a great lesson (from my point of view, anyway). Class started off very silly -- like Monday silly -- and we even got started a little late with our opening […]

My kids are always silly on Mondays. I don't know what does it to them, but most of the time Mondays are just a little sillier than usual. I've learned to just accept this and embrace the silly. It helps that I do find them genuinely funny, and so I don't have to stretch too […]

Well, it's the second day back at school after Christmas break, and the kids are already starting to droop. It was 12 degrees outside when they came in this morning. Brrrrrr. This was the first day that no one complained about sitting close beside each other on the couches 🙂 I didn't write out my […]

It's a new year! I've set a goal to add new content to the site each day of 2012. Most of the time I'll be blogging since I am blogging about my Seminary class, but on off days I will try to add some new content related to Young Women or Primary. I've been working […]

I think today we learned some stuff that got us thinking. I hope some of it stuck, especially for our young Aaronic priesthood holders. On the board I wrote "Why is it important that priesthood ordinances be performed by those who are clean inside and outside?" and "What happens if a priesthood ordinance is done […]

Seminary was canceled on Thursday due to the extreme flooding in the area. Since I do my lessons based on the reading that the kids are doing, we ended up skipping Exodus 29. Leviticus 1, 3, 4:1-22 Friday's lesson was on the symbolism of animal sacrifice in the Old Testament. The lessons in the manual […]

After this blog entry I'll be all caught up! Monday and Tuesday we spent reviewing what we've learned so far on Moses and making movies. The kids wrote out their scriptures which had to include: some scripture languagea power phrase (pretty much all of them forgot this) and had to be finished TODAY Last time […]

For the 10 commandments lesson, I wrote the following chart on the board: 1 - Deuteronomy 5:1-8 2 - footnote f, D&C 68:25 3 - footnote b, Mormon 7:7, D&C 58:30 4 - Exodus 31:12-17, Deuteronomy 5: 12-15 5 - Deuteronomy 11: 8-9, 17, 21; Helaman 7:24 6 - footnote a 7 - 8 - […]

I realized I was behind but wow..... 2 weeks! It's been so long now that I can barely remember what I did for Exodus 14-15. My lesson outline literally has 2 sentences and two scripture references written down. That's it. I know we started with having the kids write down something that was new or […]

The Thursday and Friday before Thanksgiving we covered the Passover in our Old Testament reading. I elected to put on an abbreviated Passover meal during Seminary to cement in my students' minds the symbols in the passover meal and meaning behind them, since we'll be referring back to them often during the next several weeks […]

The quarter is over -- report cards passed out, new reading charts distributed. I can't believe it's gone by so fast! I was talking about how much we've done so far, when Jared pointed out that I have only 3 quarters left. :-/ This week has been a short week because of Veteran's day and […]

My aunt went into the hospital on Friday, so I was with her until about 9 PM Friday night. On Saturday I spent most of the day making ear rings and other jewelry to sell at the craft fair for our Indian tribe this weekend. Sunday I goofed off in the morning and then went […]

We started off by singing "Happy Family" from the Primary song book. I drew names out of the prayer bucket for us to use in singing until everyone's name had been sung. It was silly, but Happy Family fit in with our lesson pretty well. In today's Seminary lesson, Jacob and Esau reunite. We did […]

This month's National Geographic magazine has an article in it on the teenage brain. As the mother of a teenager and a Seminary teacher, I was interested to read what they said. Much of the information was not particularly new to me -- this information on the developing teenage brain has been available for a […]

I was getting worried yesterday afternoon that I wasn't going to have time to prepare my lesson. People kept calling and coming over related to the upcoming Time Out for Women, and the DAR thing, plus I set up a VT appointment and some other stuff. Jared ended up taking DS to mutual so I […]

Today we covered Moses 3. I was out late last night with a DAR Fall Muster meeting registration I had signed up to help with, and when coupled with a family "crisis", I didn't get much time to work on my lesson for today. Luckily I had taken some notes on the material while we […]

We went out of town over the weekend to visit some family in Connecticut. My cousins Andy and Ricky had a combined homecoming/farewell at their church on Sunday and so we drove up to see them and for the service. My grandma and Uncle Randy flew in from Utah to visit, too, so it was […]

For today's reading I asked the kids to read 1 Nephi 13: 19-29, 40; 1 Nephi 14:23 and Mormon 7:8-9. Our discussion today was on whether the Bible was inferior scripture or not. They've heard all their lives that "plain and precious parts" have been removed, and the difficulty of reading the Bible sometimes means […]

GREAT NEWS!!! The county transportation department was able to find transportation on a bus for our kids, and now the Seminary students will be able to ride the bus from my house to school each morning! Now all the mommies have to do is get the kids here, and the kids' ride to school is […]

Well, it's over. All the preparing and fretting and lack of sleep culminated in a slightly rocky first day of Seminary. I'm so relieved to be finally teaching! Several of the kids arrived right at 6:00 am, which astonished me. We start at 6:10, and I don't know if people weren't sure how long it […]

Church met only the first hour Sunday due to the hurricane. Several people didn't show and we didn't have enough for Primary to operate, so I spent the rest of the day visiting my students and their families. It was a really good thing to do. I don't think doing those visits is something that […]

So today I feel better that I have in some time about Seminary. My good friend, Brent, taught Old Testament back in the day, and when he heard that I was teaching asked if he could help. We had arranged for our families to get together last night for a Family Home Evening where we'd […]

Well, my tenure as YW secretary will be over when Girl's Camp is done. Sunday I was called as early-morning seminary teacher for our unit. I'd be lying if I said I was thrilled at the prospect at first, but I'm getting more and more excited about the ideas I'm getting. I've never actually attended […]