Perfecting the Saints — One Lesson at a Time
Find out what things your students are interested in. Do your students love piano music? Is it rugby season? Are they great artists? Interested in motorcycles? Like to read? Using the search tools at http://www.Mormon.org/ locate a video of someone who shares the interests of your student(s). Before you show it to the class, ask students to watch the video for ways that the person developed his or her testimony….
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We have done this a couple of times in my Seminary class, and it is always so fun! Use this to review material you’ve already covered or material that students already know very well. In our class, this ends up very silly, so it’s best done at the very beginning or very end of class. I’ve done this two different ways: as individuals and as a group. INDIVIDUAL: After explaining…
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I use the phrase “Today We Learned…” to help establish direction in my lessons. First, I determine a lesson objective. Most of my lesson objectives start with the phrase “Students will …” Here are some I’ve used this week during our study of Luke: Students will understand that friends and relatives of Jesus Christ had valuable characteristics that they can seek to emulate. Copying these characteristics will allow students to…
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Invite the youth to share or teach something they have done in Duty to God and Personal Progress related to the doctrines being taught in your lesson. Be sure you give the student clear direction about what doctrine you’re teaching and what information you would like shared. Great for: Encouraging Duty to God or Personal Progress Class size: Any class size Helps Students: SEE a gospel principle in action, SHARE feelings, thoughts, or…
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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…
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This popular technique has been misused for many years. Please don’t ever use this technique in a group that is larger than 20 people. It should be used only rarely in groups over 16 persons in size. Each group should be very small, no more than 4 or 5 people. You should never have more than 4 or 5 groups. 2 to 4 groups is optimal. Take into account the…
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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…
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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 quotes, like “With Great Power comes Great Responsibility.” It helps students get their minds on topic even before the prayer. If they already…
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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…
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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…
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You think I’m kidding, but rearranging the seating has a great 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…
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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…
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THIS WEBSITE WILL CEASE OPERATIONS ON DEC 31, 2018.
We are moving to http://NoBoringLessons.com/ where you can find Come Follow Me Lesson ideas for the new 2019 curriculum Dismiss