Perfecting the Saints — One Lesson at a Time
Throughout the Seminary year — but especially as you approach the end of the year — you may wish to look for ways to introduce (for younger students) or reinforce (for graduating seniors) all 100 Seminary Scripture Mastery (SM) scriptures. Here are a few possible ideas to help you do so: Give students a list of all 100 SM scriptures for them to glue into their scriptures. Have an in-class…
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Courtesy of John Bushman: As a coordinator for S&I, it has not been my style to be very controlling. It has been my goal to give great tips and helps, but in the end, the teachers decide what works for them or not. BUT… now I want to mandate something because it can be so VERY helpful to the teacher and the students. With the teachers I coordinate, I want…
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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 are covering a piece of doctrine or a gospel principle where you want to have…
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Students are asked to imagine themselves in a given situation, and are asked questions about the situation. For example Health Studies students being asked to imagine they are a child who has just been admitted to hospital. Students learning mission skills are asked what the investigator would be seeking. (See the document 25 Ways for Teaching Without Talking at http://GeoffPetty.com/ .) Variation: You might ask students to read a passage…
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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 a little time for the person leading the discussion to prepare for the discussion. This…
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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 or for evaluating lessons that a student might teach to another group. For example, if…
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Ask students to find a scripture reference that answers a certain question. EXAMPLE: During a discussion on the word of wisdom in Daniel 1, I asked students to find a scripture reference to prove THAT God gives blessings to the obedient or WHY He does so, or HOW he blesses the obedient. They all found such great scripture references for this. I was shocked. Only a few came up with…
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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 missionaries to parents of troubled youth to concerned friends. The more realistic the situation, the…
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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 together to answer any questions that comes up. This activity could be done on a…
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I learned this technique from Deann, who learned it from Linda D. When you have a large class of youth, you will need a seating chart to help behavior issues. It’s not mean — it’s positioning everyone so they can participate constructively. Daniel Roma teaches Seminary teachers that f you have more than five students, you need a seating chart. Deann seats her students boy/girl/boy/girl. I have never done that,…
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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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I use this technique when teaching something significant to missionary teaching. AFTER some instruction on a scripture passage or gospel principle, students are assigned into groups of three. Students read the same passage of scripture together as if this was a real missionary lesson. One person is the “nonmember,” and the other two are the missionaries. Missionaries make an effort to teach the principles found in the passage to the…
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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