Alma the Younger and Amulek

Teaching the Scripture Readers Chapter 16: Alma the Younger and Amulek
click to view in Google Docs

Alma the Younger Repents

Chapter 15 from Teaching the Scripture Readers: Alma the Younger Repents
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How To Teach a Scripture Passage

HERE is a really great blog post by Julie M. Smith about how to teach a scripture passage. I'm going to cut and paste some of it here on my blog, not to take any credit for the info, but only to guard against the chance of the link disappearing some time. But certainly you should go to the source for the whole article and comments.

Lesson 38: “Beside Me There Is No Saviour” Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual

Here is a free downloadable lesson plan in pdf. form. It contains:

An attention activity
A scripture presentation adapted from the manual
Printable visual aids

Print the mini-posters and the scripture cards on heavy cardstock, and cut along the dotted lines on the mini-posters, then fold them in half ( they should look like the picture above when they are folded properly)

LINK

I'm still figuring this part out, but you should be able to view and print, or download the attached file from the above link.

An Easy, Visual Way to Prepare a Lesson

You've probably noticed that the lessons in the manuals all follow a structured pattern. I find it easier to understand and organize information if I can see it in a more visual way. I like to use a chart like the one above as I plan a lesson.

I read through the lesson and the associated scriptures one time fairly quickly. Then I go back and write out the purpose of the lesson in my own words in the appropriate section of the chart. For example, in Gospel Doctrine class lesson #38, the stated purpose is:

To help class members understand that Jesus Christ is incomparable in his devotion to his people and that he has a great work for them to do. 
 
I might restate that as:

Jesus Christ is completely devoted to us, and he asks some things of those who follow him.

Then I go through the lesson again more slowly. Hopefully, the Spirit will help me decide which scriptures I need to focus on, and some ideas on how to present them. I write these ideas in the Scripture Presentation section.

I then plan the attention activity and the conclusion.  The lessons in the manual usually have a suggested attention activity, but any part of the lesson can be made into an attention activity by the use of some visual aids, or an object lesson, etc.

For example, part of the purpose of lesson #38 is to point out that no one can do for us what the Savior can do. I ran across an idea HERE that can be adapted to become an attention activity:

Show a copy of the yellow pages and say that when we have a problem that we need help with, we used to check in the yellow pages, and we could usually find someone to call from A to Z. Now we just Google it. But what do we do when we need forgiveness for a sin, or comfort in the loss of a loved one? Only the Savior can help us with many things we need.

Here's a blank copy of the chart in case anyone might find it useful in helping plan future lessons.

LDSToolbar.com: Linky Goodness

If you are teaching a church class, you probably already have a bunch of sites bookmarked-- the official Church site, some blogs, maybe the Institute manuals online, etc. I know I have dozens of them, and I have to admit that they're not very well organized. So I was happy to find LDS Toolbar. Just click on a link and their nifty toolbar installs to your browser. And it's free!

It sits quietly at the top of your browser window until you're ready to work on your lesson. Then just click a time or two and there are all the links to almost all the good stuff you need to study the gospel. And somebody else does all the organizing, categorizing, cleaning up old links, and all the stuff that I never seem to get around to doing. It's awesome! Check it out HERE.

The Truth About Using the Lesson Manuals Part 1

It doesn't take long years of church class attendance to realize that there is an infinite variety of teaching styles among us. And it won't take long before you hear someone makes a big deal about sticking strictly with what is printed in the manual, word-for-word, and nothing else. And at the other extreme is the teacher who never uses a word from the manual. Once I had a Sunday School class where every week the teacher printed out one of those "faith-promoting" stories that make the rounds in e-mails and cut them into strips and we spent the entire class time reading them.

And most of us have had the experience of hearing one leader espouse the stick-to-the-manual approach, and another urge using the Spirit as a guide in deciding what we should teach, along with including personal experiences. So how do we know what is appropriate to use as lesson material?

One place to start is the manuals themselves. Every manual has a section called Helps For the Teacher. Read it! Several times! What stands out to you? What teaching questions do you have that are answered there? What teaching questions do you have that aren't answered? Write them down for later inquiry. Here's what jumped out for me:

Elder M. Russell Ballard said: “Teachers would be well advised to study carefully the scriptures and their manuals before reaching out for supplemental materials. Far too many teachers seem to stray from the approved curriculum materials without fully reviewing them. If teachers feel a need to use some good supplemental resources beyond the scriptures and manuals in presenting a lesson, they should first consider the use of the Church magazines”

Each lesson in this manual contains more information than you will probably be able to teach in one class period. Seek the Spirit of the Lord in selecting the scripture accounts, questions, and other lesson material that will best meet the needs of class members.

It is more important to help class members understand and apply the scriptures than to cover all the lesson material you have prepared. If class members are learning from a good discussion, it is often helpful to let it continue rather than try to cover all the lesson material.

If you are teaching youth, remember that they often need active participation and visual representations of the doctrines being discussed. Your use of video presentations, pictures, and activities suggested in the manual can help youth stay interested in the lessons.

So far, what have we learned? Well, first read the lesson in the manual. Don't just skim it and think that you've heard it all before. I am not one of those word-for-word from the manual teachers. But I've found that if I read through the lesson, no matter how many times I think I've heard it all before, then things pop into my mind-- ideas on how to use the lesson material in a way that is more personal to me. Then I write those things down and refer to them later as I am putting together my lesson plan. Sometimes the ideas that come are pretty close to what is already in the manual, and sometimes they go in a very different direction. But I would never get those promptings if I didn't read the lesson as presented.

Second, it seems pretty clear that it is permissible to use material other than what is in the manual. But we should be clear on what we use and why we are using it. Are we just trying to wow people with our skills? Are we using personal experiences as subtle bragging, or as a way to get something off our chest? If we examine the outside material that we are contemplating using, if it is more about us rather than about the class member's needs, we can be pretty sure we might not be on the right track. So examine your motives.

I'll talk about this more in another post, but in the meantime HERE is a really interesting discussion on how to teach.