This short guide is designed to help teachers prepare to teach the lessons from the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church manuals, although the principles apply to all teaching. For more information on effective teaching in the Church, visit the Church website section on teaching here or on this site.
What the manual says:
Seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost as you prepare to teach. Prayerfully study the assigned chapter to become confident in your understanding [the] teachings.
What that looks like:
Verbs are the action words in sentences, and they guide us here as well. Seek. Prepare. Prayerfully study. Become confident. Those four principles should be your guiding pattern of preparation, and they must be done in that order. Confidence in teaching cannot exist before prayerful study, and if you don’t seek to know the Lord’s will for the lesson before all else, you will never gain the confidence that the lesson feels right. Doctrine & Covenants 11:21 advises: “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.” Our preparation is the key to building testimonies of class members and ourselves.
What the manual says:
You will teach with greater sincerity and power when [the] words have influenced you personally.
What that looks like:
You have to prepare early enough to gain a testimony of living the principle as taught in the lesson. The words of John 7:17, “If any many will do his will he shall know of the doctrine” are especially compelling in our classes because the teacher is the one who best has the opportunity to live it before class, thus gaining the testimony of it. You will not know it until you have lived it, and you can’t just live it from Saturday night to Sunday morning to gain a testimony of it. Prepare early to allow the Spirit to work in you and influence you, so that you may teach with the power of your own testimony.
What the manual says:
If you are teaching a Melchizedek Priesthood or Relief Society lesson, you should not set this book aside or prepare a lesson from other materials. Prayerfully select from the chapter those teachings that you feel will be most helpful to those you teach. Some chapters contain more material than you will be able to discuss during class time.
What this looks like:
Our temptation to set the lesson aside comes from not following the above two guidelines. Cursory readings often lead to feelings that perhaps the lesson is a little dry or won’t reach the class. If we seek, study, and live the teachings in advance, we will gain a testimony of the principles, and even a love of the words. The Spirit will then convey that through us to the class.
What the manual says:
Encourage participants to study the chapter before the lesson and to bring the book with them. When they do so, they will be better prepared to participate in a discussion and edify one another.
What this looks like:
Teachers may wish to invite study of the next week’s lesson at the end of the class. Perhaps the teacher for the next week could give a one- or two-sentence “teaser” about what is upcoming, focusing on the Spiritual side, not just listing the topic. Have extra books for borrowing during the class. You may wish to label them so that they do not get removed accidentally from the room. Using the manuals in class is the best way to encourage class members to bring them. You must create a need for them.
What the manual says:
As you introduce the chapter, and throughout the lesson, try to create an atmosphere in which the Spirit can touch the hearts and minds of those you teach. To start the lesson, help those you teach focus on the teachings of the chapter. Consider the following ideas:
Read and discuss the section titled “From the Life of…” at the beginning of the chapter.
Discuss a picture or scripture from the chapter.
Sing a related hymn together.
Briefly share a personal experience about the topic.
Lead a discussion about the teachings.
What that looks like:
Part of your preparation time needs to include what amounts to an invitation to learn. It’s a transition time from announcements to the spiritual lesson, and a great part of the success of the lesson rests on this crucial time. Just listing the topic won’t do. This is a time to allow the Spirit to begin to soften and open hearts. Consider using quotes, a story from Church history or your personal life, a question, or a short turn-and-talk to their neighbors. You can find more in the Teaching: No Greater Call manual available here .
What the manual says:
As you teach from this book, invite others to share their thoughts, ask questions, and teach one another. When they actively participate, they will be more prepared to learn and to receive personal revelation.
What that looks like:
Be conscious as you’re teaching of how much you are saying versus the class members. If the class isn’t participating, they’re not learning. Notice the verbs – invite, share, ask, teach. Only one of those is the teacher’s responsibility, and it’s not the last one!
What the manual says:
Allow good discussions to continue rather than trying to cover all the teachings.
What that looks like:
The lesson is for the class, not the class for the lesson. It is common to feel that we must cover the material, but that is not the case. The preparation of all of the material is just that: preparation. Execution of the lesson is different and does not require that you make sure everything is discussed. Prepare all; teach some. This is not time mismanagement. Rather, it is effective teaching by the Spirit. Avoid looking at the clock frequently, as this may make participants feel that they should not speak so that the teacher can “get through” the lesson on time. Think about little clues you may be giving the class, verbally or nonverbally, that there is a set amount of content that must be covered, and then eliminate those clues.
What the manual says:
To encourage discussion, use the questions in each chapter. Notes throughout each chapter refer to those questions. You may also develop your own questions especially for those you are teaching.
What that looks like:
If your questions aren’t eliciting comments, visit bit.ly/10questiontips for more ideas on effective questioning in class.
What the manual says:
The following options may give you additional ideas. {see NOTE next to each idea for what that looks like}
Ask participants to share what they have learned from their personal study of the chapter. It may be helpful to contact a few participants during the week and ask them to come prepared to share what they have learned. {NOTE: Class members benefit from preparation, too. You will get deeper, more thoughtful responses if you ask ahead of time.}
Assign participants to read selected questions from the end of the chapter (either individually or in small groups). Ask them to look for teachings in the chapter that relate to the questions. Then invite them to share their thoughts and insights with the rest of the group. {NOTE: Having class members read and then teach can be effective, especially if you are clear about expectation for the teaching. For example, you may say, “Please read this section, and then share why it’s especially important for men/women/fathers/members of the Church/etc.” Giving as much direction as possible helps participants focus on the key elements.}
Read together a selection of statements from the chapter. Ask participants to share examples from the scriptures and from their own experience that illustrate what [is being] taught. {NOTE: You may wish to have related scriptures to discuss, or you may wish to use the Topical Guide, Index, or Bible Dictionary to find connected scriptures.}
Ask participants to choose one section and read it silently. Invite them to gather in groups of two or three people who chose the same section and discuss what they have learned. {NOTE: If you number people off, it helps. To do this, you may wish to give participants index cards with numbers written on them or even colored dots to help them remember/find their groups.}
Encourage Sharing and Application. {NOTE: Avoid conveying the idea that there is one right answer or interpretation. This discourages sharing and application. Comments from the teacher like, “That’s not exactly what I was looking for,” lead the class to believe that there is one right answer and shuts down discussion. Avoid asking questions that are so obvious no one wants to answer them.}
What the manual says:
[The] teachings will be most meaningful for participants who share them with others and apply them in their lives. Consider the following ideas:
Ask participants how they can apply [the] teachings in their responsibilities as parents or as home teachers or visiting teachers.
Encourage participants to share some of [the] teachings with family members and friends.
Invite participants to apply what they have learned and share their experiences at the beginning of the next class.
What that looks like:
You’ve got to leave participants with a goal, a challenge, a reason to take the lesson outside of the classroom and into their lives. Read this talk by Elder Bednar that discusses this from a parent/child perspective, yet has tremendous application for gospel teachers . Lessons exist to change lives through testimony development, and part of our role as teachers is to suggest possible ways that may occur.
What the manual says:
Conclude the Discussion. Briefly summarize the lesson or ask one or two participants to do so. Testify of the teachings you have discussed. You may also want to invite others to share their testimonies.
What that looks like:
Closing the lesson is a critical component of effective teaching. Keep an eye on time so that you don’t have to rush the ending or leave the class feeling like there are critical points left unsaid. Comments like, “There’s so much we didn’t get to” are less effective than invitations like “I would invite you to re-read the lesson after our discussion today to discover what the Lord has in mind for you individually.” Prepare your conclusion as much as you do your introduction. It is the last taste of the lesson for your class, and if well done can help them decide to act upon what was taught.
If you would like to explore these ideas further, in addition to the resources shared above, here are some other places to find gospel- focused ideas on teaching:
Website:
Link to selection of articles bit.ly/articles-ldsteach
Video:
Videos that accompany “Teaching, No Greater Call” http://bit.ly/tngc-videos
Elder Bednar clip on inviting learners to act bit.ly/bednar-inviteact
LDS.org selection of videos about gospel teaching bit.ly/lds-teachvid
Book:
Becoming a Great Gospel Teacher: Bringing the Gospel Classroom to Life. Eaton, Rob and Mark Beecher.
If you would like this in printable form, click here.
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