Lesson Preparation
Putting Together a Lesson Plan
THE LESSON – Begin
Early
Encourage participants to share their thoughts by creating a
loving atmosphere. (D&C 88:122)
·
Days
before your lesson, read through it and begin to pray about it.
·
Think,
and seek inspiration. Ideas will come.
·
Watch
for real-life applications.
· Ponder
how the lesson relates to your own experiences, questions, and concerns.
·
Mark
or write down things that touch your heart.
·
Think
about how you could use the teachings in your own life.
· Strive for personal worthiness
A gospel teacher… will concentrate entirely on those being taught.
“We are instructed to ‘seek first to obtain [the Lord’s]
word’ (D&C 11:21) – in other words, to thoroughly prepare by studying,
asking and seeking answers to faithful questions, and creating teaching
outlines. We are then instructed to be completely open to the guidance of the
Spirit in the actual teaching moment concerning what we should say and do.” (To
Be Edified and Rejoice Together, A Roger Merrill, Ensign, Jan 2007)
Discern the Needs of the Sisters
· Seek the guidance of
the Holy Ghost.
· Get to know your
sisters and their circumstances.
· Spend lesson time on
the principles that will help your sisters the most.
· Be sensitive to
differences among the sisters.
· Choose questions and
examples sisters can relate to.
· Have sisters share
how they have applied the principles.
· Include discussions
and consider the Relief Society presidency’s and bishop’s concerns for the
sisters.
The purpose of gospel instruction is to help each sister
increase in faith and personal righteousness. Ask yourself: What circumstances
and concerns are the sisters dealing with? What challenges might they have in
the future? How could this lesson help them? What do I want to have happen as a
result of the lesson?
Each time you prepare a lesson, truly ponder beforehand what
the needs of those you will teach might be – the situation they find themselves
in, circumstances in their employment, their financial strengths or weaknesses,
challenges in Church callings, challenges in their families, or the challenge
of being single. If you will prayerfully consider these things, you will find
the Spirit will more fully guide you in your preparation. Even while you are
delivering your… lesson, if you will be sensitive to the needs of the people at
the moment, you will find an increase in the influence of the Spirit guiding
you. (Gene R Cook, Teaching By the Spirit, 90-91)
“I know that as you are attentive to the Holy Spirit, He
will prompt you with an adaptation of this message fitted to your individual
needs. He can touch your minds and hearts with other insights tailored to the
personal conditions of you students. Please be attentive to that divine source
of help. The impressions that come to you… will be the message of greatest
worth. The Lord knows your needs. He knows what each student requires. As you
are attentive to the quiet promptings of the Spirit when you prepare and teach,
you will be led to meet important needs, some of which you may not know exist.”
(Richard G Scott, CES Religious Education, February 4, 2005)
“Let us never make our faith difficult to detect. Remember –
we are to be teachers ‘come from God.’ Never sow seeds of doubt. Avoid
self-serving performance and vanity. Prepare lessons well. Give scripturally
based sermons. Teach the revealed doctrine. Bear heartfelt testimony. Pray and practice
and try to improve.” (Jeffrey R Holland, A Teacher Come from God, Ensign, May
1998, 25)
“The teacher and
those who participate must always desire to bring the Spirit of the Lord into
the hearts of the members in the room to produce faith and a determination to
repent and to be clean.” (Henry B Erying, Ensign,
Nov. 2006, 43–44)
“Our meetings should
be places of refuge for the lonely and spiritual fountains for thirsty
questioning minds.” (Bonnie D Parkin, Teaching: An Entrance to the Heart, Fall
2004 Open House)
“A gospel teacher… will concentrate entirely on those being
taught. His or her concentration will be entirely on the needs of the sheep –
the good of the students.” (Dallin H Oaks, Gospel Teaching, Ensign, November
1999, 78)
Organize the Lesson
· Think of a way to
introduce the lesson that will help the sisters relate to it.
· Sometimes you will
use just part of the lesson material
· You may add more
examples or use different examples than those found in the lesson.
· Keep in mind that
your goal is to teach pure doctrine. Don’t let your manner of teaching
overshadow the gospel truths in the lesson.
· Use a lesson plan to
help keep your thoughts and resources organized. (Appendix A)
|
Our meetings should be… spiritual fountains for
thirsty questioning minds.
|
Elder Jeffrey R Holland teaches that to have the Spirit of
the Lord present, we need an unrushed atmosphere. You are not required to cover
everything printed in the lesson manual. It is best to choose a few ideas and
have a good discussion about them. (lds.org)
“Your highest priority is not to get through all the
material if that means that it cannot be properly absorbed. Do what you are
able to do with understanding. Determine, according to the individual
capabilities and needs of your class, what is of highest priority. If a key
principle is understood, internalized and made part of the students’ guidebooks
for life, then the most important objective has been accomplished.” (Richard G
Scott, CES Religious Education, February 4, 2005)
Preparing a Lesson from Talks
Pray that the Holy Spirit will be
with you as you study and teach the talk(s). You may be tempted to prepare the
lesson using other materials, but the conference talks are the approved
curriculum. Your assignment is to help others learn and live the gospel as
taught in the most recent general conference of the Church.
Review the talk(s), looking for principles and doctrines
that meet the needs of class members. Also look for stories, scripture
references, and statements from the talk(s) that will help you teach these
truths.
Make an
outline of how to teach the principles and doctrines. Your outline should
include questions that help class members:
· Look for
principles and doctrines in the talk(s).
· Think
about their meaning.
· Share
understanding, ideas, experiences, and testimonies.
· Apply
these principles and doctrines in their lives.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Teaching No Greater Call Chapters 32
“I testify that if every teacher will keep the last five
minutes of each lesson to summarize and bear testimony of the truths that have
been taught, the power of the Holy Ghost will carry it into each of our
hearts.” (Bonnie D Parkin, Teaching: An Entrance to the Heart, Fall 2004 Open
House)
“It is the teachers’ responsibility to introduce the lesson
and help lay the groundwork. The middle part belongs to the students where they
participate and work toward understanding and application. Then the teacher
must watch the time, because she owns the last few minutes of class. She has a
responsibility to clarify and summarize the doctrine taught so that learners
will not leave confused about the message. Then she can bear personal testimony
of the principle under discussion.” (Virginia H Pearce, Ensign, Nov 1996, 11)
RECOMMENDED READING:
Teaching No Greater Call Chapters 28-29
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