Teaching No Greater Call Part B: Lesson 32 & 35

32: Creating lessons from conference talks and other resources & 35: Church resources for teaching the gospel

This was my last Sunday teaching the teaching no greater call Sunday school class!  I will be teaching old testament gospel doctrine starting in January, for which I am nervous and excited to gain a stronger testimony of the old testament.

I was lucky enough to be able to teach on the Sunday before Christmas, so I was able to incorporate a Christmas theme into our lesson this week.  Because the lessons this week were about creating lessons with church resources, I chose a talk from the 2013 Christmas Devotional by Russell M. Nelson (Jesus Christ - Our Prince of Peace) and showed how I could incorporate and use those teaching techniques from the lesson on a church resource.  This lesson I felt could have used more class participation - maybe my questions that I brainstormed were not very discussion oriented.  I still thought the lesson went well, I just usually get a lot more comments than I did during this lesson. HERE and HERE are the links to these lessons on lds.org.

Intro:

• I  brought in a tub of Vaseline and talked about how my husband and I use this on our dry hands in the winter as a soothing balm.  Introduced the message of the lesson today of Christ as our soothing balm of Gilead.  
• Why is the gospel message sometimes referred to as the “Good news of the gospel”?
• When we wish others “peace on earth, goodwill to men” this Christmas seasons, what are we referring to? What do we define as peace?  Be thinking the rest of this lesson “How has the Savior granted you peace in your life?”

Creating Lessons from Talks and Other Resources 

• Read your resource. Mention Lesson 35 Church Resources for Teaching the gospel
• Decide what should happen in the lives of those you teach as a result of the lesson.
• Today, I want my class to understand and gain a stronger testimony on how the Savior can bring them and their families peace this Christmas season, despite the trials and challenges of life.  Learning objective.
• Decide on the main principle or principles you will teach, along with any supporting ideas.
• Finding peace through Christmas, & giving our hearts to the Savior.  Becoming purified through the atonement.  
• Consider how you want to teach the main ideas and the supporting ideas you have selected.
• I mentioned the last couple lessons we have had.  I then mentioned the ways that I decided to teach this lesson: quotes, discussion questions, personal stories, additional church resources, object lesson, visual aids, chalkboard for list and emphasis.

Jesus Christ - Our Prince of Peace

• When we study Jesus' responsibilities that he had when he came to earth, how can that bring us peace?
• Peace by teaching our children how to turn to the Savior.  
• How can we find peace in our families by teaching our Children about the Savior?
• Peace during war - I shared some personal stories.
• Peace in times of Illness - mental, physical, emotional.  I shared some personal stories.
• Peace in times of sorrow - I shared some personal stories.
• Peace in times of mourning - Has anyone experience the peace the Savior can bring in times of mourning?
• Peace to all who seek him
• How has the Savior granted you peace in your life?

Teaching No Greater Call Part B: Lesson 30 & 31

30: Taking time to prepare & 31: Preparing Lessons

What a great lesson this turned out to be - solely due to the wonderful spirit I felt during the class and the insightful comments by class members.  I am all about preparation, to a fault almost, so I really enjoyed the topic of this lesson.  I am only teaching the TNGC class one more time (next Sunday) and then I will be switching to teaching the gospel doctrine class on the old testament.  I am certain that the skills I have learned and taught from the TNGC class with help me become a better gospel teacher.  The links the lessons on lds.org are HERE and HERE.

Intro:

• Show video of the 10 virgins - Matthew 25:1-14
• Hold discussion about video and ask representation questions
• Quote #1 by Spencer W Kimball - how does this relate to lesson preparation?
• How can we prepare?  How can we be like the 5 that brought extra oil? What can we do?
• Read manual - Taking Time for Personal Prep

Taking Time to Prepare

• Beginning Lesson Prep Early
• Luke 10:38-42 - Why was Martha chastised?  Why did the Lord not say “Mary get up and help Martha?” 
• In his counsel, “but one thing is needful,” could the Lord have been referring to one thing lacking in Martha’s preparation? Probably. (source)
• What does this teach us about what we/Martha should be doing?
• Quote #2 from manual
•  Finding Joy in Preparation
• How can we find joy in preparing lessons?  How can we overcome the stress of one more thing we have to do in our lives?
• Quote #3 - L. Tom Perry quote 
• This quote actually led us into a discussion that I had not planned for the entire rest of the lesson.  We talked about how fear is the opposite of faith and that when we have faith, we don't need to be afraid.  I asked "How can we have faith instead of fear?" and asked class members to share experiences where they were strengthen by their faith and not afraid. 

Teaching No Greater Call Part B: Lesson 26 & 27

Choosing appropriate methods & Choosing effective methods

Today we held a combined lesson on appropriate and effective teaching methods  (links HERE and HERE).  We also reviewed last week's lesson on teaching with variety and referenced the list of ideas that lesson has to offer during our discussions about appropriate and effective lessons.  I printed that list and handed it out during the lesson.  I also printed out each question that the lesson asked and taped it to the board as we moved through the lesson.

The lesson actually went really well, even though at first I had thought it would be a hard(er) topic to discuss since it is so straight forward.  We had some great discussion thanks to great comments by class members and the spirit was present.

Intro

• I drew a picture of a cake on the board.  Tell cake story (p 222 of TNGC manual).  Ask 2 questions at the end of the story.  
• Pass out methods chart. Review and talk about teaching with variety.
• Read D&C 63:64 and manual intro paragraph.  
• What is the difference between "appropriate" and "effective" teaching methods?  Can you have one without the other?

Appropriate Methods

• Will this method invite the spirit? 
• Read D&C 42:14.  Look at your list - can you think of a time a teacher chose a method to teach a concept where you felt the spirit during the lesson? I talked about the hidden wedges talk that President Monson gave back in 2002.  
• Does the method match the sacredness of the principles I am teaching? 
• Will the method edify and strengthen those I teach? 
• What are some lesson topics that you teach your family for family night?  What are some effective ways that you have taught these concepts?  
• Is the material Church-approved? What happens if we don’t use material that is not church approved?
• Have I followed correct procedures in preparation to use the method?

Effective Methods

• Will the method help learners better understand the principles I am teaching? What are some effective methods from this list that you have used in your teaching?
• Will the method make wise use of time?
• Will the method meet the needs of those I teach? What are the “needs of those you teach” - what does that mean?  
• Do I use the same method too often? 

End

• Read Boyd K Packer quote from effective teaching lesson. 
• Methods are important, but not the focus.  They are tools to help those we teach focus on the saving doctrines of the gospel and apply them in our lives.