Teaching the Youth


ldsguy422
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Hi all,

I have a relatively new calling and I've been teaching the youth (ages 12-14) for the last month or so. Just looking for tips or suggestions on how you go about teaching the youth. How do you get them excited? A good portion of the class is coming from part-member families, and I sense that most of them aren't being taught in the home. One of the youth, for example,  didn't realize that Mormons are Christians. I've heard from a YW leader that two of them don't really like Church at all. But, if they're in class, that's at least a start, right? Even if they're not excited about class, I still have a chance to maybe inspire, encourage, or help them in some way. 

FWIW, I feel very confident in my ability to teach. But I'm used to teaching adults. I worry that I can easily teach doctrine that will go over their head, so I'm worried 1. that it's simply enough to understand and 2. that the class can be exciting and rewarding... Let me know if you have any thoughts on this matter. Thanks!

 

 

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My husband was in the Young Men Presidency.  The way Youth Sunday School was done when he was in the presidency was that the teacher simply facilitates the class - the students teach each other.  So the teacher simply presents the topic and the students discuss it.  The teacher corrects false teachings and manages where the discussion is headed and the time constraint.

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Let them do the talking.  

You bring a topic to the table, and make sure things don't go diving off the table, but otherwise let them do the talking.  What do THEY think?  What's going on with this in THIER lives?  What examples have they seen?  What struggles have they have?  What triumphs?

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40 minutes ago, ldsguy422 said:

.....

Let me know if you have any thoughts on this matter. Thanks!

 

My first goal would be to make the class experience enjoyable and worthwile to the students.  That they are where they belong and fit in.

 

The Traveler

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18 minutes ago, Jane_Doe said:

Let them do the talking.  

You bring a topic to the table, and make sure things don't go diving off the table, but otherwise let them do the talking.  What do THEY think?  What's going on with this in THIER lives?  What examples have they seen?  What struggles have they have?  What triumphs?

And if they're not talking? 

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Guest MormonGator
Just now, ldsguy422 said:

And if they're not talking? 

Ask questions and call on them. Force them to talk by asking leading questions.

Use pop culture references. 

Focus on their interests. 

Make it fun. 

Be happy.

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Here is my standard outline for lessons (primary, sunday school, priesthood):

* Remember you are discussing doctrine, not teaching a lesson!

1) Learner Readiness - this is an activity or something that will engage the class before jumping into the discussion.

2) The body is based upon principles and doctrines that have questions, and then allow the spirit to direct the discussion.

3) End with testimony

I have discovered, the more simple and targeted the discussion outline, the better the result.

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Have you been attending Teachers Council? https://www.lds.org/callings/teachers?cid=HP16TSW&lang=eng

Read EVERYTHING, Watch ALL of the video's. Attend the class that your Ward is supposed to have. You need to be more than familiar with the Curriculum so that you can guide them along. Our Seminary Teacher texts each of the students whether they are actively in her class or not. She sends them scriptures, about 30 minutes worth of reading, then encourages them to write down their thoughts in a journal. Doesn't matter if the thought they got was "I am hungry for pizza", write it down.

Granted she sees them 5 mornings a week - but she also interacts with them all week long, and she lays in wait to greet them every Sunday morning.

We have just had a change up with Youth teachers. Assigning two per class. In the past we tried Husband & Wife teams, and that fell flat. So now the husbands are together, the wives are together. Seems to be working better. They all are following in Seminary Teachers footsteps.

Remember, you are NOT a radio. Don't broadcast.

As for the part member families, what is the problem there? As long as you encourage correct DOCTRINE and PRINCIPLES, and answer their questions by quoting from the Scriptures - and having them read along with their scriptures - you should have no problems.

Oh, another thing the Seminary Teacher started and then the Sunday School President followed through with was: NO digital devices during any of the classes. Our little Meetinghouse Library has 14 quads - 8 Holy Bibles - 22 Books of Mormon- 10 Trips. Primary has their own Quads, Book of Mormon. So there is plenty to lend out for the Youth classes to read from.

Oh, another thing the Seminary Teacher started was for their homework they bring to her each morning, she wants it handwritten in cursive.

This year we had 8 graduate from Seminary. Those same 8 graduated from High School. Three of them are from inactive/part member families. All the parents attended Seminary Graduation (which was held 1.5 hours away in our Stake building) and the Sunday Sacrament after that, because all 8 talked at Sacrament.

Attend your Teacher Council. My husband is Branch Sunday School President, he has classes on the third Sunday of the month during 2 & 3rd hours. Don't even think of yourself as a Teacher, consider yourself a Leader. You lead them in the correct direction. Facilitator -

noun: facilitator; plural noun: facilitators
  1. a person or thing that makes an action or process easy or easier.
    "a true educator acts as a facilitator of learning"

Because you know what the materials being presented will be, it will be a snap for you to guide it back into the correct direction. Also, one HUGE thing I learned teaching the 8-10 year olds, when things got out of hand, noisy, or where one was bullying the others - I gathered the bullied one to me, and asked this person to give a prayer for the Holy Ghost to come back to our class. To give comfort to ALL of us. To banish the adversary. I did this the first time out of total frustration. It worked. The bully behaved himself, those he had hurt were comforted and the Holy Ghost literally flooded the room.

Oh, also, assign one of the students to be the Facilitator each Sunday, and give them the topic/lesson materials. Then follow up during the week with them. Help them, encourage them. If need be go to their home and pray with them.

 

 

 

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