Teacher Resources
5th Sunday Lesson - 30 April 2023
Our fifth Sunday lesson focused on how to ask good questions in class
Asking Good Questions Help Students Identify, Understand, Feel, and Apply
Search Questions
Students need to know the details and context of a scripture passage in order to identify principles. Ask questions that help students search the scriptures for answers. They can discover truths on their own. The invitation to search works best if the question is given before the scripture is read.
Analyze Questions
Students should analyze what they have studied. These questions can help a teacher determine whether students understand and believe what they have learned.
Feel and Testimony Questions
Some questions can cause students to reflect on spiritual experiences and lead them to feel more deeply the truthfulness and significance of a gospel principle or doctrine in their lives. Many times, those feelings engender a stronger desire in the hearts of students to live a gospel principle more faithfully.
Apply Questions
Application questions help students to apply principles and doctrines into their own lives. They give students an opportunity to explain what they have learned. They help the student to be led by the Holy Ghost to identify ways that they might make changes in their life. Students should now be able to answer "So what?" or "Why is this lesson important for me here and now?"
Our fifth Sunday lesson focused on how to ask good questions in class
Asking Good Questions Help Students Identify, Understand, Feel, and Apply
- Marginal question - "Is it important to have a prophet on the Earth?"
- Fair question - "What are the characteristics of a prophet?"
- Good question - "What can we do to follow the prophet?"
- Great question - "When have you felt you have been in the presence of a prophet?"
Search Questions
Students need to know the details and context of a scripture passage in order to identify principles. Ask questions that help students search the scriptures for answers. They can discover truths on their own. The invitation to search works best if the question is given before the scripture is read.
- "Who, Where, What, When?"
- "Look for..."
- "Search for..."
- "Find..."
- "Underline..."
- "Mark..."
- "Identify..."
Analyze Questions
Students should analyze what they have studied. These questions can help a teacher determine whether students understand and believe what they have learned.
- "What did you find?"
- "What do you think that means?"
- "In your opinion...?"
- "How is that...?"
- "Why do you think that...?"
- "What are some ways...?"
- "What other scripture passages help to illustrate this principle?"
Feel and Testimony Questions
Some questions can cause students to reflect on spiritual experiences and lead them to feel more deeply the truthfulness and significance of a gospel principle or doctrine in their lives. Many times, those feelings engender a stronger desire in the hearts of students to live a gospel principle more faithfully.
- "When have you felt...?"
- "Think of a time when...?"
- "If you could express gratitude...?"
- "How is your life different because...?"
- "When have you seen others blessed...?"
Apply Questions
Application questions help students to apply principles and doctrines into their own lives. They give students an opportunity to explain what they have learned. They help the student to be led by the Holy Ghost to identify ways that they might make changes in their life. Students should now be able to answer "So what?" or "Why is this lesson important for me here and now?"
- "What changes would you need to make...?"
- "What is something you need to follow with greater exactness?"
- "How can you more fully receive the blessing of...?"
- "What will you do differently because of your understanding...?"
5th Sunday Lesson - 31 October 2021
For our fifth Sunday, the bishopric wanted to focus on teaching. Classroom learning takes up a significant portion of our time, and we can always learn a little more and be a little better, both as students and as teachers. The bishopric fully supports our Sunday School president, Brother Davis, and we encourage those in teaching positions to lean on him for counsel and direction in teacher improvement. Please make every effort to attend teacher councils and to share your positive teaching experiences.
Brother Mack (2nd counselor in the bishopric) shared some insights on teaching that he has gained over the past year while in the Church Educational System teaching program. He highlighted that good teachers follow four teaching guidelines:
#1: Teaching should be LEARNER focused, not TEACHER focused.
Brother Mack expressed that this is really hard to do, but the teacher needs to focus on the students in the class, recognize when the lesson needs to go in a direction that wasn't really planned, and still be able to keep the Spirit.
"Spiritual understanding rarely comes from a lecture. It comes in classrooms where questions are welcome, where doubts and fears can be expressed, and where honest opinions are never dismissed. It comes from obedience, private study, and prayer. Spiritually, the classroom of faith becomes less like a lecture hall and more like a fitness center. Students do not get stronger by watching someone else do the exercises. They learn and then participate. As their spiritual strength increases, they gain confidence and apply themselves all the more."
~Elder Neil L. Andersen
With this in mind, look for ways to draw out more from the class participants. There are three follow-up questions that Elder Bednar uses that can help participants have a deeper learning experience after they have shared an experience:
Finally, recognize that sometimes when teaching in a given period of time, "LESS IS MORE." Brother Mack emphasized that when teaching Sunday School, the curriculum will repeat itself every four years. If the students have an experience without getting through all the material, that is fine. They'll have another chance. We all progress line upon line.
#2: Teaching should be scripture based.
Combining this principle with the previous one, consider starting a class by asking this question:
"Find a scripture that teaches about ___________."
The class will be immediately engaged and ready to share.
In addition to making sure our lessons are scripturally based, we are also asked to teach the doctrine. As Brother Mack worked his way through the CES teaching program, both he and his wife have been interviewed by a general authority. Those discussions included questions about church doctrine and whether or not the Macks are comfortable with the church's position. The general authorities do not endorse teachers if the teachers are not willing to teach doctrine. Brother Mack was drilled on doctrine to make sure he understood the basics, including the doctrines of marriage, family, salvation, the godhead, gender, and more.
#3: Teaching should be Christ centered.
"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."
~2 Nephi 25:26
When teaching, always connect the scriptures and doctrines back to Christ.
#4: Teaching should be fun.
CES teachers are taught to change the method or approach of teaching every 15-20 minutes. This keeps the class engaged better. Incorporate videos, ask questions, have a guest speaker, or break into groups. There are lots of things to try.
Brother Mack asked the CES instructors why all the information he was learning was not accessible to the general church membership. In response, he was told it is and that there is a manual in the Gospel Library that everybody has access to. Curious? Follow this path or click on the link to go to the web version:
Home -> Library -> Handbooks and Callings -> Seminaries and Institute Callings -> Gospel Teaching and Learning
For our fifth Sunday, the bishopric wanted to focus on teaching. Classroom learning takes up a significant portion of our time, and we can always learn a little more and be a little better, both as students and as teachers. The bishopric fully supports our Sunday School president, Brother Davis, and we encourage those in teaching positions to lean on him for counsel and direction in teacher improvement. Please make every effort to attend teacher councils and to share your positive teaching experiences.
Brother Mack (2nd counselor in the bishopric) shared some insights on teaching that he has gained over the past year while in the Church Educational System teaching program. He highlighted that good teachers follow four teaching guidelines:
#1: Teaching should be LEARNER focused, not TEACHER focused.
Brother Mack expressed that this is really hard to do, but the teacher needs to focus on the students in the class, recognize when the lesson needs to go in a direction that wasn't really planned, and still be able to keep the Spirit.
"Spiritual understanding rarely comes from a lecture. It comes in classrooms where questions are welcome, where doubts and fears can be expressed, and where honest opinions are never dismissed. It comes from obedience, private study, and prayer. Spiritually, the classroom of faith becomes less like a lecture hall and more like a fitness center. Students do not get stronger by watching someone else do the exercises. They learn and then participate. As their spiritual strength increases, they gain confidence and apply themselves all the more."
~Elder Neil L. Andersen
With this in mind, look for ways to draw out more from the class participants. There are three follow-up questions that Elder Bednar uses that can help participants have a deeper learning experience after they have shared an experience:
- Why did that impact you?
- Think back to that experience. How are you different now?
- From what I just said, what are you hearing or learning from the Spirit?
Finally, recognize that sometimes when teaching in a given period of time, "LESS IS MORE." Brother Mack emphasized that when teaching Sunday School, the curriculum will repeat itself every four years. If the students have an experience without getting through all the material, that is fine. They'll have another chance. We all progress line upon line.
#2: Teaching should be scripture based.
Combining this principle with the previous one, consider starting a class by asking this question:
"Find a scripture that teaches about ___________."
The class will be immediately engaged and ready to share.
In addition to making sure our lessons are scripturally based, we are also asked to teach the doctrine. As Brother Mack worked his way through the CES teaching program, both he and his wife have been interviewed by a general authority. Those discussions included questions about church doctrine and whether or not the Macks are comfortable with the church's position. The general authorities do not endorse teachers if the teachers are not willing to teach doctrine. Brother Mack was drilled on doctrine to make sure he understood the basics, including the doctrines of marriage, family, salvation, the godhead, gender, and more.
#3: Teaching should be Christ centered.
"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."
~2 Nephi 25:26
When teaching, always connect the scriptures and doctrines back to Christ.
#4: Teaching should be fun.
CES teachers are taught to change the method or approach of teaching every 15-20 minutes. This keeps the class engaged better. Incorporate videos, ask questions, have a guest speaker, or break into groups. There are lots of things to try.
Brother Mack asked the CES instructors why all the information he was learning was not accessible to the general church membership. In response, he was told it is and that there is a manual in the Gospel Library that everybody has access to. Curious? Follow this path or click on the link to go to the web version:
Home -> Library -> Handbooks and Callings -> Seminaries and Institute Callings -> Gospel Teaching and Learning
Book of Mormon Central
If you are looking for additional resources, this group of faithful church members (though not official representatives of the church) posted videos and blog entries related to a multitude of church topics including the current Come, Follow Me weekly scripture readings. You can get to their page from the following link:
If you are looking for additional resources, this group of faithful church members (though not official representatives of the church) posted videos and blog entries related to a multitude of church topics including the current Come, Follow Me weekly scripture readings. You can get to their page from the following link: