Activities to Make Connections

The following activities can:

• Help the youth make connections between what they are learning at home, in church, in seminary, and in the experiences of their everyday lives.

• Introduce the doctrine the youth will be learning about in class

The youth can participate in these activities individually, in small groups, or as a class. Remember that the best ideas will come to you as you consider the needs of the youth you teach.

Help the youth make connections between what they are learning at home, in church, and in other settings

Make a list of truths

Ask the youth to make a list of gospel truths they have been learning and discuss how they relate to each other.

Write a word or phrase

Ask the youth to share a word or phrase that summarizes something they learned recently.

Share a scripture

Invite the youth to share a scripture they have studied recently and talk about what they learned from it.

Share a learning experience

Ask the youth to share an experience in which they learned about a doctrine of the gospel in a meaningful way.

Share a teaching experience

Ask the youth to share a recent experience they had teaching the gospel. What do they feel went well? What would they like to improve?

Share an application

Invite the youth to share how they are living the things they are learning.

Ask questions

Invite the youth to ask questions they have about a doctrine they are studying.

Share questions

Invite the youth to share questions they have been asked about the Church or their beliefs and how they would answer them.

Introduce the doctrine the youth will be learning about in class

Find the doctrine in the scriptures

Invite the youth to look in the scriptures for a verse that teaches the doctrine of the lesson.

Ask a question

Invite the youth to respond to a question about the doctrine.

Sing a hymn

Invite the youth to sing a hymn related to the doctrine.

Answer the question in the lesson title

Write on the board the question in the title of the lesson, and invite the youth to ponder how they would answer it.

Role-play

Ask the youth to role-play a situation in which someone asks them a question about the doctrine. How would they answer?

Explain what you know

Ask class members to explain what they know about the doctrine.

Divide the doctrine into parts

Divide the doctrine into parts, and assign different youth to explain what each part means.

Explain a picture or object

Show the youth a picture or object related to this week’s doctrine, and ask them to explain it.

Draw a picture

Invite the youth to draw a picture that represents what they understand about the doctrine you will be discussing.

Find and share scriptures

Ask the youth to find a scripture that helps answer the question in the title of the lesson.

Summarize what you know

Invite the youth to summarize in a few words or phrases what they know or have experienced about the doctrine.

Anonymous survey

Give class members a short, anonymous survey that asks about their feelings or experiences related to the doctrine.

Quiz

Give the youth a brief quiz to find out what they already know about the doctrine.

Make a list of words

Ask the youth to think of words that relate to the doctrine they will be discussing. Which words or phrases do they have questions about?