How I prepare lessons - finishing the lesson plan

This is the second in a series on how I prepare LDS primary lessons using scientific principles. The first part, which talked about finding the initial science inspirations, can be found here. This part will continue by discussing how to take that initial set of ideas and mould them into a lesson plan.

From theory to application

Whilst I've found that primary age kids are receptive to new science ideas, it really helps if there's a practical element I can use to demonstrate them, and even better if it's something interactive that they can do themselves. The next task is to figure out which of my initial ideas lends themselves to easy demonstration. This involves another round of brainstorming and research, and searching online for kid-friendly resources (such as videos or experiments) related to the topic I have in mind. Earlier this year, I taught a lesson based on D&C 20:72-74 about baptism and receiving the holy ghost. To draw an analogy, we talked about baby sea turtles who enter the sea shortly after hatching, and end up returning to the same spot where they were born after a decade of roaming the oceans! Marine scientists aren't sure how this works yet (the current thinking is that it could be a combination of imprinting and magnetic orientation), however there's clearly a guiding force that helps them to get to the right place, and that seemed like an apt analogy for the holy ghost. It was helpful to show this short YouTube video about baby turtles during this lesson.

The next step is to think about how to clearly link the science back to the original topic, so that it ends up being an LDS primary lesson rather than a cool science lesson. This is an area where I've struggled at times, but thankfully my wife is really strong here. As a lifelong member, she can draw upon a wealth of experience to provide additional ideas and insights, and quite often a chat with her will help me to close the loop. In the first part of this series, I mentioned a lesson about the joy of singing, and how I linked this to a discussion about the science of birdsong. (Fledglings learn a basic form of birdsong early on, but as they get older, they start singing with a stronger and more personalised voice, to attract the attention of potential mates.) To tie it back to the core lesson though, it needed a human spiritual element, and my wife provided the perfect anecdote about a time when, as a child, she felt the spirit so strongly whilst singing a song she knew well, that she would go outside and sing it as loudly as she could in order to connect with heavenly father. The core lesson ended up being about how learning to sing the LDS primary hymns off by heart could help the children feel more spiritually connected whenever they sang. If you lack personal experience in the church, this could be a point where you share your lesson plan with a fellow teacher in the primary, or anyone else who can provide a more spiritually aligned line of guidance, to help to connect the dots in the lesson plan for the children.

Making it real

The last step is to build out the lesson plan itself. First, I'll begin by writing out, as a series of bullet points, the set of steps that I want to go through in the lesson. These will include the following:

• An opening prayer.
• An introduction 
• What is the general church topic that we're learning about today.
• Provide any useful background.
• The scripture reference
• Let the children read it out aloud. 
• Talk about what it means.
• The science part.
• Introduce the science theme. 
• Do a demo / video / experiment.
• Link it back to the scripture topic.
• Discuss what the children think.
• Have a closing activity (a game, puzzle or drawing/colouring activity).
• Summarise the lesson to conclude.
• A closing prayer.

This normally gives me enough material with which to fill a 20 minute lesson. 

If I'm teaching the lesson remotely, then I'll create a Google Slides deck where I can step through all of these parts. I'll make use of additional tools where needed. e.g. Google Canvas for doing some quick freehand sketches, Draw Chat for doing collaborative brainstorming or to draw on an image, and occasionally some other apps wherever they're appropriate. I've been known to make use of Minecraft to illustrate the narrative of a specific lesson before... 

For in-person lessons, I'll have a quick reference set of notes on my phone, and I'll prepare/collect any supplies in advance that I'll need for the interactive part. I'll also make sure to cache any videos that I need beforehand, in case I don't have a great internet connection to work with in the chapel.

The next step is to deliver the lessons, and I'll discuss this in the next part. 

Pencils ready!