Book of Mormon Scripture Mastery Ideas & Helps
Scripture Clips for the Book of Mormon
An Early Morning seminary teacher and friend of mine who is very skilled in video production has done "Scripture Clip" again for the Book of Mormon. They are very well done. The following is what Mike has to say describing it all:
Scripture Clips DVD available now for free download
Go to http://scriptureclips.wordpress.com to download the DVD. The previous DVDs were big hits and have been downloaded by hundreds of teachers. Some comments from teachers: "Awesome!" "My kids really look forward to it." and "So clever and fun! It's a fun and memorable way to practice scripture mastery."
What is a Scripture Clips DVD?
Scripture Clips is an educational DVD designed to be used in an LDS Seminary classroom environment for the purpose of strengthening students’ mastery of the Book of Mormon Scripture Mastery scriptures. The DVD contains 50 distinct hints, divided into two Rounds of 25 hints. Each Round has one hint for each of the Book of Mormon Scripture Mastery scriptures.
Who's on the DVD this year?
This year's DVD has appearances from Despicable Me, Mulan, and Studio C, among many others. Even everybody's favorite time-traveling Doctor stops by.
New format for this year:
There are two formats for playback of the videos to your students---either in a traditional DVD player or as individual videos on an iPad or laptop computer.
Regarding the legality of the DVD:
Firstly, the DVD does not violate copyright law because the DVD is for non-profit educational purposes only and thus falls under Fair Use. Secondly, if you are concerned about the appropriateness of using the DVD in your classroom, I encourage you to share the DVD with your Seminary supervisor in order that you may together make that determination.
I have a blast creating the DVD and I offer it free of charge. I only ask that you share this link so that many other students can enjoy it too. -Mike Amelang
Disclaimer: I (John Bushman) am simply sharing this link. Please contact the website owner with technical questions about downloading and using the files.
Scripture Clips DVD available now for free download
Go to http://scriptureclips.wordpress.com to download the DVD. The previous DVDs were big hits and have been downloaded by hundreds of teachers. Some comments from teachers: "Awesome!" "My kids really look forward to it." and "So clever and fun! It's a fun and memorable way to practice scripture mastery."
What is a Scripture Clips DVD?
Scripture Clips is an educational DVD designed to be used in an LDS Seminary classroom environment for the purpose of strengthening students’ mastery of the Book of Mormon Scripture Mastery scriptures. The DVD contains 50 distinct hints, divided into two Rounds of 25 hints. Each Round has one hint for each of the Book of Mormon Scripture Mastery scriptures.
Who's on the DVD this year?
This year's DVD has appearances from Despicable Me, Mulan, and Studio C, among many others. Even everybody's favorite time-traveling Doctor stops by.
New format for this year:
There are two formats for playback of the videos to your students---either in a traditional DVD player or as individual videos on an iPad or laptop computer.
Regarding the legality of the DVD:
Firstly, the DVD does not violate copyright law because the DVD is for non-profit educational purposes only and thus falls under Fair Use. Secondly, if you are concerned about the appropriateness of using the DVD in your classroom, I encourage you to share the DVD with your Seminary supervisor in order that you may together make that determination.
I have a blast creating the DVD and I offer it free of charge. I only ask that you share this link so that many other students can enjoy it too. -Mike Amelang
Disclaimer: I (John Bushman) am simply sharing this link. Please contact the website owner with technical questions about downloading and using the files.
Articles of Faith Scripture Mastery -Book of Mormon
Learning Scripture Mastery is useless unless they can use the verses in situations in life. Part of getting to this level is learning to recall the verses in different situations or context besides the key words. By this time in the school year they should be ready for this. The worksheet here takes the 25 Scripture Masteries and puts them in something that sounds like an Article Of Faith. Challenge them to write in the references with no helps from bookmarks or anything else. Just click on the graphic to get the worksheet. Thanks Brother Nelson for sharing.
Book of Mormon Mnemonics Handout
One of the toughest parts of Scripture Mastery is helping students learn the reference from the key words. A teacher suggested that I put together the new mnemonics on a one page handout like I’ve done with past years. This can help you go over a group of them on a given day.
I suggest on one day of the week, you go over 8 or 12 of them, let them practice with each other, and then focus on those when doing activities and games with scripture mastery. This way, in a few weeks, you would have gone over and practiced all of the 25 Scripture Mastery mnemonics. There are instructions on the handout of how to use mnemonics effectively.
Under the “Scripture Mastery” tab at the top of the website, you will see “Book of Mormon Scripture Mastery” where you will see other uses with the mnemonics and learning the scripture masteries.
I suggest on one day of the week, you go over 8 or 12 of them, let them practice with each other, and then focus on those when doing activities and games with scripture mastery. This way, in a few weeks, you would have gone over and practiced all of the 25 Scripture Mastery mnemonics. There are instructions on the handout of how to use mnemonics effectively.
Under the “Scripture Mastery” tab at the top of the website, you will see “Book of Mormon Scripture Mastery” where you will see other uses with the mnemonics and learning the scripture masteries.
Scripture Reading & Scripture Mastery Posters & "Study Buddies"
This Summer, as you are preparing to teaching Seminary soon, you may consider creating a Reading Chart and Scripture Mastery Chart. President Thomas S. Monson has taught, “When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported back, the rate of improvement accelerates.”
To make the chart, you can go to most any store where they have poster board, and you will find they also have smaller poster board with a ghost-line grid in it (hard to see). Simply put the scripture books sideways at the top, and places for them to put their names on the side. Then when they have finished reading that book of Scripture, they get a sticker to put in the square. Sorry the pictures are so bad. It is on florescent Orange paper so the camera wanted to darken it (a lot).
Because many seminary classrooms are used by many church groups, some teachers like to have the students choose a scripture person name so it stays anonymous. Frank can suddenly go by the name Lehi, and Julie by the name Emma.
You can make a similar poster for Scripture Mastery memorization by putting the Scripture Mastery References sideways at the top. For really long scripture masteries, you may want to split it in half and take two weeks to memorize it. For the Book of Mormon Scripture Masteries, I would only give two weeks for:
· 2 Nephi 9:28-29
· 2 Nephi 31:19-20
· 2 Nephi 32:8-9
· Alma 7:11-13
· Moroni 7:45, 47-48
Considering we are on a 36 week pacing guide, then if you spotlight one scripture mastery a week and take two weeks for the 5, then you should have passed them all off by 30 weeks. Just in time for scripture bowl perhaps. Just a simple idea to share but it can be very helpful.
Also a fellow seminary teacher share with me a great idea. Each year he would assign each student a “Study Buddy” in the class. They would check up on each other about scripture study and things. During class he might ask them to get with their “Study Buddy” and share about what they learned the night before as they read the scriptures. He would also ask them to check with their buddy and do something to encourage the other. Maybe send a text or FaceBook reminder to read, or make a prize for the other if they read for a week strait. He described it as Home Teacher or Visiting Teacher like relationship for each other. Thanks for Sharing Brother Tadlee Welty.
To make the chart, you can go to most any store where they have poster board, and you will find they also have smaller poster board with a ghost-line grid in it (hard to see). Simply put the scripture books sideways at the top, and places for them to put their names on the side. Then when they have finished reading that book of Scripture, they get a sticker to put in the square. Sorry the pictures are so bad. It is on florescent Orange paper so the camera wanted to darken it (a lot).
Because many seminary classrooms are used by many church groups, some teachers like to have the students choose a scripture person name so it stays anonymous. Frank can suddenly go by the name Lehi, and Julie by the name Emma.
You can make a similar poster for Scripture Mastery memorization by putting the Scripture Mastery References sideways at the top. For really long scripture masteries, you may want to split it in half and take two weeks to memorize it. For the Book of Mormon Scripture Masteries, I would only give two weeks for:
· 2 Nephi 9:28-29
· 2 Nephi 31:19-20
· 2 Nephi 32:8-9
· Alma 7:11-13
· Moroni 7:45, 47-48
Considering we are on a 36 week pacing guide, then if you spotlight one scripture mastery a week and take two weeks for the 5, then you should have passed them all off by 30 weeks. Just in time for scripture bowl perhaps. Just a simple idea to share but it can be very helpful.
Also a fellow seminary teacher share with me a great idea. Each year he would assign each student a “Study Buddy” in the class. They would check up on each other about scripture study and things. During class he might ask them to get with their “Study Buddy” and share about what they learned the night before as they read the scriptures. He would also ask them to check with their buddy and do something to encourage the other. Maybe send a text or FaceBook reminder to read, or make a prize for the other if they read for a week strait. He described it as Home Teacher or Visiting Teacher like relationship for each other. Thanks for Sharing Brother Tadlee Welty.
5-Day-A-Week Scripture Mastery
Experience has shown that Scripture Mastery is most successful if you do a little bit of it EVERY day in seminary, rather than a whole day dedicated to it occasionally. BUT you ask, “What do I do for a few minutes every day with Scripture Mastery?” Good question! This worksheet (click on graphic), along with the following information should give some concrete ideas. The worksheet can be just for you to use to plan what you will do, or it can be a handout to give each student.
It is best to spotlight a single Scripture Mastery scripture each week. I found it is usually best to do scripture mastery after the opening song, prayer, and scriptural thought. Try to only take a few minutes with this. Each day, recite the scripture as a class, and then do some additional things with it. The worksheet was created with this in mind. Here is an example for a given week of how you could use the worksheet, or modify for your own needs:
MONDAY: As it says at the top under “Day 1”, recite the scripture together out loud, and then discuss usefulness. Ask the class questions like: “Of all of the verses in the scriptures, why was this verse chosen to be a Scripture Mastery? Why would it be useful to know this scripture? What is a situation when you would want to know this scripture?” Once they understand why it would be really useful to know for the future, they will be more likely to want to memorize it. Then go over the information on the back for the Scripture Mastery card (Historical Setting, Doctrinal Teaching, Missionary and Personal Application).
TUESDAY: Recite the scripture out loud together again, and then go over the mnemonic as discussed in previous blog posts. This will help them memorize the key words to the reference of the scripture. Then practice what they learned with previously learned mastery scriptures. Do a short “Locate” activity like scripture chasing; there are suggestions on pages 566-567 in the Book of Mormon Seminary Teacher Manual.
WEDNESDAY: Recite again and then have them do it with the blanks on the worksheet. Some teachers like to write the whole scripture on a chalk board and then have a student come up and erase a few words, and then have the class recite the scripture again, and then remove more words. This helps them memorize. Then have them identify doctrines and principles in the verse(s). To do this, ask questions like, “What’s the big lesson or moral this verse is teaching?” or “How should knowing this scripture make you a better person today at your High School?”
THURSDAY: Recite again out loud, and then have them recite it but only using the first letter of each word, as shown in the handout. Then role-play with the verse(s). Page 568 of the Book of Mormon Seminary Teacher Manual suggests how you can do this.
FRIDAY: Recite, then review and get them ready to pass it off to someone in class. Make sure they say the reference along with quoting the verses. Personally, the standard I ask for in passing off scriptures is that they can say the verse with no aids, but allow two (and only two) errors or hints. With really big scriptures, I let them pass it off in parts. Have the person they passed it off to initial the paper.
Click on the graphic below to see another option of how to use the 5-Day-A-Week Scripture Mastery helps. Here each scripture mastery has a whole page. This way, each week you can copy that single page, cut it up into strips, and give one to each student to use for the whole week as you spotlight that Scripture Mastery.
It is best to spotlight a single Scripture Mastery scripture each week. I found it is usually best to do scripture mastery after the opening song, prayer, and scriptural thought. Try to only take a few minutes with this. Each day, recite the scripture as a class, and then do some additional things with it. The worksheet was created with this in mind. Here is an example for a given week of how you could use the worksheet, or modify for your own needs:
MONDAY: As it says at the top under “Day 1”, recite the scripture together out loud, and then discuss usefulness. Ask the class questions like: “Of all of the verses in the scriptures, why was this verse chosen to be a Scripture Mastery? Why would it be useful to know this scripture? What is a situation when you would want to know this scripture?” Once they understand why it would be really useful to know for the future, they will be more likely to want to memorize it. Then go over the information on the back for the Scripture Mastery card (Historical Setting, Doctrinal Teaching, Missionary and Personal Application).
TUESDAY: Recite the scripture out loud together again, and then go over the mnemonic as discussed in previous blog posts. This will help them memorize the key words to the reference of the scripture. Then practice what they learned with previously learned mastery scriptures. Do a short “Locate” activity like scripture chasing; there are suggestions on pages 566-567 in the Book of Mormon Seminary Teacher Manual.
WEDNESDAY: Recite again and then have them do it with the blanks on the worksheet. Some teachers like to write the whole scripture on a chalk board and then have a student come up and erase a few words, and then have the class recite the scripture again, and then remove more words. This helps them memorize. Then have them identify doctrines and principles in the verse(s). To do this, ask questions like, “What’s the big lesson or moral this verse is teaching?” or “How should knowing this scripture make you a better person today at your High School?”
THURSDAY: Recite again out loud, and then have them recite it but only using the first letter of each word, as shown in the handout. Then role-play with the verse(s). Page 568 of the Book of Mormon Seminary Teacher Manual suggests how you can do this.
FRIDAY: Recite, then review and get them ready to pass it off to someone in class. Make sure they say the reference along with quoting the verses. Personally, the standard I ask for in passing off scriptures is that they can say the verse with no aids, but allow two (and only two) errors or hints. With really big scriptures, I let them pass it off in parts. Have the person they passed it off to initial the paper.
Click on the graphic below to see another option of how to use the 5-Day-A-Week Scripture Mastery helps. Here each scripture mastery has a whole page. This way, each week you can copy that single page, cut it up into strips, and give one to each student to use for the whole week as you spotlight that Scripture Mastery.
Book of Mormon Scripture Reading Bookmark
Two very important priorities we have as Seminary and Institute teachers, is to help our youth get in a habit of daily scripture study, and to help them to read the assigned scripture text for the year. With the Book of Mormon year, it is a wonderful opportunity to help change lives in these two ways. There is a very good chance that most of your students have never read the Book of Mormon cover to cover.
Click on the image to download a PDF that can help you make a bookmark for reading the Book of Mormon. I went to a copy store and had them print it on cardstock. It should be printed on both sides. Make sure they line up.
After you print these on cardstock, your students will be able to track where they are in the Book of Mormon on one side, and track their daily reading on the other. The Scripture Mastery Cards have something very similar to this for your students, so this is just an additional way to do it.
Click on the image to download a PDF that can help you make a bookmark for reading the Book of Mormon. I went to a copy store and had them print it on cardstock. It should be printed on both sides. Make sure they line up.
After you print these on cardstock, your students will be able to track where they are in the Book of Mormon on one side, and track their daily reading on the other. The Scripture Mastery Cards have something very similar to this for your students, so this is just an additional way to do it.
New Book of Mormon SM Mnemonics
Here are the Book of Mormon Scripture Mastery mnemonics with the 7 new scripture mastery changes in the 25. Click on the image for that. Here I have it as a PDF so you can print it on 8 ½ by 11 pages. Some use these to put on their wall or put up each week as they spotlight another Scripture Mastery scripture. In the next few weeks I will post them in the handout for the 5-Day-a-week handouts and other handout I used them in, like last year.
Some of you are wondering what mnemonics are and how to use them. Here are the basics. Mnemonics are a visual and auditory way to help learners link information (like the key words) to other information (like the references). The steps are:
Thanks
Some of you are wondering what mnemonics are and how to use them. Here are the basics. Mnemonics are a visual and auditory way to help learners link information (like the key words) to other information (like the references). The steps are:
- Keep the key words of the scripture in mind (These are at the top of the page)
- Link the key words to an idea in the cartoon (The linking word is underlined in the key words)
- Link the idea to the reference embedded in the cartoon (Often the more ridicules, the easier it is to remember)
- Practice with a friend saying the key words and you giving the reference (For hints, give information from the mnemonic)
Thanks