Scripture
Scripture, Who has the Scripture?
By C.S. Bezas
It’s
another week and time for another Scripture Mastery activity.
What to do?
Seminary
teaching can be a delight, yet it also can be a challenge to
continuously find fresh approaches for Scripture Mastery applications.
Here’s one game you might try once the kids have many of their
Scripture Mastery verses memorized.
Before
Class
- Trace
your left and right feet onto a series of black construction
papers. Cut them out. You will need one footprint for every
Scripture Mastery you want to review.
- Draw,
then cut out, a large outline of a golden key.
- Write
on the classroom chalkboard a series of targeted key words
flung across the board in a winding path.
- Cover
each key word with a black footprint (make sure to alternate
“left” and “right” feet cutouts to give the illusion of a
path).
- Trace
around each footprint with chalk (or a dry erase marker, depending
on the board).
- Tape
the golden key cutout at the final end of the series of black
footprints.
During
Class
Announce
to the class that you’re going to play a game called, "Scripture,
Scripture, Who has the Scripture?" Explain that someone
has hidden essential clues to eternal life and the students
are the detectives. Their job is to find those clues.
Rather
than playing this in teams, have them play as a class as a whole.
I’ve learned from sad experience that sometimes “team against
team” can result in negativity and sore feelings. It is far
better to have the class as a whole working toward a common
goal.
Call
a student volunteer up to the front of the classroom to remove
the first black footprint. The student then reads the keywords
he or she uncovered. The rest of the class races to find the
matching scripture verse in their scriptures. When everybody
has found it, they've graduated to the first level of detective
sleuths! And they’ve now earned 100 Brigham Bucks as a class
(or whatever point system you might use. Some teachers use these
kinds of points for an end of the year auction or party).
Then
to earn an extra 100 Brigham Bucks, the class recites the scripture
from memory. The students can't look at their scriptures
while reciting, but the student “sleuth” can (the one
who just uncovered an “eternal life” clue). The student “sleuth”
reads the scripture loudly as the classes recites the scripture
from memory. Having the student “sleuth” lead out in this way
will help ensure accuracy as the scripture is recited by the
class.
That
particular student “sleuth” sits down and another student comes
up to remove the second footprint. He or she reads the keywords
under the next footprint and the class scrambles to find that
scripture, just as in the first round. Once the entire class
has found the scripture (the first 30 seconds they work on their
own; after that, then students can and should help each
other), the class as a whole graduates to the second level of
“sleuth” and they've now earned another 100 Bucks!
To
finish that level off, the class recites the second “clue”/scripture
from memory while the new student “sleuth” leads them along,
reading aloud from his or her scriptures. They have now earned
another 100 Bucks. And so each round goes, with the class increasing
in "sleuthing levels" and 200 Brigham Bucks per level,
until they finally arrive as a whole at the golden key (either
cut out of golden paper or an actual key taped to the end of
the path).
Make
sure to congratulate the class on a job well done. To finish
up, bear your testimony as to the beauty of eternal life and
that as they walk step-by-step following these scriptural teachings,
they, too, can receive the key to God's kingdom, inheriting
all that the Lord has in store for them!
Scripture
mastery verses are incredible nuggets of truth. The more our
youth are familiar with them, the more these scriptural nuggets
can bless their lives.
Watch for C.S. Bezas’ new book
Powerful Tips for Powerful Teachers: Helping Youth Find Their
Spiritual Wings at LDS bookstores or click
here.
