Author Archives: Melanie Day

MeckMom’s Teaching Tips: How to incorporate games into your lesson

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Keeping teens and primary kids engaged in a lesson can be tricky. My favorite go-to-tool is to work in a simple game. This short video will give you some great tips on how to use games effectively in class as well as show you a few of my favorite grab-n-go games that can easily be incorporated into any lesson. I hope you enjoy it!

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I like to pick games that are easy to explain, fast to play and involve almost no set up. I also love games that have a bit of drama (like a tower that tips over or a balloon that might burst). The games I mentioned in the video are Boom Boom Balloon, Wonky, Jenga, and Tin Can Alley. I’m also a big fan of Bucket Blast, Bounce Off and Pie Face.

Sometimes I do a short game at the end of class and sometimes I like to have a full class of games to review everything we’ve learned in a unit or at the end of the year. Either way, I’ve always found that incorporating games into my lessons is a sure-fire way to keep students engaged and excited to participate.

Happy teaching everyone! I’ll be back next week with more tips.

Best,
Maria

Pioneer Children Song

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Here is a cute (and simple) idea for teaching the song, “Pioneer Children Sang as they Walked“.

Items needed:

– a rectangular laundry basket
– items one might find in a pioneer handcart (clothing, food, dishes, etc.)
– doll (to represent the people that might have to ride in the cart)

To introduce the song, hold up each item before putting it in the cart (basket) and ask them why each item is necessary.  Tell them that the pioneers couldn’t bring a lot of things because they needed to be able to push their carts a long, long way.  So the only things they took were essentials.

Choose three or four children to push (walk) the cart around the room while the song is being sung.  (Create a clear walkway for them before Primary begins so you have more time to sing.)

It’s easy to sing it multiple times because the children will all want a turn.  🙂

MeckMom’s Teaching Tips: Finding answers to tough questions

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Fielding unexpected questions in class is one of the hardest parts of being a teacher. Rather than frantically try to answer them yourself, I find it’s really helpful to teach your students find solutions on their own. This simple video will direct you to a few great LDS resources to help you handle the toughest LDS questions.

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Here are the links to the pages I referenced:

What do Do When You Have Questions: LDS.org/youth

Frequently Asked Questions from Mormon.org

The Guide to the Scriptures from LDS.org/ScriptureStudy

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Here is the FREE printable I recommended in the video. It includes a scripture-size version of The Family: A Proclamation to the World and The Living Christ.

MeckMom’s Scripture Stickers: The Family Proclamation and The Living Christ

These inserts can be printed on standard paper and used as bookmarks or printed on transparent sticker paper and added to the cover pages of any standard or compact set of LDS scriptures.

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