WoW! A Lesson Plan!

Here's the plan:

I'll start, as usual, by asking (and, if needed, reminding) my students what last week's lesson was about. This tends to be a good way to refresh their memory, and talking briefly about the Three Degrees of Glory will help me transition to another important, modern-day revelation: The Word of Wisdom.

I'll explain the situation with many of the Bretheren experiencing a Word of Wisdom issue, but I'll explain that this was before the Word of Wisdom was revealed, and well before conventional wisdom caught up with it, so the Bretheren didn't know they were doing anything wrong. From here, I might add a side-note about sinning in ignorance (which I should probably blog about) and/or the fact that we can learn from both good and bad examples of behavior, even in our role models.

Once I've established the need for inspired correction, I'll invite the class to read the inspired correction found in D&C Section 89. The youngsters like reading, and there are many good passages in this chapter that teach the Word of Wisdom directly from its source. As we read, we'll pause occasionally to discuss what the verses say and/or leave out. We'll especially want to mention that illegal drugs, on top of being illegal, are also against the Word of Wisdom, even though they're not specifically mentioned. We'll also take a moment to explain what hot and strong drinks are, in case there's any question. And we'll certainly talk about following the spirit of the Word of Wisdom being equally important as following the letter of it.

I'll end the lesson with the bottom line that the Word of Wisdom basically means to take care of our bodies, and if we do that, our bodies will also take care of us. Then, time permitting, we'll play a few rounds of hangman using words and phrases from the lesson until it's time to head into sharing time.

It's the same basic structure as most of our lessons have been: Recap, Overview, Story, Reading, Discussion, Activity, usually (though not always) in that order. I hope that this structure and the fact that we have a regular structure help the children follow the lesson and learn from it. If not, perhaps the structure itself should be revised.

Anyhow, that's my lesson plan, and I think it's good enough for now, so I'll ask for God's blessing and/or feedback on it, possibly make a few inspired tweaks, and prepare to follow the plan (as much as the kids allow me to) tomorrow.