Seminary Readiness Activities

  Readiness to learn is essential to a good seminary class. Preparing readiness activities in advance is worth the trouble. Here are a few I am going to use in the first two weeks. They can come before the devotional when students are arriving or they can precede the lesson. They can even be used more than once in a lesson if the concentration is failing.

   Fishbowl-   Cut up questions and put in a fishbowl. Have students draw out one question from a past lesson and be prepared to answer on your signal after roll call. You can also use questions for reading and finding the answer in an assigned paragraph.

    

1-What four books are called the gospels?

2-What does the word Testament mean?

3- How many books are in the New Testament?

4-In what language was the New Testament originally written?

5-Who were the Jews subject to during New Testament times?

6-What is the longest chapter in the new Testament?

7-What is the shortest verse?

8-What is an epistle?

9- Which four epistles have only one chapter?

 Flow Charts-Have students pick up, or hand to them as they enter, a partially complete flow chart to finish. Flow charts are graphical depictions of processes or relationships. Typically flow charts include icons showing particular processes or steps, and arrows indicating paths.

  Alphabet Summary-  Each student is assigned a different letter of the alphabet upon entering the classroom and asked to generate a word starting with that letter that is related to the topic to be discussed. Students share their terms with the class, partner or write it on paper.

Pass out letters A-J and ask them to find a word starting with this letter in the Reading block- Luke 1:26-39
   Possiblities are 
     Angel, Blessed, Cousin, David, Elizabeth, Favored, Galilee, Highest, Impossible, Jesus

Jumbled Summary-  Teacher posts or cuts up and places in an envelope randomly ordered key words and phrases from a lesson. Students put the terms and phrases in a logical order to show understanding.

  From Matt. 1-

      Put these into correct order:

  Mary begat Jesus

  Jesse begat David

  Judas begat Phares

  Solomon begat Roboam

  Jacob begat Joseph

  Abraham begat Isaac

  David begat Solomon

  Joseph was the husband of Mary 

  Mary was kin to Joseph so her genealogy is the same

Letter Writing-  Upon entering the classroom students are asked to write a letter to a specific person or place for specific reasons relating to prior lessons. It encourages students to think about a specific audience and practice skills.

   Write a letter to a fictional friend and explain to them the experience you had outside the temple when Zacharias came out speechless and filled with a vision. Luke 1:5-23

Similarities & Differences-  Either in graphic or symbolic form, representing similarities and differences enhances students’ understanding of and ability to use knowledge. Four forms to use are Comparing, Classifying, Creating metaphors, and Creating analogies.

   Jesus is to John the Baptist like________________ is to ________________.
   Mary is to Elizabeth like ______________ is to______________.
   Baptism is to Jesus like _______________is to _____________.
   The dove was to baptism like ____________is to____________.
   Nazareth is to Bethlehem like ______________is to _________.
   The stable is to the nativity story like ____________is to _________.
   

Here is another Scripture Man Template which is my own favorite. I play this game like this:

1. Make a list of 20 questions which have one word answers. I play this as review but also to dig into a new block of scripture. 
2. Assign each question a grid coordinate, i.e.; A-7, B-10, F-12
3. Pass out the Scripture Man handout and have them fill out the grid with the little pictures. The coveted point is scripture man which they can only place once, worth 50 points. The dreaded points are the three bombs which would wipe out all the previous points they earn.
4. I ask the question and they write down their answer. When all have answered I tell them that if they answered correctly they could have all the points on the coordinates which were assigned to that question. For example; you may have all the points assigned to the robot if you put it there on B-4.
5. Then we go on to question number 2, and ect.
6. After question 20 everyone adds up their points and the Scripture Man is rewarded, or just applauded.

And, I thank-you for reading some of my mystery novel, Rubato. Judith, a piano teacher extraordinaire,  makes a decision which, upon reflection, changes the lives of others, not for the better.

Click here for 19 free chapters