Journaling in Primary

   I am substituting in a Primary 5 class this summer and really enjoy this small group of children. I was curious what teaching skills I could transfer from Seminary to this age group. They are emerging readers and are studying the Doctrine and Covenants. The skill of finding a scripture is paramount and building confidence in that skill is my goal. Step one is having scriptures for each child. Step two is isolating two to three scriptures from the reading block that are simple and relevant to both the child and the lesson. I stick a piece of removable highlighter tape under the scripture when thy find it. That makes it visible on the page.

   Now that they have found the scripture how can we extract information from it? That is when our journals take on meaning. Each week we work on a journal page.

                          I type up our scriptures with missing words and glue them in the journal.

 With their highlighted scripture they scan for the words that they need to fill in the blanks. This is difficult for some children and sometimes I start the word for them.  But each week I have seen more success and they are pleased with their progress.

  Reviewing the scriptures from past weeks provides continuity and builds meaning into the verses. One verse we do each week is Doctrine and Covenants 82:10. It went with the lesson on the persecution in Missouri.
   " I the Lord am bond when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise,"
   I brought a pretty ribbon and asked for two volunteers. One played the role of Jesus Christ and one represented themselves. I tied their fingers together and explained that Jesus would never break that ribbon. The ribbon would only be loosed if we fail to keep his commandments. When I show the ribbon they know what scripture it represents. We repeat it every week.

   Church history stories are compelling and the Doctrine and Covenants has easy verses that are powerful to learn. I see many ways to strengthen scripture reading and comprehension in this age group.