The Exponent has been writing lesson plans for Relief Society and Young Women classes since 2006, and now boasts a lesson plan archive of about 500 lesson plans. As you plan your own home church, virtual church, or in-person church lessons, there is a good chance we have a lesson plan covering your topic in our archive. But how do you sift through so much content?
We have recently made it easier for you by adding a Lesson Plan Search Engine to our menu, sidebar (or below on a phone), and site map:
Oh, and also, right here:
Lesson Plan Search Engine:
[ivory-search id=”46471″ title=”Lesson Plan Search Form”]
Go ahead! Give it a try!
In our lesson plans, Exponent bloggers (and our guests) adapt Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) curricula according to a set of guidelines that were developed by some of the Exponent’s earliest bloggers, with minor adjustments over time from the evolving Exponent community:
- Include quotes from women.
- Add historical context.
- Make the lesson applicable to as many women as possible, not just white, middle-class, stay-at-home mothers with young children.
- Give a ‘feminist’ perspective on the lesson.
- Avoid games or ‘cute’ activities without a specific learning objective. (Games with a learning objective are welcome.)
- Offer a global perspective.
- Use inclusive language. (If the text only has male pronouns, change it so that it includes females.)
- Be mindful about different levels of orthodoxy. (Choose content that uplifts. Avoid using church lessons as a platform to either defend and propagate problematic teachings or to challenge doctrine. I offer my own examples of how I handle this here: When Teacher and Text Aren’t on the Same Page)
You can learn more about our lesson plan guidelines here: Teaching, No Greater Call: How To Teach Like An Exponent Blogger
We are always looking for new content! As you plan your own lessons for church meetings or at-home Come Follow Me lessons, we encourage you to send us your lesson plans to share with the community.
While lesson plans tend to generate fewer comments than more controversial posts, they are among the most searched for and viewed posts on our site. We often hear from church teachers who are not (yet) Exponent readers but who have found and used our lesson plans. By sharing lesson plans, we can bring intersectional, woman-friendly, uplifting messages directly into LDS church classrooms across the world.
You can submit your lesson plans here:
So helpful, April! Thank you. ❤️
Yay!