ORGANIZING A LESSON
OUTLINE--CHAPTER XV
A review of the steps in lesson preparation.--The values of
outlining.--Objections answered.--Outlining a means, not an
end.--The essentials in outlining.--An illustrative outline on
prayer.
Preparing a lesson is no easy matter, particularly for those teachers
who are new to the calling. There are those, of course, for whom reading
an assigned chapter through constitutes a preparation, but to the
successful teacher this preliminary reading is only the initial step in
the process. Adequate preparation involves the following questions:
What aim shall I select out of the material available as the focus for
my day's work?
How shall I build about that aim a body of facts that will establish it
as a fundamental truth in life?
How shall I illustrate the truths presented so that they will strike
home in the experiences of my boys and girls?
How shall I make sure that members of the class will go out from the
recitation to put into practice the teachings of the day?
What questions ought I to ask to emphasize the outstanding points of my
lesson?
What method of presentation can I most safely follow to make my lesson
effective?
How may I discipline my class so that no disturbances will interfere
with our discussions?
Reduced to simple terms, the matter of preparation together with
presentation, involves the problems of
Organization
Aim
Illustration
Application
Methods of presentation
Questioning
It is difficult to single out any one factor and treat it as if it were
independent of the others--teaching is a complex art with all of these
factors inseparably contributing to the results desired--but, for
purposes of clearness, may we not proceed to give attention to each in
its turn that in the end the teaching process may the more definitely
stand out in all its aspects?
For convenience, then, let us in this chapter consider the problem of
organization. How to outline a lesson is one of the most fundamental
considerations involved in the teaching process. In fact, it is doubtful
whether there is any one more helpful attainment than the ability
clearly to outline subject matter. It not only enables the teacher to
proceed systematically, thereby insuring clearness and adequate
treatment of a lesson, but it makes it so easy and profitable for a
class to follow the discussion. Outlining to teaching is what
organization is to business. Just as the aim points out the goal we
seek, so the outline indicates the route we shall follow to attain the
goal. Outlining is simply surveying the road before the concrete is
laid.
Occasionally a teacher objects to outlining on the ground that it is too
mechanical--that it destroys spontaneity and the flow of the Spirit of
the Lord. It has always seemed to the writer that the Spirit of the Lord
is quite as pleased to follow a straight path as it is to follow a
crooked one. Outlining is not in any sense a substitute for
inspiration--it is merely a guarantee, by way of preparation, that the
teacher has done his part and can in good conscience ask for that
spiritual aid and guidance which he then is entitled to. The fact that
order is a law of heaven rather indicates that there is no divine
injunction against outlining.
Of course, outlining is not an end in itself--it is a means merely to
more systematic procedure. Two difficulties frequently attach to
outlining: one is that the outline is made so complex that it hinders
rather than helps in the matter of clearness; the other is that a
teacher may become "outline bound," in which case his teaching becomes
mechanical and labored. Such a teacher illustrates clearly the force of
the passage, "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
But if the outline is made simple--if it is considered as merely a
skeleton upon which is to be built the lesson--it is one of the greatest
assets a teacher can have. Perhaps we can make the matter clearest by
going through the process of outlining a lesson, indicating the
essential steps involved.
Suppose we are asked to prepare a lesson on prayer. Keep in mind that in
such a preparation we face the problems listed at the beginning of this
chapter: the aim, the illustration, the application, etc., and keep in
mind also that each of these subjects will be taken up in its turn and
that for the present we are concerned primarily with the query, "How can
I organize a lesson on prayer?" Let us assume, too, that we are
preparing this lesson for young men and women about twenty years of age.
First of all, I must decide why I am to teach the subject of prayer. In
view of the fact that the matter of the aim is to be considered fully in
the succeeding chapter, suppose we agree that our purpose in this lesson
shall be to establish prayer as a habit of life.
_Step number one_, then, is the selection of an aim--a focus for the
thought of the lesson.
_Step number two_ is the collection of random thoughts. As I begin to
ponder the subject of prayer and its influence on life, all sorts of
ideas crowd into my mind. Perhaps I read some one's discussion of
prayer--perhaps I talk to a friend relative to it--perhaps I just ran
the subject over in my mind. The thoughts that come to me may be vague
and wholly disconnected. My immediate concern is content--order will
come later. And so I jot down, either in my mind or on paper, such ideas
as these:
"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire."
The Song "Sweet hour of prayer."
What is the use of prayer?
Are prayers answered?
How often should I pray?
Does the Lord hear and answer our prayers, or do we answer them
ourselves?
What kinds of prayers are there?
How may I know how to pray?
Should prayers always be answered affirmatively?
What are the characteristics of a good prayer?
What prayers have impressed me most?
And so I go on. My task in step two is to scout about intellectually in
search of available, suitable material. Many of my jottings may
duplicate others already set down; others may not be appropriate for my
need; still others may be wholly irrelevant. But I am seeking a wealth
of material that I may make my recitation as rich as possible.
Now, _step three_ becomes a process of correlation and elimination--a
process of hitting upon my main headings--setting up the milestones to
mark my course of development. And I so sift the material in my mind and
sort it out under appropriate captions. After a good bit of intellectual
rummaging about, I find that my random thoughts on prayer fall rather
naturally into four main divisions, each capable of expression in a
question:
I. What is prayer?
II. Why should I pray?
III. How should I pray?
IV. When should I pray?
But now that I have these major headings, I still face the problems of
enriching them and elaborating them so that they will have body enough
to stand. In other words, I build up my sub-headings. Under the first
question, for instance, I group these thoughts:
I. What Is Prayer?
1. It is communion with God.
2. It is the key to God's storehouse.
3. It is the key to God's heart.
4. It is "The soul's sincere desire."
5. It is the great anchor of faith.
Under question two, I group:
II. Why Should I Pray?
1. Because I am commanded of the Lord to pray.
2. Because through prayer I keep in tune with the Spirit of the
Lord.
3. Because it is through prayer that I acknowledge the goodness of
God.
4. Because through prayer I petition for needed blessings.
5. Because through prayer I establish and preserve an attitude of
humility.
Under question three:
III. How Should I Pray?
1. Simply.
2. Sincerely.
3. In spirit.
4. After the pattern of His prayer.
5. In secret as well as in public.
Under question four:
IV. When Should I Pray?
1. Regularly.
2. Morning and evening.
3. To meet special needs.
4. My attitude should always be one of prayerfulness.
This matter of organization may be diagrammatically illustrated as
follows:
_Random Thoughts_ _Organized Thoughts_
The hymn
The song ______________
| |
What is the use | FOCUS | I. What is Prayer?
of prayer? | or |
| AIM | II. Why should I pray?
Are prayers answered? | |
| To establish | III. How Should I Pray?
How often should | prayer as a |
I pray? | life habit. | IV. When Should I Pray?
|______________|
What are the
characteristics of
a good prayer, etc.?
In short, organizing involves the search for thought and the bringing of
order out of chaos. Having selected the aim, the main headings, and the
sub-headings, we now face _step four_--the enriching of these
sub-headings in illustration, incident, etc., so that we may link up
these thoughts with the experience of our pupils. We may think of so
much stimulating material that during the ordinary class hour we can
cover well only one of these questions. Our purpose and the needs of the
class must determine the extent of our detail. The actual material that
could be used to enrich this lesson on prayer will be given in the
chapter on illustration.
_Step five_ involves the problem of application, or "carry-over into
life"--a subject to which another chapter will be devoted. Of course, we
ought to say here, in passing, that application is not something added
to or "tacked on" a lesson. It may be emphasized at the close of a
lesson, but in reality it pervades and is inherent in the whole lesson.
* * * * *
QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS--CHAPTER XV
1. What is meant by calling teaching a composite process?
2. Point out the essential advantages in outlining lessons.
3. Show how outlining is not in conflict with inspiration.
4. Name the essential steps in lesson organization.
5. Choose a subject from one of the manuals now in use in one of our
organizations and build up a typical lesson.
HELPFUL REFERENCES
Those listed in Chapter XIV.