Acting out

Thinking over 12 years of teaching, I have been trying to determine what strategy has "worked" the best for me. Keep in mind I have taught in an all boys Catholic High School. I have taught all levels. Recent years have had me with Sophomores and Seniors. I have tried to teach Scripture, Old and New Testament and Ecclesiology/Church History. At times, as can be imagined, making these subjects interesting to high school students was a challenge. But there has been one approach that has worked consistently. I would first assign readings and review questions provided by textbooks. Discussions involving topics and quizzes/chapter tests were completed. But the key to students retaining information (in my opinion) was acting out main ideas or people. Students or myself would choose an event or a person and re-enact the event or a key moment in a person's life. Corrections during presentations were made when necessary. I truly believe students retain more information after reading something but then applying it to their lives. In the case of Church History or Scripture, role playing is the application.
A side note: I have seen many graduates over the years and almost all of them talk about topics that were "acted out" in class. The other thing they always mention were my personal stories. I believe that is related somewhat. When I would share a personal story the students saw my enthusiasm and became active participants in the story. So the only problem is finding ways to actively involve students. The sooner they are "in the moment" of the subject matter, the quicker and easier they may retain the information.