I’ve written often on this site and in my eBook about the importance of writing out learning objectives for your students. These learning objectives, or lesson objectives, set a goal for your students to reach during the course of the lesson. It allows you as a teacher to focus only on the teaching strategies and [...]
Teaching about prejudice and racism calls for more than just direct instruction and lecture. Using inductive teaching strategies is crucial to grabbing students’ attention. Some of the most memorable lessons that I have taught incorporated some authentic role-playing on my part. The best example of authentic role-playing by a teachers is featured in the PBS [...]
Getting students’ attention and keeping it can be a real challenge for any teacher or catechist. Children are easily distracted and have a hard time sitting in desks and remaining focused. Throughout the school day, most teachers use the same teaching strategies (mostly lecture) again and again. Catechists are faced with the challenge of trying [...]
SWBAT stands for “Students Will Be Able To…” and it should begin all of the lesson objectives that you write as a teacher. Using SWBAT properly places the focus of a lesson plan on what the students learn and do rather that what the teacher teaches and does. As I have previously written, too many [...]
Are you making the following mistakes? I have and sometimes I still do. They are bad habits that all of us need to avoid at all costs.
The new year is always a great time to establish your catechetical goals for the rest of the year. Even though we are half way through the year in educational terms, we are in a much better position to know our weaknesses and our strengths and recognize where we need to improve. So, how can [...]
There are so many ways to review for a test or exam. With so many tests throughout the year, make sure students are given the opportunity to review in a variety of ways. Consider using these strategies to prepare students to show what they have mastered in their studies.
It is not enough to just teach something and expect students to learn it. Teachers and catechists must assist students as they organize new information within their already pre-existing knowledge about a topic. There are many ways for students to organize new information in through note-taking. Many of the strategies below extend well beyond simple [...]
Effective reading comprehension is essential to studying the Catholic faith. Being able to read and understand the Scriptures is an obvious reason for this. Since textbooks continue to be a primary teaching tool at all levels of religious education, catechists and religion teachers should have a number of teaching strategies and activities up their sleeves [...]
Teaching about the sacraments What is a sacrament? The definition drawn from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which most children are asked to memorize, is “an efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which we receive the life of God through the work of the Holy Spirit.” In [...]
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