Catechist Magazine recently embraced Web 2.0. Catechist Magazine is written for catechists, religion teachers in Catholic schools and parish religious educators. As one of the leading publications in the field of catechesis and religious education, Catechist Magazine is leading its readers into the new generation of Catholic social media. Beginning in September of 2009, the…
The Religion Teacher Blog
Alliance for Catholic Education: Fighting for Schools and Children
Notre Dame’s latest installment of the “What Would You Fight For?” campaign during Notre Dame Football games on NBC featured Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE). ACE was founded in 1994 by Fr. Tim Scully and Fr. Sean McGraw as a teacher training program serving Catholic schools in the South and Southwestern United States….
How Catechesis and Religious Instruction Differ
The recent circular letter released by the Congregation for Catholic Education brought back to my attention the relationship between religious instruction and catechesis. “[Religious instruction] is different from, and complementary to, parish catechesis…” (Circular Letter to the Presidents of Bishops’ Conferences on Religious Education in Schools, 17). According to the General Directory for Catechesis, “there…
Circular Letter on Religious Education in Schools Summary
Last week the Congregation for Catholic Education released a letter sent out to the presidents of bishops’ conferences in May 2009 titled Circular Letter to the Presidents of Bishops’ Conferences on Religious Education in Schools. This letter is a reminder of the Church’s teachings about religious education in Catholic schools that can be found in…
How to Assess with No Test (Formative Assessments)
Old-school teachers like to teach and test, teach, and test. Tests and quizzes can be effective measures of a student’s progress, but they are rarely used to their full potential. If a quiz or test reveals that there were concepts that students did not master, then teachers need to re-teach. This concept defines the term…
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Create Lesson Objectives
In order to expand on a previous post titled “Creating Lesson Objectives,” here is a short introduction to Bloom’s Taxonomy. Many teachers use Bloom’s Taxonomy to select an action verb for lesson objectives. Bloom’s taxonomy categorizes different levels of learning to allow teachers to think about what level they want their students to learn: knowledge,…
Creating Lesson Objectives
Lesson objectives are succinct sentences that describe what you would like students to be able to do as a result of the lesson. In other words they are the goals of the lesson. They are also known as learning goals or learning objectives. Lesson Objectives/Goals have three parts: 1) Students Will Be Able To (SWBAT)…
How to Lesson Plan in Religion and Catechesis
Preparation is a key to effective teaching. Lesson planning can be so much more than creating a list of activities for students to do. Take a look at the following questions and consider them a process by which you can lesson plan each week. Ask yourself the following questions when you create your lesson plans:…
Pope Benedict XVI’s Catechesis on Saint Augustine of Hippo
Pope Benedict XVI dedicated five Wednesday audiences to St. Augustine of Hippo in February of 2008. It was a part of an ongoing meditation on the lives of the saints of the Catholic Church that he began in 2006 with the saints of the New Testament. In 2007 Pope Benedict moved from New Testament heroes…
Catechist’s Journey Webinar by Joe Paprocki Concludes
Joe Paprocki, the author of Catechist’s Journey, concluded his series of webinars titled “Getting Started as a Catechist” tonight. In the first session he focused on the basics (the role of the catechist, lesson planning, and creating an effective learning environment) and in tonight’s second session he focused on reflective prayer, liturgical prayer, discipline and…
