While not a commonly taught course, learning about social justice or Catholic social teaching is a priority for the USCCB and many parishes and schools. In my experience, students love it too. Teaching about the many issues regarding justice and mercy appeals to the hearts of young people and motivates them to want to create change…
The Religion Teacher Blog
Catholic Social Teaching Crossword Puzzle and Word Search
It must not be supposed that the Church so concentrates her energies on caring for souls as to overlook things which pertain to mortal and earthly life. Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum, 45 As catechists and religion teachers, we should be educating our students in Catholic Social Teaching for two reasons: It resonates with them. Students tend…
Video: The Common Good | Catholic Social Teaching
This video is a part of The Religion Teacher’s Catholic Social Teaching Activity Pack. To get the graphic organizer to accompany this video as well as more than a dozen other worksheets, login to The Religion Teacher, buy the activity pack, or become a premium member. The Common Good At the foundation of Catholic Social…
Video: Subsidiarity | Catholic Social Teaching
This video is a part of The Religion Teacher’s Catholic Social Teaching Activity Pack. To get the graphic organizer to accompany this video as well as more than a dozen other worksheets, login to The Religion Teacher, buy the activity pack, or become a premium member. Subsidiarity What if the highest or at least the…
Video: The Seven Principles of Catholic Social Teaching
This video is a part of The Religion Teacher’s Catholic Social Teaching Activity Pack. To get the graphic organizer to accompany this video as well as more than a dozen other worksheets, login to The Religion Teacher, buy the activity pack, or become a premium member. The Seven Principles of Catholic Social Teaching Video The…
Lesson Plan: Pope Francis TED Talk
Pope Francis surprised the conference guests (and the world) when he offered the first TED talk by a pope. TED stands for “Technology, Entertainment, Design.” It is a conference that is popular among tech startups, science enthusiasts, and Silicon valley entrepreneurs. The talks given during these conferences are distributed online and often have viral messages…
Video: Easter Meaning (Why Is Easter Called Easter?)
Why is Easter Called Easter? In this short video you will come to a better understanding of the origin and meaning of the word “Easter.” First, it is important to understand that in most languages other than English and German, the root word for the season of Easter is actually Pasch as in Paschal or…
Divine Mercy Lesson Plan and Activities
Give your students a great spiritual gift this year. Introduce them to the devotion to Divine Mercy with this lesson and activities. The Divine Mercy devotion originated with a polish nun, St. Faustian Kowalski, who had visits from Christ in the 1930s. She wrote down her conversations with Jesus in a diary, which included a…
Stations of the Cross Activities, Worksheets, and Coloring Pages
The Stations of the Cross is a wonderful devotion for you to practice with your class during Lent. If possible, devote some of your class time to the preparation for or participation in the Stations of the Cross. Use these Stations of the Cross activities and printables to help teach about Christ’s Passion and Death…
Video: What is Laetare Sunday?
Show this video in class to help students understand and prepare for Laetare Sunday, the name for the Fourth Sunday of Lent when priests wear rose vestments. As you shows the video, use the graphic organizer, which is available for download at the bottom of this page. (Members can download this video and graphic organizer here.) What…