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…
The Religion Teacher Blog
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…
School-wide Prayer: Tips for Making an Impact
Every Catholic school I know gathers together to pray in some way beyond the celebration of Mass. In grade schools especially, there are many times throughout the day that students and faculty stop and pray in unison. The challenge is making sure these public prayers do not become so routine that students and teachers lose touch with the deeper meaning…
How Parents Pass on the Faith (and What We Can Do To Help)
I’m preparing for the workshop I’m giving at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress and I wanted to share one small piece of the message I plan to present. The workshop is focused on empowering parents as the primary religious educators of their children, or more specifically, as disciples and teachers. So this begs the…
From Lecturer to Leader (Part 2): 3 Ways to Keep Students Actively Engaged
If you watched the last video in this series, then you know some of the biggest mistakes we make as religious educators. We spend more time than we should lecturing in front of the class. We spend time reading the textbook out loud even though the kids aren’t following along. And we assign busy work…
From Lecturer to Leader (Part 1): 3 Big Mistakes to Avoid This Year
Like a lot of people who are first starting out in education, I made a lot of mistakes early on. I think you will find that these mistakes are quite similar to what you and a lot of people do today. And it’s not really our fault. For the most part, it is just the…
Saint (Mother) Teresa of Calcutta Lesson Plans and Worksheets
Are you ready to teach your students about the incredible life and witness of Mother Teresa? I hope this collection of Saint Teresa of Calcutta activities, lesson plans, and worksheets will help! Saint (Mother) Teresa of Calcutta Lesson Plans Mother Teresa Lesson Plan (Learning to Give) Bringing Lent Home with Mother Teresa Lesson Plans (Ave Maria…
