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…
The Religion Teacher Blog
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…
Ten Commandments Word Search and Crossword Puzzle
At the core of every Catholic religious education curriculum are the Ten Commandments. Students have to learn them and review them every year. In order to teach the commandments effectively, we first need to teach them to know them then we need to help the students live them. I’m a big proponent of religious education that…
A Five-step Process for Evangelizing Parents
This post is a part of a series of teaching strategies that get beyond catechesis and into the realm of evangelization. To get a 10,000 foot view of where we are going, read this: A New Vision for Catholic Religious Education. This article and the others in this series are inspired by the book, To…
What is your vision for the future of religious education?
Last week I outlined a new vision for religious education that is inspired by the spirit of the New Evangelization and written about in my book, To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach. I was overwhelmed by the positive response I got from that 3,000-word manifesto. I was so pleased to see that so many catechetical leaders,…
