I am pleased to announce that my new book, 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, is officially published! It is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.avemariapress.com, and various Catholic bookstores! 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator is the book I wish that I had when I was first starting…
The Religion Teacher Blog
The Password Review Game
I’m always on the lookout for fun review games to play with my students. When I first started teaching, I had a group of students who were very into sports and games. They would ask me almost daily if they could play games. I was happy to play more games with them as long as…
The Angelus Prayer for Children
Since Advent of last year I have had an incredible experience praying the Angelus every day. At first I started praying it at noon each day. Then I added it to my morning prayer routine. Now, I have reminders set in my phone for 6:00 a.m., noon, and 6:00 p.m. to tell me that it…
Holy Week Prayer Services
There are a number of great Holy Week prayer services for kids that religion teachers and catechists can use in class the week before Easter. We should all use this time, known as the Triduum, as a special week of preparation for the joys of Easter with particular focus on preparing our hearts with the…
Habemus Papam! Pope Francis Lesson Plan
Habemus papam! As we all scramble to find resources to teach about the newly elected Pope Francis, I offer this initial Pope Francis lesson plan to help your students understand the significance of his first few moments as the Holy Father. I was personally very moved by the the events that unfolded at the conclusion…
Pope Activities and Lesson Plans for Kids
Here is a collection of activities you can use to teach about the role of the pope in the Roman Catholic Church. For additional resources, check out The Religion Teacher’s Pope Activity Pack, which includes full lesson plans, worksheets, videos, prayers, reflection activities, and assessments. Pope Activity Ideas Catholic Icing’s List of Pope Activities for…
Papal Conclave Lesson Plan
This is an updated lesson plan from The Religion Teacher’s Pope Activity Pack, which includes lesson plans, activity ideas, worksheets, prayers, and videos to help you teach about and pray for the pope. Get additional lesson plans and worksheets about the pope here. Papal Conclave Lesson Objectives Papal Conclave Lesson Activities & Assessment Hook: Jobs…
Do an 80/20 Analysis to Review Lesson Plan
You’re overwhelmed. Nothing seems to be working in your classroom. Stress levels rise with each new day. Why won’t these kids listen? Why am I constantly getting blank stares? Why won’t they just sit still and pay attention? I’ll never get all of this information covered today let alone this entire year! Maybe your life…
Valentine’s Day Object Lesson: Making Jesus Our Valentine
It is my pleasure to welcome Mary-Kate Warner as a guest at The Religion Teacher today. She writes for a website that shares Sunday School lessons, activities, and games mostly for Protestant churches. Although I think we should also focus on Saint Valentine on Valentines Day, I love the way Mary-Kate creatively and boldly shows…
Catholic Schools Week Ideas and Activities 2013
I am so pleased to welcome back for the fourth time my wife Jennifer Dees and our good friend Meghann Kirzeder, who will share another set of Catholic Schools Week ideas and activities for 2013. They’ve shared so many ideas in the past that they wanted me to point you to their previous posts as…
