Background to the Feast of the Epiphany The Epiphany is celebrated on the Sunday between January 2nd and 8th while the actual feast day occurs on January 6th (twelve days after Christmas). In many European countries the Epiphany, rather than Christmas (Feast of the Nativity), is the day of gift-giving. The Epiphany is in commemoration…
The Religion Teacher Blog
A New Job, A New Adventure
People often say that your vocation is where your greatest passion meets the world’s greatest need. If this blog isn’t a dead give-away, I love teaching religion. I have an insatiable desire to learn everything I can about the Catholic faith and share that love with others. On one restless night of my junior year…
Teacher’s Reading List Ideas for Christmas Break
Christmas break is a great time to step back away from teaching and enjoy your time off. You may be looking for some good books to read or maybe you are looking to use some gift certificates from your students before you lose them. The following books rocked my socks off in 2009 and if…
Why is the third Sunday of Advent pink? (Why is the third candle in the Advent wreath pink?)
I inevitably got this question from my students during the 3rd week of Advent. So what is the best way to answer it? You could Google it and find a number of reasons: Purple is a penitential color of fasting while pink (rose) is the color of joy. The 3rd Sunday in Advent is Gaudete…
Can We Double the Number of Latinos in Catholic Schools? Notre Dame Says YES
Here are some staggering statistics about Latinos in Catholic schools: Only 53% of Latinos graduate from high school in 4 yearsChildren in Catholic Schools are 42% more likely to graduate high schoolOnly 3% of Latinos send their kids to Catholic schools The University of Notre Dame and the Alliance for Catholic Education says it is…
Advent Resources that Make Mysteries Become Tangible Realities
Come Quickly Lord Jesus, The Whole World is Waiting for Love!This is a guest post from my wife, Jennifer Dees. She is the Assistant Director of the Notre Dame Magnifiat Schools and a master teacher. I love being Catholic for many reasons but one of the things I love the most is the way that…
Visualizing God in Prayer and Guided Meditations
When you pray, how do you imagine God? Do you visualize someone or something? Do you use images to help you pray? Too often we tend to focus on what we are praying for rather than the God to whom we pray. If you ask your students what they imagine when they pray, you may…
Using the "New Taxonomy" to Design and Assess Educational Objectives
In September I posted a brief overview of Bloom’s Taxonomy, something I have used to develop lesson objectives since I first became a teacher. Since that post, I have spent a lot of time reading about Robert Marzano’s “New Taxonomy.” On a plane trip to New York, I found myself captivated by Marzano and John…
Catholic Thanksgiving Day Lesson Plans on the Eucharist as Thanksgiving
Eucharist means first of all “thanksgiving” (CCC, 1360). I can think of no better lesson to teach to our students this Thanksgiving week than this. There are many images that express the intense mystery that is the Eucharist, but the Eucharist as thanksgiving is the most appropriate for November. A simple connection that you can…
“Tic-Tac-Know” the Review Game
Materials needed: 1) three categories of nine questions each (for example, 9 questions about each person of the Trinity). 2) large whiteboard or chalkboard Number of Teams: 2 or divide them by rows Directions: Draw three tic-tac-toe grids on the board and label them according to your three categories. Number each box 1 to 9….
