In 2017 I introduced a concept that has transformed the way I teach in religious education: Lectio Divina Lesson Planning. The idea is pretty simple: apply the prayer process of Lectio Divina to everything we teaching catechesis. The process really caught on and many others benefited from the approach, so I expanded the ideas into…
Teaching Strategies
Reimagining Virtual Catechesis
So, you are teaching virtually this year. Things are going to be different. It certainly won’t be religious education as normal. It might not be the year we expected. But it could be an amazing year. In response to the pandemic, many schools and parishes have chosen between: In-person classes with social distancing and masks…
A Lesson Objective Cheat Sheet for Religious Educators
In step 2 of The Religion Teacher’s Guide to Lesson Planning, I explain how to establish lesson objectives for your students achieve by the end of your lessons. This follows step 1, which is simply creating a list of all the most important topics that you might teach in the lesson you are preparing. Check…
The Power of Story in Religious Education
The following article is an edited excerpt from chapter 2 of Christ in the Classroom: Lesson Planning for the Heart and Mind, which describes various ways to use meditation in class to help students make personal connections to what they are learning. The simplest way to lead students in meditation is to invite them into…
Three Keys to Christian Meditation in Class
This article is adapted from a section in chapter 2 of Christ in the Classroom: Lesson Planning for the Heart and Mind. To get more teaching strategies like these, get your copy of the book wherever books are sold. The goal of Christian meditation is to make connections between a mystery of faith and our own…
The Seven Scaffolding Strategies for Teachers
This article is adapted from chapter 1 of Christ in the Classroom: Lesson Planning for the Heart and Mind. To get more teaching strategies like these, get your copy of the book wherever books are sold. What is a Scaffolding Strategy? Imagine, for a moment, the construction of a building. As each new level is…
Start Your Lesson with a Hook Strategy
As soon as I read about the idea of using a “Hook” at the beginning of a lesson to get students’ attention, I immediately added it to every lesson I planned. I got the strategy from Doug Lemov’s Teach Like A Champion book and I include it as an important strategy in the learning process…
Lesson Planning Checklist
The following checklist is from The Religion Teacher’s Guide to Lesson Planning. It includes the three-step process to sitting down and planning a lesson that will engage your students in learning about their faith. To help your students experience an encounter with Christ during your lesson, check out Christ in the Classroom: Lesson Planning for the…
Between-the-Bells Evangelization
The way you interact with students in between the bells is just as important if not more important than the lessons you teach during class. Those moments before and after class when you get to speak with students on a personal level have the potential to be transformative experiences for them. When you deliberately talk…
Lectio Divina Lesson Planning
This concept was so effective for religious educators who started using it in class, that I expanded it into an entire book on lesson planning: Christ in the Classroom: Lesson Planning for the Heart and Mind. How do we help our students know, love, and serve God? How do we teach both the head AND…
