Well, it has been one year since I launched The Religion Teacher. It has been a great experience and I am thankful for the opportunity to share my thoughts and ideas with you. Since the first post in March 2009, I have shifted my focus away from news and web reviews to pedagogy and practical resources. This is where I am most interested in assisting religious education. I thought I would take this opportunity to look back at what I have done and reflect back and highlight some of the best posts of 2009-2010.
My mission with The Religion Teacher has been to improve the quality of religious education in Catholic schools and parish religious education programs by empowering teachers and catechists with effective teaching strategies and practical resources. I have had one primary goal: provide high-quality, practical content.
Thank you for the many compliments on the content I have posted here. Thank you also to the primary contributors: my wife, Jennifer Dees, and Meghann Robinson both current employees of the Alliance for Catholic Education.
Here is a brief recap of the Year:
Top posts in 2009-2010:
Other personal Favorites:
Bloom’s Taxonomy may be better known, but I have really found the New Taxonomy to be much more practical. Check out my cheat sheet on Scribd.
Classroom rules are another opportunity to teach about the faith. Take a look at these suggestions and bookmark it for the beginning of year.
Based on the circular letter recently released by the Congregation for Catholic Education, this post examined the differences between teaching religion in Catholic schools and parish catechists. I have tried to speak to both audiences in this blog, but there are distinct differences in what both groups of people do.
Scroll down to the list of effective review games that kids enjoy.
I don’t think there is a longer list anywhere on the web. These are some dedicated people providing excellent resources.
The Rosary is a classic Catholic prayer that can be a life-long tool for our students.
Although this was written as a Thanksgiving Day lesson plan, the lesson would work perfectly to help students understand the meaning of Eucharist as “thanksgiving.”
I wrote this series of posts a couple of years ago in response to Pope Benedict’s encyclical, SPE SALVI. I still stand by the prayer advice for meditating on salvation, offering it up and prayer intentions.
Thank you for your support and interest in this project. I hope you will continue to visit, read, use, and share your resources with others. I’m looking forward to continuing to serve you.
Do you have any thoughts, suggestions, and requests for 2010-2011? Send me an email or post a comment below. God bless!
Congratulations, Jared, and thanks for all the great resources you provide Catholic catechists!
Congrats for a job well done!!!! ((hugs))
My personal favorite post was: Catholic Thanksgiving Day Lesson Plans on the Eucharist as “Thanksgsiving”
It was such a great lesson plan! 🙂