This Week: Activities for the Sacred Heart of Jesus

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Religion Teacher | Catholic Religious Education

  • Resources
    • Graphic Organizers
    • Catholic Videos
    • Class Prayer
    • Teaching Strategies
    • Guide to Lesson Planning
    • Lesson Plan Templates
    • 31 Days Book
    • Christ in the Classroom
  • Activities
    • Advent Activities
    • Lent Activities
    • Easter Activities
    • Rosary Activities
    • Catholic Mass Activities
    • View All Activities
  • Lesson Plans
  • Worksheets
  • Shop
  • Join
  • Contact

The Rule of Three: Find Focus in Your Lesson

07/14/2017 By Jared Dees

You are probably trying to teach too much.

It’s okay, we all fall into this trap. There are too many topics to teach in the textbook. There are too many vocabulary words to define. There are too many stories to share.

There is just too much.

The kids know it, too. They get overwhelmed trying to learn when you are overwhelmed trying to teach.

That’s why The Rule of Three is so important. You have to focus on just three, clearly articulated lessons that you want your students to learn. You have to narrow your focus to just three and no more than that.

I jumped on Facebook to give a live lesson on The Rule of Three. Here is a recording of that short talk:

As I wrote in the description of the post, you can read more about this approach here:

Now You Can Teach Like Pope Francis!

This was a fun experiment. I realize the video and sound quality isn’t perfect, but I was so excited to be doing a little teaching again. Feel free to jump into the comments of the post to tell me what you think.

Question to Ask Yourself

In my next lesson, what are the three only things I want my students to learn?

To answer the question, you will have to make choices. You will have to NOT teach something you know is important but just not possible to teach. Focus on what is essential.

 

Filed Under: Teaching Strategies

About Jared Dees

Jared Dees is the creator of The Religion Teacher and the author of 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, Beatitales, Christ in the Classroom, and The Gospel According to Video Games.

Previous Post: « Holy Trinity Lesson Plan
Next Post: Cain and Abel Lesson Plan »

Reader Interactions

Free eBook on Lesson Planning

Have you signed up to receive the free eBook, The Religion Teacher’s Guide to Lesson Planning. Whether you are a veteran teacher or in your first year, this guide provides a step by step process to effective lesson planning and provides 250 suggestions for activities and teaching strategies

Comments

  1. KT

    07/18/2017 at 2:10 pm

    Is there any way that we can copy this video to be able to include it in a PowerPoint to show to all of our catechists?

Primary Sidebar

Get a free copy of The Religion Teacher's Guide to Lesson Planning and join more than 100,000 subscribers to The Religion Teacher.

The Religion Teacher Members

Login

or

Join

Connect with The Religion Teacher

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Catholic Religious Education Resources on Facebook

The Religion Teacher

Resources from The Religion Teacher

— NEW —

Including resources about
Pope Leo XIV.

Resource Pages

  • Advent Activities
  • Catechetical Videos
  • Catholic Lesson Plans
  • Class Prayer
  • Religious Education Resources
  • Rosary Activities
  • The Religion Teacher Store
  • The Religion Teacher Workshops

Archive

Footer

About the Founder, Jared Dees

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Jared Dees is the creator of The Religion Teacher and the author of 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, Just Plant Seeds, Beatitales, and The Gospel According to Video Games.
Invite Jared to Speak at Your Event →

Featured Resources

Copyright © 2025 · Jared Dees