Every Day, Every Class, Every Student, an Encounter with Christ That is the vision we aspire to at The Religion Teacher. So much of what religious educators do, however, focuses almost entirely on education and not encounter. As a result, Christ becomes just another idea to learn like everything else in school. As catechists and…
Search Results for: Scripture
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…
Word on Fire’s Exodus & Moses Lesson Plan, Video, and Handouts
This Exodus lesson plan is adapted from Word on Fire’s CATHOLICISM School Enrichment program, which offers resources for middle school and high school religion teachers based on Bishop Robert Barron’s CATHOLICISM DVD Series. Bishop Barron’s team has generously offered to share this lesson to spread the word about their wonderful educational resources. To learn more,…
Hundreds of Print-or-Play Resources for Religious Educators
Imagine . . . A classroom of kids actively engaged in learning about their faith. They work diligently on assignments. They listen to your presentations. They ask questions and are able to go home and articulate what they learned in class to their parents and friends. Now imagine the opposite . . . Students are…
Mortal Sin vs. Venial Sin Video & Worksheet
Download and print the Mortal Sin vs. Venial Sin graphic organizer worksheet for students to complete while watching this video: Download the Mortal Sin vs. Venial Sin Worksheet > Scripture and the Catholic Church make clear distinctions between two different kinds of sin based on the gravity of sin: mortal sin and venial sin. First,…
Pentecost Activities, Worksheets, Crafts, and Games
Using this collection of Pentecost activities will help you bring this important feast day to life for students. With these activities, students will be able to explain the meaning of the word Pentecost, recount the events as they unfolded in the Bible, and explain how the Holy Spirit can be active in their own lives. Pentecost…
Catholic Social Justice Activities
While not a commonly taught course, learning about social justice or Catholic social teaching is a priority for the USCCB and many parishes and schools. In my experience, students love it too. Teaching about the many issues regarding justice and mercy appeals to the hearts of young people and motivates them to want to create change…
Video: What is Laetare Sunday?
Show this video in class to help students understand and prepare for Laetare Sunday, the name for the Fourth Sunday of Lent when priests wear rose vestments. As you shows the video, use the graphic organizer, which is available for download at the bottom of this page. (Members can download this video and graphic organizer here.) What…
A Five-step Process for Evangelizing Parents
This post is a part of a series of teaching strategies that get beyond catechesis and into the realm of evangelization. To get a 10,000 foot view of where we are going, read this: A New Vision for Catholic Religious Education. This article and the others in this series are inspired by the book, To…
Holy Spirit Lesson Plan
The Holy Spirit is often the most difficult person of the Trinity to explain to young people. They have seen plenty of art work depicting God the Son. They are at least able to wrap their minds around God the Father, even if their concept of him is as an old man with a white…
