CCD and Bible Basics

[kage_ar]

This is my first year teaching CCD - 5th graders.

Last Sunday, I asked each of the students to look up a particular passage in the Bible. Not one of the students knew where to find the book (there were 2 passages from Mark and one each from Luke and Matthew), after I assisted them in locating the book, they did not know how to follow the chapter 3 vs. 1-8 instructions. Thinking that this was a good opportunity for a lesson “outside of the lesson plan”, I began to teach them a song from MY Sunday school days – the lyrics are the books of the New Testament in order. We made it part way through, and the students became tripped up – they did not know the names of all the books, it was as if saying Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians etc. was learning a foreign language.

When I went home that night, I asked my son to tell me the books of the Bible – he could not do it completely. My son has been in CCD for the past 7 years of his life, and I assumed he was learning these basics – concerned, I took it another step. He could not name all of the 12 apostles, he could not tell me the names of the 12 tribes of Israel, knows very little basic Old Testament history. Now, this child can debate apologetics with the best of them (Marian doctrine, Eucharist, Sola Scriptura, etc.) I feel like a failure as a Christian parent – I’d assumed that CCD would teach the same basics that I learned in Sunday School PLUS the richness and fullness of Catholic doctrines, prayers and devotions, etc.

Is it a wonder, that many people who are raised Catholic are drawn away by the evangelical “Bible” Christians? The first time these Catholics sit down in a Bible Study group and cannot find the book of Titus – they could begin doubting things because that old “Catholics don’t know the Bible” looks like truth!

Any other converts remember Bible Bowl or Bible Quiz teams? Any suggestions of this type of quizzing for Catholic children?

I can tell you one thing, my 5th graders will know their way around the Bible and the CCC before spring this year

Lastly - Anyone know a song that teaches the books of the OLD Testament?

 

[asquared]

6th grade is usually the introduction to the Old Testament and Salvation History
7th Grade New Testament, Life of Christ
8th Grade, NT early church, Church History, “what is the church?”

5th grade - sacraments & prayer
4th grade - 10 commandments & beatitudes, moral life
3rd grade - the Mass, liturgical year, saints, Catholic practices
2nd grade - reconciliation and Eucharist
1st grade - Adam and Eve, the fall, redemption

most textbooks have a scripture verse or section for each lesson, and by 4th or 5th grade they are old enough to begin looking up the verses themselves, with your help. Before then, many educators, and it has been the wisdom of the Church for a long time, they are not ready for some of the “adult” or R-rated content and language of the Bible. You generally begin with “bible stories” in the earlier grades, then progress to bible reading and the first couple of years will be lots of practice in “looking it up”.

the important thing is that they understand the link between the bible and the catechism, that Church teaching came from someplace, that someplace is scripture and sacred tradition, that the readings they hear at Mass come from the bible, not from a little paperback booklet, that they reverence the bible. By high school they should have a grasp of the high points and key players in salvation history, understand the paschal mystery and how it is related in the NT, and know the life of the early church.

 

[MGEISING]

I have had the same experience teaching CCD … and I have been teaching it for about 6 years.

I have solved this by including in the program, basic Catholic Catechism. I use a lot of different avenues, but one of the most favored by the kids (from 1 - 6 so far) is Catholic Bingo. You can find it on Google … and typing Catholic Bingo. The great thing about this game is that the teacher will ask if they have a certain subject … say John Paul II on their card … if they do, they have to tell the teacher what it means before putting a marker on the square. If they don’t know what it means, they can’t put a marker (m&m) on the square. After one or two times of this … they start picking up certain aspects of our faith.

We, as teachers, can’t take anything for granted. This year is my first year in 6th grade, and we are learnig the old testament and how it is important for Salvation (Salvation History). Only two kids in my whole class knew how to look up a bible verse. But, I didn’t faulter, I took it as an opportunity to teach others about looking up verses. What amazes me the most, is that the kids didn’t realize our readings come from scripture … which saddens me very much … but, as a teacher, I rely on the Holy Spirit and ask him, unceasingly, what I need to be armoured with to spread our faith to our children.

I think it is important for us, as teachers, to keep researching, reading, learning, praying, for guidance from above … and ask that we are inspired, divinely …

There is tons of great CATHOLIC sites out there, to aid us in doing the work of the Lord.

 

[rwoehmke]

6th grade is usually the introduction to the Old Testament and Salvation History
7th Grade New Testament, Life of Christ
8th Grade, NT early church, Church History, “what is the church?”

5th grade - sacraments & prayer
4th grade - 10 commandments & beatitudes, moral life
3rd grade - the Mass, liturgical year, saints, Catholic practices
2nd grade - reconciliation and Eucharist
1st grade - Adam and Eve, the fall, redemption

.

asquared, I grew up in Detriot and surrounds and love History. Our history of CCD in Western Wisconsin pretty much followed your outline till the late sixties, then the train came off the track. I haven’t taught kids for about 15 year but our RCIA program covers all the topics above and than some. I will have to ask around and see if the train has been put back on track.

 

[dhgray]

Per you request:



wholesomewords.org/family/kjvbkssong.html

 

[Malachi4U]

Jesus never told us to memorize the books of the Bible. He never told us to write a Bible either.

The Catholic Church canonised a Bible and declared it inspired to help spread and learn the Faith (capital ‘F’). The Bible is great and important but it is only a tool of the Church. Faith is in you, in me and in His body His Catholic Church. I do not need to read a book to go to heaven or follow our Trinity in God. Cannot illiterate people be Catholic too (i.e. Christian)?

The Bible study and worship of it we see today is an outgrwoth of the protestant opinions. Sola Scripture! Many have lost site of the master mechanic and begun worshiping the tool instead. I do not ask a screwdriver to repair my car, I ask a mecahnic. I do not worship a book or ask it how to earn salvation and follow Christ, my personnal Lord and saviour, I ask His Church He founded.

Now with that being said I must admit, our Church today needs to improve its Bible skills to protect our youth from falling into apostacy. 16-24 million today in the US alone! Catholics are picked off like lame animals by packs of wolves surrounding the heards. These wolves are also highly trained by master wolves in the art of predation too against lame Catholics (in Bible study only). There are no lack of lame animals either. Why are we lame? Because we lack the usability of the Bible that the wolves use against us. Of course, the wolves make the Bible out to be everything and then convience the poor lame Catholic that his Church fails to use it. It is ultimately just propaganda by the wolves that the lame and ignorent of the heard fall for.

So how do we fix the problem? I think you are on the right track. Teach our youth Scripture and have them learn it well. Not to make them better Christians per say - they only need to follow Chrurch teachings for that - but to combat the onslought by the wolves and their vicious and effective propaganda. Oh yea, learning the Bible better will also make them better Catholics. To learn and follow Sacred Scripture is to become Catholic.

By the way, for all you who say the Catholics don’t use Scripture. Next time you go to mass time how much of the mass comes straight from Scripture. Don’t count repeats of verses just the first time it’s read. The mass IS Scripture and we are living in Scripture in mass! I know of no other denomination that has more Scripture in a service then Catholics. Catholics just don’t know it. When I first came home to the Catholic Church and had attended a few masses I rented the movie Jesus Of Nazereth for Bible study for my kids, a 6 hour flick. I was still going to a Baptist church at that time too (I went to both services every week). Why mention that here? My kids had gone to protestant churches for years but when they heard Jesus in the movie talking and saying things my children kept saying, “Thats what the Catholics say in Church!” They never said anything like that about the Baptists or Lutherans, just the Catholics.

Catholics get so much Scripture every week but we as Catholics don’t brag about it or worship it like protestants as our soul means of salvation (OK, I know, Jesus judges us and Gods grace saves us. Its just a point.). Protestant propaganda makes the Bible the soul of Faith, Catholic theology makes God the center of our Faith and teaches us to live in Love and endure to the end in Hope.

Show me one Christian who read the Bible before 350 A.D. and was saved from it? We don’t need a Bible any more then the first 350 years of Christians needed it. The Church spread the Faith, not a book.

 

[kmktexas]

When I went home that night, I asked my son to tell me the books of the Bible – he could not do it completely. My son has been in CCD for the past 7 years of his life, and I assumed he was learning these basics – concerned, I took it another step

I am glad you clarified that you are a convert. There is no emphasis at all (nor do I think there should be) in Catholic teaching on memorization with regard to the Bible. I teach CCE and can’t rattle off the books of the Bible. I am sure I could memorize it if I ever thought there was a good reason to. Memorization of this type and of individual Bible verses is pretty much a Protestant thing, unless you are studying theology or apologetics.

You may have heard people call CCE/CCD classes, Catechism class. There is a reason they are called that instead of “Bible school”. We focus on the teachings of the Church which are the natural extension of the Bible. We don’t focus on the Bible itself, although there are many opportunities to do that in Bible study. Probably not as many as most of us would like, but they are there.

It isn’t a failure to teach/learn the “basics”. These things are not the “basics” for Catholics. Neither is memorizing the 12 tribes or even the 12 apostles.

Now if your 7th grader couldn’t rattle off the seven sacraments or the 2 types of actual sin, then you might have cause for concern.

 

[dhgray]

kmktexas:

I am glad you clarified that you are a convert.

I too converted to Catholicism and now teach CCD. One thing I do is to teach, not just the catholic side of the sacrement but show them CHRIST in the sacrement. I also taught my 5th graders what the “non-Catholic” bashers are saying about each and how to defend what we do. Sort of an Anti-Anti-Catholic approach.

 

[Exporter]

I am a retired guy who has been teaching CCD on and off for 25 years.

What you did in teaching the Books of the NT with a song sure does sound Protestant to me. I have been teaching various high school classes and we never had to learn the Books of the NT. We deal more with concepts and ideas along with the CCC. In fact the Catechism of the Catholic Church is our central theme.

 

[rwoehmke]

I will tell you folks that unless your kids live in a Catholic ghetto, they need to know both their CCC and their Bible. My oldest son who is a 42 year old practicing and loyal Catholic had an Evangelical friend in High School who could run rings around him in Religous discussions. My son was forced to get out the Bible we gave him at Confirmation and after a bit the “playing field” got pretty level. Both boys retained their Faith. The friend ended up becoming a preacher after Bible School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. My son married and has three children studying for Confirmation in the Catholic Church. Anyone wanting to help converts into the Catholic Church had better get familiar with the Bible or stand impotent in front of their biblically sophisticated protestant friends and acquaintances. Unless you live in isolation from your Catholic Church I cannot understand how you could even imagine that that same Church does not strongly encourage prayer and study of the Bible. If this attitude of yours is prevalent in the Catholoic Church, it is no wonder that when I am approached by Mormons and JWs on my doorstep, they always go away expressing surprise that a Catholic could quote scripture back at them. Friends?

 

[puzzleannie]

the original question was about 5th or 6th graders, they are just starting their serious study of scripture, no need to have memorized the books of the bible. If you said HS seniors, that would be more of a concern. Take a poll of all your lectors, deacons, catechists, eucharistic ministers, I am willing to bet the number of adults who can list the books of the bible is pretty small, but I bet the number of adults who know, love, read and pray with the bible is very high.

 

[kmktexas]

Anyone wanting to help converts into the Catholic Church had better get familiar with the Bible or stand impotent in front of their biblically sophisticated protestant friends and acquaintances. Unless you live in isolation from your Catholic Church I cannot understand how you could even imagine that that same Church does not strongly encourage prayer and study of the Bible. If this attitude of yours is prevalent in the Catholoic Church, it is no wonder that when I am approached by Mormons and JWs on my doorstep, they always go away expressing surprise that a Catholic could quote scripture back at them.

Being very familiar with the Bible is not the same as memorization. If you are actively engaged in apologetics, then a good bit of memorization is helpful in leveling the playing field, but apologetics and converting non-catholics is not everyone’s calling. One of the traps that some Catholics fall into when challenged by non-Catholics is a kind of dueling scripture quotes game. This gets nowhere and often leads into a trap of “where in the Bible?”. Living in Texas, Bible Belt central, the CCE kids are challenged all the time by their evangelical classmates. But standing strong in your faith, for a Catholic, means understanding Church teachings, Tradition, and Biblical teachings - with or without the chapter and verse citations.

Even if you are actively seeking the conversion of your non-Catholic friends, you won’t usually win them over with Bible quotes. Paraphrasing here: preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words. (St. Francis, I think).

 

[Malachi4U]

Exporter:

…What you did in teaching the Books of the NT with a song sure does sound Protestant to me…

Just a note, not everything protestant is bad, just the “re”(DE)-formed parts, the opinions, the inventions, the apostacy, etc… Some things they do well is fellowship, propaganda (even when full of lies), willfullness to spread Gods word (or the miss-self-interpretation of it at least), joy in the services (i.e. feel good theology), participation, etc. Non of the good points I mention have to due with theology, just how they energize and methods of teaching. We as Catholics can stand to learn from their good points, few as they are, to help correct their opinions and spread Faith in God to those whom need it and correct opinions of those whom have strayed off course from His Word.

 

[Catholic4aReasn]

kage_ar:

Anyone know a song that teaches the books of the OLD Testament?

Not a Catholic version. Maybe you should write one.

In Christ,
Nancy

 

[asquared]

Peter and Andrew, Jimmy and John, Philip and Bartley, Matthew and Tom, another little Jimmy and Simon to boot, Jude the Jacobi and Jude the galoot. rhyme to remember the apostles (from the list in Luke’s gospel) taught to my 4th grade CCD class by Fr. Brown of loving memory

we did have a rhyme in Catholic school to remember to books of the new testament, darned if I can remember it now.

the goal of all catechesis is to lead the children to relationship with Jesus Christ. what is essential to teach is familiarity with the message of the gospel and the Paschal Mystery, and salvation history. Our bible study for first year confirmation will be on Hebrews 11, an encapsulation of salvation history.

 

[Deacon_Tony560]

I have a pre-Confirmation class and they know about the same as the 6th graders. I have combined their morality book with some basic bible study. We are watching “Prince of Egypt” to introduce them to Moses.

Deacon Tony

 

[dhgray]

There is a big difference between memorizing the bible and living the bible.