M
mercygate
Guest
End of year wrap-up:**
If you saw my plan for running my sixth-grade CCD class, you know it included a weekly Bible memory verse, in-class “sword drills” (races to to find Scripture verses and answer questions), in-class recitation of the sign of the cross, Lord’s prayer, and Hail Mary in Latin, weekly homily report, and in-class discussion of homework assignments from our book.
Here’s my own report card.
Latin: The kids liked the Latin, but they didn’t really learn it because I didn’t reinforce it enough. I’ll up the ante on that next year.
Homily report: This is a good thing. It shows who goes to Mass and who doesn’t. I’m going introduce this to the parents more forcefully this year: "I’m going to be teaching the 10 Commandments this year. It will be very hard for me to teach them to keep the Sabbath day holy if they re not going to Church . . . "
Sword drills: VERY popular! And it gives them a sense of where things are in the Bible.
Scripture memory verse: They took it seriously and did quite well. Next year, I will include vocabulary review with each lesson; one kid thought “yoke” was the inside of an egg.
Homework: They were supposed to have parents sign it but I let this slide. Next year, I’ll be more consistent. I will also call any parent the minute I get home from class if there has been a particular concern or if a child has been absent.
Grade for behavior in Church: I kept a column on the blackboard and gave them a class grade for behavior during the prayer service in church before class. One night, when they were “bad,” we went over my handout, “Tips for Conduct in Church” (passed out on the first night), and I asked them to give themselves a grade. They gave themselves a D (about what they deserved). Every week, when we filed out of Church, I rode 'em hard on genuflecting before the tabernacle and bowing to the altar, reminding them that I wanted them to be an example for all the other grades. IOW: I held them to a standard, and they (more or less) lived up to it.
**Class management: **When they were getting restless in class (remember: it’s evening, after a school day, maybe after music or sports practice; they’re not at their best!), we would practice genuflecting and bowing. They kind of liked that.
For your consideration: One of the best things I did was on the first night hand out the syllabus with homework assignments and the Scripture memory verses for each class of the year. Ours was the only sixth grade class that got through all of the material. Will they remember anything? Probably not. But at least they will have spent a year with a teacher who tried to light their fire for Scripture!
The other really good thing was our special teen version of the Stations of the Cross (once) during Lent. The meditations concerned designer clothes, bucking the crowd, doing the right thing in the face of opposition . . . . They really were touched by it. The boys were “fighting” over who would carry the cross, so we rotated. They did it with great solemnity and dignity. I’ll organize it in advance next year so we won’t spend time on ad hoc management.
**
If you saw my plan for running my sixth-grade CCD class, you know it included a weekly Bible memory verse, in-class “sword drills” (races to to find Scripture verses and answer questions), in-class recitation of the sign of the cross, Lord’s prayer, and Hail Mary in Latin, weekly homily report, and in-class discussion of homework assignments from our book.
Here’s my own report card.
Latin: The kids liked the Latin, but they didn’t really learn it because I didn’t reinforce it enough. I’ll up the ante on that next year.
Homily report: This is a good thing. It shows who goes to Mass and who doesn’t. I’m going introduce this to the parents more forcefully this year: "I’m going to be teaching the 10 Commandments this year. It will be very hard for me to teach them to keep the Sabbath day holy if they re not going to Church . . . "
Sword drills: VERY popular! And it gives them a sense of where things are in the Bible.
Scripture memory verse: They took it seriously and did quite well. Next year, I will include vocabulary review with each lesson; one kid thought “yoke” was the inside of an egg.
Homework: They were supposed to have parents sign it but I let this slide. Next year, I’ll be more consistent. I will also call any parent the minute I get home from class if there has been a particular concern or if a child has been absent.
Grade for behavior in Church: I kept a column on the blackboard and gave them a class grade for behavior during the prayer service in church before class. One night, when they were “bad,” we went over my handout, “Tips for Conduct in Church” (passed out on the first night), and I asked them to give themselves a grade. They gave themselves a D (about what they deserved). Every week, when we filed out of Church, I rode 'em hard on genuflecting before the tabernacle and bowing to the altar, reminding them that I wanted them to be an example for all the other grades. IOW: I held them to a standard, and they (more or less) lived up to it.
**Class management: **When they were getting restless in class (remember: it’s evening, after a school day, maybe after music or sports practice; they’re not at their best!), we would practice genuflecting and bowing. They kind of liked that.
For your consideration: One of the best things I did was on the first night hand out the syllabus with homework assignments and the Scripture memory verses for each class of the year. Ours was the only sixth grade class that got through all of the material. Will they remember anything? Probably not. But at least they will have spent a year with a teacher who tried to light their fire for Scripture!
The other really good thing was our special teen version of the Stations of the Cross (once) during Lent. The meditations concerned designer clothes, bucking the crowd, doing the right thing in the face of opposition . . . . They really were touched by it. The boys were “fighting” over who would carry the cross, so we rotated. They did it with great solemnity and dignity. I’ll organize it in advance next year so we won’t spend time on ad hoc management.
**
