Good, solid CCD resources?

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justbeinfrank

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Hi all,

I was just asked to fill in for a 7th grade religion teacher at a Catholic high school for a week. I am completely free to do whatever I want, and therefore I’m kind of lost! I’ve never taught religion (or anything else, for that matter) before. So I’ve been looking for orthodox Catholic catechetical/CCD materials online, but all I seem to find is a bunch of fluffy nonsense.

I want to give them something good and solid that will inspire devotion and show the beauty and importance of our Faith. Like I said, I only have five days (45-minute classes), so aside from my own lectures, I’m looking for handouts or activities (or even a video – does Fr. Corapi having anything that would be age-appropriate?) – something that will be powerful, not just busy work.

Thanks!
 
justbeinfrank said:
Hi all,

I was just asked to fill in for a 7th grade religion teacher at a Catholic high school for a week. I am completely free to do whatever I want, and therefore I’m kind of lost! I’ve never taught religion (or anything else, for that matter) before. So I’ve been looking for orthodox Catholic catechetical/CCD materials online, but all I seem to find is a bunch of fluffy nonsense.

I want to give them something good and solid that will inspire devotion and show the beauty and importance of our Faith. Like I said, I only have five days (45-minute classes), so aside from my own lectures, I’m looking for handouts or activities (or even a video – does Fr. Corapi having anything that would be age-appropriate?) – something that will be powerful, not just busy work.

Thanks!
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Please don’t take this the wrong way, but why are they asking someone who has never taught anyting, not to mention religion, to sub in a religion class? Instead of just doing your own thing, try to find out what they have been learning and work from there. Also, 7th graders are difficult. I don’t think they would be happy with lecture and a handout. You need to get them talking or watching a video. Check your CCD office to see if they have videos.
 
your best bet is to stick with the text and lesson plan provided by the school and the teacher. usually 7th grade concentrates on the mission of Jesus Christ and the new Testament. the text usually has some extra “handouts” and suggested activities to expand the lesson. I can tell in my parish CCD, and in our parish school, you would certainly not be encouraged to “do your own thing” in teaching a religion class, or to bring in any materials that have not been pre-approved by the pastor, principal or DRE.
 
You can do the readings from daily mass and show them how to follow the daily readings with a reference such as a solidly catholic calendar. Some of these calendars show the daily readings. You can look up the daily readings on many websites too.

Reading the bible together is always a great foundation. Getting kids this age to crack open the bible can help them overcome any issues they may have with this practice.

If your CCD, or DRE office has any material from the Faith and Life series (Ignatius Press), I highly recommend this.

Use the CCC in some manner. Get them use to the idea of using this as a reference. For example, have the class determine the church stand on the death penalty using only the CCC. Lookup the topic in the index and read the paragraphs that are cited. This could take about 15 to 20 minutes.

Another good activity is to do some polls in the class about living the faith. Does your family go to church on sunday? How often to you receive the sacrament of penance? These questions usually are sore spots for some kids. They need to be confronted with issues in order to gain the courage to change their lives and struggle toward holiness.

A final note, the Holy Spirit may have placed you in this role for a reason. Be ready for whatever comes your way in this class.

Father Corapi will work. These kids might like to see we have “real” leaders in our faith. It may inspire them.

I will pray for you!

Rick
 
One more point.

At this age, some of the kids are starting to get questions from evangelical/protestant classmates. Get them to talk about what points are coming up at school, usually in the lunch room. Help them to defend the faith by analyzing one or more topics and develop a response.

Our kids are being attacked in many ways in the secular schools. Give them some weapons of their own to use in defense. When they get older, they may be able to go on the offense.

Can you show them some good catholic websites during class? There are good ones and there are bad ones. Be careful.

Again, good luck!
 
Substitutes are generally given lesson plans by the regular teacher. Call the school office asap to ask for a copy of the materials, so you can prepare.
 
Note that OP is subbing in a daily religion class in high school, not in CCD. Presumably if the regular classroom teacher had left a lesson plan they would not have been told to do whatever they want . . .

Five days, 45-minute sessions - I’d pick one item (eg the Creed. the Mass. the Beatitudes) about which you feel really confident in your knowledge (or find a really good dvd, if the classroom has that technology available) break it into 4 chunks, work through one chunk per day Mon-Thurs, and then on Friday either have a “quiz” game (think spelling bee but with questions) or have the kids write a short essay explaining the item and then pair them up to have them read-and-critique each other’s essays.

Agreed that 7th grade is a tough age. Try to keep them engaged but don’t let them ride roughshod over you!

I for one will be praying for you . . .
 
Thanks all! I ended up teaching one-and-a-half days on God’s love and the virtue of charity (including the works of mercy as examples), followed by a day on chastity (which was the next topic in their textbook, go figure), and a day on the Holy Mass/Eucharist. And I’m finishing up tomorrow with the A&E documentary on Mother Teresa to give them a real-life example of sanctity. I think it went well, but I threw a lot at them, and it’s hard to know how much has sunk in. I had constantly to ask them to quiet down but there were also a steady stream of questions.

FYI – the teacher had left no instructions for me or with the office, otherwise I wouldn’t have posted this thread. But I borrowed their textbook and saw what they had done and what they hadn’t.

Thanks for the resources, and thanks especially to those who were praying for me! But please do say a prayer for the students now!
 
You’ve planted a lot of seeds. Some will grow now, some will lie dormant for years before sprouting. The Holy Spirit will warm and water the earth. Someone else will reap the harvest.

Well done!
 
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