Help with CCD class

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utah_rose

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Because we didn’t have enough catechists in our parish, I volunteered to teach a seventh grade CCD class beginning next week. If anyone can give me some helpful hints, I’d appreciate it. I want to make sure they’re getting some good teachings but also would like to know what these kids should have learned by now. I still have to pick up the teaching material tomorrow. Thanks!
 
They should know about all the Sacraments. Completely.
They should know the Corporal and Spiritual Works of mercy.
They should be able to list and describe pretty well all the parts of the Mass.
They should be able to locate any book of the Bible with little assistance.
They should know all the basic rote prayers including the rosary without assistance.
They should be very familiar with the life of Christ through the Gospels of the New Testament.
They should know some lives of major Saints.
They should know the difference between words like Annuciation, Assumption. Immaculate Conception, Incarnation.

Good luck. 7th grade is awesome!
Thus begins their toolbox for formation of a well formed conscience.
This is where the rubber hits the road. They are not there just because mama dragged them there. They are there to use their knowledge of the faith to help them through the temptations and trials of growing up.
Thank you for stepping up.
If you are baffled as how to answer any one question, please tell them you don’t know, and you will find out. They will respect you for this. And your DRE will assist you.

God bless!
 
They should know the three conditions for a sin to be mortal. They should know the Ten Commandments.
 
You may want to do a Q&A on the first day to see what they know because what they SHOULD know is often different from what they actually DO know.
 
also make sure that they know that Christ died for each of them personally and desires a relationship with them.

too often, being catholic is equated with memorizing facts and that’s it
 
utah_rose said:
Because we didn’t have enough catechists in our parish, I volunteered to teach a seventh grade CCD class beginning next week. If anyone can give me some helpful hints, I’d appreciate it. I want to make sure they’re getting some good teachings but also would like to know what these kids should have learned by now. I still have to pick up the teaching material tomorrow. Thanks!
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Good for you for volunteering!! 👍

You have received great ideas so far.

I know some people who have taught religious education for this age group and recommend Matthew Kelly dynamiccatholic.com/confirmation/

Theology of the body for teens
thetheologyofthebody.com/information/teens
 
Here’s an idea for an activity. Have them each write down a question that they want to know about the church and then look them up in the scripture/catechism as a class.
 
You may want to invest in your own personal copy of “YouCat” (youth version of catechism). From there I bet you get some great ideas
 
I just started teaching the 7th grade this year and I’ve been pretty successful at blasting them with truth so much so that they’re actually pretty interested and I think retaining the information. I would recommend assume they don’t know much at all. I was going through Divine revelation and one thing led into another and I ended up talking about sin and one of my students asked me what a mortal sin was! I looked around and asked who else wasn’t sure of what a mortal sin was and got confused looks so I went through it step by step and naming the conditions and such. But the most important thing to do is stay in a state of grace and go to adoration especially on the day of teaching if you can and then when class comes let the Holy Spirit take over. He knows what the children have or haven’t learned.
 
victrolatim said:
Here’s an idea for an activity. Have them each write down a question that they want to know about the church and then look them up in the scripture/catechism as a class.
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Great idea! I always thought that if I ever taught older kids (I taught 2nd and 4th grades) I would have them each write down a question or concern on a piece of paper.

I would then tackle each one at a time and keep it anonymous so the kids would feel free to ask whatever was on their mind.
 
I have a friend that does guest speaking for middle school religious ed here in Utah. Her specialty is Christian vs secular music and she leaves the students each with a cd of music that she has compiled. She discusses the impact music has on our lives and spirituality.

It has gone over very well!

Send me a pm if you are interested.

We Catholic Utahns have to stick together! 😃
 
Thanks for all your suggestions! I have also ordered a Baltimore Catechism that explains a lot of Church teachings, but the You Cat also sounds like a winner . And the music CD sounds good also, as I have some hymns sung at Mass along with well loved Catholic hymns they may not have heard. I’d be able to burn them also . Pray for me that I do ok because I’m stepping out if my comfort zone for this.
 
So, I would presume that your parish has a book and your diocesan catechesis office has a curriculum outline for each grade. Seems odd no one has suggested that you start there.
 
Regina7 said:
You may want to do a Q&A on the first day to see what they know because what they SHOULD know is often different from what they actually DO know.
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exactly.

Not everyone in the class has the same knowledge base, finding out where they are is the essential first step to find out where you’d like them to be at the end.

Some may have devout, and well-informed parents to teach them, others have non-too-devout and less informed parents, others are somewhere in the middle.
 
Two question should be answered in the CCD class. What we believe? Why we believe it?
 
pianistclare said:
They should know about all the Sacraments. Completely.
They should know the Corporal and Spiritual Works of mercy.
They should be able to list and describe pretty well all the parts of the Mass.
They should be able to locate any book of the Bible with little assistance.
They should know all the basic rote prayers including the rosary without assistance.
They should be very familiar with the life of Christ through the Gospels of the New Testament.
They should know some lives of major Saints.
They should know the difference between words like Annuciation, Assumption. Immaculate Conception, Incarnation.
Click to expand...
As an Asst DRE at a large parish, I am not sure every 7th grader that is in their 7th year of Catholic school could recite every one of these. 7th graders like discussions and should have lots of questions. Write questions down for a priest or a DRE to answer. The YouCat is a great tool.
 
Faith & Life series is my recommendation. If the kids are not well catechized, I suggest starting with the Grade 4 book. This is essentially a “walkthrough” of the Bible - the story of salvation history in a year-long nutshell version.
 
I can’t offer much advice but I’ll say its great you volunteered, more people should do that. 👍
 
Saturday was my first class. I did get a book and so did they. But they seem to know nothing! Added to the problem is they’re Mexican Americans and I’m not, so felt like I was an outsider. Nevertheless, am teaching them the Our Father and Hail Mary, and am determined along with the pablum they’ve been getting from the text book to teach them the Rosary and also Bible readings. I doubt they even know about sin. A few haven’t been baptized. I told them about Adam and Eve, original sin, and about Mary. I’m going to try to show them a DVD, The Thirteenth Day, about Fatima and the Miracle of the son. Since this takes place in Portugal they may be able to identify more with it. I also want to get a DVD of Our Lady if Guadalupe to show them. Some of the mothers sat in and they didn’t seem to know about the Rosary! So, I think this may be a good evangelizing moment, and I do have extra rosaries that I will offer to them. I sure do need all your prayers and more suggestions if you have them.
 
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