Teaching religious education in school

[vince2paul]

Hi all,

My parish priest just offered me a job in an International school here, teaching Catholic Faith formation for Grade 1-12.

Currently, my parish priest and another priest are doing it because he didn’t want to let the Protestant pastor to do it, despite his busy schedule.

But he said it would be better if I could replace him so that he could work more in the parish. Tomorrow, I’ll meet the principal. Hopefully, everything will turn out good.

Let say that I get the job, my only concern is that I have to plan the lesson + resources as the school doesn’t have textbook. I believe it’s similar to CCD classes, so I’m wondering what shall I teach for each grade (Grade 1-12)?

Can anyone help me with this? Thanks!

 

[HouseArrest]

Is there a budget for materials? I would say you at least need some resources even if the students don’t have textbooks. I remember trying to teach high school computer classes and even though I knew how to use a computer really well, inventing my own curriculum was just over the top. Even if you have to buy it yourself I’d say to get a copy of each book of the Faith and Life series or something like that.

 

[BlestOne]

First of all… Congrats!!! What an honor!!! Obviously you have internet so I would start there looking up curriculum’s for the classes. Use the CCC and the Bible in your classes so the kids get used to using them. There are some good programs out there just look around for them.

 

[puzzleannie]

look into resources for intergenerational catechesis, there are plenty, kids don’t really need workbooks and texts, sometimes that drags you down, but admittedly a help for a new catechist. evaluate program based on the usefulness and accuracy of the catechist manual.

in a multi-age group you might want to look at RCIA resources for children, such as Journey of Faith from Liguori, because they have the same “handouts” for children and teens on the same topic each week. this would be the basics for uncatechized children preparing for sacraments.

if they have had sacraments, consider a lectionary based program, simply because there are a lot of resources out there with resources geared at the various age levels, and it gets them using the bible.

you ;might also consider structuring you class the way we do VBS, with the older kids assigned to helping the younger ones. the oldsters learn even better while “teaching” and the younger ones love the attention and interaction, it it helps you have more control over the classroom