Archive for the 'Planning and Preparation' Category
I had a wonderful weekend in New York, visting with catechists at the NY Catechetical Convocation in White Plains on Saturday. The room had a capacity for 135 but folks kept streaming in, standing along the walls or sitting on the floor to join in on our conversation around the theme of “So What? Why Do We Have to Know This?” I picked that title to capture critical question that young people are asking us (whether directly or indirectly) - what does the Gospel have to do with my life? We had a wonderful workshop together albeit a bit too short (an hour - isn’t that always our problem as catechists - never enough time!)
Thanks to all who participated. My apologies for running short on handouts. I brought just enough to handle the room’s capacity…I never imagined we would have such an overflow. For your convenience, I’m making it available here in pdf format.
new-york-catechetical-convocation
As always, if you’d like to keep the conversation going, post a comment or send me an email!
Thanks, New York, for your hospitality. What a wonderful place to celebrate my birthday weekend!
Calling all catechists! We have a fellow catechist in need. Ross sent me the following:
I have a particular problem in that I have recently taken over a class of 20 children of different ages. Although qualified as a teacher I have have no previous teaching as a catechist.
I only have half an hour each week to do this. The Children range from K1 (kindergarten) to year 6. Any help would be appreciated - regards ross
Ross, this is indeed a challenge. It would be helpful if you can clarify a few details:
- What is the reason for the unusual age-grouping (K-6)?
- Is this a children’s catechumenate (preparing them to receive the sacraments of Initiation)?
- What are you being asked to do in 30 minutes? Teach lessons? Do a children’s liturgy of the Word? Have you been given a textbook or materials to use?
- Are there other groupings like this in the program?
- What was done previously? What direction is the DRE providing?
Perhaps with a few more details, we may be able to offer some concrete advice on how to most effectively catechize in your situation. My first reaction is that you may want to proceed as though doing a children’s Liturgy of the Word, a lectionary-based approach, where you focus on the Sunday Scripture readings and lessons that can be drawn from the readings. Not knowing some of the details of your situation, however, I’m hesitant to jump too quickly into offering solutions.
If any folks already have some advice to offer, by all means, let’s hear from you!
p.s. I have Ross’ email address if anyone wants to contact him personally. I’ve taken it off of his comment to protect him from spammers
With class beginning tonight, my only thoughts are, “Lord, send out your Spirit!”
Here is a Catechist’s Prayer from the Finding God catechist manual that I am using:
Loving God, creator of all things, you call us to be in relationship with you and others. You are the giver of all I possess, the source of all my blessings, for which I thank and praise you. Help me to desire nothing more than to be filled with your love and grace. Thank you for calling me to be a catechist, for the opportunity to share with others what you have given to me. May all those with whom I share the gift of faith discover how you are present in all things. May they come to know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. May the grace of the Holy Spirit guide my heart and lips, so that I may remain constant in loving and praising you. May I be a witness to the Gospel and a minister of your truth. May all my words and actions reflection your love. May all see in me the fruits of your Spirit, so that your glory may be seen in the world. Amen.
I received my class list today and I have 13 eighth graders: 8 boys and 5 girls. Of course I would have hoped for a better gender balance but oh, well! I’ll be planning my lesson this weekend and gearing up to go Monday evening. Have a nice weekend!
p.s. a shout-out to all the wonderful catechists I met in Iowa on Wednesday and Thursday!
This coming Monday is week one of religious ed classes. Looking ahead, my overall goals are the following:
- to get there early to look over my classroom to see how I can set it up so that the arrangement will be conducive to faith sharing and good behavior
- to have name tents ready to place on their seats as they arrive (I will assign seating striving for boy-girl, boy-girl, as much as possible) so that I can begin using their names right away.
- to greet each of them as they enter the room
- to introduce my self and my aid
- to invite them to join in a brief opening prayer in which we prayerfully distribute their textbooks
- to do introductions in which we get to know one another better
- to do an ice-breaker activity based on the theme of trust
- to have the students work on chapter 1: We Trust in God’s Goodness (the young people will do paired interviews: half the class reads one article, the other half reads the other article and then then interview one another to summarize what was learned)
- to lead a guided reflection on Psalm 8 focusing on the goodness of God (this will be short and the focus will be on introducing them to reflective prayer and being silent for an extended period of time)
- to close with an exercise that encourages the young people to respect God’s creation and to share the earth’s resources
Of course, this is plan A! On the first night, lots of interruptions and distractions tend to take place, so I will need to be flexible!
This past Monday evening was our first catechist meeting of the year and it came off very well. It was nice to see the other catechists on the 8th grade team as well as some of the other catechists from other grade levels that I’ve met over the years.
The highlight of the meeting, however, was the pastor’s comments at the very beginning. He issued a challenge to all of us catechists saying that each of us, when planning our lessons, should ask the question: “how will the children/young people encounter Christ in this session?” He placed such a great emphasis on the importance of a real encounter with the Lord that I think he made a profound impression on all of the catechists.
I think this is so critical for us to remember. At times, we can get caught up in thinking, “in this session, I’m going to be sure that the kids learn the precepts of the Church” or some other doctrinal formulae. There’s nothing wrong with that, unless, that is, we are teaching them those precepts without helping them to encounter Christ. Therein lies the challenge - and a critical and most worthwhile challenge indeed!
Kudos to the pastor!
Albert Einstein once offered the following as a definition for insanity: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Too often, in catechesis, we fall into this trap.
I was recently speaking with a junior high catechist who was lamenting the fact that last year, her kids were so quiet (not shy but recalcitrant) that it was painful to teach them. They refused to speak, save for one student. I was talking to her about trying to use a variety of cooperative learning techniques and she felt very hesitant to do so thinking that such activities wouldn’t work a with a class like last year’s. Her solution seemed to be to do more of the same…read and discuss (or at least try to discuss).
As a result, we often find very sane people (catechists) experiencing insanity!
The catechist I was speaking with is quite sane! She is very sharp and very dedicated to her ministry. Unfortunately, she, like many of us, are hesitant to think outside the box when it comes to catechetical methodolgies. My question is, would you rather continue trying to “pull teeth” by leading discussions with kids who don’t want to be there (thus putting ALL of the pressure on yourself) or re-direct the focus so that greater expectations are placed on the kids to “perform?” Junior high kids need to take on more responsibility in their learning. They need to be more actively involved. So what do we mean by cooperative learning (I prefer to call it “active learning”)? Here’s an example:
- If you’re going to be reading a chapter in the text book (or a section of a chapter), read it over ahead of time, and select a number of key terms and/or key people that you want the kids to focus on.
- Take some small index cards and write these key terms/people on them.
- Try to come up with enough cards so that each child has at least one, possibly two or three.
- Mix them up and distribute them randomly.
- Use a poster board to create a Reading Summary Board or Chart. For example, if the chapter is about the Seven Sacraments, the poster can be arranged in such a way that the names of the sacraments and their signs, symbols, and related gestures are to be listed. These would be the terms listed on the index cards.
- As you read the chapter aloud with your class, have the students call “TIME OUT!” whenever they recognize a term that is on one of their cards.
- If a young person fails to call “TIME OUT!” when one of their key words is read, require them to stand up until the next “TIME OUT!” is called.
- When they call “TIME OUT!” they can then come forward and, using a glue stick, afix the card on the Reading Summary Board in the space you’ve designated.
- This simply allows you to turn the reading of the textbook into a more active-learning activity that involves visuals and manipulatives.
- When you’re done reading the chapter, you now have a visual summary to review with the class.
Here’s another idea called “Paired Interviews”
- If you have a rather large chunk of text to cover in your textbook, divide the class into 2 groups and have group 1 read (independently) a part of the text and group 2 read (independently) the other part of the text. Put a time limit on the reading of the text (always give less time then is really needed to create a sense of urgency).
- Then, pair up students, one from each group, and have them take turns interviewing one another about what they read. Have the interviews ask questions such as:
- Explain what the main idea of your text was in a few sentences
- What is one quote (sentence) from your text that you would put on a poster to inspire a group?
- What are some specific things your text helped you to learn or realize about the Catholic faith?
- Based on your text, name some specific things we, as Catholics, need to know, do, or believe in order to live as followers of Jesus
These questions can be written on the board or you can create an interview sheet. You can also adjust the questions to fit your grade level. Again, set a time limit for each interview: 3-5 minutes for each interview (6 to 10 minutes total). Each student should record the answers to the interview questions that their partner provides. As all this is going on, walk about, keeping students on task and announcing how much time they have.
When they are finished interviewing, call on some students to report on what their partner learned from the text they read. Take notes on the board about important concepts they touch on. Then, fill in the cracks, so to speak, about anything they missed and elaborate on key concepts.
The result is that the material is covered but the spotlight is on the students who do most of the work allowing you to facilitate.
LET’S STOP THE INSANITY!!!
I’ll be meeting tonight with 30-40 catechists in Munster, Indiana, to help them get to know the new textbook series they’ve adopted (Christ Our Life, 2009). Becoming familiar with a new textbook and the catechist manual is a crucial step in your planning and preparation process. If you are using a textbook/catechist manual for the first time this year, here are a few pointers that may be helpful:
- Read through the children’s book first…get to know its content, its flow, its “flavor,” and its various components.
- read through the introductory material in your catechist manual. In general, publishers do a very nice job of providing a thorough overview of the program and its components as a type of orientation.
- Pick a chapter…any chapter…and go through the catechist manual and the children’s book to get a feel for a lesson and the catechetical process being used. Look at the catechist notes and suggestions in the manual and determine how you can best utilize them.
- Get a feel for time constraints. Many catechetical textbooks provide more material than can be covered in an hour session. Why? Because some programs have much longer time frames and some books are designed to be used either by RE or by a Catholic school (which means that the school teacher needs enough material for 4-5 sessions per week). You can’t do it all. Determine what you CAN do and commit to doing a very good job of it. Better to do a few things very well than a lot of things poorly.
- Most catechist manuals provide a profile of the age group you are teaching. Look it over to gather insights into your students’ age group.
- Look for those parts of the catechist manual that provide catechist background. A good catechist manual should first speak to you as an adult and help you to better embrace your faith and THEN show you how to communicate it to the age group you are teaching.
- Begin writing notes in the margin or use post-its to add your own thoughts and ideas to lessons in the catechist manual.
- Look through the catechist manual and children’s book to locate additional resources that you can turn to if you finish a lesson and still have time left or if you just want to embellish a lesson. Look for things like a glossary, seasonal lessons, special features on saints, and a reference section featuring Catholic beliefs, practices, and prayers that are suitable for the age you are teaching.
- Check to see if the catechist manual comes with Blackline Masters and determine how you can best utilize these.
- Working with your catechetical leader, plan a schedule/syllabus for the year.
- Focus on finding the BIG IDEAS that are being taught in each lesson. We sometimes strive to teach so many things that the kids come away remembering little. Focus on a few BIG IDEAS and hammer them home throughout your lessons. A good way to do this is to look for LEARNING OUTCOMES in the catechist preparation pages of your catechist manual.
- Look to see how prayer is handled in the children’s book and catechist manual. Be sure to plan how you will incorporate prayer into your lessons.
Finally, visit your publisher’s Web site to find more help. Talk to your catechetical leader or another catechist if you are having some difficulty getting comfortable with the textbook and/or the manual…often another person can show you the “key” to a particular program’s logic.
Other suggestions?
Too often, when we catechists plan for our lessons, we concentrate on what it is that WE will be doing. “I’ll cover chapter 10, then play Jeopardy to review the main points of the lesson, then I’ll lead prayer, and so on…” It’s important to remember that, in our planning, the focus should be on what the participants will be doing. Today, most catechist manuals use the phrase learning outcomes to identify what the participants should be able to know or do as a result of a lesson. Some may use the word objectives, however, that tends to be more teacher-focused. Here is a nifty chart that helps to identify different levels of learning outcomes.
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If you want your participants to . .
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Use keywords such as the following in your learning outcomes.
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Example: After this lesson, the participants will be able to . . .
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recognize or recall facts and information and knowledge
(recall)
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list the seven sacraments.
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demonstrate an understanding (comprehension)
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paraphrase explain
review match
discuss interpret
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explain the meaning of the symbol of water in baptism.
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apply what is learned to new situations
(application)
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apply construct
draw simulate
sketch predict
write
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draw a picture of an experience of reconciliation in their lives.
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pick out important points
(analysis)
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classify distinguish
differentiate compare
contrast categorize
separate break down
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categorize the seven
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combine concepts into something new (synthesis)
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combine relate
put together integrate
assemble collect
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assemble a prayer aid for the celebration of one of the seven sacraments.
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judge and evaluate ideas based on standards
(evaluation)
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judge argue
assess appraise
decide defend
rate debate
evaluate choose
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evaluate a sample homily for a confirmation Mass in relation to its use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the symbols of the bishop, or the symbols of the rite of confirmation.
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I’m hearing that some parishes are experimenting with a catechetical model that employs a summer intensive religious education program for K-8 (usually 3 weeks) while throughout the year, offering periodic intergenerational events and a weekly children’s liturgy of the Word. Sounds to me like an interesting alternative. This is not to be confused with a Vacation Bible School. it is the formal religious education program taking place in a 3-week intensive model. Instead of having twenty- to twenty-five weekly sessions of 75- to 90-minutes throughout the year (@ 30 hours of formal class time), the summer intensive meets 4 or 5 days a week for 2 or 3 hours, covering about the same amount of class time…about 30 hours. I’d love to hear thoughts, especially from anyone doing this model. Have a great weekend!
