vendredi 23 juin 2017

Making Up Religious Lesson Plans

By Jose McDonald


Whether you teach in a private faith-affiliated school or you teach Sunday school once a week after church, you may need to know the finer points of making up religious lesson plans that accommodate the ages and needs of your students. Depending on how old your pupils are and how well-versed they are in the canon of your religion, you might want to create lessons that are easy to understand yet also build on knowledge they already have. Your lessons likewise might reinforce their faith and prepare them for sacraments that could be in line for them in the next few years.

The type of lessons you make up will depend on how old the kids in your class are. For example, if they are only five or six years old, they cannot understand complex concepts right now. However, they can start to learn basics like the names of the faith's leaders, saints, and other iconic components that they might need to know before moving on in sacramental learning. You might try making the learning fun and more of a game than straightforward lecturing because the youngest of students learn better through play.

Younger students also can learn basic movements that might be affiliated with your faith. For example, if you are teaching Catholic kindergartners up to third-graders, you may show them how to make the sign of the cross and genuflect with their right knee. These movements allow them to participate in the Mass.

Middle school, high school, and university students already know these basics. However, they may struggle with some of the guidelines of the church, such as the ones that frown upon premarital sex or using drugs. They might want to know why the church even cares about what they do in the privacy of their own homes. Your lessons may need to be geared toward tackling those issues.

Adults likewise might struggle to understand the principles of the church with which you are affiliated. They may want to know why the church does not condone divorce or why couples are encouraged to stay together even in the face of infidelity. These difficult questions might be answered by referring to church doctrine.

The most straightforward way to reach your students could be just to outline your points of instruction and to tackle each one individually. You could be as factual as possible. You also may reference catechism teachings to back up your own instruction.

Many churches have online resources that you can refer to as you make up the lessons. You might find sample plan outlines as well as references and footnotes to print sources and websites. You could even borrow examples to include in your own.

Creating plans for lessons based on religious teachings may be a challenge. You can make it easier by keeping these basic principles in mind. You also might confidently address concerns and questions without running afoul of church doctrine. The Internet could be your best resource and source of help.




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