Looking for books to give your catechists or teachers? Jared Dees has written a number of books for religious educators including 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, Christ in the Classroom, and Just Plant Seeds. Each of these books are available from Amazon, but you can place a bulk order directly from the…
Books
Forming Children as Intentional Disciples
Among the many great books that were published during the Year of Faith in 2012-2013 was Sherry Weddell’s Forming Intentional Disciples. The book is meant to clarify an important distinction between being “Catholic” and being a “disciple.” It begins with the statistics about participation in the Catholic Church today that confirm what many of us…
5 Minutes with Christ – A Book of Reflections for Teachers
I was privileged to be both a contributor and developmental editor for the book 5 Minutes with Christ: Spiritual Nourishment for Busy Teachers. This book was developed and written by the Alliance for Catholic Education, an organization dedicated to the service of Catholic schools. As a teacher I remember rushing from class to class, event…
Nickel and Dimed Discussion Questions
A popular book used in social justice courses is Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. For schools who have assigned this book on the summer reading list or for an assignment during the year, consider integrating the Nickel and Dimed discussion questions that are offered below. For those who…
Use the ROMAN Reading Strategy to Promote your Summer Reading List
I love innovative reading strategies. Most religion teachers recognize early on that despite the fact that they are meant to teach theology, they spend a lot of their time teaching reading. Literature has historically been a key source of our faith and it is critical to the well-rounded Catholic religious education program. In Nick Senger’s…
Getting Things Done (GTD) for Religious Educators
I recently read a book by David Allen called Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. At first I thought it was a bit overwhelming with all the lists and organization that it required. I had been experimenting with Stephen Covey’s form of productivity from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, but thought…
High School Theology of the Body (Tips for Teaching Teens)
If you have had the pleasure of teaching teenagers about John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, then you will surely agree that it is changing the face of Catholic sex education today. As more resources become available for teachers and as the Theology of the Body continues to grow in popularity throughout the Church,…
Catholic Identity in Catholic Schools
What makes a Catholic school “Catholic?” Catholic primary and secondary schools have experienced a number of changes in the years since the Second Vatican Council. Today Catholic schools are staffed almost entirely by lay people while in the 1960s they were staffed primarily by religious sisters, brothers and priests. As Catholics move from the inner-city…
Teacher’s Reading List Ideas for Christmas Break
Christmas break is a great time to step back away from teaching and enjoy your time off. You may be looking for some good books to read or maybe you are looking to use some gift certificates from your students before you lose them. The following books rocked my socks off in 2009 and if…
Using the "New Taxonomy" to Design and Assess Educational Objectives
In September I posted a brief overview of Bloom’s Taxonomy, something I have used to develop lesson objectives since I first became a teacher. Since that post, I have spent a lot of time reading about Robert Marzano’s “New Taxonomy.” On a plane trip to New York, I found myself captivated by Marzano and John…
