June 17, 2023 WBB For PCLs, ELA PD - Leadership, REL Catechetical - K–6, REL Catechetical - Jr High, REL Topic - Catechesis, REL Asset - eBook, REL Catechetical - Early Childhood, REL PD - Catechist
By: Allie Johnston
Whether your Religious Education program is just gearing up again or you are looking for new ideas to invigorate your existing program, this exclusive eBook will offer inspiration with fifteen tips for bringing Religious Education to Life.
15 Ideas to Bring Religious Education to Life
1. Interactive Church Scavenger Hunt
We are invited to encourage students and their families to reinvigorate their faith lives. Re-familiarize them with the Church itself! Give students a list of clues that lead to places in the church. For example, a clue might be: At this spot, you might be welcomed and initiated into the Church (the baptismal font). This exercise will help students to learn important vocabulary and understand the purposes of different items in the church building.
2. Mock Conclave
Teach your students how the conclave process works. Then, give them each a cardinal to research and afterward invite them to participate in a “mock conclave” in which they explain why their cardinal would make a great Pope!
3. Teaching Mass
A teaching Mass is one of the most effective ways to engage the students and encourage participation in the Mass. Invite all students to a mass in which the priest explains what is happening during respective parts, what each prayer means, and where it originated. Students understand why we do what we do at Mass, and feel more a part of it when they attend.
4. Stations of the Cross Scramble
During Lent, explain each of the Stations of the Cross to your students. Then, divide them into groups of five. Read each station number out loud (without explaining what happens), out of order, ask students to pose in a “freeze frame” of the station. See which group gets the most right.
5. Adventure Quest with Mary
In order to aid students in developing a devotion to our Blessed Mother, help them to understand the weight and gravity of the decisions she made. Set up different scenarios on a wall, have all students start at scenario 1 and end the scenario with a decision. For example: When the Angel comes to you to ask you to be the mother of God, do you say yes or no? Have those who answer yes proceed to scenario 2 and those who answer no proceed to scenario 3. Have different choices and their consequences reflect the differences in our salvation had Mary lived differently.
6. Get to Know your Priests
Give your students the opportunity to feel a deeper connection to their parish and its staff by hosting a question and answer session with your parish priests and deacons. Have them write questions for each on index cards in the weeks leading up to the session. This is a great chance for the students to interact with the leaders of the parish and see the priesthood in a new light.
Download the free Fifteen Ideas to Bring Religious Education to Life eBook now to get the other nine ideas now!