Lesson Plan - Sampling of Ideas
The
following are a few creative ideas for teaching religion to younger students.
All of them were gleaned from a discussion group called Catholic catechists.
They are not full blown lesson plans, but suggestions of activies that
you can integrate into your own lesson plans.
A letter to a special person By Elaine
Here's an idea that doesn't require
much preparation. When I did a prayer, I told the kids (second
graders) that with prayer you can feel the same warmth, love and
closeness to God that you feel when you've spent special time
with a loved one -- for example, when Mom or Dad gets up with
you at night during a storm or when a favorite aunt takes just
you out to lunch for some special time together. I then passed
out paper and had them write a letter to a special person in their
life. I had them finish the sentence "I especially like it when
we..." Next I had them write a letter to God thanking Him for
the special person they wrote to. We folded both letters and put
them in an envelope for the kids to deliver or mail. I know I'll
keep my own son's letter to me forever! It was heartwarming.
Prayer Rocks By Diane
During my third-grade class lesson on prayer, I ended with having them make
prayer... I found
landscape rocks (don't ask what I went through to get them), nice sized ones,
and gave one to each child, along with a square of fabric (mine had smiley
faces on it). They wrapped the rock up into the fabric and tied a ribbon
around it to secure it. Then I gave them each the prayer rock poem to attach
to the rock. First I read the poem aloud and they all laughed uproariously
-- thought it was hilarious. But it spurred a conversation about morning
prayers and night-time prayers and some kids never thought about saying a
morning prayer.
To attach the poem, I stumbled upon a great way to make any kind of labels
that are sturdy. I typed the poem and printed it out on normal computer
paper, then stuck it to a piece of white contact paper on the back. Then I
used zig-zag scissors to cut it out, punched a whole in the corner and they
attached it onto the ribbon. The tag looks like I had it printed on some
special paper. Very nice. I'm now using it for Christmas gift tabs.
Here's the poem:
Prayer Rock |
I'll
stay there through the night-time |
Ice Cream Party By Kathy
Last year I took my 7th grade class to the nursing home for a visit. I
suggested that we play Bingo or do a craft together or have a sing-a-long. One
of the kids said we should have an ice cream party. I didn't think it was such
a good idea because I assumed there would be dietary restrictions. But the
class thought this would be a terrific idea, so I called the social director
of the home. She thought it was a wonderful idea and said a little ice cream
wouldn't hurt anyone.
I brought the ice cream and asked each student to bring a topping. We then set
up an ice cream sundae bar in the community room. It was the best thing I've
ever done. The nursing home residents were like kids in an ice cream
store(pardon the pun). For those who couldn't walk up to the table, the kids
took orders and delivered a customized sundae to them. We talked about our
favorite flavors and the patients told the kids their memories of 5 cent ice
cream cones. It was a great treat for everyone and I'm looking forward to
visiting again this year.
One more thought--we did this in January and the nursing home director
mentioned that they get a lot of visitors around the holidays, but by the end
of January everyone is feeling a little down and getting tired of the dreary
winter.
Prayer Box By Tracy Brunelle
I brought in decorated box (shoebox
will work). The box is full of blank sheets of paper. At the end of
the lesson, I will write a sentence starter: I am thankful for...Please
watch over...Lord, hear my prayers...Help me to understand..... They
take a few minutes to write out their prayers, we close with a short
scripture reading and a plea to hear our prayers. Sometimes, we will
make it communal -- that is, we add the sheets to the box, mix them
up and pass them back out. It doesn't matter whether you get your
sheet back or not, no one knows. After every 3 or 4 students, we respond
together..Lord, hear our prayers or Thank you, Lord. My 5-6-7th graders
seem to respond.
Related: Lesson Plans