1. Activity Centers in the Elementary RE Classroom
Sharing our faith
can also be fun!
The catechetical theme for this coming school year is “Prayer: The Faith Prayed.”  
God invites us into a relationship with Him that is both personal and communal. He speaks to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Word-made-flesh. Prayer is our response to God who is already speaking or, better yet, revealing Himself to us. Therefore, prayer is not merely an exchange of words, but it engages the whole person in a relationship with God the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. As catechists, we are called to share both the prayers to be memorized and ways to help children learn spontaneous prayers.
Dividing the class into sections for activities produces hands-on learning. Movement from center to center keeps students active and excited. Games and crafts, even lesson review, can be tedium relievers. This format is more in keeping with their elementary school experience.
Changing the focus of the classroom activities to a prayer table/or center stresses the importance of prayer and evokes a prayerful response from the students.
Lynn Southall & Bonnie Shelton
Transfiguration

2. Prayer & visuals for Bible reading, and lesson overview on Power Point
Arrival, arrival activity, until 4:05 p.m.; Opening prayer, Bible reading, and lesson overview, until 4:30 p.m. Ten minutes at each station, until 5:00 p.m. Closing prayer and room clean up until 5:10 p.m. Car pool at 5:15 p.m.
Prayer & visuals for Bible reading, and lesson overview on Power Point
Station 1, Text
Table
5-6 chairs
Station 3, Lesson Adjunct TV
Table
5-6 chairs
Prayer Table
Table
5-6 chairs
Station 2, Activity
Suggested activity center set up for religious education classroom.
Arrival – children take their seats at their “assigned tables.” Begins 10 minutes before class and continues until 5 minutes after scheduled start time.
Opening Prayer – children move to the floor area by the prayer table. The opening prayer should include the prayer the students should learn during the current school year and all those prayers for previous years. Prayers should be presented either on a PowerPoint presentation or poster. Not all of the students in your class will have learned all the prayers yet. Be sure to include both the parish intentions for the month and the children’s intentions. 10 minutes.
Lesson: Whichever method you choose to present the lesson, the lesson activity should take 20 minutes.
Bathroom break. Students leave the classroom with one catechist – the other catechist sets up the activity tables.
2-3 centers can be used depending on number of catechists and aids as well as the number of students. Allow 5-10 minutes per activity depending upon available time. Students can take home activities to complete them.
Clean up classroom, return tables and chairs to their appropriate storage sites.
Closing prayer – allow 5 minutes. The closing should include the prayer the students should learn during the current school year and all those prayers for previous years.
Students begin in chairs with arrival activity (coloring sheet or activity sheet and Word of the Week) and remain in these spaces for opening prayer, Bible reading, and lesson overview. Students then rotate among the stations. Station 1: Vocabulary and lesson review using text. Station 2: Week’s hands-on activity. Station 3: Saint/Holy Day/Peace and Justice Issue/Liturgy, etc. Different each week.

3. Early elementary students, K-3rd grade have an span of 2-5 minutes per years of age. The need to change activities and refocus the children’s attention is critical to learning.
While catechists are supposed to “share” their faith and are not considered to be teachers, the hoped-for end result is that the students will learn about our faith, grow in their faith and apply that learning to their daily lives. It is our calling to facilitate that growth process. It just will not happen with the standard teacher and/or students read aloud and all follow along in their textbooks method.
Attention Spans

4. Be a proactive catechist: Prepare a good lesson plan with hands-on activities. Arrive a few minutes before your students and set up your classroom, including all necessary supplies.
Be ready; establish classroom rules (Golden Rule); refer behavior problems to DRE after 1-2 attempts to change

5. Be ready – before they arrive!
Lesson plan in hand, materials prepared. Set up at least minutes prior to arrival. Arrival activity ready to go and supplies on hand. Prayer table set up.
If your schedule just doesn’t permit a minute head start, involve the students in the set-up process.
Be ready – before they arrive!

6. Although teacher textbooks generally have a generic lesson plan, there is too much information to use in a 1 hour class. A lesson plan, handwritten or computer-generated, will keep your class on track. Many parishes required that you turn in a copy of your lesson plan. Some provide a lesson plan for each lesson using a grade level coordinator. Please be sure to request any needed supplies in advance.
Keeping in mind student needs (special needs), classroom size, time restraints, and availability of “extra hands,” plan a lesson that hits the midline of these considerations. Always plan for an extra activity, in case something doesn’t go as planned.
Before using craft books and/or internet resources, please be sure to review those materials with your DRE.
Lesson Plan

8. Publisher reproducible masters and printable activity sheets are generally good welcoming activities.
“Tons” of online resources.
Dividing the class into sections for activities produces hands-on learning. Movement from center to center keeps students active and excited. Games and crafts, even lesson review, can be tedium relievers, while still providing a learning opportunity.
Publisher web sites, craft books, and internet searches are good resources for finding welcoming activities. Welcome activity begins 5 minutes prior to class time and ends 5 minutes after class start time, to accommodate stragglers. The welcoming activity could either be an introduction to the day’s lesson or a review of the previous week’s lesson.
Welcoming Activity

9. Opening Prayer Opening Prayer (Using Power Point or Poster
Sign of the Cross
Our Father
Hail Mary
Act of Contrition
Glory Be
Class Intentions
Focus the student’s attention on the prayer area.
Include prayers that are age/grade appropriate for your students, Hail Mary, Our Father, Act of Contrition, etc.
Provide a written copy of each prayer for students who do know yet have them committed by heart. You can use a PowerPoint presentation, a poster, or a prayer sheet.
Always begin and end with sign of the cross.
Many parishes have prayer services at the beginning of a liturgical season, such as Advent or Lent. If your parish doesn’t, substitute a seasonal prayer activity.
Allow time for students to include their own intentions.
Opening Prayer

10. Present the Lesson Two formats:
Students and catechist read along in student text together.
Use PowerPoint presentation, chalkboard, or posters/pictures as focal point for students while catechist presents lesson material.
One catechist takes students for a drink of water or bathroom break and the other resets the classroom for activities.
It is not the textbook, the DVD, the music, the pictures or the great use of the PowerPoint/smartboard you use that help make your class a fruitful one. 
Although helpful and very important in passing on the faith in a suitable manner to young people in the Third Millennium, nothing replaces the person of the catechist.  The catechist is the person who unites, organizes and links all the great tools available together in order that our Catholic Faith can be made known in the lives of their students.  Our Faith is full of life and has the potential to draw students into the life and mission of the Church.  It is the person of the catechist who is the linchpin, the crux, and central to helping students encounter Christ and the Gospel Message. William O’Leary (DRE/writer)
We need to be mindful when presenting the material – the material, as printed, should be presented to your students. While you may have a special devotion or tons of information on a particular topic, the textbook series was selected for your parish by your pastor, DRE, and/or Board of Education.
Present the Lesson

11. Most teacher guides will have an overview page with background information and source information for the catechist to review. A lesson planning guide is generally included. The teacher text has tons of activities and discussion ideas for each lesson, but far too many for a one hour class. Pick and choose the activities and discussion topics you plan to use.
Using Teacher Text

12. At Baptism we become children of God and members of the Church
Sample PowerPoint slide. Can be adapted as a poster.
Use pictures related to your parish activities.
At Baptism we become children of God and members of the Church

13. At Baptism we receive grace, a share in God’s life
Key Words
Grace: God’s life in us.
Original Sin: The first man and woman disobeyed God; the first sin.
Baptism: The Sacrament in which we are freed from sin and given grace.
Include key words and definitions where appropriate.
At Baptism we receive grace, a share in God’s life

14. Table 1 - Review Divine A word to describe God
Use student text Chapter Test or publisher online chapter review.
Make key word cards. Word on one side of card,
definition on the other.
Use the chapter review (and unit review when appropriate) page in the student text to review the lesson. Students can answer questions alone and then review as a group or answer together as a group. Or, you might want to use the review resources online.
You can make key word review cards – just create a table in Word and then cut out the cards, fold them and tape them. Nothing fancy. If you teach the same grade year after year, you might want to ask the Religious Education Office to laminate the cards for you.
This center is totally dedicated to lesson review activities.
Divine
A word to describe God
Table 1 - Review

15. Table 2 – Hands-On Activity
Pick an activity that complements the lesson. The internet is just full of fun things to do on just about any theme. The students like to do craft activities – while they are “crafting” the catechist can connect the activity to the day’s lesson. Games are a big hit. You can use pennies or buttons or coins for game pieces or buy them cheap on amazon.com. Dice are used in many of the games I found on line, and they are really cheap at Wal-Mart – about $3 for 6 pieces.
Be sure to relate the activity to the day’s lesson. Talk about the material presented.
Table 2 – Hands-On Activity

16. In the Seven Sacraments game, students need to collect a card for each of the Sacraments. They do this by answering questions (extracted from the lesson) about each Sacrament. First to get all 7 cards wins. This game activity is another form of reviewing and reinforcing the meaning behind each Sacrament.
These activities need to be simple and not require too much time. This is not the spot for a paper Mache project.
The Baptism candle project involves cutting paper to fit a toilet paper tube or simply rolling and taping the paper and making a flame. Before taping (glue doesn’t dry fast enough for this project to make it home) the students draw symbols on the paper. Provide pictures of Baptismal candles (readily available on the internet) to give them ideas. Flame can either be drawn and cut out or use red and yellow tissue to make flames. For this activity, the catechist would talk about the Baptismal candle each child received at his/her Baptism and how it should be used at significant events in his/her life.
Simple activities that reinforce the themes of the lessons in which they are used.
Sample Activities

17. This activity center can multitask.
It can be used for another activity to reinforce the lesson.
It can be used to introduce a Saint of the month – lesson plans and activities abound on the internet.
It can be used to introduce an upcoming Holy Day or Feast or Holiday – again endless resources on the internet. This activity would remind the family about an upcoming Holy Day or Feast.
For a Saint activity, the catechist can tell the story of the saint and then the students might make a holy card or a craft about that holy person.
For an upcoming Holy Day or Feast, the catechist would talk about the meaning and origin of the day and the students might color a picture or do a quick craft – again, all readily available on the internet.
For Holidays, the possibilities are endless. For Thanksgiving last year in our class, the catechist talked about the meaning and origin of Thanksgiving and the students made a Thanksgiving card for a member of their family. You might want to have the students make cards to send to the homebound or hospitalized.
Table 3 – Lesson Activity or Saint of the Month or Seasonal/Holiday/Feast Activity

18. Closing Prayer and Dismissal (Use PowerPoint or Prayer Poster):
Sign of the Cross
Our Father
Hail Mary
Act of Contrition OR
Guided meditation
Silent prayer with background music
etc.
Teach about a form of prayer: petition, thanksgiving, contrition, love/charity – giving examples
Focus the student’s attention on the prayer area.
Include prayers that are age/grade appropriate for your students, Hail Mary, Our Father, Act of Contrition, etc. OR use this time for a guided meditation, silent prayer with music playing, and so forth.
Provide a written copy of each prayer for students who do know yet have them committed by heart. You can use a PowerPoint presentation, a poster, or a prayer sheet.
Always begin and end with sign of the cross.
Closing Prayer

19.
Publisher Web Sites

20. Helpful Sources Catholic Craft Books On-line resources Amazon.com
Religious Education Office
On-line resources
Pinterest
Helpful Sources