Lesson planning is essential to catechesis, regardless of the age level of your students. The most basic lesson plan involves deciding the purpose and desired outcome of each class meeting. In addition to giving direction to your teaching, lesson planning is one of the most effective means for classroom management and discipline. It does take time, but it is time well spent. This is something you can do by yourself or with other catechists of the same grade. Below are some suggestions for long-term and immediate lesson planning.
Long-term lesson planning:
1. After you learn which grade you will be teaching, acquire a copy of the student text, the catechist’s manual, the curriculum guide for that grade, and any other education materials. Set aside a time (at least five hours) to go through these materials in order to get an overview of the whole year’s work. Note the general content from the curriculum and then apply the textbook and other resources. It would be a good idea to look at the curriculum your students studied the previous year and what they will study the next year. This helps to determine what you might presume your students already know and what can be given “a lick and a promise” because they will be treated again in the future.
2. Determine how many sessions you will have to cover the subject matter (30 sessions for a parish catechetical program). Number a piece of paper with the number of sessions you will have with the students in the academic year.
3. Assign a theme for each session. The theme is derived from the curriculum guide, the textbook, special programs, liturgical seasons, and miscellaneous items like planning for Mass, test days, and general “housekeeping” details. You now have a “purpose” for each class. As far as the catechetical program is concerned, you will certainly have more material than meetings, so you will need to pick out the most important themes.
If class is cancelled because of weather, you will have to decide whether to skip the theme, teach it and omit another lesson theme, or combine it with another theme.
Some themes are too lengthy for one session, so you will have to develop them over two or more sessions. Remember,
the textbook is a servant of the catechist, not the other way around.4. Once you have a theme for each session, then outline in broad stokes the main points that you want to cover in that particular theme. For example, if you are teaching a lesson on the Rosary, you might decide to discuss what it is, where it came from, and how it is prayed, with time allotted to actually pray the Rosary. You now have the “desired outcome” for that session.
The material for this outline will most often be in your student text and/or catechist’s manual.
5. Identifying the themes for the year prepares you to create your personal resource centre. Have a folder, box, or large envelope for each of the themes you have identified, where you can keep any activity, exercise, AV resource, or news item that will help attract attention, illustrate the lesson, or make the lesson relevant to the students. Build these up as the year goes on and save them for future years of teaching.Short-term lesson planning:
6. Try to plan a month to six weeks ahead, perhaps according to units in the textbook. Do basically the same things as in long-term lesson planning, but now focus more directly on the next major segment of the course. This stage in lesson planning provides you with an opportunity to make adjustments in your long-term lesson plan based on the needs of your students, or some circumstance that you did not figure in to the whole picture.Immediate lesson planning and methodology:
7. You will now want to decide how you are going to get your message across following the ecclesial method (other names may be applied, but effective methods involve similar elements).This method includes five steps – preparation, proclamation, explanation, application and celebration. These are explained below and a worksheet for planning the lessons is also included.a. Preparation:
A. long-term preparation (see above)
B. short-term preparation (see above)
C. prepare the lesson (before class)
Know the people who will be listening. Know as much as you can about the people to whom you will be speaking: their interests and concerns, their needs and wants, how they think and learn.Look up relevant Scripture passages and CCC references.
Create the proclamation statement - Know what you want to say in the lesson. For each class, have a single, clear cut, definite objective that says why you and the students are there. The truth you want to proclaim.Decide how you will get their attention. This is commonly called “the hook,” the lure that will tempt your listeners to bite at your message to see what it has to offer them. Ask yourself, what is the most interesting, challenging, dramatic, or humorous part of this lesson? What visual image or prop might I use? A “hook” can be statement, question, anecdotes, personal experiences or stories, dramatic or humorous.
Plan your sacred space and opening prayer. This space might contain a crucifix, candle, Bible properly displayed, etc. The space should not appear “busy” but tie to the lesson. One’s task is to prepare students to hear God’s Word in the lesson. In addition to the space, an opening prayer should be planned or Scripture reading or other form or prayer to “disengage” the students from the outside world and “engage” them to the upcoming lesson.
Gather your materials. Figure out before class what materials you and the students will need. Make sure there are enough supplies, that any machinery is in proper working order, and that you know how to use it.
Plan the explanation - define your subject. The subject answers the question you have raised with your “hook,” and explains the point you want to make. Present it as concisely and forcefully as you can. The questions who, what, where, when, why anyhow are all part of the subject. After you have captured the attention of the student and exposed them to the main message, you can now present the main points. The doctrinal message should be presented clearly, concretely, using words the students will understand. You may have to spend some time going over new vocabulary words, especially since many of the words used in religion are only used in that context (e.g., transubstantiation). You may have to repeat the lesson in different words if it appears that your students do not understand. Use short, simple sentences. Speak plainly and audibly. Because of the limited attention span of your students, learn to use different teaching methods in the same session (for example, story telling, discussion, lecture, projects, recitation). Vary the length of sustained time in any one of the methods, working into-to-four transitions or breaks in the one hour and 15 minutes of class time. Younger children require shorter, easier lessons. Teenagers require lessons that challenge them intellectually and spiritually. Keep up the pace in the class; and gauge the work to the age of the student: neither too easy, nor too hard. Build in checks, like a question and answer period, to see if the students understand the lesson. Always have a few back-up lessons in case something doesn't work.
Plan the application – Tie to Jesus and liturgy --What will you ask them to do? Many believe that a message without a specific request - a call to action - is a wasted opportunity. Give your students a specific action within a specific time frame. The more concrete the action, the better. For example, ask them when they will pray anyhow will they remind themselves to pray (tie a sock around your bedpost). How many nights will you set the table or walk the dog without being told?
Plan the celebration -- Make an emotional appeal. Your message will be memorable if you paint a picture that your students can relate to and remember. Your appeal should incorporate as many of the five senses as possible, the more the better. Use the board, music, art, reading, writing, activities, etc. One of the best appeals is to show how the message is related to prayer, Mass, or to everyday life. You might also have this item in your sacred space.
“Leave them laughing.” Know how you will end the class. Send them home with a" punch line,” something to remember. It is a good idea at the end of the lesson to summarize the lesson by telling the students what you taught them, asking them what you taught them, and reminding them of how it affects life or can be practiced in everyday life.
A. prepare the students (the start of class) – begin implementing your plan, start with prayer, then the proclamation and then deliver your “hook”
B. Proclamation: effectively transmitting the content of the Faith by utilizing the text or other catechetical source; announcing God’s Word; it should be true and concise.
C. Explanation: creatively explaining the proclamation to the student utilizing active engagement, question and answer, apologetics or even memory drills.
D. Application: facilitate a response to the call of witness and service in the students. Allow them to be convinced in the teaching so as to apply it in their lives. The catechist may want to witness to Christ acting in his/her life.
E. Celebration: end in prayerful gratitude and praise to God. This can be done by liturgical celebration, Proclamation of the Word, (i.e., a reading from scripture, psalm, etc.) silent reflection, common response, or formal or spontaneous prayer.(In-services to this methodology may be obtained by contacting the Office for Evangelization and Catechesis.)
A good teaching method to prepare students to receive the doctrinal message will include: well-prepared lesson; use of appropriate gestures; use of lively facial expressions; clear expression of enthusiasm. Also, don’t forget to appeal to the senses by use of a story, an activity, an AV resource, or the use of something like a puppet dramatization that is related to the doctrinal message you want to convey and to which the students can relate. Remember that catechesis involves not only teaching doctrine, but also providing formation in prayer and the moral life. The catechist always tries to weave these three elements together in each lesson: catechetical, liturgical, and pastoral.
Evaluate the lesson and your performance.
It is a good idea to make notes for yourself after the lesson is over. Did it work? Were the activities, stories, images, or audio-visuals effective? Did the students seem to grasp the objective? What could make it better?Lesson Planning Overview
I. Preparation
A. (when you know you will be teaching) pray sketch out the year
B. (days beforehand) preparation for the lesson allow yourself time pray Who are you teaching? What are the
one or two main points you want to convey? read pertinent Scriptures and CCC write proclamation statement and do step II think of sacred space and opening prayer complete steps III, IV, V supplies neededC. (immediately prior to class) preparation of self, classroom and students pray set up sacred space set up classroom greet students as they arrive
D. (the beginning of class) preparation of class: task is to prepare student’s to hear God’s Word pray as a class some other lead so that students are able to focus, leave their troubles, etc.
II. Proclamation:
This is the announcing of God’s Word, a statement of the truth that is to be learned . It should be true and concise. EXAMPLE: God made us so that we may know, love, and serve Him in this world and be forever happy with Him and His Family in heaven.III. Explanation:
This is the explanation of the proclamation. Be creative. review last week’s lesson here think of ways to explain, e.g. true life stories, Scripture, prayers, art, songs, etc.be sure to connect with Jesus and His Plan be sure to connect with the liturgical yearIV. Application:
Help students to apply the proclamation, the truth, to their own lives. either witness OR service, i.e. some change this lesson requires in their life parent/family activity AND/OR homework for studentV. Celebration/Closing Prayer:
Lesson should end with prayerful gratitude or praise to God and give the lesson a unity that will facilitate the kind of total response catechesis seeks - cognitive, affective, behavioral.