After the Sign of the Cross and a short opening prayer, the catechist instructed, “Okay, everyone, take your seats and open your books to page thirty-four. We will take turns reading, one paragraph at a time. John, we will start with you and then go around the room.

” An hour later, the catechist said, “Thank you everyone, see you next week.” The catechist was very proud because they had done four chapters, one more than last week.

“What will I do the last few months of class?” the catechist mused.

Today’s catechetical sessions require a lot more than reading out loud in class. Without forgetting that the single most effective “method” in a classroom is a catechist who loves Jesus Christ and His Family the Church, from the oldest adults to the youngest children, there are so many methods or tricks available to us as catechists.

 I have listed several ideas below. Each can be used in various settings and with all age groups to bring about true conversion.

Regrettably, many of the devotions that our parents and grandparents grew up with have nearly been forgotten.

Yet, these may be quite profitable for learning the Faith. The Rosary and its meditation on the mysteries is timeless.

Others would include: Divine Mercy Chaplet, First Fridays and First Saturday Devotions, Praying for the Poor Souls, Weaving Palms, Advent Wreath, St. Nicholas Day, Cristo Rey Parade, Corpus Christi Procession, Jessie Tree, May Crowning, Hot Cross Buns, Angelus etc.

Future artists – and even those not so artistic – can be encouraged to design ads about Jesus, Mary, the saints, Scripture, Sacraments, Catholic living, and the like for a group magazine or billboard.

Younger students could make posters to be put in the back of the church, the parish hall, or even ask local businesses to display them.

This is a way of getting people to participate in sharing ideas and coming up with good solutions.

For example, a moral problem could be presented and participants may suggest their ideas. All the ideas are listed and followed by a discussion of which ideas fit in with the Gospel teaching.

Younger people could be put in pairs or small groups. Give them a designated time to jot down ideas, and then have each pair or small group share.

A small setting rather than a large group helps more reserved people voice their ideas.

This approach helps youngsters apply the content of the lesson to their own lives. You can make up case studies or find actual cases in newspapers or books.

The technique involves solving problems of real or fictitious people.

By applying the principles found in their lessons to other people, the children can begin to see how the lesson applies to their own lives.

News articles are good discussion starters, especially if they present a problem, conflict, or situation involving Christian (or lack of) values.

 Young people can be encouraged to bring in as many articles as they can find in relation to a topic under study.

 How does the secular press report a current religious event? How would the children add to or change the report?

Numerous types of drama are available. Drama books with pre-written scripts could be used.

Students could read a Scripture passage or saint’s life and then make up and perform a skit for others. A narrator could direct an enactment of a story with volunteers.

Children can silently act out a Bible story or modern day situation that calls for a Christian response. One child (or small group) might be asked a week ahead of time to act out the following week’s Scripture story and have the other guess what it is.

Role-playing is one extremely effective approach. There is no written script in role-playing. Action and plot develop as actors react to one another in a given situation.

 Role-playing is a device for examining different options – one of the ways to help children form their conscience.

Hearing about something is one thing and looking at a picture is another. But actually seeing an object or an event for oneself is much better.

For example, when studying the Sacraments, let youngsters see and touch all the tangible signs of the sacrament: water, oil, bread.

Encourage them to design exhibits that can be shared with the parish or community at large, as is done at a science fair.

Go where people are, where events are actually happening, rather than just reading about them.

Visit senior housing, soup kitchens, hospitals, and a home for those with disabilities, shelters for the homeless. Do service projects.

This form of Scripture-based prayer is one that young people usually find very appealing and helpful.

The prayer leader helps young people to enter the Scripture story and become one the characters.

Older students might also appreciate this method or the catechist could lead reflection on Scripture through Lectio Divina.

Interviewing can take many forms. Real interviews might involve youngsters interviewing their parents, people in the community, and other parishioners about a teaching of practice of the Faith.

Students could also put on a talk-show pretending to be various characters from the Scriptures while one of the other students acting as a reporter interviews them.

Have children research the holy days, feast days, and other important events of our Catholic calendar. Create calendars that list a good activity to do each day.

Children’s literature is an ideal way to introduce a topic or to make real- in today’s language and events – a lasting truth or value you are exploring. Purchase and use frequently our many children’s classics.

Music builds community; it touches the affective aspects of our faith, not just the cognitive; our liturgical music reiterates the Scripture message, often helping it to take root within us more deeply. Use music to reinforce a lesson, to set a mood, to gather or dismiss the children, to move from one activity to another, to have fun.

Too often our questions may call for pat answers or simple recall. Such questions have a place, but our quest is to help children/youth internalize the Gospel message  for their own lives. The questions we pose (as well as the questions we encourage them to ask) need to allow room for reflection and for personalization.

Examples: If Jesus had three wishes for the world, I think they would be…I wonder what Jesus and Zachaeus said as they walked together…

I wonder what it would be like if there was no Holy Spirit……

Quizzes are a good way to open a session and review the previous week’s theme, but they don’t need to be upsetting for students. Make the quiz fair.

You might also review through a spelling down format – everyone stands and when they get a question correct they sit down. Another idea would be to have the students divide into teams, write questions about the previous week and try to stump the other teams.

Rewrite Jesus’ parables as Jesus might tell them today. Rewrite a current events story as if Catholic teaching had been in the minds of all the participants.