Jared Dees's Blog: The Latest from Jared Dees, page 56
June 10, 2013
Webinar Recording: 13 Ways to Become a Better Religious Educator During Summer Break
It was so great to have everyone at the summer break webinar in June. Whether you are a catechist or religion teacher yourself or a catechetical leader looking for resources to give to your volunteers and staff this summer, I hope you will enjoy this recording of the presentation as well as the free handouts that go with it. The webinar lasted about an hour and can certainly be viewed in sections. If you are using the video as a guide to each exercise, I suggest pausing it after each explanat...
May 31, 2013
Are You a Witness? A New Focus on Teaching AND Testimony
“You will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, and Samaria, and all the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
I started something new this semester and it really made a big impact on my students. I started using a new approach to opening my classes that includes a personal testimony and witness talk. It is all about a commitment to becoming not just a teacher, but a witnessto my students and their parents.
Becoming a witness is th...
May 20, 2013
New Book: 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator!
I am pleased to announce that my new book, 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, is officially published! It is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.avemariapress.com, and various Catholic bookstores!
31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator is the book I wish that I had when I was first starting out as a religion teacher and it is a resource I implemented with great results in this, my ninth year in formal religious education. The book includes thirty-one exercises t...
April 23, 2013
The Password Review Game
I’m always on the lookout for fun review games to play with my students. When I first started teaching, I had a group of students who were very into sports and games. They would ask me almost daily if they could play games. I was happy to play more games with them as long as the games were effective at reinforcing what students had learned.
My philosophy on games has always been focus on engagement over entertainment. The measure of success of a given review game is based on how much each stud...
April 8, 2013
The Angelus Prayer for Children
Since Advent of last year I have had an incredible experience praying the Angelus every day. At first I started praying it at noon each day. Then I added it to my morning prayer routine. Now, I have reminders set in my phone for 6:00 a.m., noon, and 6:00 p.m. to tell me that it is time to pray the Angelus (or the Regina Coeli during Easter). My wife and children have begun to pray the Angelus each day as well.
Famous painting by Jean-François Millet depicting two peasants praying the Angelus p...
March 24, 2013
Holy Week Prayer Services
There are a number of great Holy Week prayer services for kids that religion teachers and catechists can use in class the week before Easter. We should all use this time, known as the Triduum, as a special week of preparation for the joys of Easter with particular focus on preparing our hearts with the perspective of Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
A special thanks to the many great websites that have developed the prayer services for Holy Week below. While not all of the links are...
March 15, 2013
Habemus Papam! Pope Francis Lesson Plan
Habemus papam! As we all scramble to find resources to teach about the newly elected Pope Francis, I offer this initial Pope Francis lesson plan to help your students understand the significance of his first few moments as the Holy Father. I was personally very moved by the the events that unfolded at the conclusion of the papal conclave on March 13, 2013 and never more so than the moment the Holy Father asked us to pray for himbefore extending the Urbi et Orbi blessing. He truly has the hear...
February 28, 2013
Pope Activities and Lesson Plans for Kids
With the papal conclave nearly upon us, I put together this list of pope activities and pope lesson plans to use with the kids in your religious education classroom. Ever since Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, I’ve been amazed by all the incredible resources that catechetical bloggers and teachers have posted to their websites (and thank you for posting them to Pinterest!). Try some of these great activities:
Pope Activity Ideas
February 27, 2013
Papal Conclave Lesson Plan
There has been lots of excitement during Lent 2013 with the historic conclave to elect a new pope to succeed retired Pope Benedict XVI. Students will be likely to watch and listen to all sorts of stories about the election and selection process for the new pontiff. Use this papal conclave lesson plan with your students to help them explore and understand the process for electing a new pope.
Papal Conclave Lesson Objectives
SWBAT describe the conclave process.
SWBAT compare and contrast a papal c...
