Among the many Los Angeles Religious Education Congress presentations and workshops by Ave Maria Press speakers and staff, Jared Dees offered a showcase of Ave Maria Press online classroom resources and the Xplana eTextbooks. Some of those in attendance requested a copy of that presentation, which can be found below.
LA Congress Tech Center Presentation (Ave Maria Press)
LA Congress Tech Center Presentation: Ave Maria Press 2011
View more presentations from Ave Maria Press.
The buzz among your teens this week likely centers around the annual NCAA basketball tournament, i.e. "March Madness." Don't let the excitement slip away without capturing some of it for your theology class! There are a number of fun things that connect religion, Catholic identity, and basketball that you can do with your students.
Start with the basics. Pass out a printable tournament bracket sheet and have the students circle all the Catholic colleges in the field of 68 (up four from previous years). While they're at it, have the do the annual ratings of Catholic college teams based on the tournament seedings. Here's how it shakes out this year.
Catholic College Ratings
1. Notre Dame (2)
2(t). Xavier (6)
2(t). Georgetown (6)
2(t). St. John's (6)
5. Villanova (9)
6. Marquette (11)
Gonzaga (8)
8. St. Peter's (14)
Continue by having the students identify each of the Catholic colleges in the tournament with their locations by city and state:
Notre Dame (Notre Dame (South Bend), IN)
Xavier (Cincinnati, OH)
Georgetown (Washington, DC)
St. John's (Queens, NY)
Villanova (Villanova (Radnor), PA)
Marquette (Milwaukee, WI)
Gonzaga (Spokane, WA)
St. Peter's (Jersey City, NJ)
Next, have them identify the founding religious community of each college:
Jesuit (Xavier, Georgetown, Marquette, Gonzaga, St. Peter's)
Holy Cross (Notre Dame)
Vincentian (St. John's)
Augustinian (Villanova)
Research Work: Have the students research each team and determine which roster has the most players named after saints and/or biblical characters.
Interactive: Develop some quiz questions based on your current lesson plan for the week. Divide the class into two teams for a head-to-head competition. In the spirit of the week, bring in a nerf ball and have the teams compete for bonus points by being able to sink the ball into a strategically placed trash can.
Report: There are many Catholics who coach college basketball. Ask the students to report on three famous Catholic coaches from the past: Lou Carnesecca (St. John's), Al McGuire (Marquette), and Ray Meyer (DePaul).
Feel free to add some NCAA March Madness ideas for your religion classroom in the comments section below!
This is the first installment of a new series of tech tips for high school religion teachers. Each week we will be posting how-to articles, tutorials, video screencasts, interviews, and other multimedia resources to supplement your religious education needs.
Thank you to everyone you tuned in to yesterday's webinar "Technology Tips for Religious Educators." We are very proud of the online resources we have developed for teachers and we hope the tips in this presentation are helpful in your efforts to integrate technology into classroom instruction. If you would like to view a recording of this webinar, you can find it here.
Technology Tips for Religious Educators Webinar Recording
Technology Tips for Religious Educators from Ave Maria Press on Vimeo.
Ave Maria Press links mentioned in the video:
Ave Maria Press Classroom Resources: www.avemariapress.com/resources
Ave Maria Press eTextbooks: www.avemariapress.com/etextbooks
Engaging Faith blog: www.avemariapress.com/engagingfaith
Ave Maria Press Tech Tips Series Home: www.avemariapress.com/techtips
Ave Maria Press YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/avemariapress
Ave Maria Press High School Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/HighSchoolReligiousEducation
Other links mentioned in the video:
Outside da Box: www.outsidedabox.com
Blogs:
Blogger: www.blogger.com
Typepad: www.typepad.com
Wordpress: www.wordpress.com
Tumblr: www.tumblr.com
Wikis:
Wikispaces: www.wikispaces.com
Pbworks: http://pbworks.com
SlideShare : www.slideshare.net
Scribd : www.scribd.com
Google Sites : http://sites.google.com
Learning Management Systems:
Moodle: www.moodle.org
Blackboard: www.blackboard.com
Audio-Visual Recordings:
Screenr: http://screenr.com
Camstudio: http://camstudio.org
Skype: www.skype.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com
Vimeo: www.vimeo.com
Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net
Productivity:
Dropbox: www.dropbox.com
Evernote: www.evernote.com
Religious Education Animoto Videos:
Unfortunately the Webinar recording did not pick up the sound on these two Animoto videos. You can view them below instead:
Ave Maria Press Textbook Sample:
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
A special thanks to Barb Gilman (@BarbInNebraska on Twitter) and her class for creating this fantastic Animoto video:
http://animoto.com/play/PyPxWw3s40XhutMhhsuDPw
The following Ash Wednesday prayer service is suitable for teachers to use in their classrooms, as an all-school assembly, or in a youth group setting.
Leader:
Loving God, as we begin this Lenten journey toward a greater union with you, strengthen our faith through our devoted practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Open up new doors to deeper spirituality and discovery of your love. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Reader 1:
Joel 2:12-13
Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Leader:
Think, for a moment, about the times in your life in which you wanted recognition for something you have done. It may be a good grade on a test, an athletic accomplishment, or a favor to a friend. What rewards have you been given lately? Are there materials things, like clothes, phones, jewelry, or your body, that are a source of confidence?
God asks us during Lent to set all of our attachment to those things aside, and rely solely on him.
Reader 2:
Matthew 6:5-6
When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
Leader:
(Choose between the following penitential prayers)
O Lord, who has mercy on all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of your Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore you,
a heart to delight in you,
to follow and enjoy you, for Christ's sake, Amen
— St. Ambrose of Milan (AD 339-397)
O Lord,
The house of my soul is narrow;
enlarge it that you may enter in.
It is ruinous, O repair it!
It displeases your sight.
I confess it, I know.
But who will cleanse it,
to whom will I cry but to you?
Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord,
and spare Your servant from strange sins.
— St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430)
We ask this,
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
It would be difficult to accept the challenge of discipleship if Jesus were like the host of an exclusive party who only welcomed a select few. Rather, Jesus offers an invitation of discipleship to all. The Gospel of Luke emphasizes this point more than others. It is sometimes called the "social Gospel" because it focuses on Jesus' acceptance of those people who have been neglected by society.
Divide the class into four groups. Assign each group one of the following passages from the Gospel of Luke. Ask them to read the passage and discuss it in light of the following question: "What does this passage tell me about how I should treat other people"? Call on a representative from each group to summarize the parable and their group's responses. Record the responses on a board under the heading "How We Are to Welcome Others."
Gospel Passages
The parable of the rich fool—Luke 12:16-21
The parable of the dishonest steward—Luke 16:1-8
The cleansing of ten Lepers—Luke 17:11-19
Zacchaeus the tax collector—Luke 19:1-10
To introduce a lesson on the Gospels, play a game of "Jesus Charades." Divide the class into small teams. Prepare a stack of playing cards with separate phrases about the life of Jesus. For example,
Jesus walks on water
Jesus feeds the 5,000
Jesus heals the paralytic
Jesus calms the storm
Jesus drives Satan into the herd of swine
Jesus carries his cross
Jesus welcomes the criminal into paradise
Jesus lets Thomas probe his wounds
Jesus ascends into Heaven
Call on a representative from each team to choose a phrase from the stack (without looking) to be acted out silently until someone from another team guesses the event. Take turns, calling on a new team representative each time.
Preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation is essential at the high school level. It is an excellent opportunity to catechize young people through an examination of conscience. You don't want to have students waiting in line for the Sacrament of Reconciliation thinking things like this student (from Outside da Box Productions and the Jesus Christ Video Collection).
Traditionally, reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation "ought to be prepared for by an examination of conscience made in the light o the Word of God" (CCC, 1454). Typically the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, are the focus of this examination of conscience. Giving students the time to reflect on their sins either in class or during a school assembly can make an important impact on a student's decision to receive the Sacrament and to enter into it with a contrite heart.
Examination of Conscience for Teens Handouts
Each examination of conscience below is designed around the Ten Commandments:
Catholic Youth Ministry's Examination of Conscience
Diocese of Fall River's Examination of Conscience
Deacon Douglas McManaman's Examination of Conscience
You can also find a very simple examination of conscience for teens handout in the resources section the Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments textbook (Examination of Conscience Handout).
New App for Students with iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touches
There is a new App available that has been getting a lot of buzz lately. It is called Confession: A Roman Catholic App. The app is actually an in-depth examination of conscience that is great for tech-savvy teenagers. Contact the creators at Little iApps for a special bulk price for schools.
As you investigate Jesus’ miracles from the Gospels, your students will notice three kinds of reactions. Some of those who witness the miracles are rightly amazed. Others are doubtful. And still others are confused.
Play this short game of “mental math” to introduce a lesson on Jesus’ miracles. Present the following problem. Do not read the example. Rather, rehearse it so that you can move through it quickly.
Say to the students:
Do each step silently. Don’t call out any responses. Don’t say anything if you have done this problem before.
Think of a number between 1 and 10 (for example, 7).
Multiply your number by 9. You now have a two-digit number (for example, 63).
Add the two digits of your new number together (for example, 6 plus 3). You now have a one-digit number (9).
Subtract 5 from your number. You now have a new one-digit number (4).
Now pretend that each letter of the alphabet corresponds to a number. For example, A is 1, B is 2, C is 3, and so on. Think of the letter that corresponds to your number (D).
Think of a country that starts with your letter (most people with think of Denmark).
Now think of an animal that starts with the second letter of your country (most people will think of elephant).
Place your hand over your forehead as if some great inspiration is coming to you. Then say, “You are thinking of Denmark and an elephant.” There should be varied reaction, for example:
“ho-hum” from students who have done the problem before
confusion from students who were lost somewhere in the math
amazement from students who were thinking of Denmark and elephant
Now, choose some miracle stories of Jesus from the Gospels and compare the reaction of your class to this problem to the reaction of the people who witnessed Jesus’ miracles!
