For Catholic religion classes, it's never too early to map out a strategy for meaningful lessons.

“We only have them for such a short time.”

That’s the mantra of many CCD teachers, who are faced with the task of teaching life’s important lessons in about an hour a week.

In order to fit in as much as possible, plan your class sessions carefully. Start early. Ask yourself what you want to accomplish this year.

Supplement your workbook curriculum with resources available through your parish, religious book stores, the library, and the internet.

With planning and organization, you’ll be off to a great start of a new year.

Make a lesson plan

Sketch out a rough plan for the entire year, to ensure you fit in important lessons at appropriate times. Using the church calendar, time your lessons on All Saint Day, Advent, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Easter – anything seasonal and timely. The workbook curriculum you’re using probably won’t be in synch with the church calendar, so plan the chapters you’re going to cover based on that.

For weekly CCD classes, start an idea notebook with a page for each class. At the top of each page write the class date and topic or chapter you’ll cover that day. As you explore resources, jot down ideas on the corresponding page. As that week’s lesson gets closer and you’re ready to write a detailed lesson plan, consult your ideas.

Set a pattern to your class sessions

Plan in advance how you want your class sessions to go. Set aside a specific time for prayer, whether it be an opening prayer, part of the lesson, or a closing prayer.

End each class with a closing prayer or read a meditation as a “final word,” something the kids will remember after they leave the classroom.

Decide what other weekly tasks you want to include: recognizing students’ birthdays, a saint of the week, gathering activities, circle time, Bible verse of the day, or craft time.

Student questionnaire

If you teach older children, have them fill out a questionnaire the first day. Ask them things that they like to do, their favorite TV show, their pet peeves, what makes them laugh. Kids are bored by administrative tasks, so make it fun by using mixed up fonts and silly graphics; and ask a couple crazy questions (“Quick – what did you have for breakfast this morning? _______”).

Parent questionnaire

Send home a questionnaire for parents to fill out on the first day. Include:

• Emergency contact information – how you can reach a parent during class

• Food allergies

• “Is there anything that I need to know about your child?” Parents may want you to know that the child has a reading disability or a developmental stutter, or that there has been a recent divorce in the family or the death of a grandparent.

Send home a newsletter

Put together a monthly newsletter for your students to take home to their parents. Include in it what you’ve covered in class in the previous few weeks, what’s coming up, and your contact information.

Suite 101’s Catholicism page has teacher resource articles on:

• Easter
• The Holy Trinity
• Morality
• Reconciliation
• The Rosary
• Temptation
• Prayer
• Creation
• The Old Testament
• The Ten Commandments
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• Advent
• Protecting the Environment
• The Saints
• Peace
• St. Nicholas