Prayer Memorization Ideas

My first grade students are given 5 prayers to do by the end of the year. I make a “We Know Our Prayers” chart on a large piece of poster board with the names of students and prayers. It’s nice and colorful and I display this in my classroom where my students can see it. After the students say the prayer correctly, I have them put a star sticker in the appropriate spot showing that they have completed the prayer and they can pick a prize out of the prize bag (toys from the Dollar Store, McDonald’s Happy Meals, etc.). I also give them an award certificate with their name on it. This seems to work and my students learn the prayers quickly and go on and do others.




Since most my students cannot read or write well, teaching prayers to them is rather tricky. Here are a few games that we do to help them remember the prayers.


Prayer Review:

1. Say a line from a prayer and have the students say the following line. Go back and forth until the prayer is finished.

2. Have the students sit in a circle. Tell the students that they are going to recite the ____ prayer. Have each student say one word in the prayer and the next person will say the following word. If someone makes a mistake or gets stuck, he or she begins over again with the first word of the prayer. The last person that says, “Amen” finishes the prayer.

3. Ball Pass: Have the students sit in a circle. The teacher turns her back to the students and she says, "Pass, pass, pass." The students then pass a ball to their right around the circle. When the teacher says, "Stop," the child holding the ball and the person to his right and left say the prayer together.


How do you help your students memorize prayers?

Lesson Plan- Moses and the Laws of God (1st grade on up)

Moses and the Laws of God (be sure to change the activities to your faith teachings)

Objectives: The students will be able to
- retell the story Moses and the Laws of God
- explain that we need to follow the Ten Commandments and why
- identify which are commandments from a list
- explain what each commandment means and give examples
- locate Mount Sinai on a map
- recite the Ten Commandments from memory



Review:
Prayer, questions and vocabulary words from last week’s lesson



Vocabulary Words: (Write the words on the board and discuss with class)

10 Commandments- 10 laws given to Moses by God
Laws- rules
Mount Sinai- the mountain where God gave laws to the Israelites (show students this on a map or have one of the students find it on a map).



Plan:

Read story: "Moses and the Laws of God" and then ask questions



Activities:

catechist.com- How to Teach the Ten Commandments to Children

thereligionteacher.com- A Ten Commandments Activity


Introduce activity: What laws did God give Moses that people must always keep?


This activity is free, however it is only to be used for classroom and personal use. It may not be published on any websites or other electronic media, or distributed in newsletters, bulletins, or any other form or sold for profit. Reproduction or retransmission of any materials, in whole or in part, in any manner, is not permitted.

10 Commandments Worksheet- (Catholic version)

Directions: Have students fold the paper in half separating the two columns with the print facing up. Students then cut on the black line through BOTH papers. Students then open paper and cut paper in half on the fold to make two tablets. Students then fill in the blanks with teacher during class discussion.


christiancrafters.com- Ten Commandments Lessons

childrensermons.com- Ten Commandments lesson

calvarycurriculum.com- Ten Commandments, Golden Calf, Moses Talks With God lessons with memory verses, circle the correct words, true or false, fill in the blanks, puzzles, and color sheets.

dltk-bible.com- The Story of Moses #4 lesson

sermons4kids.com- Guidance from God object lesson

sermons4kids.com- Rules Are Cool or Rules Are Cruel? object lesson

sermons4kids.com- Staying Within the Lines object lesson

go.sadlier.com- Teaching the Ten Commandments to Youth Toolkit (available in English & Spanish)

catechistsjourney.loyolapress.com- Ten Commandments – Two-Minute Drills
Mini-session for each of the Ten Commandments that is comprised of an easy game or demonstration to illustrate the main point of that Commandment.



Crafts:

sermons4kids.com- Rules Are Cool or Rules Are Cruel? group activities (crafts)

sermons4kids.com- Staying Within the Lines group activities (crafts)

crayola.com- Ten Commandments Tablets
(Students can use the above activity to help them write the Ten Commandments.)

catholicteacher.com- Ten Commandments Craft
Follow directions. Cut out the ten strips that list the commandments. Have students put them in order and space them out on the tablet with five on each side.




Games:

sermons4kids.com- Rules Are Cool or Rules Are Cruel? group activities (games)

sermons4kids.com- Staying Within the Lines group activities (games)


Hot Bricks
Played like musical chairs except you pass around a toy brick and the person that is holding it when the music stops has to state one of the commandments. If they can't give one, they are out.


Ten Chairs
Played like musical chairs except you number chairs 1 – 10. Teacher blows a whistle to start for kids to begin walking around the outside circle. After a few seconds, blow the whistle again, signaling kids to sit in a chair. Teacher then calls out a number and the student sitting in that chair must state what that commandment is. If they are correct, they can continue to play. If they are incorrect, they are out.


catechistsjourney.loyolapress.com- Ten Commandment Games



Introduce game: What laws did God give to Moses? What do these laws want us to do? Are they duties to each other and to God that we must do?

What Commandment is it?

Directions: Tell the students a sin and have them tell you what commandment it broke.



Ten Commandments Drill One, Two, Three, and Four- Fun and educational games about the Ten Commandments with flash cards, key word cards, outline page, and answers provided. This book is spiral bound to make copying easier. (Faith Facts for Young Catholics by Kieran Sawyer, page 17-22).

Beach Ball Madness (The Ten Commandments)- This game will help your students discover that life is much easier with guidelines, rules, and standards such as the Ten Commandments. (The Encyclopedia of Bible Games for Children’s Ministry by Group Publishing, page 36).



These games are free, however they can only to be used for classroom and personal use. They may not be published on any websites or other electronic media, or distributed in newsletters, bulletins, or any other form or sold for profit. Reproduction or retransmission of any materials, in whole or in part, in any manner, is not permitted. All graphics/images/clipart etc. used on these activities are not my own and are from various internet sources.



Directions: Cards are laid out in a grid face down, and players take turns flipping pairs of cards over. On each turn, the player will first turn one card over, then a second. If the two cards match, the player scores one point, the two cards are removed from the game, and the player gets another turn. If they do not match, the cards are turned back over.

The object is to match more pairs of cards than the opposing player. (One point is scored for each matched pair, and the player with the highest score after all cards have been matched wins.) When cards are turned over, it is important to remember where they are for when the matching card is turned up later in the game.


Ten Commandments Memory Game Cards- Print two copies of each page on card stock. Laminate or cover with clear contact paper to make them last. (All graphics/images/clipart etc. used on this game are not my own and are from various internet sources.)

Ten Commandments In Order Game- Mix up cards and place them on a table face up. Students then put the commandments in the proper order lining them up from top to bottom. The first student that can put the commandment cards in the correct order wins. This game can be played individually or in teams.





Ten Commandments (file folder game)- The objective of the game is to identify which one of the Ten Commandments (Catholic) the sin broke.

Directions- Directions: Players place their marker on START. The players roll the dice and follow the directions on the space they land on. If they land on a “?”, the player to their right draws a card and reads the question out loud (only use the questions that are age appropriate for your students). On each card is a question about sins and the player must tell which commandment the sin broke (they may say the commandment number or the commandment). Younger students can say whether or not it is a sin and why. If they answer correctly, they receive 1 token (milk caps, poker chips, etc.). If they are not correct, they do not receive one. When a player gets to the end of one game board, they keep going on the second game board and continue to FINISH. All players must land on FINISH with the exact number. When the player reaches FINISH they will count their tokens. After all players have made it to FINISH, the player with the most tokens wins.







Snacks:

Introduce snack: At Mount Sinai what did God give Moses that the people must always keep? The Ten Commandments.

dltk-bible.com- ‘O’bey Donuts
Tell the children that we must obey God's Commandments and God's rules. The donut represents the letter "O" in obey.



Puzzles, Mazes, Worksheets:

The Great Bible Big Fun Activity Book: From the Old and New Testaments by Toni Lind
The Ten Commandments color by number

365 Activities for Kids- Moses spot the different on March 23rd.

More 365 Activities for Kids (do any of the Ten Commandments puzzles, mazes, dot-to-dot, spot the difference, etc. from March 27 - 31).

freeprintable.com- find the hidden picture

dltk-bible.com- Moses (anagrams, crossword, cryptograms, mazes, word mining sheets, word searches)

calvarycurriculum.com- Ten Commandments, Golden Calf, Moses Talks With God lessons with circle the correct words, true or false, fill in the blanks, puzzles, etc.

thereligionteacher.com- A Ten Commandments Activity
Download the Rewrite the Ten Commandments Worksheet (scroll down to this)

thereligionteacher.com- The Religion Teacher’s Ten Commandments Worksheets

smp.org- Living the Ten Commandments
When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, he gave his Law to all people. The Ten Commandments give us a summary of how we are to live. The following tablets contain the Ten Commandments, with an example of how to live several of them. In the empty spaces, explain in your own words what each commandment means.

smp.org- The Ten Commandments
A worksheet focused on what the Ten Commandments teach us about living in right relationship with God and with our neighbors.

smp.org- The Ten Commandments
This handout asks students to keep a running record of how they observe the Ten Commandments in their actions throughout a week.



This puzzle is free, however it is only to be used for classroom and personal use. It may not be published on any websites or other electronic media, or distributed in newsletters, bulletins, or any other form or sold for profit. Reproduction or retransmission of any materials, in whole or in part, in any manner, is not permitted. All graphics/images/clipart etc. used on these activities are not my own and are from various internet sources.

Ten Commandments crossword puzzle- Catholic

How To Keep Disruptive Behavior Down To A Minimum

Having a well behaved classroom is critical for proper learning. For the students to learn to their fullest potential they need an environment that is quiet, without distractions, and organized.


How To Keep Disruptive Behavior Down To A Minimum

1. Have classroom rules. If your church does not have classroom rules you need to write up some for your class. Write up rules and have them approved by the DRE.

Go over classroom rules and consequences thoroughly (giving examples for each rule) in class and post them so students can see it. Make sure that each student understands the rules and consequences. If you want the students to follow your classroom rules, follow through with established consequences. Consequences help kids own their behavior and teach them to make better choices. Be sure to also be consistent with the rules and consequences or the students will feel that sometimes they can get away with their behavior. If the students know that the rules and consequences are to be taken seriously, they will make sure they will not misbehave.

*You can also type up the class rules and have each student bring it home for their parents to read, sign, and bring back to your class. This lets the parents know what is expected of their child and the consequences if they do not follow the class rules.

2. Keep students busy. A bored student is more likely to cause disruption in the class so be sure to have lots of fun activities that emphasize the lesson and the objectives of what you want your students to learn.

3. Keep the students involved. Students must be actively engaged throughout the instructional process. Students should be provided physical cues to attend to relevant stimuli and be asked frequent questions or a certain task to perform. A good way to get the attention of a student or to stop any behavior problems is to ask that student a question or ask them to do a task. Keeping your students involved you can eliminate behavior problems that might arise.

4. Move. The catechist should not stand in one spot, but move around in the classroom. This way the catechist can see what is going on in the classroom. Some students try to sit in the back of the room so they do not have to participate or so they can cause disruption in the classroom. Walking slowly around your classroom while you teach also lets you come close to each and every student and lets them know you have control of the classroom.

5. Seat your students so that all eyes are toward you. Do not seat a student so all you see is the back of their head or they will not attend to the lesson and they will also be more likely to cause behavior problems. The easiest way to accomplish a good seating arrangement is to have the student’s desks lined up and facing the front of the classroom. You can also have tables situated perpendicularly to the front of the room and seat your students on the sides of the tables and on the far end of the table so you can see the student’s faces. Having the students toward you allows you to keep their attention and you can see exactly what they are doing. If a student misbehaves, a very effective way of stopping disruptive behavior is to move that student to another seat. The problem could be who the student is sitting near. Assigned seating in your classroom might also be another alternative to keep disruptive behavior to a minimum.

6. Catch student’s being good. When you acknowledge good behavior it let’s the students know that you appreciate that they are trying to behave and are following the rules. Be sure though, to not over do it.


How do you keep disruptive behavior down to a minimum in your classroom?

Special Needs Students: Information to Gather From Parents

Most children with special needs who come to a parish religious education program will already be in an inclusive education program in their public school where they are learning side by side with their typical peers. When children with special needs are in a parish religious education program, they are usually in a regular classroom with support. This support may be an aide (or the parent) that has been trained to help so the child can participate in the regular program. Some children just need a few accommodations and modifications to the classroom and program. Keep in mind that each child is different their needs are different and what is appropriate for one child may be inappropriate for another.

When a special needs child is assigned to your classroom, be sure to gather information from the parents about their child before they come to class to help with the transition of their child into the classroom. When asking these questions let the parents know that this information will help identify what changes need to be made in the religious education environment and how you, as the teacher, can best teach their child. If the parents understand that you are trying to help their child, they will be more readily acceptable to answer the questions truthfully and be more at ease. Remember, the key to successful inclusion is support and understanding.


*Meet with your DRE and determine what questions to ask the parents. Below are some examples of questions you can ask.

What can I do to help your child in the classroom?
How does your child learn best?
What are some important tips from past teachers?
What strategies can I use to help your child learn best?
What are your child's strengths?
What situations do you find that limit your child's involvement? Do you have any suggestions in overcoming these obstacles?
How can I contact you? (cell/phone number, email address, etc.)


If more information is needed, the following questions might be helpful:

-What is the description or characteristics associated with your child’s special needs?
-How does this affect your child’s education?
-What are the accommodations and modifications present to assist your child at school?
-Are there any motor skills activities that your child needs help with? (Example: writing, cutting, coloring, packing their belongings, etc.)
-Are there environmental issues that we should be aware of? (Example: schedule changes, crowds, seating preferences, lighting, participating in a small group, noise, etc.)
-What interventions or strategies are used for behavior?
-Are their sensory issues that we should be aware of? (Example: Sensitive to certain sounds and forms of touch? Sensitivity to the taste and texture of foods? Sensitivity to particular levels of lighting, colors, etc.? Sensitivity to smell? Sensitivity to pain and temperature? Etc.)
-Does your child use assistive technology?
-How does your child communicate with others?
-Is your child self sufficient in the restroom or does he/she need assistance?
-Are there any health or safety concerns?


What other questions can you think of to ask the parents of a special needs child?

God’s Helping Hands Chart

Who are God’s helpers? It’s easy to see with the cheerful show of hands on this chart. Having a God’s Helper Chart encourages teamwork and self-esteem as students take responsibility for their classroom. This also builds community and dependability and it could also get the children to help more around the house as well.

The easiest way to get students to help you tidy up and organize your classroom each Sunday is give each child a job to do. Give children a new job assignment (every month or every day, which ever seems to work best with your students so they don’t get bored) and keep track on a class list on your computer. Have a few minutes at the end of the day for “God’s Helping Hands” so the students can do their jobs (some will have two children doing a big job together). Assign jobs carefully and if the job takes more than one student, make sure those students work well together. Be sure to show the students how to do each job correctly to avoid confusion. Look around your room to see what kinds of things need to be done each time your class meets that your students can help with. Your students can probably suggest some jobs, too!

You can buy Helping Hands charts or you can easily make one for your class. Just make small handprints on various colors of card stock and put the names of your students on each one. Laminate or cover with clear contact paper to make them last. Cover a bulletin board with paper and trim all around where you want the chart with bulletin board boarder. Make a “God’s Helping Hands” title and post on the top part of the chart. Identify what you want the student to do on white card stock (or a white index card) with a picture beside it. Pictures can be found at Google. Type in the word and click on images. Or you can cut up catalogs or magazines for pictures. Or use these picture cards. Laminate or cover cards with clear contact paper to make them last. Keep extra cards in an envelope and post under God’s Helping Hands chart. You can also make this chart on material so it will be portable if needed. Cards can be attached to the chart using Velcro.


Class jobs could include:

Line Leader
Board Eraser
Messenger
Scrap Monsters (to pick up scraps of paper off the floor which is a good job for active students)
Library Helper
Pencil Sharpener
Substitute Helper (they do the jobs of the absent students)
Supply Manager (they put away glue, crayons, scissors, etc.)
Shelf Manager (makes sure all shelves are clean and orderly)
Paper Passer (they pass out any papers in class)


What jobs can you think up for your students to do in class?

Religious Games

*If you are interested in File Folder Games or other games that focus on religious subjects, here are links to Yahoo Groups that have lots to choose from that are for all ages and grades.


The Creative Kingdom- This is the "mother group" to all the Creative Kingdom groups. You must be a member of this group in order to access the files in any of the other Creative Kingdom groups (e-mails pertaining to all The Creative Kingdom groups are posted from here).

Old Creative Kingdom- File folder games pertaining to the Old Testament.

New Creative Kingdom- File folder games pertaining to the New Testament.

Other Creative Kingdom- File folder games that relate to other Christian subjects: Holidays, Church, Liturgy, Prayer, Rosary, Sacraments, Saints, Stations of the Cross, etc.

Creative Kingdom of Games N More- Games and other materials that relate to Bible stories (Old & New Testament) or other Christian subjects. Games include: Bingo, Memory, Go Fish, Sequencing, Card Games, Can Games, etc.

Creative Kingdom for Learning- This group makes and posts educational religious file folder games, crafts, worksheets, etc. The Christian educational materials will also include Math, Science, Social Studies, Reading, Language Arts, etc. with a Biblical focus.

Are you a lurker?

This is a post for all you lurkers out there. You know who you are. Don’t try to hide behind a “not me” expression on your face. We see right through it and we want you to come out, come out, where ever you are.

According to Blogs as Virtual Communities: Identifying a Sense of Community in the Julie/Julia Project by Anita Blanchard states that lurkers are people who regularly read blogs but do not leave comments.

So how many lurkers are there out in cyber space? Blanchard says that lurkers may comprise the vast majority and they get none of the attention they so rightly deserve because they do not comment on blogs.

You don’t want to end up at Lurkers Anonymous and have to go through a 12 step program that will make you feel embarrassed and forever labeled as a “lurker”.

Believe it or not, we want to here from you. Your comments DO matter. So why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself- who you are, where you’re from, what you do, what you like the most and what you would like to see on this blog. This will also help you to get to know some of the other lurkers and will even give you a few hits to your blog if you have one.

It’s now time to come out of the blog lurker closet and give us a holler. You’ll be glad you did!

Ministering to People with Special Needs

Here is some great information on how to teach children and adults with Special Needs. Lots of tips, curriculums, resources, articles, etc. for you to choose from.

Ministering to People with Special Needs

Lesson Plan- Moses in the Desert (1st grade on up)

Moses in the Desert


Objectives: The students will be able to
- retell the story Moses in the Desert
- explain that we need to obey God and why



Review:
Prayer, questions and vocabulary words from last week’s lesson



Vocabulary Words: (Write the words on the board and discuss with class)

Quails- small birds
Israelites- they were God’s chosen people (slaves that went with Moses)
Manna- food (bread) provided by God to feed the Israelites
Desert- an area of land where there is little water or rainfall.



Plan:

Read story: "Moses in the Desert" and then ask questions



Activities:

Introduce activities: What did God give the people to eat? Quails and bread called manna.

sermons4kids.com- What Is It? object lesson with group activities, coloring, puzzles, quizzes

sermons4kids.com- Water From A Rock object lesson with group activities, coloring, puzzles, worship bulletin

sermons4kids.com- Dinner on the Ground object lesson with group activities, coloring, puzzles, worship bulletin

calvarycurriculum.com- Bread From Heaven, Water From A Rock lessons with memory verses, circle the correct words, true or false, fill in the blanks, puzzles, and color sheets.

kidssundayschool.com- Wandering in the Desert (lesson with game)

jesuswalk.com- Grumbling, Conflict, and Delegation (Exodus 15-18)

bible.org- Lesson 6: Moses and the Challenges



Crafts

sermons4kids.com- What Is It? group activities (crafts)

sermons4kids.com- Water From A Rock group activities (crafts)

sermons4kids.com- Dinner on the Ground group activities (crafts)

daniellesplace.com- Paper Bag Quail

daniellesplace.com- Paper Circle Quail Craft

daniellesplace.com- Thankful Quail Paper Plate Craft

dltk-kids.com- Paper Plate Quail Craft




Games

sermons4kids.com- What Is It? group activities (games)

sermons4kids.com- Water From A Rock group activities (games)

sermons4kids.com- Dinner on the Ground group activities (games)

kidssundayschool.com- Desert Venture Review Game (scroll down to this)



Introduce game: Did the people listen and do what Moses said? Do you think that is easy? Can you do that?


Moses Says

Need: Nothing

Directions: Played just like Simon Says. Moses says, “Hop on one foot.” Etc.



Introduce game: So you think you are good at following directions? Let’s find out.

Following Directions

Need: Bop It, Ballzerko, Simon, etc.

Directions: Divide the class into groups. Have one group play one game and the other plays another, etc. Students must do what the toy tells them to do. Change games after all students get a chance to play.



Introduce game: Moses led his people through the desert. Do you think they did what he told them to do? Do you think this was easy? Let’s find out.

Outrageous Desert Obstacle Course

Set up an obstacle course that the students must do the crab walk backwards through it. Have them crab walk around objects, go under the table, carry a ball on their stomach and put it into the trash can, etc. Demonstrate what you want the students to do.

Another version:

Introduce game: Do you think it was easy to walk in the desert? Let’s find out.

Supply list: one table, one chair

Set up your obstacle course as described in your instructions and have the children watch you walk through the obstacle course before they try it themselves. As you go through each stage, explain what it represents.

Say: First, you’ll hop on one foot because the sand is so hot. Next, you will crawl under a table to get away from the sun. Then you roll on the ground from exhaustion. Finally, you crawl to a chair to rest.

Have the children go through the obstacle course, resetting it for each child as needed.



Introduce game: What did the Israelites see day in and day out on the desert? (Sand.)

Pass the Sand!

Divide the group into two teams and line them up. Have the first team players in line grab a handful of sand from a container. They must pass the sand to the next player, who passes it to the next player, and so on down the line. When the sand reaches the last player, she pours what's left of it onto a plate. The team with the most sand at the end of the relay wins the game. You may have to weight the sand on a food scale to find out, if it's close!



These game are free, however they can only to be used for classroom and personal use. They may not be published on any websites or other electronic media, or distributed in newsletters, bulletins, or any other form or sold for profit. Reproduction or retransmission of any materials, in whole or in part, in any manner, is not permitted. All graphics/images/clipart etc. used on these activities are not my own and are from various internet sources.


Moses Says (file folder game)- Let’s see how well you can follow directions.




Introduce game: What mountain did Moses climb?



Climb Mount Sinai (file folder game)- Be the first to climb Mount Sinai and win!



Snacks:

Introduce snack: What is out in a desert? Sand

kindernature.org- Ants in the Sand (scroll down to this)


What did the Israelites eat out in the desert? Manna and quail.

applesaucekids.com- Unleaven Bread



Puzzles, Mazes, Worksheets:

The Great Bible Big Fun Activity Book: From the Old and New Testaments by Toni Lind
Follow the Dots to find what the Israelites found in the desert. (quail)

More 365 Activities for Kids (do any of the Moses in the desert puzzles, mazes, dot-to-dot, spot the difference, etc. from March 20 - 26).

biblewise.com- Moses (maze)

biblewise.com- The 40 Year Journey (maze)

sermons4kids.com- Dinner on the Ground (maze)

freesundayschoolcurriculum.weebly.com- God Gives Manna To Eat
Match the puzzle pieces to complete the verse (page 9).

dltk-bible.com- Moses (anagrams, crossword, cryptograms, mazes, word mining sheets, word searches)

sermons4kids.com- Water From a Rock (word search)

sermons4kids.com- Dinner on the Ground (word search)

sermons4kids.com- Manna From Heaven (word search)

sermons4kids.com- Water From a Rock (crossword)

sermons4kids.com- Dinner on the Ground (crossword)

sermons4kids.com- Manna From Heaven (crossword)

sermons4kids.com- Dinner on the Ground (word shape)

sermons4kids.com- Manna From Heaven (jumble)

biblewise.com- Where Did They Go? (decoder)

sermons4kids.com- Water From A Rock (decoder)

sermons4kids.com- Manna From Heaven (decoder)

sermons4kids.com- Manna From Heaven (multiple choice)

sermons4kids.com- Dinner on the Ground (fill in the blanks)

sermons4kids.com- Manna From Heaven (fill in the blanks)

jesuswalk.com- Grumbling, Conflict, and Delegation (Exodus 15-18) lesson with questions that can easily be made into a worksheet

bible.org- Lesson 6: Moses and the Challenges (lesson with questions that can easily be made into a worksheet)

smp.org- Moses Stations
An activity where students are asked to visit each “Moses Station” based on an Old Testament Scripture passage. Students are then asked to give a brief summary of the passage, list the individuals involved, make a connection to a Scriptural parallel, and then explain the significance of this connection.

Discipline in the Classroom

You have volunteered to be a CCD teacher and you find yourself with challenges that all catechists must face. You wonder how you are going to do it and how you are going to handle certain situations in the classroom. So to combat this, you thoroughly plan and prepare for your class, but the nagging feeling of losing control of the classroom because of misbehaved students makes you feel discouraged, unequipped, and scared.

Believe it or not, you are not alone in this dilemma. When asked what their major concern when teaching CCD, catechists usually say discipline.

So how can catechists not lose control of their classroom?


Rule #1: Don’t panic. When discipline problem arise, remain calm and in control.


Rule #2: Have a Behavior Management System.
The Four Components of (just about) Any Good Classroom Behavior Management System

theteachersguide.com- Classroom Management Strategies


Rule #3: Have Classroom Rules. If your church does not have classroom rules you need to write up some for your class. Write up rules and have them approved by the DRE.

When writing your classroom rules, state rules in a positive manner. Rules should tell students what they are supposed to do, not just what to avoid.

Devise consequences for when rules are violated. They must be related to the offence, respectful, and reasonable.

Go over rules and consequences thoroughly (giving examples for each rule) during class and post them so students can see it. Make sure that each student understands the rules and consequences. You can also type it up and have each student bring it home for their parents to read, sign, and bring back to your class.

Example:

Classroom Rules

We will be kind to everybody.

We will raise our hand when we want to speak.

We will use inside voices.

We will walk inside the room.

We will listen to the teachers and follow directions.

We keep our hands, feet, and objects to ourselves.

We respect others and their property.

We will clean up after ourselves.


Consequences

1st time- Verbal reminder to show the correct behavior. (Example: Tommy, we raise our hand when we want to speak.)

2nd time- Move to a table by themselves.

3rd time- Sent to the office of the DRE.


Rule #4: Reinforce Good Behavior.
Catch them being good. (Example: Thank you Tommy for raising your hand.)


Rule #5: Be Consistent.
Always keep to the rules and follow through with consequences.