Resources for Kids to Form a Relationship with Christ through Religion

Premium members of The Religion Teacher have access to hundreds of practical resources to lead their students into an encounter with Christ.

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The three bonuses (details below) expire at 11:59 p.m. on September 30, 2021. Join today to get these gifts when you become an annual member of The Religion Teacher. 

Religion Isn’t Relatable for Kids and Parents Anymore

What is our biggest challenge in religious education this year?

It isn’t COVID. 

It isn’t parents. 

It is . . . religion. 

Not our actual religion, but the perception that kids and parents have about religion. 

We are in a crisis right now. 

People do not find religion relatable anymore. 

Worse yet, they would rather try to cultivate a relationship with God without religion. 

According to a Gallup poll from just a few months ago, less than half the people in the United States (47%) belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque. 

Why? What is turning them away and what can we do about it?

We Must Avoid Fluff and Fundamentalism

Imagine catechesis on a line from “Fluff” on one end and “Fundamentalism” on the other. 

Both extremes lead people away from religion. We can easily waver too far in both directions. 

Fluff = Emotion without Education 

Fundamentalism = Education without Emotion

Teach with fluff and people won’t take religion seriously. 

Teach with fundamentalism and people will reject religion as narrow-minded. 

Reading this you might think, “No, I would never do that!” 

Here are some ways we can slide too far in both directions preventing students from forming a relationship with God through religion. 

⏰ Trap #1: Time 

There is more to teach in our textbooks than we could possible get to in a given lesson or an entire year.

With so much to teach and so little time, we revert into two bad habits: 

• Long lectures
• Short prayers

Lectures should be short and to the point. We don’t want to make religion boring.

Prayer should be an integral part of every lesson, not something squeezed into the beginning of class. Religion should be an experience not just an education.

???? Trap #2: Trivia 

Do you ever have trivia nights at your church? 

It’s easy to turn religious education into a Catholic trivia training center.

Too much focus on quizzes, tests, and questions and answers might prepare kids to do well in Catholic trivia, but it won’t guarantee a future relationship with God.

The experience of religion can so easily be disconnected with the education about religion. 

But we have to make sure our kids see the connection between what they learn and how to live. 

???? Trap #3: Textbooks 

I could not teach without a textbook. I rely on them heavily each year. The teachings in each chapter give me the foundation of what I want my students to learn. 

But textbooks are not great at helping us know how to teach. 

Reading a textbook in class, for example, is a poor use of time. The books offer a definitive content to teach, but they should not be the primary teaching tool. 

Teacher’s manuals provide some help, but the majority of the ideas they offer in my experience repeatedly suggest: “read section X and discuss.” 

“Read & discuss” is not a great way to teach.

It makes religion boring.

If religion is boring for kids now, it will continue to be boring later in life and that’s when we lose them. 

So, like you I often go out searching online for solid resources to use in class. 

That’s where keeping that balance at the center of fluff and fundamentalism gets tricky. 

It’s easy to find and download fluff: the crafts, kid videos, and games that are fun but lack truths of our faith. 

It’s also easy to find fundamentalism: long, detailed teachings about certain topics without a clear and easy way to explain it all to young people. 

We have to find better activities to integrate the content of the textbook into the context of their lives. 

We want them to learn, but also live their faith. 

Resources that Lead Kids into a Relationship with Christ

As religious educators, we need resources that balance both education and emotion. We need to avoid both fluff and fundamentalism.

My name is Jared Dees. 

I’m the founder of The Religion Teacher.

In the last twelve years I have created and shared hundreds of lesson plans, activities, worksheets, and videos with practical ways for religious educators to lead their students into an encounter with Christ.

The textbooks we get at the beginning of the year just don’t have enough ideas and resources to accomplish everything we want to do.

Many of the tools we find online are either full of fluff or filled with fundamentalism.

There is a better way.

The resources at The Religion Teacher are meant to teach the head and touch the heart. They combine education and emotion into an encounter with Christ.

A Relationship through Religion & Religious Education

In every class, we want our students to: 

1. Learn something new.
2. Feel the love of God.
3. Live what they learn.

The best way I know to help kids learn, love, and live their faith is a process I call Lectio Divina Lesson Planning. This approach led me to write an entire book with dozens of ways to lead students to encounter Christ in class: Christ in the Classroom (see below).

Essentially, Lectio Divina Lesson Planning is applying Lectio Divina to everything we teach, not just reading the Bible.

The resources at The Religion Teacher are dedicated to this approach.

Whether it is a worksheet or video, The Religion Teacher member resources guide students through a simplified Lectio Divina process:

1. Read
2. Reflect
3. Respond

For example, with the Weekly Reading Worksheets members encourage kids to:

1. Read the Gospel.
2. Reflect on the meaning of the Gospel in their lives.
3. Respond in prayer.

The 150+ Saint Worksheets allow members to get kids to:

1. Read a short saint biography.
2. Reflect on the way their lives relate to the saint’s life.
3. Respond by seeking the saint’s prayers.

The many graphic organizers that accompany the videos available to members will lead students to:

1. Read (Watch) to learn about specific Catholic teaching.
2. Reflect on why this teaching is relevant to their lives.
3. Respond with prayer or ways to live their lives differently.

This is The RE3 Framework: Read, Reflect, and Respond in every class and you will make religion more relatable.

What Do Members Get?

The Religion Teacher membership website provides three kinds of resources for members:

• Printable Worksheets: Downloadable handouts that challenge students to think and reflect on their faith.
• Class Videos: Class videos with graphic organizers to help students understand the most challenging teachings.
• Online Courses: Online training on how to engage and evangelize students and parents.

Hundreds of members now have access to 500+ worksheets, 110+ class videos, and five online courses.

The philosophy behind each of these resources is to keep the learner active and engaged and encountering Christ in class.

500+ Engaging Worksheets and Graphic Organizers

“The weekly reading worksheets have given me a jumping off place to discuss the gospels.”

Nancy Pretto
Middle School Catechist

The Religion Teacher’s worksheets require students to think, reflect, and make connections between Scripture, Tradition, and their personal lives.

They help get students beyond knowing ABOUT Jesus and truly reflecting on their RELATIONSHIP with Jesus.

Sunday Gospel Reading Worksheets

Each week a worksheet is offered to help teach about the Sunday Gospel. These weekly reading worksheets are based on the principles of Lectio Divina, an important Catholic devotional practice that leads people into an encounter with God in Sacred Scripture.

*The Weekly Gospel Reading worksheets are available in Spanish for the first time this liturgical year!

Share the Lives of the Saints with Your Students with these 150+ Worksheets

This new series of worksheets is designed to help introduce your students to the lives of the saints. Each worksheet includes a brief saint biography with questions to help reinforce and challenge students to reflect on the life lessons these saints have to teach us through the way they lived and died. Multiple saint worksheets are available for every week of the calendar year.

The Religion Teacher’s Activity and Worksheet Packs

Members also get access to packets of worksheets that are usually sold separately for $10-12 each including The Religion Teacher’s Catholic Mass Worksheets, Genesis Worksheets, Ten Commandments Worksheets, The Lord’s Prayer Worksheets, Works of Mercy Worksheets, and the Catholic Social Teaching Activity Pack. New products like these are added to the membership website every year and the library will continue to grow over time. Each of these resources are available for no extra charge to premium members.

The Religion Teacher’s Advent Activity Pack and Lenten Activity Pack are available to all members. These two products have sold more than a thousand copies each, but members can access them any time without an extra purchase:

110+ Catechetical Class Videos

“The Religion Teacher membership website has helped me with specific videos I have needed as well as new ways to approach certain topics.”

Kelly Foyle
Middle School Religion Teacher

The class videos offer an additional level of support and explanation to important teachings of the Catholic Church. As the students watch the videos, they fill out graphic organizers that are custom-made for each video.

With these short classroom videos and their accompanying worksheets, catechists and teachers can supplement their religious instruction and extend their lessons with some additional interactivity.

These catechetical videos include lessons in a variety of topics including Scripture, the Sacraments, the Saints, Catholic Social Teaching, Catholic Symbols, Advent, and Lent.

Each video comes with a printable worksheet for students to complete as they watch the video. The combination of these videos and graphic organizers will allow religious educators to introduce new topics or support in-class lessons in an engaging way.

Online Courses for Religious Educators

“After so many years of teaching and getting a bit worn out, the beginning of the year course helped re-focus and re-energize me and remind me of some things that I had forgotten.”

Judy Carney
Middle School & High School Religion Teacher

The courses that the religious educators can take to grow and become better are more than just informational videos. They offer effective exercises that will make educators better at what they do.

The easy-to-implement strategies and formation ideas in the courses and online seminars will help catechists and religion teachers focus on how they can become a better religious educators for the students they teach.

Members will have access to highly effective courses including:

• Classroom Engagement: Motivate Your Students to Love Learning the Faith
• Empowering Parents
• Teaching with the Joy of the Gospel: A Series of Reflections on Evangelii Gaudium for Religious Educators
• Starting the New School Year Off Right
• Contagious Classroom Prayer: Convincing Kids to Pray Now and Forever

What are people saying about being a member?

“Being a member of The Religion Teacher has given me countless ideas about lesson plans and material to accompany lessons, as well as tools to get children and parents more engaged.”

Darijana Kline
Elementary Grade Catechist

“I can provide useful ideas for my catechists especially since they are not teachers.”

Bridget Murphy
Director of Religious Education

Join Today to Get These Bonus Gifts!

The three bonuses (details below) expire at 11:59 p.m. on September 30, 2021. Join today to get these gifts when you become an annual member of The Religion Teacher. 

I am confident that the resources available to premium members of The Religion Teacher will help you lead your students into an encounter with Christ. I am offering a collection of bonuses for anyone who becomes an annual member this month.

(Already an annual member? Email Jared Dees for information on how to access these bonuses, too, if you have not received them.)

If you sign up as an annual paying member today, you will get:

1) A Copy of Christ in the Classroom  

Christ in the Classroom: Lesson Planning for the Heart and Mind explains in detail how to apply Lectio Divina to lesson planning for all age levels.

It comes with dozens of activity ideas and teaching strategies for each Lectio Divina step to help you keep your students engaged and entering into an encounter with Jesus Christ. The book will give you the tools to get beyond just teaching about Jesus and instead making sure he is invited into the classroom.

Value: $13

Note: Only available to those registering in the contiguous United States. Everyone else, email Jared for an alternative bonus.

2) The Religion Teacher’s Lectio Divina Worksheets (Revised & Updated)

This resource is sold separately at The Religion Teacher. The Religion Teacher’s Lectio Divina Worksheets enable teachers, catechists, and home-schooling parents to guide their youth through a lectio divina process with very little instruction required.

The simple, easy-to-use format of each handout invites students and young people to engage personally with the word of God.

After introducing and practicing each activity, students will be able to come back their favorite handouts again and again for many different Bible passages throughout the year.

Note: Check the box to add this to your order at checkout.

Value: $10

3) Bible Breaks Series eBooks (5 Books)

The Bible Breaks stories for kids help families and faith formation groups set aside a few minutes during the day to read and reflect on the Word of God. Each short and simple story is written to help teach children the most important lessons of the Christian life from sacred Scripture.

As an annual member, you will get access to the eBook version of the entire Bible Breaks series of books with Bible stories for kids. The series features Bible story collections for Advent, Lent, Prayer, the Eucharist, and Hope. You can print copies of the stories and use them in class or read them from a device.

Value: $15-40

Extra eBook: Advent with the Angels: A Daily Devotional for Kids

Coming in November 2021!

Advent is a four-week journey of prayer and preparation for the coming of Christ on Christmas Day. Every journey needs a guide. This book invites children to follow the angels as their guide through Advent and the beginning of Christmas. 

The daily devotions follow the Read, Reflect, and Respond Framework with Scripture passages, questions, and a prayer each day.

Every member will get a digital copy of this book to use in class during Advent.

Value: $9.99

**You must join as an annual member to qualify for the bonus gifts.

Offer expires on September 30, 2021 at 11:59 p.m.

How do I join?

There are two kinds of memberships: individual and group.

As an individual member, you personally gain access to all of the worksheets, videos, and online courses. (This option is for individual catechists and teachers.)

As a group member, you will be able to share access with your entire parish of religious educators. (This option is for DREs, pastors, and principals to set up to share with all staff and volunteers.)

*Monthly memberships are also available but are not eligible for all bonuses.

What People Are Saying

“I’ve changed how I teach. I focus on them learning instead of me
“Being a member of The Religion Teacher has given me fresh insights.”

Olympio D’Mello
High School Religion Teacher

“I’m able to provide catechists with timely material to supplement their regular curriculum. Jared Dees has supplied great resources for my catechists to look at why they’re doing what they’re doing when it comes to sharing their faith with our children–and how to do it better!”

Laura Mack
Director of Religious Education

I’ve changed how I teach. I focus on them learning instead of me conveying. I use suggestions on teaching methods like the first week of class ideas.”

Kelli Norman
Elementary Grade Catechist