Engaging Faith

It’s difficult to say whether students or teachers look forward to summer vacation more—perhaps a secret best kept from the students. Summer is a time for rest, but the distance from the classroom also offers a chance to step back from the everyday demands of teaching and look at the big picture. With a little breathing room, we can evaluate our classrooms, teaching, and students in a fresh light. Meditating on the big picture questions, especially through prayer, fortifies us for the year ahead. Below are some of the questions I am asking myself during summer vacation, coupled with some lines from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Questions of Christian Witness “From the beginning, the first disciples burned with the desire to proclaim Christ, [saying], “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (CCC, 425). What made the early apostles burn with desire to share Christ? What had they seen and heard? How can I cultivate this desire in my own teaching? “Whoever is called 'to teach Christ' must first seek “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (CCC, 428). How might Christ be calling me to deepen my faith life? (For example:studying a particular aspect of the faith, embracing prayer, fasting or almsgiving, participating in service work, participating in the sacramental life, offering my daily work to God.) What gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit do I feel particularly blessed with as a teacher, and are there any that I need to pray for? In what ways am I most thankful for my life as a Christian? How does my teaching reflect my gratitude? Identify a successful lesson, class discussion, activity or assignment from the past year. What made it successful? How do my lesson plans, activities and assignments illuminate the truth and beauty of the Catholic-Christian life? How do I help my students in recognizing and cultivating their own desire for Christ? How do I teach about more than information to be learned, but a life to be lived? How do I incorporate spiritual, relational, moral, or vocational issues that are immediately relevant to students into the class? “Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. … And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead” (CCC 357). How do my interactions with students reflect that they are uniquely lovable in the eyes of God? In Closing Perhaps you don’t have time to consider all these questions in depth. Feel free to focus on one or two you feel are most important. Journal about them, pray about them, discuss them with colleagues, and keep them in mind in preparation for next year. Enjoy the rest of your summer! Barbara Jane Sloan Holy Spirit Preparatory School Atlanta, GA 7th Grade and 11th/12th grade Theology

If you use one of the Ave Maria Press Teacher Wraparaound Editions, you'll notice that most of the time we suggest that teachers assign reading for class as homework to free up valuable class time. The problem, as most teachers know, is that it is a challenge to get the kids to actually do the reading. This list of textbook reading strategies should go a long way in helping students read and comprehend their textbooks. The strategies should give students concrete ways in which they can engage with the textbook. 1. Pre-assessment Before you assign the reading, have students take a quick quiz or complete a writing prompt that takes a pre-assessment of their understanding of the material. Not only will it allow you to get a handle on what you will need to teach when you cover the reading, it will give students a context for the reading ahead of time. As a follow-up assignment. Give the pre-assessment to them as bell work the next class session and have them correct their mistakes. 2. Pre-reading: Skim the Reading Assignment All to often we tend to just start reading without any idea where the text is going. Encourage students to skim the headings and sub-headings of a reading assignment before they read. This will give them a context for the reading itself. 3. Pre-reading: Examine the Pictures Ave Maria Press textbooks have engaging and symbolic pictures that connect to the text. Have students examine the pictures in the text and form predictions about what they are going to read. 4. Pre-reading: Predictions and Questions In addition to skimming and examining the pictures of the text, have the students go a step further and write out predictions or questions about what they think the text is about. After they complete the reading assignment, have them critique their predictions or answer their questions. 5. Outline the Reading Assignment One of the best ways to take notes on a reading assignment is to outline it. Have the students start by copying the headings and sub-headings or paraphrasing them on a sheet of paper or word processing document. While they read, they should jot down the key points made in each section. Encourage students to have 2+ details under each sub-heading. 6. Summarize each Heading or Section In addition to just completing the reading, have the students write a 1-2 sentence summary of each section of the reading assignment. Point out what specific headings from the textbook you want them to summarize to avoid confusion. 7. Highlight or Underline the Key Points One of the many reading skills that need real development is highlighting and underlining. Beginners tend to highlight everything to the point that a page is bleeding to death in yellow, pink, and green ink. Don't let your students do this. Highlight parts of the text that you want to come back to later. If something is important, you should highlight the key phrases that illustrate the whole point. The more particular you about what you highlight, the more important you will view the highlighted text when you review the textbook. 8. Complete a Directed Reading Guide Some of the most popular classroom resources we share with Ave Maria Press textbooks are the Directed Reading Guides. These worksheets are filled with questions, fill-in-the-blank statements, True or False statements, and essay prompts that relate directly to the reading. Either use these worksheets or create your own so students can engage in the text. 9. Re-read the Textbook Reading Assignment When they finish the reading assignment, challenge them to spend an additional 2-3 minutes (that's it!) on re-reading the most important sections of the assignment. This re-reading should be more like skimming since the text will still be very familiar and fresh in their minds. This is one of the best ways to increase comprehension and it only takes a few minutes.

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