Religion Curriculum

 

Themes studied in each grade level in an age appropriate presentation:

V  Catholic Doctrine and Creed

V  Worship

V  Scripture

V  Liturgical Seasons

 

Kindergarten

 

·         The world is a gift from God. (God created the world and all the people, animals and plants). God loves us. (Bible stories, including, Noah and Zacchaeus, my family, church family and Jesus’ family. Jesus is our teacher and always with us).

·         We are friends of Jesus. (Baptism, Mass, saints and the Holy Spirit).

·         We live as friends of Jesus. (Making choices, showing love for God, others and ourselves, asking forgiveness and praying).  

 

The following topics, Scripture stories, prayers, holidays, holy days and saints, are also included in our curriculum.
 

First Grade

 

·         Doctrine/Creed

·         Worship and sacraments

·         Commandments (morality)

·         Scripture and liturgical seasons

 

Second Grade

 

·         Creation

·         Introduction to Psalms

·         Scripture stories

·         Liturgical seasons and liturgical calendar

·         The Holy Trinity: God our Father, Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit, our friend and helper

·         Emphasis on the sacraments of reconciliation and holy Eucharist.

·         Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

·         Further exploration and study of the seven sacraments.

·         Vocations and the roles of the religious and laity.

·         Prayer  

 

Third Grade

 

·         Beauty of Creation

·         Death and resurrection of Jesus

·         We are the church and parts of the Mass.

·         Mysteries of the rosary

·         Communion of saints

·         The seven sacraments

·         Vocations – holy orders, married or single

·         Corporal and spiritual works of mercy

·         How Christians serve the community

·         The Golden Rule – we love and respect one another.

·         Psalms and parables of Jesus

 

Fourth Grade

 

·         The study of the sacraments

·         10 commandments/creed

·         Liturgy/Mass, liturgical seasons

·         Corporal and spiritual works of mercy, the beatitudes

·         Sin-mortal, venial sin and Pentecost 

 

Fifth Grade

 

·         Believe deals with the birth, death & resurrection of Jesus; miracles performed by Jesus; the promise of a helper in the Holy Spirit.

·         Worship relates to the liturgy and exploring the sacraments. 

·         Live instructs the students on how to live their lives by making good choices; the beatitudes and the Golden Rule.

·         Prayer uses Jesus as a model for us to become people of prayer.

·         Venture magazines are used on a weekly basis to concentrate on the readings of the week, and a virtue is connected to real life situations that students can relate to in particular areas.

 

Sixth Grade

 

·         The Old Testament (God's saving love as it is revealed in sacred Scripture, which guides us to see Jesus as the fulfillment of all the Father has promised). Students are then encouraged to respond to God's call to enter into a loving relationship with him and the church, which manifests itself in love and care for all people.

·         Liturgical seasons (Advent, Lent, triduum, Easter, Pentecost and ordinary time).

 

Seventh Grade

 

·         New Testament and the life of Christ, (including the Gospels, infancy narratives, parables, and miracles of Jesus).

·         Developing personal prayer life

·         Celebrating the liturgical seasons

·         Unit on our school’s patron, St. Thomas Aquinas

 

Eighth Grade

 

·         The mystery of the church - describing and understanding what the church is.

·         The history of the church - identifying people and events in the church's history.

·         The witness of the church - realizing what it means to live as a Christian life.

o    Service project is the culminating activity for the year. It includes 25 service hours, oral presentation, written paper, and project dealing with their service.