Year 8 Teacher's Manual
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Year 8 Teacher’s Manual Introduction Table of Contents Introduction I. The Purpose of the Program ....................................................................................................................6 II. The Creed – Why the program is structured around the Creed...............................................................6 III. The Catechism of the Catholic Church – A brief description and explanation of its use in the program ................................................................8 IV. Scripture – A brief explanation of its use in the program .....................................................................10 V. The Components of the Year 8 Program ...............................................................................................13 VI. The Learning Cycle................................................................................................................................13 VII. The Role of the Teacher/Catechist.........................................................................................................14 VIII. Evaluating Student Learning..................................................................................................................15 IX. Prayer – Its place in the program ..........................................................................................................18 X. Characteristics of the 12- to 14-year-old (early adolescent)..................................................................19 XI. Opportunities for Cross-curricular Learning .........................................................................................21 XII. Making Connections with Your Local Parish........................................................................................22 Cross-curricular charts ...........................................................................................................................23 Scope and Sequence...............................................................................................................................27 Stand by Me and the Canadian Catechetical Program...........................................................................32 Themes Unit 1: We believe in the Holy Spirit Theme 1: What do they expect me to do now? ........................................................................................34 The Holy Spirit helps us to deal with changing expectations, and helps us to change our expectations to be more and more in line with the teaching of Jesus. Theme 2: Am I strong enough? ................................................................................................................44 Because God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are capable of living as Christ calls us to live and to love as Christ calls us to love. Theme 3: How do I know I’m on the right track?.....................................................................................52 The fruits of the Holy Spirit are present when we are doing God’s will. Theme 4: What does it take to really win? ...............................................................................................60 The Trinity reveals God’s nature as always relating in love – “really winning” means being able to stand in solidarity with others. 2 Year 8 – Stand By Me Unit 2: We believe in the holy Church Theme 1: Who wants to be holy? .............................................................................................................72 God makes things holy by giving them a special purpose within the divine plan. We are holy when we live according to our purpose. The sacraments reveal God’s loving action and enable us to participate in that action. Theme 2: How do I fit in? .........................................................................................................................80 Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist connect us to God and the Christian community, give us purpose and offer us strength and support. Theme 3: What can I do when my life seems to be falling apart? ...........................................................90 The sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing bring God’s healing touch through the Christian community. Unit 3: We believe in one catholic and apostolic Church Theme 1: Why bother with church? .......................................................................................................102 The task of the Church and all its members is to continue the work of Christ by making the love of God available to all. Theme 2: What can I hope for when I give? ..........................................................................................116 Christians are called to be apostolic servants of Christ. Marriage and Holy Orders model faithful service. Unit 4: We believe in the communion of saints Theme 1: Does death destroy everything? ..............................................................................................126 Death cannot destroy the bonds of Christian community and love. Those who have died are a part of our community, just in a new way. Theme 2: What makes a person’s life successful?...................................................................................134 Saints are those who recognize God’s great love for them and act accordingly despite difficulties. Each of us is called to be a saint. Unit 5: We believe in…the forgiveness of sins Theme 1: We know these rules. Why do we have to learn them again? .................................................148 As our lives change, the Ten Commandments have different things to teach us. Theme 2: What’s right? What’s wrong? ..................................................................................................152 Sin is deliberately falling short of what we know Jesus would ask us to do. Theme 3: How can we work it out?.........................................................................................................162 We must first recognize our sin. True sorrow consists in admitting our wrong, trying to undo the damage, deciding not to do it again, and asking for forgiveness. Theme 4: Why should I confess my sins to anyone besides God? .........................................................170 The priest, through the words of absolution, reconciles us both to God and to the Christian community. 3 Unit 6: We believe in…the resurrection of the body Theme 1: Who wants this body?..............................................................................................................182 God created and redeems both our bodies and our souls. Theme 2: What’s sex worth? ...................................................................................................................194 Our sexuality is part of what makes us complete persons made in the image of God. Sexual love should be total, lifelong and life-giving within the sacrament of Marriage. Theme 3: Can suffering be meaningful?..................................................................................................200 In suffering we can find God. Jesus calls us to reach out to those who are in need. Unit 7: We believe in…life everlasting Theme 1: How is my life connected? ......................................................................................................208 We are called by God to live life to the fullest in harmony with the rest of creation. Theme 2: How can I make the world more peaceful?.............................................................................218 The value of human life requires that we oppose all things that seek to harm or destroy that life, and to honour the dignity inherent in every human life. Theme 3: Do I live justly? .......................................................................................................................230 The love of God and the Golden Rule are the foundation for just relationships. Unit 8: Amen Theme 1: So what difference does belief make? .....................................................................................246 The Creed reminds us who we are and who we are called to become. When we say “amen” we accept God’s guidance in both our being and our becoming. Theme 2: Why go to Mass? .....................................................................................................................256 The Eucharist gives us and the entire faith community the strength to live out what we profess in the Creed. Theme 3: How shall we celebrate? ..........................................................................................................262 The “theme” of every Mass is Christ’s Passion, death and resurrection. In planning the liturgy we do not develop new themes; we choose to emphasize different aspects of the central mystery and the way it touches our lives. Appendix 1: Teaching Strategies ................................................................................................................272 Appendix 2: Criteria for Measuring Students’ Performance......................................................................279 Appendix 3: Sample Tests ..........................................................................................................................283 Appendix 4: Pathways to Prayer.................................................................................................................297 Appendix 5: Advent Supplement................................................................................................................301 Appendix