Office of Religious Education
Saint Paul Parish
Grade 5
Credo, I Believe
Weekly Curriculum Guide
Wednesday, 4pm
Thursday, 4pm
2015-2016
147 North Street, Hingham, MA 02043. 781-749-5568
Note to Teachers
This Weekly Curriculum Guide is intended to accompany the Teacher’s Manual provided to you.
In addition to the guide and the manual, use the student text, and the activity book for a
successful religious education teaching. Know that students are provided with an Activity Book
which they bring to catechesis every week.
Religious Education
Catechesis is a much more suitable word to describe the mission entrusted to us. Catechesis is
the name “given to the whole of the efforts within the Church to make disciples, to help people
to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, so that believing they might have life in His name, and to
educate and instruct them in this life and thus build up the Body of Christ.” (CT 1)
We are not catechists on own accord. God has called us to bring His message to others. Even
more, Jesus is at the center of any catechetical mission. In catechesis, we teach Christ, his life,
his love for each one of us, and his obedience to the Father. We, catechists, should be able to
apply to ourselves Jesus’ words: "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. St. Paul did this
when he was dealing with a question of prime importance: "I received from the Lord what I also
delivered to you." (CT 6)
Our catechetical mission includes five aspects of religious and moral instruction for the
wellbeing of the individual and society.
Prayer
Celebration
Study
Morality
Service
Community Service
Let us begin with service. Along with doctrine, sacramental celebration, and Christian moral
instruction, our program takes Christian charity/community service seriously. We encourage
children of all ages to “love others as they would like to be loved.” Yet, community service is
not limited to work done for others in need, outside the household or neighborhood. We
encourage children to help with families family chores, to share what they possess with their
classmates, to be respectful to their elders.
Only as a result of being serviceable and loving at home, students especially in grades 6-10 are
encouraged to perform physical works of service, i.e. gifts and cards for the homeless (gr 6),
leisure time with elder and homebound (gr 7), soup for the elder and homebound (gr 8), and a
variety of community service activities (gr 9-10).
Christian Morality
Stay Safe and Keeping Children Safe
These Archdiocese mandate programs are implemented in grades 1-5 every year in Catholic
schools and religious education programs.
We use the lesson plans offered by the archdiocese of Boston. As individuals to whom the
moral and religious instruction of children has been entrusted, catechists should emphasize and
make sure children understand and appreciate the dignity of the person, that “of having been
created by God in His own image and likeness.”
And, even though the Stay Safe and Keeping Children Safe curricula emphasize the child’s
psychological, emotional, and physical safety, our task as catechists is to help children to respect
and love themselves because they are God’s children.
2
Created for Love
The Created for Love curriculum, for middle school grades, aims to help young teenagers to
develop a strong sense of personal identity, to understand and value a life of virtue, and to
develop healthy spiritual and human relationships. The lessons proposed by this curriculum are
fully integrated into our Religious Education program in such a way that they will be taught
jointly during class times.
Teachers teaching grades 6-7 need to attend the Created for Love curriculum training in order to
be well prepared to implement it.
Moral Decisions
In grades 9 and 10, confirmation candidates learn the principles of moral decision making
regarding Christian love and life. While preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation, high
school students are led into deepening their appreciation of the dignity of each human person and
love for pure and unconditional love.
Study
Holy Bible and Catechism of the Catholic Church
The most important books a Catholic should have at home are the Holy Bible and the Catechism
of the Catholic Church. Besides spiritual and moral guides, these books are fundamental tools of
catechesis and evangelization. The Religious Education textbooks we use, Faith and Life series,
draw all their content from these two sources and refer to them frequently.
Faith and Life Series
The catechetical program we use at Saint Paul is the Faith and Life (Ignatius Press) textbooks.
This program focuses on God’s plan for each one of us, to be saved and to attain eternal life.
The program includes Teacher Manual, Student Book, and Activity Book.
Teachers receive a copy of the Manual. The Student Book stays in the office so that teachers
may use it every week. Children bring home a copy of the Activity Book and bring it to class
weekly.
Topics of Study
This grade level covers the following topics:
GOD, THE FATHER OF ALL
1. I Believe
2. The Trinity
3. Creator of Heaven and Earth
4. Realm of the Angels
5. Made in His Image
6. The Fall from Grace
7. The Chosen People
8. Moses Leads God's People
9. The Forming of God's People
10. The Words of the Prophets
GOD THE SON, THE REDEEMER
11. In the Fullness of Time
12. Born in the City of David
13. The Holy Family
14. The Kingdom of Heaven
15. The Father and I Are One
16. Your Sins Are Forgiven
17. True God and True Man
18. Rejected by the Proud
19. The Acceptance of the Father's Will
20. The Perfect Sacrifice
21. He Is Risen
22. Jesus Sends the Apostles
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE
SANCTIFIER
23. The Giver of Life
24. The Mystical Body
25. The Identity of the Church
26. The Church Rules
27. Teach All Nations
28. Called to Holiness
29. The Mother of God in Our Lives
30. Unto Everlasting Life
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Sacramental celebration
We celebrate the joy of being Christians, by participating consistently in liturgical events.
Grade Level Liturgies
We are a Christian community and we celebrate our faith in liturgical events like Sunday Mass
and daily prayer of the Divine Office. The Eucharist is at the center of the Christian life. Our
words, thoughts, and actions flow from and towards the Eucharist. A catechist’s utmost
responsibility is to love and value this divine reality and to teach others to do so. That is why our
program includes two Eucharistic liturgies a year per grade, in which children are introduced to a
more active participation at Mass.
Dates for grade level Eucharistic Liturgies are indicated in this Lesson plan and are also posted
on the Religious Education website.
Confessions
Students in grades 3-10 go to Confession with their peers once every year. Yet, we encourage
them to continue this practice as often as possible.
In grades one and two, children prepare for this Sacrament and receive it only at the end of their
second year of Religious Education.
Prayer
Prayer, personal and communal, is at the center of our relationship with the children in our
program. We pray with them, we teach them prayers, and we encourage them to pray at home or
wherever they are.
At the end of fifth grade, students should know these prayers by heart.
 The Sign of the Cross
 The Our Father
 The Hail Mary
 Glory be
 Act of Contrition
 The Creed
 Gloria
 Hail Mary Holy Queen
Also:
 Five Steps to a Good Confession
 The Seven Sacraments
 The Ten Commandments
 The Five Precepts of the Church
 The Beatitudes
 Corporal Works of Mercy
 Spiritual Works of Mercy
This Weekly Curriculum Guide
Please, complete lessons as indicated in this Weekly Curriculum Guide. It helps when an
emergency situation arises a substitute teach has to fill in.
Be flexible and creative. If you want to use additional material and have an idea to better explain
a topic, please feel free to use it.
Weekly Planning
September
Please, note the initials before the dates, separated with slash, refer to Sunday and Monday classes, i.e.
W(ednesday)23/Th(ursday)24.
W23/Th24
Parents Meeting
First Week of Classes
Introduction
GOD, THE FATHER OF ALL
Sept 30/Oct 1 Chapter 1: I Believe
October
W7/Th8
11-16
Chapter 2: The Trinity
Religious Education Teachers Week – No classes
Required: This week is dedicated to teachers’ spiritual
and professional development. Teachers will attend the
Faith Enrichment session on Wednesday, October
14, at 6:30pm in the school gym/hall.
Students will complete lesson at home.
Home-catechesis
Chapter 3: Creator of
Heaven and Earth (Wednesday and Thursday 5th
grade students)
W21/Th22
Chapter 4: Realm of the Angels
Sunday 25–Grade Level Eucharistic Liturgy–10AM (Lower church)
W28/Th29
Chapter 5: Made in His Image
5
November
W4/Th5
Chapter 6: The Fall from Grace
W11
Veterans Day - No classes
Home-catechesis
Chapter 7: The Chosen
th
People (Wednesday 5 grade students only)
Th12
Chapter 7: The Chosen People
W18/Th19
Chapter 8: Moses Leads God’s People
25-27
Thanksgiving Day – No classes
Home-Catechesis Chapter 9: The Forming of
God’s People (Wednesday and Thursday 5th grade
students)
December
W2/Th3
Chapter 10: The Words of the Prophets
GOD THE SON, THE REDEEMER
W9/Th10
Chapter 11: In the Fullness of Time
W16/Th17
Chapter 12: Born in the City of David
Dec 22-Jan 2
Christmas Break – No classes
Home-catechesis
Chapter 13: The Holy
Family (Wednesday and Thursday 5th grade students)
January
W6/Th7
Chapter 14: The Kingdom of Heaven
W13/Th14
Chapter 15: The Father and I Are One
6
W20/Th21
Chapter 16: Your Sins Are Forgiven
Prepare students to go to Confession on January 27-28.
The lessons of this and ensuing weeks are helpful in this
regard.
When preparing for Confession be sure to discuss these
points: what sin is, types of sin, and 5 steps to a good
confession. Also, very important, be sure children know
the Act of Contrition by heart.
Sunday 24–Grade Level Eucharistic Liturgy–10AM (Lower church)
W27/Th28
Confessions – Extended Session 4-5:30pm
Chapter 17: True God and True Man
Confession: Spend first fifteen minutes to lead students
in an Examination of Conscience. We will go to the
Lower Church at 4:15pm.
After Confessions we will complete the lesson of the day.
Jan 31 - Feb 5 National Catholic Schools Week – No classes
Required: This week is dedicated to teachers’ spiritual
and professional development. Teachers will attend the
Faith Enrichment session on Wednesday, February 3, at
6:30pm.
Students will complete lesson at home.
Home-catechesis Chapter 18: Rejected by the
Proud (Wednesday and Thursday 5th grade students)
February
W10/Th11
Chapter 19: The Acceptance of the Father’s Will
14-19
February Break – No classes
W24/Th25
Chapter 20: The Perfect Sacrifice
7
March
W2/Th3
Chapter 21: He Is Risen
W9/Th10
Chapter 22: Jesus Sends the Apostles
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE SANCTIFIER
W16/Th17
Chapter 23: The Giver of Life
W23/Th24
Chapter 24: The Mystical Body
W30/Th31
Chapter 25: The Identity of the Church
April
W6/Th7
Chapter 26: The Church Rules
W13/Th14
Chapter 27: Teach All Nations
17-22
April Break – No classes
Home-Catechesis Chapter 28: Called to
Holiness (Wednesday and Thursday 5th grade
students)
W27/Th28
Chapter 29: The Mother of God in Our Lives
W4/Th5
Chapter 30: Unto Everlasting Life
May
Last day of classes!
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