Religion (6-8)

Grade 6 – Grade 8 Grade 6 Students learn about the journey of the Israelites in the Old Testament. Starting with the creation accounts, moving through the Exodus and the road to the Promised Land, students explore the covenant God made with Abraham and promised to his descendants. Through hardship and victory the Israelites are the Chosen People fulfilled in God, and He does not abandon them. In each unit students recognize recurring themes among stories and analyze the Israelites’ behavior. The curriculum goal is to understand the foundational elements of our faith and realize God’s plan for salvation.  Grade 7 Religion students in grade seven develop their understanding of the person of Jesus Christ through the New Testament. First quarter primarily focuses on the synoptic Gospels and second quarter places emphasis on the Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of Paul. Third quarter leads the students through the Gospel of John and during the fourth quarter students are exposed to the early Church through the Book of Revelation as well as an understanding of the history of the sacraments.  Grade 8 Students in Grade 8 learn about their own religious heritage by studying the history of the Catholic Church. The overarching objective for this portion of the eighth grade course of study is for students to understand God’s role and presence in the development of the Church, through both its successes and its struggles. Students also recognize the importance of God’s role and presence in their own development: through personal successes and struggles, God is always with us. Units of Study for Grade 8 Church History are:

1. The Early Church: St. Paul
2. The Early Church: Persecutions, St. Augustine, and the Edict of Milan
3. Age of the Fathers: Church Fathers and the first Ecumenical Councils
4. Early Middle Ages: Contributions of the Catholic Church on Western Civilization
5. High Middle Ages: The Crusades
6. Late Middle Ages: The Avignon Papacy and the Western Schism
7. Renaissance and Reformation: The Protestant Reformation
8. Renaissance and Reformation: The Council of Trent
9. The Modern Era: Catholic Social Teaching and Vatican II

Grade 8 – The Marks of the Church Students learn that Jesus Christ is alive and truly present in the Catholic Church. The four marks of the Church identify the Church of Christ as the sole and true Church. These marks indicate both essential features of the Church and what it means to be Catholic. Some questions that are considered are:

• Why do people need to belong to the Catholic Church?
• With more than one billion members, how can the Church be unified?
• How can a Church made up of sinners be holy?
• How does the Catholic Church invite all people to belong?
• How does the Church preserve and pass on the Faith first shared by the Apostles?
• What are my responsibilities and duties as a Catholic?
Through their study of the Church around her four marks, students come to a deeper appreciation of their own roles as members of the Body of Christ. They are encouraged to expand and strengthen their relationship and commitment to God through Christ by their participation in the spirit-filled community that is the Church. A formative goal is that students will be able to, in the words of St. Augustine, “rejoice and give thanks that we have become not only Christians, but Christ himself.” Grade 8 – Homiletics Throughout the year, eighth grade students keep a Mass journal. Each Wednesday during our school liturgies, students are asked to reflect on the following components of the homily:
• How did the priest introduce the homily (personal life event, story, joke, current event)
• How did the priest reference the Holy Scriptures?
• What was the main point or theme of the homily and how did he relate the theme to the congregation?
• What was the “Call to Action?” what was the congregation encouraged to do?
• How did the priest transition to the Sacrament? How did he conclude the homily?
Weekly homily reflections prepare the students to for their own homily presentations in the spring. After a lesson on writing homilies from our pastor, the students are assigned upcoming Sunday scriptures and work in small groups to read, analyze, and reflect on the readings, and then prepare and practice giving a homily. Final presentations are done before a panel consisting of a priest, a deacon, religion teacher, and other parish staff members. Grade 8 – Service, Scripture, Liturgy, and Expectations Service: The eighth grade curriculum includes a minimum of one service project per quarter (approximately two to three hours each) for a total of ten hours per year. Students may complete service projects on their own or participate in school sponsored events and must select a different project each quarter. They are encouraged to complete as many service projects as possible each quarter, and most students go above and beyond the minimum requirement. Eighth graders become models and mentors for younger students in their role as Mass Ministers at all school liturgies. In addition to the Grade 8 liturgies, students also serve as lectors for liturgies planned by Kindergarten through grade 2, and they also prepare other special liturgies, paraliturgies and prayer throughout the year. Expectations for religion class follow general guidelines for eighth graders across the curriculum: students follow English language arts rubrics for writing, practice skills of reading, note taking, research, and prepare oral written and oral presentations.