Religion:An EPIC Experience!

Shivaun Davis

Donna Bolton

St. Jude the Apostle School

Why EPIC?• Evaluate

- Are the materials / methods you are using really engaging your students?

• Produce– Are your projects worthy of keeping or sharing?

• Integrate– Old ideas and new technologies

• Create– Have fun!

Start the Day with Music• Country, Progressive Rock, Contemporary Christian,

Gregorian Chants• Why not?

• Music Study– Listen– Discuss– Reflect / Meditate – Write

Rascal Flatts “Bless the Broken Road”

Selecting A Pope• Movie – Shoes of a Fisherman

• Anthony Quinn – 1968 – Academy Award Winner

• “God Winks” - Parallels of movie and Pope John Paul II

• Teaches process and history

• Shows inside of the Vatican

• Virtual Tour using IPad – Vatican and Sistine Chapel– http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/

• Daily check of information gained– InfuseLearning– What signals the death of the Pope?

– How many coffins is the Pope buried in?

Knots On A Counting Rope

Knots On A Counting Rope

• A “mentor text” (who knew???)

• Reading Rainbow book – video on YouTube

• Teach the timeline of the Bible – Old and New Testament

• Teach Jesus’ family tree

Related Projects• Illustrated timeline

• Personal counting rope

• Oral history

– Record with Flip Camera or Ipad

Marian Apparitions• Research

• PowerPoint

• Poster

• QR code to market the project

Pictures of Mary Posters

Kibeho

MiraculousMedal

Fatima

Teaching the Trinity• Audience PK – 1

• Mentor text: 3 in 1 A Picture of God

Educreations• Holy Trinity - Ice Cream

• Holy Trinity – Braid

• Holy Trinity – Apple

• Holy Trinity – M&M

Sharing Our Gifts• Mass Buddies – Kindergarten and 8th grade

– Ongoing activities reading, writing, crafts

• Rosary Retelling – PK / K and 7th grade

– October : Month of the Rosary

– Explain the mysteries

– Record it for naptime

• Stations of the Cross retelling – Kinder and 8th

Kid friendly words – “nickel” words

The Rosary…

The Fifth Joyful Mystery is about something that happened to Jesus when he was a little boy. He got lost on a trip he took with his parents to Jerusalem. But they found him and were happy to bring him home. Can you imagine how worried Mary and Joseph were when they thought their little boy was lost?

The Stations of the Cross…

Station VI – Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

Jesus was so tired and so sad. He was in a lot of pain. A lady named Veronica wanted to do something to help him. She wiped his face with a cloth she had. As a way to say “thank you” for being so kind, Jesus gave her a picture of his face on the cloth. What a special gift!

Maps of the Heart• Mentor text

– My Map Book by Sara Fanelli

– “heart maps”

– Love lesson

• Phileo (friendship)

• Eros (romantic)

• Agape (unconditional)

– Valentine project

– 8th grade end of the year memento

Original Prayers• Used with morning announcements

• Read by student authors

• Written by grade level – bound into a book

• Written at retreats – bound into a book

Back to School Prayer• Dear Father, please be with us as we start our

new school year. Even though it is hot and we really don’t want to be here we come together with a purpose. We come together to see old friends and make new ones. We come to learn about the love you have for us and the love we have for others. Help us to be the kind of boys and girls you want us to be.

Wordle Example

Symbaloo• www.newadvent.org

• www.catholiconline.com

• www.americancatholic.org

• http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saintofday/http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayeroftheday/

• http://bustedhalo.com/

Google Forms• Student surveys

– Mass attendance

– Sacramental participation

– Moral decision making

• Email addresses

• Family info

Develop your own PLN• Professional Learning Network

• Twitter

• Facebook

• Blogs

• Follow/Connect/Share with other professionals all over the world.

• Great ideas are all over the place!

Strive to be EPIC!• Evaluate

- Are the materials / methods you are using really engaging your students?

• Produce– Are your projects worthy of keeping or sharing?

• Integrate– Old ideas and new technologies

• Create– Have fun!

Questions/Comments/Ideas

• Shivaun Davis, MS Religion

– sdavis@stjudebr.org

• Donna Bolton, MS Technology

– dbolton@stjudebr.org

Thanks for coming!