Teaching Manual for The Catholic Church Journey Wisdom and Mission

"How does the Catholic Church exist in the historical context of the world?" The course The Catholic Church, ideal as a one-semester course for eleventh- and twelfth-grade students, explores the developments, people, and events that have shaped the Church. Each chapter focuses on one time period. The teaching manual is an integral component of the course and was designed to fully support the full-color student text.

For each chapter of the student text, the teaching manual provides:

a summary of the major concepts.

student text review questions, with suggested answers.

activities from the margins of the student text.

additional activities for each major concept, such as discussion questions, small-group activities, role-play situations and skits, scenes from plays, case studies, suggestions for interviews and guest speakers, recommendations for audiovisual resources, writing activities, journal-keeping, research projects, and prayer services.

a total of 52 student handouts, with removable masters for copying, including a prayer service and additional readings for each chapter.

The teaching manual contains the following additional resources:

lesson planning suggestions for the course.

a sample schedule for a semester course.

an appendix of additional suggestions for effective teaching.

an annotated list of recommended audiovisual resources.

a list of audiovisual distributors.

a bibliography of general resources on Church history and suggestions for further reading.

sample test questions, which are also available free of charge in editable format.

More activities are suggested in the manual than a teacher could use in a semester. This wide selection allows teachers to choose the activities that are best suited to their students.

To access the online test banks for this course, please go to:  

http://www.smp.org/resourcecenter/books/

Supplemental Texts:

Holy Terrors and Gentle Souls: Stories About the Saints is a collection of 10 short stories for young adults. These stories bring to life the real struggles of 10 beloved saints and Christian heroes, inviting readers to reflect on how, throughout Church history, the Holy Spirit has called people to become more than they ever thought they could be. The companion leader's guide includes cross-references to themes covered in the student text The Catholic Church: Journey, Wisdom, and Mission.

Primary Source Readings in Catholic Church History (also with a leader's guide) is a collection of significant primary sources through the Church's history. Thirty chapters include select documents along with commentary on who wrote them and why, how each document is significant to its time, and why it has endured as an important writing in Church history.