Amazing Catechists

Teaching and learning the faith together

3 Ways to Use the Youcat to Teach Your Class

By

I’ve been a fan of the Youcat since it came out a few years ago during World Youth Day in Madrid.

In fact, I was so inspired by it that I stopped using the textbooks and started relying on it as one of the 3 essential texts of my classrooms.

cover-youcat

The Youcat is approachable in its design and its content. Whether they’re 5th graders or Confirmation classes, every kid in every class I’ve had has “gotten” the little flipbook aspect at the bottom that adults rarely even notice.

While that’s not really a selling point for its content, it does speak to the fact that this book is designed with youth in mind. And that makes it a resource that catechists can turn to.

I’ve written my rave reviews of the Youcat in other places, so check those out if you’re not sure about it: commentary about our Confirmation Boot Camp at my blog and reasons I started using it at CatholicMom.com).

Today I’d like to share three ways you can use it in your religious education classroom.

I think you could use it for classes as young as 4th grade and all the way up to adult (or, as I like to think of myself, “older than young youth”).

1. Begin learning your topic.

Much of the beginning part of my own preparation to teach has to do with learning the topic myself, or at least learning it well enough to teach it. To that end, I used to read the material provided in the textbooks. Now I start with the Youcat and follow the references it presents to the Catechism and the Bible.

2. Answer the question as part of your class discussion.

There are times that students have questions about topics. Sometimes they’re not brave enough to ask the question (i.e., “What about gay marriage?” or “Is divorce okay, then?”) or don’t really know how to formulate it. Because the Youcat is a Q&A format, it gives you a way to bring up discussion points and maybe even get the kids talking.

3. Use it as an organizational tool.

Our religious education year is organized around the four pillars of the Catechism, and so is the Youcat, so it fits very nicely with the topics we already have lined up. For Confirmation, we use a different timeline, and the Youcat gives us a starting place for organizing our classes and topics. Whether you’re looking at it for a class or for the whole year, it can be a guide for you.

Do you use the Youcat? I’d love to hear how others use it in their classes!

3 Essential Texts Every Catechist Should Have (and Use)

By

In the years I’ve been a catechist, I’ve come to realize that there are only three texts that are essential. There are plenty that are nice, some that are even helpful, but only three that I would call “must have.”

3 resources every catechist should have and use

The Holy Bible

Make sure it’s a Catholic version with all the “extra” books.cover-bible-catholicheritage make sure you’re familiar with it. Don’t be afraid to read right out of the actual Bible.

Don’t be ignorant of Scripture. And help your students not to be ignorant either.

I have a lesson that I do that involves half the class using the missalette and half the class using the Bible. It’s a visual way of showing them that what’s in the missalette is the same as what’s in the actual Bible.

One of my goals when I teach weekly religious education classes with 3rd grade and older is to have them open their Bibles at least once during the hour we’re together. It’s not an easy goal and I don’t always get to it.

All the same, this is the most important book we have at our disposal.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

cover-catechismofcatholicchurch

You can find it online for free and in searchable formats, but there’s something to be said for the good ole brick version. I like to read things out of the actual Catechism every so often, and with the older kids, especially the Confirmation class, I make them all turn to the paragraph.

It’s important to know how the Catechism works, because it’s how all Church documents work. Numbered paragraphs are weird, but they sure are nice when it comes to finding something specific.

And who knew there was so much good stuff in the Catechism? And that it was so easy to read?

Youcat

cover-youcat

I use the Youcat with nearly every single class I teach. It’s indispensable and it’s something that even adults can understand. I tell parents, whenever I can get their attention, that this is a resource they too need to have in their home, one they need to also be familiar with.

The topics are set in question-and-answer format, so everyone who’s a fan of the old Baltimore Catechism can perk up and get on board. The phrasing is modern and there’s an index (which I hope to see improved and expanded).

Best of all, the Youcat cross-references with both the Bible and the Catechism, so you can read more about every topic. It’s a sort of introductory text, but it’s where almost everyone I know (myself included) need to start. If you haven’t already checked it out, I encourage you to do so!