Food Insecurity Curriculum 2017/2018. Archdiocese of Chicago

Transcription

1 Food Insecurity Curriculum 2017/2018 Archdiocese of Chicago For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25:35-45

2 Archdiocese of Chicago Grades PK-8th We are excited to offer an Archdiocesan Food Insecurity Curriculum for Religion that coordinates with our Soup-er Stadium Challenge. The Soup-er Stadium Challenge invites our schools and communities to engage in charitable action, donating enough food to fill the seats of Soldier Field twice in order for the Catholic Charities Pantries to have enough food and resources to offer the hungry and poor during the upcoming winter months. While it is integral to the Gospel call to attend to the charitable action of giving food or meeting an immediate need, it is imperative that our school communities engage in an in-depth exploration of the reality of food insecurity and heed Jesus words: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink Amen, I say to you, what you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me (Mt. 25:35-40). These words, from the parable of The Judgment of the Nations, commonly known as the parable of The Sheep and the Goats, serve as the foundation that proclaims that food insecurity is a matter of human dignity and salvation. The Food Insecurity Curriculum is a deep response to our 2017/18 school year theme, We Are One Body. This theme calls us to care for the entire Body of Christ, especially those without a voice and marginalized by poverty and hunger. Our relationship with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, the source and summit of the Christian life (Lumen Gentium, 11), reminds us that our abundance impels us to respond to the reality of hunger and scarcity. This curriculum is meant to provide an overview of Catholic Social Teaching as it applies to those who suffer from food insecurity in a manner that seeks a holistic approach to both charity and systemic change. The Archdiocesan Food Insecurity Religion Curriculum is centered on the following seven sequential lesson objectives connected to Bloom s Taxonomy: Lesson Objective One: Examine the personal experience of need and hunger; Lesson Objective Two: Relate the Scriptural and Christocentric response to hunger; Lesson Objective Three: Assess the universal experience of abundance versus need; Lesson Objective Four: Evaluate Catholic Social Teaching in response to 21 st century scarcity; Lesson Objective Five: Compare and Contrast the difference between Social Justice and Charitable Works; Lesson Objective Six: Connect the power of prayer and action in addressing systemic injustice; and Lesson Objective Seven: Produce one action you are willing to take to advocate for the end of the cycle of hunger. Additionally, each lesson plan integrates the religion and literacy standards of the Archdiocese of Chicago. The lesson plans have been strategically designed to provide a host of possible ways to actualize the various lesson objectives. Each lesson is organized according to the following pedagogical steps: Lesson objectives Essential questions to guide critical thinking Content specific vocabulary Scripture suggestions and connections Inspiration Station (relevant saints)

3 Archdiocese of Chicago Grades PK-8th Theological and Catholic virtues Interactive activities Liturgy and prayer connections Reflective songs Assessments Take note of the following considerations: The needs of your educational community; The importance of weaving the Food Insecurity Curriculum across all disciplines; The blended learning style that includes a variety of audio and visual links (please review all technological links prior to the lesson). Please contact Bob Rabe (rrabe@archchicago.org), Director of Evangelization and Catholic Identity, if you have further questions or would like professional development for your faculty, staff, and students around the Food Insecurity Curriculum.

4 Curricular Outcome 1: Grades PK-K Topic: Examine the personal experience of need and hunger. Liturgical Season: Late Ordinary Time (Fortitude) Grades: PK-K Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. Language Arts Standard Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes. Objective: SWBAT imagine how Jesus may feel if he were faced with the hunger statistics so that they can ask what would Jesus do? SWBAT explain what it means to be food insecure and how that affects the students in the Archdiocese of Chicago. SWBAT identify times where they have experienced a deep sense of need and how that affected their lives. Essential Questions: What causes food insecurity? Whose responsibility is it to ensure that everyone in the community has their basic needs met? How do you think a Catholic person of faith should respond to the reality of hunger? How do the liturgical season of Ordinary Time and the virtue of Fortitude call us to respond to food insecurity in our community? Vocabulary: Food Insecure Fortitude Poverty Line Learning Tasks: Scripture: To kick off this unit of study you will briefly introduce Scripture Matthew 25: This curriculum is deeply rooted in this Scripture. As a result, you will spend more time with this in the coming months. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25:35-45

5 Curricular Outcome 1: Grades PK-K Scripture Connections: Introduction: Teacher will write the word HUNGRY on the board. Students will have 30 seconds to list as many words that come to their mind when they see the word hungry. Turn and Talk: students will take a minute to share their thoughts with a neighbor. Additionally, you could record their thoughts on an anchor chart that could remain in the classroom and serve as a resource for future lessons. Statistics: These facts are for you to use to help the students understand an idea of who is affected by poverty. With the younger students, the actual statistics aren t as important as the idea that anyone in America could be affected by food insecurity at some point. Use the data as you see fit based on your students. (Statistics provided by: o In 2015, 43.1 million people living in the United States lived below the poverty line. What does that mean...below the poverty line? The Federal government has dictated a dollar amount that each household needs to make in order for each person living in that home can have their basic needs met. For a family of four that dollar amount per year is $24, This may sound like a lot of money. You will need to explain to the students how little this really is. o In 2015, 14.5 million children lived in poverty in the United States. That's 1 in 6. o Poverty can strike anyone...anywhere. Poverty by gender in 2015: Women 14.8% Men 12.2% Poverty by marital status in 2014: Married couples 5.4% Single-parent families: With no wife present 14.9% With no husband present 28.2% Poverty by race in 2015: African Americans 24.1% Hispanics (of any race) 21.4% Asians 11.4% Whites 9% Watch Video: SoulPancake 2:49 o What does it mean when we say a home is food insecure? This means that at some point in the year the family has a hard time getting enough food for all their family members due to a lack of money. People in poverty will suffer from food insecurity more often! Why is so important for children to have enough to eat? How does food insecurity affect students everyday? How does it feel when you are hungry and you have to wait to eat?

6 Curricular Outcome 1: Grades PK-K Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! During this lesson we will learn a little bit about one saint. Encourage your students to go out and learn even more about this incredible person. o St. Vincent de Paul: Here is a great video for you to watch with your students about the life of Vincent. It was written and performed by students from St. Vincent s school in London. This could be a great extension activity for the students. It could be a crosscurricular assignment where they research the life of a saint, write a script, and perform a short play about their life. Virtue: Fortitude As Catholics we are gifted with seven virtues. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The first of the virtues we will examine is the cardinal virtue of fortitude. Fortitude is sometimes referred to as courage. Not to be confused with the secular meaning of courage. Fortitude goes deeper. It call us to...resist temptations and overcome obstacles. It allows us to face fear and know that our God is with us. Introduce the theme song for the year We are One Body. It may be a good idea to project the lyrics while you play the song or print copies for the students to share. Activity: Who Lives in the State of American Poverty? ( What exactly does the face of poverty look like in America? For younger children, the official facts and figures issued by the federal government may have little impact in helping them grasp how the problem of poverty affects so many in the United States. As an initiating activity for early grade groups, open the activity by reading one of the suggested resources, such as Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting, which tells the personal stories of families living in poverty. Then, using the stories as a springboard for discussion, introduce the following questions, aimed at separating the facts from the myths about poverty in America. Here is a link with a list of other suggested titles about poverty. Fly Away Home is just one suggestion. You can check the book out from your school or local library. Another great resource is YouTube. You can project the video for the whole class or they can watch it independently or with partners. You can use the following link: Below you will find some questions that you can use to guide your discussion after you have finished reading the book Fly Away Home.

7 Curricular Outcome 1: Grades PK-K For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Q. Who is poor in America today? A. Poverty affects all types of people in the United States. Whites, African- Americans, Hispanics, Native-American and Asian Americans are all affected by poverty. Q. Do poor people only live in the city? A. Poverty can be found in all kinds of communities in America. Poor people live in the suburbs and the country, as well as the city. Q. Are poor people poor because they don t work? A. Many people who are living in poverty have jobs, but do not make enough money to pay for all the things they need for them or their family, such as food and clothing. Q. Are homeless people and poor people the same? A. Although many poor people are homeless, most poor people live in houses or apartments. But while they may have enough money to pay the rent, they have little left over to buy other necessities. Liturgy and Prayer: Introduce the Soup-er Stadium Challenge! All School Mass kick-off. How will your class participate? Assessment: Depending on the age of your students you can adjust the assessment. Students can draw pictures or create a collage instead of writing sentences. Whatever you think is developmentally appropriate for your students. Additionally, you will find a WWJD worksheet that can be used as a part of the assessment. Possible questions: Talk about a time you were hungry. How did you feel? How would you feel if you were home and really hungry but you knew there was nothing to eat? Does being hungry change your attitude (how you are feeling happy/sad/angry/etc.)? Name:

8 What Would Jesus Do? Imagine for a moment that Jesus heard about the hungry children in America. What do you think he would say? How do you think he would feel? More importantly what do you think he would do? Write or draw your answers to these questions in the space below. When finished you can color the picture. Curricular Outcome 1: Grades 1-3

9 Topic: Examine the personal experience of need and hunger. Liturgical Season: Late Ordinary Time (Fortitude) Grades: 1-3 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. Language Arts Standard Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes. Objective: SWBAT imagine how Jesus may feel if he were faced with the hunger statistics so that they can ask what would Jesus do? SWBAT explain what it means to be food insecure and how that affects the students in the Archdiocese of Chicago. SWBAT identify times where they have experienced a deep sense of need and how that affected their lives. Essential Questions: What causes food insecurity? Whose responsibility is it to ensure that everyone in the community has their basic needs met? How do you think a Catholic person of faith should respond to the reality of hunger? How do the liturgical season of Ordinary Time and the virtue of Fortitude call us to respond to food insecurity in our community? Vocabulary: Food Insecure Fortitude Poverty Line Learning Tasks: Scripture: To kick off this unit of study you will briefly introduce Scripture Matthew 25: This curriculum is deeply rooted in this Scripture. As a result, you will spend more time with this in the coming months. o For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Curricular Outcome 1: Grades 1-3

10 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Scripture Connections: Introduction: Teacher will write the word HUNGRY on the board. Students will have 30 seconds to list as many words that come to their mind when they see the word hungry. Turn and Talk: students will take a minute to share their thoughts with a neighbor. Additionally, you could record their thoughts on an anchor chart that could remain in the classroom and serve as a resource for future lessons. Statistics: These facts are for you to use to help students understand who is affected by poverty. With the younger students the actual statistics aren t as important as the idea that anyone in America could be affected by food insecurity at some point. Use the data as you see fit based on your students. (Statistics provided by: o In 2015, 43.1 million people living in the United States lived below the poverty line. What does that mean...below the poverty line? The Federal government has dictated a dollar amount that each household needs to make in order for each person living in that home can have their basic needs met. For a family of four that dollar amount per year is $24, This may sound like a lot of money. You will need to explain to the students how little this really is. o In 2015, 14.5 million children lived in poverty in the United States. That's 1 in 6. o Poverty can strike anyone...anywhere. Poverty by gender in 2015: Women 14.8% Men 12.2% o Poverty by marital status in 2014: Married couples 5.4% Single-parent families: With no wife present 14.9% With no husband present 28.2% o Poverty by race in 2015: African Americans 24.1% Hispanics (of any race) 21.4% Asians 11.4% Whites 9% Watch Video: SoulPancake 2:49 o o o o What does it mean when we say a home is food insecure? This means that at some point in the year the family has a hard time getting enough food for all their family members due to a lack of money. People in poverty will suffer from food insecurity more often! Why is so important for children to have enough to eat? How does food insecurity affect students everyday? How does it feel when you are hungry and you have to wait to eat? Curricular Outcome 1: Grades 1-3

11 Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! During this lesson we will learn a little bit about one saint. Encourage your students to go out and learn even more about this incredible person. o St. Vincent de Paul: Here is a great video for you to watch with your students about the life of Vincent. It was written and performed by students from St. Vincent s school in London. o This could be a great extension activity for the students. It could be a crosscurricular assignment where they research the life of a saint, write a script, and perform a short play about their life. Virtue: Fortitude As Catholics we are gifted with seven virtues. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The first of the virtues we will examine is the cardinal virtue of fortitude. Fortitude is sometimes referred to as courage. Not to be confused with the secular meaning of courage. Fortitude goes deeper. It call us to...resist temptations and overcome obstacles. It allows us to face fear and know that our God is with us. Introduce the theme song for the year We are One Body. It may be a good idea to project the lyrics while you play the song or print copies for the students to share. o How can music inspire us? o o How do the lyrics of this song help to inspire us to give the best of ourselves? With a partner discuss How will the virtue of fortitude help us to tackle the monumental problem of food insecurity in our community? Activity: Who Lives in the State of American Poverty? ( What exactly does the face of poverty look like in America? For younger children, the official facts and figures issued by the federal government may have little impact in helping them grasp how the problem of poverty affects so many in the United States. As an initiating activity for early grade groups, open the activity by reading one of the suggested resources, such as Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting, which tells the personal stories of families living in poverty. Then, using the stories as a springboard for discussion, introduce the following questions, aimed at separating the facts from the myths about poverty in America. Here is a link with a list of other suggested titles about poverty. Fly Away Home is just one suggestion. You can check the book out from your school or local library. Another great resource is YouTube. You can project the video for the whole class or they can watch it independently or with partners. You can use the following link: Curricular Outcome 1: Grades 1-3

12 Below you will find some questions that you can use to guide your discussion after you have finished reading the book Fly Away Home. Q. Who is poor in America today? A. Poverty affects all types of people in the United States. Whites, African- Americans, Hispanics, Native-American and Asian Americans are all affected by poverty. Q. Do poor people only live in the city? A. Poverty can be found in all kinds of communities in America. Poor people live in the suburbs and the country, as well as the city. Q. Are poor people poor because they don t work? A. Many people who are living in poverty have jobs, but do not make enough money to pay for all the things they need for them or their family, such as food and clothing. Q. Are homeless people and poor people the same? A. Although many poor people are homeless, most poor people live in houses or apartments. But while they may have enough money to pay the rent, they have little left over to buy other necessities. Liturgy and Prayer: Introduce the Soup-er Stadium Challenge! All School Mass kick-off. How will your class participate? Assessment: Depending on the age of your students you can adjust the assessment. Students can draw pictures or create a collage instead of writing sentences. Whatever you think is developmentally appropriate for your students. Additionally, you will find a WWJD worksheet that can be used as a part of the assessment. Name:

13 In your own words, talk about a time when you were very hungry and explain how you felt? How would you feel if you were home and really hungry but you knew there was nothing to eat? Does being hungry change your attitude (how you are feeling happy/sad/angry/etc.)? Additionally, imagine for a moment that Jesus just learned about the hungry children in America. What do you think he would say? How do you think he would feel? More importantly what do you think he would do? Name:

14 What Would Jesus Do? Imagine for a moment that Jesus heard about the hungry children in America. What do you think he would say? How do you think he would feel? More importantly what do you think he would do? Write your answers to these questions below. When finished you can color the picture. Curricular Outcome 1: Grades 4-6

15 Topic: Examine the personal experience of need and hunger. Liturgical Season: Late Ordinary Time (Fortitude) Grades: 4-6 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. Language Arts Standard Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes. Objective: SWBAT imagine how Jesus may feel if he were faced with the hunger statistics so that they can ask what would Jesus do? SWBAT explain what it means to be food insecure and how that affects the students in the Archdiocese of Chicago. SWBAT identify times where they have experienced a deep sense of need and how that affected their lives. Essential Questions: What causes food insecurity? Whose responsibility is it to ensure that everyone in the community has their basic needs met? How do you think a Catholic person of faith should respond to the reality of hunger? How do the liturgical season of Ordinary Time and the virtue of Fortitude call us to respond to food insecurity in our community? Vocabulary: Food Insecure Fortitude Poverty Line Learning Tasks: Scripture: To kick off this unit of study you will briefly introduce Scripture Matthew 25: This curriculum is deeply rooted in this Scripture. As a result, you will spend more time with this in the coming months. o For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Curricular Outcome 1: Grades 4-6

16 Scripture Connections: Video: No Kid Hungry 2:30 o Students will have a chance to see still images and hear parents speak about what it means to them to not be able to provide meals for their families. o Turn and Talk: students will take a minute to share their thoughts. Additionally, you could record their thoughts on an anchor chart that could remain in the classroom and serve as a resource for future lessons. Statistics: (Statistics provided by: In 2015, 43.1 million people living in the United States lived below the poverty line. What does that mean...below the poverty line? o The Federal government has dictated a dollar amount that each household needs to make in order for each person living in that home can have their basic needs met. o For a family of four that dollar amount per year is $24, In 2015, 14.5 million children lived in poverty in the United States. That's 1 in 6. Additionally, the National Center on Family Homelessness found that 2.5 million children experience homelessness in a year. Poverty can strike anyone...anywhere. o Poverty by gender in 2015: Women 14.8% Men 12.2% Poverty by marital status in 2014: o Married couples 5.4% o Single-parent families: With no wife present 14.9% With no husband present 28.2% o Poverty by race in 2015: African Americans 24.1% Hispanics (of any race) 21.4% Asians 11.4% Whites 9% In 2015 more than 4 million people living with a disability (29%) are living in poverty. 6% of the population lives in deep poverty, or 19.5 million people, with incomes at 50% below the poverty line. With an additional 105 million (or 33%) of the population living close to the poverty line. Watch Video: No Kid Hungry 2:24 o o o What does it mean when we say a household is food insecure? This means that at some point in the year the family has difficulty providing enough food for all their family members due to a lack of resources. People in poverty will suffer from food insecurity more frequently! Why is so important for children to have enough to eat? How does food insecurity affect students everyday? Curricular Outcome 1: Grades 4-6

17 Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! During this lesson we will learn a little bit about one saint. Encourage your students to go out and learn even more about this incredible person. o St. Vincent de Paul: Here is a great video for you to watch with your students about the life of Vincent. It was written and performed by students from St. Vincent s school in London. o This could be a great extension activity for the students. It could be a crosscurricular assignment where they research the life of a saint, write a script, and perform a short play about their life. Virtue: Fortitude As Catholics we are gifted with seven virtues. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The first of the virtues we will examine is the cardinal virtue of fortitude. Fortitude is sometimes referred to as courage. Not to be confused with the secular meaning of courage. Fortitude goes deeper. It call us to...resist temptations and overcome obstacles. It allows us to face fear and know that our God is with us. Introduce the theme song for the year We are One Body. It may be a good idea to project the lyrics while you play the song or print copies for the students to share. o How can music inspire us? o How do the lyrics of this song help to inspire us to give the best of ourselves? o Which lyrics from this song spoke to you and why? Have you ever heard the phrase when the going gets tough, the tough get going? or the famous quote from U.S. Military General George A. Custer, It s not how many times you get knocked down that count, it s how many times you get back up. o Are there any other motivational phrases that have helped you to stay the course or to overcome obstacles? o The students could make posters/signs for the room/school to help themselves/others. o With a partner discuss How will the virtue of fortitude help us tackle the monumental problem of food insecurity in our community? Activity: One In Six ( Materials needed: o Blue index cards o Red index cards o Four bowls o Cheerios o M&Ms o Raisins Curricular Outcome 1: Grades 4-6

18 o Hard candies or mints o Small paper cups o Safety pins or masking tape How many children in America today are living in poverty? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2012, an estimated 14.5 million children were living below the poverty line 19.7 percent of all children, or one out of every five in the United States. To illustrate the number of children living in poverty, have your group count off by six. Individuals numbered one through five receive a blue card. Those numbered six receive a red card. Prepare a table at the front of the room with four bowls of food, containing Cheerios, M&Ms, raisins, and a stack of small paper cups. Please check with your students regarding food allergies. Individuals with a blue card are then invited to come to the food table, and are allowed to take a cup and fill it with cereal, candy, and raisins, all the way to the top, if they desire. Individuals with a red card are then invited to the food table but are told they may only choose the Cheerios and may only fill their cups halfway. (You might ask your group members to pin or tape the card to their clothing so they can empathize with the notion that others know you are poor, like when children have to present their free lunch cards in the cafeteria, announcing their poverty to their peers.) Once the distribution is made, the individuals with the blue cards are then advised that they may share any of their food with those holding a red card. Have the group members write their reactions and reflections in a journal and then share their reactions with the class. How did it feel to be the one in five with the blue card? How did it feel to stand at the table spread with food, but only be allowed to choose one item and a lesser amount than available to the others? For the blue card group, what was your initial reaction when told you could share your food with the others? For the red card group, how did it feel to have someone share with you? Liturgy and Prayer: Introduce the Soup-er Stadium Challenge! All School Mass kick-off. How will your class participate? Assessment: In your own words, explain what it means for a family to be food insecure? How does food insecurity affect children in the Chicagoland area? When have you experienced a deep sense of need or desire for something in your life? How were you affected by that experience? Additionally, imagine for a moment that Jesus heard the statistics about hunger in the United States. What do you think he would say? How do you think he would feel? More importantly what do you think he would do? Name: In your own words, explain what it means for a family to be food insecure? How does food insecurity affect children in the Chicagoland area? When have you experienced a deep sense of

19 need or desire for something in your life? How were you affected by that experience? Additionally, imagine for a moment that Jesus heard the statistics about hunger in the United States. What do you think he would say? How do you think he would feel? More importantly what do you think he would do? Curricular Outcome 1: Grades 7-8

20 Topic: Examine the personal experience of need and hunger. Liturgical Season: Late Ordinary Time (Fortitude) Grades: 7-8 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. Language Arts Standard Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes. Objective: SWBAT imagine how Jesus may feel if he were faced with the hunger statistics so that they can ask what would Jesus do? SWBAT explain what it means to be food insecure and how that affects the students in the Archdiocese of Chicago. SWBAT identify times where they have experienced a deep sense of need and how that affected their lives. Essential Questions: What causes food insecurity? Whose responsibility is it to ensure that everyone in the community has their basic needs met? How do you think a Catholic person of faith should respond to the reality of hunger? How do the liturgical season of Ordinary Time and the virtue of Fortitude call us to respond to food insecurity in our community? Vocabulary: Food Insecure Fortitude Poverty Line Learning Tasks: Scripture: To kick off this unit of study you will briefly introduce Scripture Matthew 25: This curriculum is deeply rooted in this Scripture. As a result, you will spend more time with this in the coming months. o For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Curricular Outcome 1: Grades 7-8

21 Scripture Connections: Video: No Kid Hungry 2:30 o Students will have a chance to see still images and hear parents speak about what it means to them to not be able to provide meals for their families. o Turn and Talk: students will take a minute to share their thoughts. Additionally, you could record their thoughts on an anchor chart that could remain in the classroom and serve as a resource for future lessons. Statistics: (Statistics provided by: In 2015, 43.1 million people living in the United States lived below the poverty line. What does that mean...below the poverty line? o The Federal government has dictated a dollar amount that each household needs to make in order for each person living in that home can have their basic needs met. o For a family of four that dollar amount per year is $24, In 2015, 14.5 million children lived in poverty in the United States. That's 1 in 6. Additionally, the National Center on Family Homelessness found that 2.5 million children experience homelessness in a year. Poverty can strike anyone...anywhere. o Poverty by gender in 2015: Women 14.8% Men 12.2% Poverty by marital status in 2014: o Married couples 5.4% o Single-parent families: With no wife present 14.9% With no husband present 28.2% Poverty by race in 2015: o African Americans 24.1% o Hispanics (of any race) 21.4% o Asians 11.4% o Whites 9% In 2015 more than 4 million people living with a disability (29%) are living in poverty. 6% of the population lives in deep poverty, or 19.5 million people, with incomes at 50% below the poverty line. With an additional 105 million (or 33%) of the population living close to the poverty line. Who is Maslow? o Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who created a theory that humans have a specific set of needs that need fulfilled in a specific order for them to be successful. This theory is known as Maslow s hierarchy of needs. Physiological Needs: These are the most basic of needs: food, water, shelter, sleep and clothes. Safety Needs: These include health, security, order, stability Social Needs: friendship, supportive family, acceptance, being part of a group Self-Esteem: self-respect, respect from others Curricular Outcome 1: Grades 7-8

22 o Self-Actualization: concern for personal growth, realizing personal potential o Watch Video: No Kid Hungry 2:24 o What does it mean when we say a household is food insecure? This means that at some point in the year the family has difficulty providing enough food for all their family members due to a lack of resources. o How does food insecurity keep people from moving through Maslow s hierarchy? Why is so important for children to have enough to eat? Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! During this lesson we will learn a little bit about one saint. Encourage your students to go out and learn even more about this incredible person. o St. Vincent de Paul: Here is a great video for you to watch with your students about the life of Vincent. It was written and performed by students from St. Vincent s o school in London. This could be a great extension activity for the students. It could be a crosscurricular assignment where they research the life of a saint, write a script, and perform a short play about their life. Virtue: Fortitude As Catholics we are gifted with seven virtues. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The first of the virtues we will examine is the cardinal virtue of fortitude. Fortitude is sometimes referred to as courage. Not to be confused with the secular meaning of courage. Fortitude goes deeper. It call us to...resist temptations and overcome obstacles. It allows us to face fear and know that our God is with us. Introduce the theme song for the year We are One Body. It may be a good idea to project the lyrics while you play the song or print copies for the students to share. o How can music inspire us? o How do the lyrics of this song help to inspire us to give the best of ourselves? o Which lyrics from this song spoke to you and why? Have you ever heard the phrase when the going gets tough, the tough get going? or the famous quote from U.S. Military General George A. Custer, It s not how many times you get knocked down that count, it s how many times you get back up. o Are there any other motivational phrases that have helped you to stay the course or to overcome obstacles? o The students could make posters/signs for the room/school to help themselves/others. With a partner discuss How will the virtue of fortitude help us to tackle the monumental problem of food insecurity in our community? Curricular Outcome 1: Grades 7-8

23 Activity: One In Six ( 5/) Materials needed: o Blue index cards o Red index cards o Four bowls o Cheerios o M&Ms o Raisins o Hard candies or mints o Small paper cups o Safety pins or masking tape How many children in America today are living in poverty? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2012, an estimated 14.5 million children were living below the poverty line 19.7 percent of all children, or one out of every five in the United States. To illustrate the number of children living in poverty, have your group count off by six. Individuals numbered one through five receive a blue card. Those numbered six receive a red card. Prepare a table at the front of the room with four bowls of food, containing Cheerios, M&Ms, raisins, and a stack of small paper cups. Please check to see if your students have any food allergies. Individuals with a blue card are then invited to come to the food table, and are allowed to take a cup and fill it with cereal, candy, and raisins, all the way to the top, if they desire. Individuals with a red card are then invited to the food table but are told they may only choose the Cheerios and may only fill their cups halfway. (You might ask your group members to pin or tape the card to their clothing so they can empathize with the notion that others know you are poor, like when children have to present their free lunch cards in the cafeteria, announcing their poverty to their peers.) Once the distribution is made, the individuals with the blue cards are then advised that they may share any of their food with those holding a red card. Have the group members write their reactions and reflections in a journal and then share their reactions with the class. How did it feel to be the one in five with the blue card? How did it feel to stand at the table spread with food but be allowed to only choose one item and a lesser amount than available to the others? For the blue card group, what was your initial reaction when told you could share your food with the others? For the red card group, how did it feel to have someone share with you? Liturgy and Prayer: Introduce the Soup-er Stadium Challenge! All School Mass kick-off. How will your class participate? Assessment: In your own words, explain what it means for a family to be food insecure? How does food insecurity affect children in the Chicagoland area? When have you experienced a deep sense of need or desire for something in your life? How were you affected by that experience? Additionally, imagine for a moment that Jesus heard the statistics about hunger in the United States. What do you think he would say? How do you think he would feel? More importantly what do you think he would do? Name: In your own words, explain what it means for a family to be food insecure? How does food insecurity affect children in the Chicagoland area? When have you experienced a deep sense of

24 need or desire for something in your life? How were you affected by that experience? Additionally, imagine for a moment that Jesus heard the statistics about hunger in the United States. What do you think he would say? How do you think he would feel? More importantly what do you think he would do? Curricular Outcome 2: Grades PK-K

25 Topic: Relate the Scriptural and Christocentric response to hunger. Liturgical Season: Late Ordinary Time (Love) Grades: PK-K Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. SACRED SCRIPTURE: Read, comprehend and articulate salvation history as conveyed in God s revelation through the signs of Scripture. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT read the parable of The Sheep and the Goats so that they can explain the parable s meaning. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? How can we more fully live the Gospel in our daily lives so that we may be an example of Jesus Christ for our community? How do the liturgical season of Ordinary Time and the virtue of Love call us to respond to the needs of the poor and hungry? Vocabulary: Parable Love Learning Tasks: Scripture: Read The Judgment of the Nations (The Parable of The Sheep and The Goats) As a possible opening you could show the following video. It is visual representation of Matthew 25: Please preview before you show to your students. o 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? 40 And the Curricular Outcome 2: Grades PK-K

26 king will say to them in reply, Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. Scripture Connections: During this part of the lesson you will help the students to break open the message presented in the Gospel of Matthew. Because of their age we are only going to look at a small part of this parable. If you think it is contextually appropriate for your students to hear the entire parable (Matthew 25: 31-46) I would read the entire passage. Suggested questions to guide students through the passage: o What is a parable? (a story with a moral message used to teach a lesson that was told by Jesus in the Gospels) o Who is speaking in this passage? Who is doing the teaching? Giving the lesson? (Jesus) o Who is Jesus happy with in the parable? (sheep) o Who do the sheep represent in this parable? (us) o How can we help Jesus? (By helping others) Song Suggestions: o Breathe : This is the song playing in the background of the video you showed at the beginning of the lesson. o We Are the World : was a song created to raise money for famine relief in Africa in Sales have raised over 20 million dollars. Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! During this lesson we will learn a little bit about two saints. Encourage your students to go out and learn even more about these incredible people. o St. Francis of Assisi is known for his love of animals and his ministry to serve the poor. He grew up very wealthy and gave up all of his worldly possessions to serve God and his people. So many people found what he was doing inspirational that they began following him and doing the same work he was doing. Even today men from all over the world still follow the work that Francis started in the 1100 s by o joining the Franciscan Order of priests and brothers. St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is known for her charitable works in India. She worked tirelessly to take care of the homeless, sick, and dying people on the streets of Calcutta. Much like St. Francis people saw the work she was doing and began to follow her example and began working with her. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in These are a group of women who are dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. Virtue: Love We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The second virtue we will examine is love. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John that we are to love one another as I have loved you. Curricular Outcome 2: Grades PK-K

27 When we acknowledge the suffering around us and do something to ease that suffering we are acting out the Gospel message. We are loving others as Jesus loves us. Activity: What does it mean to be a living example of Christ? See the activity I want to be a Sheep o This activity can be completed in two ways. You can use the word bank and the students can cut out the qualities of the sheep from the parable. They can then glue them around the image of the sheep. This requires little to no application of the Scripture and would be good for students who are working on recall skills. As a class (with partners, or individually) you can brainstorm the ways we can feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc..). Then they can write (or draw) their ideas on the paper around the sheep. If time permits they can color their sheep or if you print on tag board you could have the students glue cotton balls on sheep. Liturgy and Prayer: Litany of the Saints/Liturgy of the Word o The Litany of the Saints is one of the oldest prayers the Catholic Church uses and has been in continuous use since the papacy of St. Gregory the Great ( ). This prayer is a petition for help and guidance from many of the church s greatest saints, as well as, a call for divine protection in times of need. When will your school/class pray the Litany of the Saints? Who will lead this? Assessment: For this lesson, the completed activity will serve as the assessment. The students completed work should show they understand that by helping our brothers and sisters on earth we are helping Jesus. Name: I want to be a sheep!

28

29 Right hand Cursed Took me shelter Did not visit me Left hand Gave me food Gave me no food Clothed me Blessed Offered me no clothing Didn t visit me Visited me Gave me nothing to drink Gave me drink

30 Curricular Outcome 2: Grades 1-3 Topic: Relate the Scriptural and Christocentric response to hunger. Liturgical Season: Late Ordinary Time (Love) Grades: 1-3 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. SACRED SCRIPTURE: Read, comprehend and articulate salvation history as conveyed in God s revelation through the signs of Scripture. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT read the parable of The Sheep and the Goats so that they can explain the parable s meaning. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? How can we more fully live the Gospel in our daily lives so that we may be an example of Jesus Christ for our community? How do the liturgical season of Ordinary Time and the virtue of Love call us to respond to the needs of the poor and hungry? Vocabulary: Parable Love Learning Tasks: Scripture: Read The Judgment of the Nations (The Parable of The Sheep and The Goats) As a possible opening you could show the following video. It is visual representation of Matthew 25: Please preview before you show to your students. o 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and

31 clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? 40 And the king will say to them in reply, Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. 41 Then he will say to those on his Curricular Outcome 2: Grades 1-3 left, Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me. 44 Then they will answer and say, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs? 45 He will answer them, Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me. Scripture Connections: During this part of the lesson you will help the students to break open the message presented in the gospel of Matthew. Because of their age we are only going to look at a small part of this parable. If you think it is contextually appropriate for your students to hear the entire parable (Matthew 25: 34-45) I would read the entire passage. Suggested questions to guide students through the passage: o What is a parable? (a story with a moral message used to teach a lesson that was told by Jesus in the Gospels) o Who is speaking in this passage? Who is doing the teaching? Giving the lesson? (Jesus) o Who is Jesus happy with in the parable? (sheep) o In the parable who is Jesus unhappy with? (goat) o Who do the sheep represent in this parable? (the people who made God happy) o Who do the goats represent in this parable? (the people who made God unhappy) o In the parable who were surprised by Jesus words? (both the sheep and the goats) o What did Jesus say the goats did? (ignored Jesus) o What did Jesus say the sheep did? (helped Jesus) Song Suggestions: o Breathe : This is the song playing in the background of the video you showed at the beginning of the lesson. o We are the World : was a song created to raise money for famine relief in Africa in Sales have raised over 20 million dollars. Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! During this lesson we will learn a little bit about two saints. Encourage your students to go out and learn even more about these incredible people. o St. Francis of Assisi is known for his love of animals and his ministry to serve the poor. He grew up very wealthy and gave up all of his worldly possessions to serve God and his people. So many people found what he was doing inspirational that they began following him and doing the same work he was

32 Curricular Outcome 2: Grades 1-3 o doing. Even today men from all over the world still follow the work that Francis started in the 1100 s by joining the Franciscan Order of priests and brothers. St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is known for her charitable works in India. She worked tirelessly to take care of the homeless, sick, and dying people on the streets of Calcutta. Much like St. Francis people saw the work she was doing and began to follow her example and began working with her. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in These are a group of women who are dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. Virtue: Love We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The second virtue we will examine is love. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John that we are to love one another as I have loved you. When we acknowledge the suffering around us and do something to ease that suffering we are acting out the Gospel message. We are loving others as Jesus loves us. Activity: What does it mean to be a living example of Christ? There are two activities included here. It is up to you to select one that best fits the needs of your students. See the activity Goats vs Sheep This activity will have the students categorize the characteristics of the goat and the sheep presented in the parable. The students will use the word bank to cut and glue the pieces into the correct columns. On the bottom or back of the paper they can write examples of sheep-like behaviors/activities they will do to the least of these brothers and sisters. See the activity I want to be a Sheep This activity can be completed in two ways. o You can use the word bank and the students can cut out the qualities of the sheep from the parable. They can then glue them around the image of the sheep. This requires little to no application of the Scripture and would be good for students who are working on recall skills. o As a class (with partners, or individually) you can brainstorm the ways we can feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc.). Then they can write (or draw) their ideas on the paper around the sheep. o If time permits they can color their sheep or if you print on tag board you could have the students glue cotton balls on sheep. Liturgy and Prayer: Litany of the Saints/Liturgy of the Word The Litany of the Saints is one of the oldest prayers the Catholic Church uses and has been in continuous use since the papacy of St. Gregory the Great ( ). This prayer is a petition for help and guidance from many of the church s greatest saints, as well as, a call for divine protection in times of need. When will your school/class pray the Litany of the Saints? Who will lead this?

33 Curricular Outcome 2: Grades 1-3 Assessment: For this lesson, the completed activity could serve as the assessment. The students completed work should show they understand that by helping our brothers and sisters on earth we are helping Jesus. An additional assessment could be given. You could have the students write what they parable s message was in their own words. An added component would be to have them explain how they will live this message in their daily lives.

34 Name: Goats vs Sheep

35 Right hand Cursed Took me shelter Did not visit me Left hand Gave me food Gave me no food Clothed me Blessed Offered me no clothing Didn t visit me Visited me Gave me nothing to drink Gave me drink

36 Curricular Outcome 2: Grades 4-6 Topic: Relate the Scriptural and Christocentric response to hunger. Liturgical Season: Late Ordinary Time (Love) Grades: 4-6 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. SACRED SCRIPTURE: Read, comprehend and articulate salvation history as conveyed in God s revelation through the signs of Scripture. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT read the parable of The Sheep and the Goats so that they can explain the parable s meaning. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? How can we more fully live the Gospel in our daily lives so that we may be an example of Jesus Christ for our community? How do the liturgical season of Ordinary Time and the virtue of Love call us to respond to the needs of the poor and hungry? Vocabulary: Parable Love Learning Tasks: Scripture: Read The Judgment of the Nations (The Parable of The Sheep and The Goats) As a possible opening you could show the following video. It is visual representation of Matthew 25: Please preview before you show to your students. o 31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you

37 Curricular Outcome 2: Grades 4-6 cared for me, in prison and you visited me. 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? 40 And the king will say to them in reply, Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. 41 Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me. 44 Then they will answer and say, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs? 45 He will answer them, Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me. 46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. Scripture Connections: During this part of the lesson you will help the students to break open the message presented in the gospel of Matthew. Suggested questions to guide students through the passage: o What is a parable? (a story with a moral message used to teach a lesson that was told by Jesus in the Gospels) o Who is speaking in this passage? Who is doing the teaching? Giving the lesson? (Jesus) o Who is Jesus happy with in the parable? (sheep) In the parable who is Jesus unhappy with? (goat) o Who do the sheep represent in this parable? (the people who made God happy) Who do the goats represent in this parable? (the people who made God unhappy) o In the parable who were surprised by Jesus words? (both the sheep and the goats) o What did Jesus say the goats did? (ignored Jesus) What did Jesus say the sheep did? (helped Jesus) o Which group thought they were saved? (the goats) o How can we help Jesus? (By helping others) Symbolism in the parable. o Why did Jesus use the image of sheep and goats? o In Scripture God often calls people his flock (of sheep) and God is their Shepherd. o Sheep listen to their shepherd. o Goats are stubborn and do as they please. Song Suggestions: o Breathe : This is the song playing in the background of the video you showed at the beginning of the lesson. o We are the World : was a song created to raise money for famine relief in Africa in Sales have raised over 20 million dollars. Curricular Outcome 2: Grades 4-6

38 Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! During this lesson we will learn a little bit about two saints. Encourage your students to go out and learn even more about these incredible people. o St. Francis of Assisi is known for his love of animals and his ministry to serve the poor. He grew up very wealthy and gave up all of his worldly possessions to serve God and his people. So many people found what he was doing inspirational that they began following him and doing the same work he was doing. Even today men from all over the world still follow the work that Francis started in the 1100s by joining the Franciscan order of priests. o St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is known for her charitable works in India. She worked tirelessly to take care of the homeless, sick, and dying people on the streets of Calcutta. Much like St. Francis people saw the work she was doing and began to follow her example and began working with her. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in These are a group of women who are dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. There is a great video from that is under 3 minutes about Mother Teresa. It does a great job showing her life in images. Please preview the video to make sure that none of the images are too strong for your students (they show her working with sick, old, and dying people). Virtue: Love We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The second virtue we will examine is love. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John that we are to love one another as I have loved you. Have the students read John 15: This is the text that spells out explicitly what Jesus commands us to do! Ask them to turn and talk with a neighbor why this commandment is important? Why it is challenging to live out? When we acknowledge the suffering around us and do something to ease that suffering we are acting out the Gospel message. We are loving others as Jesus loves us. Activity: What does it mean to be a living example of Christ? Act it out! In this activity the students will work in small groups to create a skit. Each group will be given a scenario. They will need to come up with a 1-2 minute skit that they will act out in front of the class. When finished the rest of the class will need to decide if the main character was acting as a sheep or a goat. You can have a short discussion after each skit. There are a few suggested scenarios provided. It is always better when you can use ones that are directly connected to your students. Feel free to add others to your list! Curricular Outcome 2: Grades 4-6

39 Liturgy and Prayer: Litany of the Saints/Liturgy of the Word The Litany of the Saints is one of the oldest prayers the Catholic Church uses and has been in continuous use since the papacy of St. Gregory the Great ( ). This prayer is a petition for help and guidance from many of the church s greatest saints, as well as, a call for divine protection in times of need. When will your school/class pray the Litany of the Saints? Who will lead this? Assessment: For this lesson, the completed activity could serve as the assessment. You could have them write what they learned in the skits and how that connected to the Scripture. You could have them write about the connections they made between the passage in John and Matthew too. An additional assessment could be given. You could have the students write what they parable s message was in their own words. An added component would be to have them explain how they will live this message in their daily lives. Act it out!

40 You and your siblings are playing baseball outside. One of you hits the ball and it breaks the car window. You decide to tell your parents the truth. You and your friends are alone in the classroom during lunch. One of you knocks over the computer. You all decide to leave. After lunch the teacher asks the class what happened to the computer. No one says anything. Fighting with your brother or sister over the last bag of snacks in the kitchen. You saying, I m sorry when something you have said has hurt a person s feelings. When you do something wrong but you decide to tell only part of the truth. Curricular Outcome 2: Grades 7-8

41 Topic: Relate the Scriptural and Christocentric response to hunger. Liturgical Season: Late Ordinary Time (Love) Grades: 7-8 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. SACRED SCRIPTURE: Read, comprehend and articulate salvation history as conveyed in God s revelation through the signs of Scripture. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT read the parable of The Sheep and the Goats so that they can explain the parable s meaning. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? How can we more fully live the Gospel in our daily lives so that we may be an example of Jesus Christ for our community? How do the liturgical season of Ordinary Time and the virtue of Love call us to respond to the needs of the poor and hungry? Vocabulary: Parable Love Learning Tasks: Scripture: Read The Judgment of the Nations (The Parable of The Sheep and The Goats) As a possible opening you could show the following video. It is visual representation of Matthew 25: Please preview before you show to your students. o 31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give Curricular Outcome 2: Grades 7-8

42 you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? 40 And the king will say to them in reply, Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. 41 Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me. 44 Then they will answer and say, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs? 45 He will answer them, Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me. 46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. Scripture Connections: During this part of the lesson you will help the students to break open the message presented in the gospel of Matthew. Suggested questions to guide students through the passage: o What is a parable? (a story with a moral message used to teach a lesson that was told by Jesus in the Gospels) o Who is speaking in this passage? Who is doing the teaching? Giving the lesson? (Jesus) o Who is Jesus happy with in the parable? (sheep) In the parable who is Jesus unhappy with? (goat) o Who do the sheep represent in this parable? (the people who made God happy) Who do the goats represent in this parable? (the people who made God unhappy) o In the parable who were surprised by Jesus words? (both the sheep and the goats) o What did Jesus say the goats did? (ignored Jesus) What did Jesus say the sheep did? (helped Jesus) o Which group thought they were saved? (the goats) o How can we help Jesus? (By helping others) Symbolism in the parable. Why did Jesus use the image of sheep and goats? o In Scripture God often calls people his flock (of sheep) and God is their Shepherd. o Sheep listen to their shepherd. o Goats are stubborn and do as they please. The students can then look for other places in the Bible where the people of God are referred to as sheep (the flock). Song Suggestions: o Breathe : This is the song playing in the background of the video you showed at the beginning of the lesson. o We are the World : was a song created to raise money for famine relief in Africa in Sales have raised over 20 million dollars. Curricular Outcome 2: Grades 7-8 Inspiration Station:

43 It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! During this lesson we will learn a little bit about two saints. Encourage your students to go out and learn even more about these incredible people. o St. Francis of Assisi is known for his love of animals and his ministry to serve the poor. He grew up very wealthy and gave up all of his worldly possessions to serve God and his people. So many people found what he was doing inspirational that they began following him and doing the same work he was doing. Even today men from all over the world still follow the work that Francis started in the 1100s by joining the Franciscan order of priests. o St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is known for her charitable works in India. She worked tirelessly to take care of the homeless, sick, and dying people on the streets of Calcutta. Much like St. Francis people saw the work she was doing and began to follow her example and began working with her. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in These are a group of women who are dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. There is a great video from that is under 3 minutes about Mother Teresa. It does a great job showing her life in images. Please preview the video to make sure that none of the images are too strong for your students (they show her working with sick, old, and dying people). Virtue: Love We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The second virtue we will examine is love. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John that we are to love one another as I have loved you. Have the students read John 15: This is the text that spells out explicitly what Jesus commands us to do! Ask them to turn and talk with a neighbor why this commandment is important? Why it is challenging to live out? When we acknowledge the suffering around us and do something to ease that suffering we are acting out the Gospel message. We are loving others as Jesus loves us. Activity: Act it out! In this activity the students will work in small groups to create a skit. Each group will be given a scenario. They will need to come up with a 1-2 minute skit that they will act out in front of the class. When finished the rest of the class will need to decide if the main character was acting as a sheep or a goat. You can have a short discussion after each skit. There are a few suggested scenarios provided. It is always better when you can use ones that are directly connected to your students. Feel free to add others to your list! Follow the example of Jesus Curricular Outcome 2: Grades 7-8 Now it is time for the students to be the detectives! Jesus has left us many examples of how he has served others. The students need find an example in the Bible of a time that

44 Jesus was in service to others (you may want to review some accounts whole group prior: healing the sick, blessing the children, the loaves and fishes, etc.). Reminding the students that at all time Jesus was demonstrating his love for us while he was serving us. Liturgy and Prayer: Litany of the Saints/Liturgy of the Word The Litany of the Saints is one of the oldest prayers the Catholic church uses and has been in continuous use since the papacy of St. Gregory the Great ( ). This prayer is a petition for help and guidance from many of the church s greatest saints, as well as, a call for divine protection in times of need. When will your school/class pray the Litany of the Saints? Who will lead this? Assessment: For this lesson, the completed activity could serve as the assessment. Two activities are included for differentiation purposes. You could have them write about the connections they made between the passage in John and Matthew too. An additional assessment could be given. You could have the students write what they parable s message was in their own words. An added component would be to have them explain how they will live this message in their daily lives. Act it out!

45 You and your siblings are playing baseball outside. One of you hits the ball and it breaks the car window. You decide to tell your parents the truth. You and your friends are alone in the classroom during lunch. One of you knocks over the computer. You all decide to leave. After lunch the teacher asks the class what happened to the computer. No one says anything. Fighting with your brother or sister over the last bag of snacks in the kitchen. You saying, I m sorry when something you have said has hurt a person s feelings. When you do something wrong but you decide to tell only part of the truth. Name: Follow Jesus Example

46 Now it is time for you to be the detectives! Jesus has left us many examples of how he has served others. You need find an example in the Bible of a time that Jesus was in service to others. 1. Scripture you selected (Book/Chapter/Verse): 2. Summarize the passage: 3. Why did you select this particular passage? 4. Make connections with the work that Jesus did in the passage you selected to the parable of The Sheep and the Goat. How can his example of service help you to better understand the meaning of the parable and remind you whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do for me? Curricular Outcome 3: Grades PK-K Topic: Describe the universal experience of abundance versus need.

47 Liturgical Season: Advent (Hope) Grades: PK-K Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT differentiate between needs and wants and reallocate resources so that they can cheerfully give to those less fortunate. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? How can we more fully live the Gospel in our daily lives so that we may be an example of Jesus Christ for our community? Why is it important for us to differentiate between our needs and wants? How do the liturgical season of Advent and the virtue of Hope call us to respond to the needs of the poor and hungry? Vocabulary: Cheerful Sows Reaps Sparingly Compulsion Abundantly Hope Learning Tasks: Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9: Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. Suggested hymn: God Loves a Cheerful Giver Curricular Outcome 3: Grades PK-K

48 Scripture Connections: When you begin to break apart the Scripture with the students it is suggested that they are the ones doing the thinking here. The following are just suggestions for where to take this discussion. Begin with the three A s and see what the connections the students are able to make on their own (in pairs/small groups/etc). Have them build on one another s ideas here. When discussing this Scripture with the students it is important to remember the three A s: o o o Action: When Paul writes about giving in Corinthians he uses the image of a farmer planting crops. This image is used to show us that giving is an active process! We must understand that it is not enough to think somebody must do something. We must do something! Paul uses the words sows and reaps to remind us that what we plant in our fields we grow. Substitute fields for our communities, crops for people, and see what develops! It is in act of giving that we become Christ for brothers and sisters. Attitude: Paul makes it very clear! God loves a cheerful giver! How many times have we heard a parent say to a child Tell them you're sorry!? It is very evident that the child isn t sorry and has no remorse. Their words may say, I m sorry. but their attitude says, No, I m not! When we give, we must give freely! We must give joyfully! Abundance: Paul says, God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Abundance...does Paul mean financial abundance? Not necessarily. Think back to a time when you did something nice for someone. How did you feel? How did the other person feel? Needs vs Wants o Discuss with students the difference between needs versus wants. o Students can use the worksheet at the end of the lesson to organize their thinking. Younger students can draw pictures if needed. o You will need to give specific examples for the students to see what things are truly needs (shoes) vs wants (Nike gym shoes). You can show the following video too. o Have the students work in pairs to identify a few examples of needs vs wants together. Make a list of their ideas on the board. Discuss why they are correct/incorrect. This will help with the independent activity. Remind the students that during the season of Advent our focus is on preparing ourselves for the gift of Jesus on Christmas day. Not on what things we are going to get from Santa, which are temporary, rather on the everlasting gift of Jesus Christ. Curricular Outcome 3: Grades PK-K Advent is the season of preparation. We are preparing our minds, bodies, and souls for the birth of Jesus Christ. Our actions should reflect this hope.

49 Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! This lesson we will learn a little bit about two saints. Encourage your students to go out and learn even more about these incredible people. o o o St. Juan Diego: Is the first Roman Catholic indigenous (native) saint from the Americas. He was a native of Mexico who converted to Catholicism at the age of 50. It is said that that the Virgin Mary visited him multiple times in December of 1531 on the hill of Tepeyac (in modern day Mexico City). Mary appeared to Juan and asked him to have the bishop to build a shrine to her on the hill at Tepeyac. However, the bishop did not believe Juan. When Mary appeared to him again Juan told Mary that the bishop did not believe him. Marty told him to gather roses and take them to the bishop as a sign. Juan found many roses on the hillside, even though it was winter. When he arrived to see the bishop he opened his cloak to let the roses fall to the floor. At that time an image of Mary was visible on the inside of his cloak. After seeing this proof the bishop built the shrine. St. Juan Diego spent the rest of his life honoring Mary by living a life of prayer and caring for the shrine and the people who visited it. Suggested video St. Nicholas: St. Nicholas is known as the first Santa. He was from a very wealthy family. Both of his parents died when he was a teenager. Nicholas decided to give away his money to the people around him, but did so secretly. It is up to you how in depth you want to go with this saint. Could be difficult depending on where your students are with Santa being real or not. There is a great resource called St. Nicholas Center that has a great deal of activities and materials for you to use in your room. Virtue: Hope We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The third virtue we will examine is hope. Hope it the virtue that gets us through the tough times in life. It can help us overcome tragedies and times when life feels overwhelming. Curricular Outcome 3: Grades PK-K Activity: God Loves a Cheerful Giver Students will use their Needs vs Wants organization sheet for this activity. Think about one or more things on your wants list that you can do without.

50 For some of the students these may be things they get regularly like Starbucks or chips from 711 or it could be something they would like for Christmas. o How could you use that money in a different way to help someone less fortunate that you? o Help the students to understand that giving isn t always about money. It can be our time, prayers, and talents too! Students can draw pictures if necessary. See the worksheet attached. Liturgy and Prayer: Advent Wreath Lighting Service; Jesse Giving Tree; O Antiphons How can you connect the Advent Wreath Lighting Service to the activity, God Loves a Cheerful Giver action plan? Could you connect the Jesse Giving Tree to their monetary sacrifices? Could students as a class pull a few tags to purchase items with the money they contribute? Assessment: During the season of Advent think of somebody you could help. Draw a picture of the person you decided to help. Write one sentence telling why you picked them. How does it make you feel when you help someone? (Students can draw or write their response) Why is important to God that when we do things for other people we do it cheerfully? Name: Needs vs Wants Directions: Draw pictures of the things you need to live and the things you d like to have in the space below.

51 Needs Wants Curricular Outcome 3: Grades 1-3 Topic: Describe the universal experience of abundance versus need. Liturgical Season: Advent (Hope)

52 Grades: 1-3 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT differentiate between needs and wants and reallocate resources so that they can cheerfully give to those less fortunate. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? How can we more fully live the Gospel in our daily lives so that we may be an example of Jesus Christ for our community? Why is it important for us to differentiate between our needs and wants? How do the liturgical season of Advent and the virtue of Hope call us to respond to the needs of the poor and hungry? Vocabulary: Cheerful Sows Reaps Sparingly Compulsion Abundantly Hope Learning Tasks: Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 6 Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. Suggested hymn: God Loves a Cheerful Giver Curricular Outcome 3: Grades 1-3 Scripture Connections: When you begin to break apart the Scripture with the students it is suggested that they are the ones doing the thinking here. The following are just suggestions for where to take this discussion. Begin with the three A s and see what the connections the students are

53 able to make on their own (in pairs/small groups/etc). Have them build on one another s ideas here. When discussing this Scripture with the students it is important to remember the three A s: o o o Action: When Paul writes about giving in Corinthians he uses the image of a farmer planting crops. This image is used to show us that giving is an active process! We must understand that it is not enough to think somebody must do something. We must do something! Paul uses the words sows and reaps to remind us that what we plant in our fields we grow. Substitute fields for our communities, crops for people, and see what develops! It is in act of giving that we become Christ for brothers and sisters. Attitude: Paul makes it very clear! God loves a cheerful giver! How many times have we heard a parent say to a child Tell them you're sorry!? It is very evident that the child isn t sorry and has no remorse. Their words may say, I m sorry. but their attitude says, No, I m not! When we give, we must give freely! We must give joyfully! Abundance: Paul says, God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Abundance...does Paul mean financial abundance? Not necessarily. Think back to a time when you did something nice for someone. How did you feel? How did the other person feel? Needs vs Wants o Discuss with students the difference between needs versus wants. o Students can use the worksheet at the end of the lesson to organize their thinking. Younger students can draw pictures if needed. o You will need to give specific examples for the students to see what things are truly needs (shoes) vs wants (Nike gym shoes). o I would have the students work in pairs to identify a few examples of needs vs wants together. Make a list of their ideas on the board. Discuss why they are correct/incorrect. This will help with the independent activity. Remind the students that during the season of Advent our focus is on preparing ourselves for the gift of Jesus on Christmas day. Not on what things we are going to get from Santa, which are temporary. Rather on the everlasting gift of Jesus Christ. Curricular Outcome 3: Grades 1-3 Inspiration Station: Advent is the season of preparation. We are preparing our minds, bodies, and souls for the birth of Jesus Christ. Our actions should reflect this hope.

54 It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! During this lesson we will learn a little bit about two saints. Encourage your students to go out and learn even more about these incredible people. o St. Juan Diego: Is the first Roman Catholic indigenous (native) saint from the Americas. He was a native of Mexico who converted to Catholicism at the age of 50. It is said that that the Virgin Mary visited him multiple times in December of 1531 on the hill of Tepeyac (in modern day Mexico City). Mary appeared to Juan and asked him to have the bishop to build a shrine to her on the hill at Tepeyac. However, the bishop did not believe Juan. When Mary appeared to him again Juan told Mary that the bishop did not believe him. Marty told him to gather roses and take them to the bishop as a sign. Juan found many roses on the hillside, even though it was winter. When he arrived to see the bishop he opened his cloak to let the roses fall to the floor. At that time an image of Mary was visible on the inside of his cloak. After seeing this proof the bishop built the shrine. St. Juan Diego spent the rest of his life honoring Mary by living a life of prayer and caring for the shrine and the people who visited it. Suggested video o St. Nicholas: St. Nicholas is known as the first Santa. He was from a very wealthy family. Both of his parents died when he was a teenager. Nicholas decided to give away his money to the people around him, but did so secretly. It is up to you how in depth you want to go with this saint. Could be difficult depending on where your students are with Santa being real or not. There is a great resource called St. Nicholas Center that has a great deal of activities and materials for you to use in your room. Virtue: Hope We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The third virtue we will examine is hope. Hope it the virtue that gets us through the tough times in life. It can help us overcome tragedies and times when life feels overwhelming. Curricular Outcome 3: Grades 1-3 Activity: God Loves a Cheerful Giver Students will use their Needs vs Wants organization sheet for this activity. Think about one or more things on your wants list that you can do without. For some of the students these may be things they get regularly like Starbucks or chips from 711 or it could be something they would like for Christmas. How could you use that money in a different way to help someone less fortunate that you?

55 Help the students to understand that giving isn t always about money. It can be our time, prayers, and talents too! Students can draw pictures if necessary. See the worksheet attached. Liturgy and Prayer: Advent Wreath Lighting Service; Jesse Giving Tree; O Antiphons How can you connect the Advent Wreath Lighting Service to the activity, God Loves a Cheerful Giver action plan? Could you connect the Jesse Giving Tree to their monetary sacrifices? Could students as a class pull a few tags to purchase a few items with the money they collect? Assessment: During the season of Advent think of somebody you could help. Draw a picture of the person you decided to help. Write one sentence telling why you picked them. How does it make you feel when you help someone? (Students can draw or write their response) Why is important to God that when we do things for other people we do it cheerfully? Name: Needs vs Wants Needs Wants

56 Name: God Loves a Cheerful Giver Directions: Everyone has something to give and we all know that God loves a cheerful giver! We can give of our time, prayers, money, and talents. How can you cheerfully give this season? Time: Prayers:

57 Money: Talent: Create an action plan: There are four weeks in Advent. Select at least one thing from each box and do something for someone else each week. Explain how it felt when you gave up something you wanted to help someone else. Why do you think it is important to God that when we give we do so cheerfully? (1-3 paragraphs) Curricular Outcome 3: Grades 4-6 Topic: Describe the universal experience of abundance versus need. Liturgical Season: Advent (Hope) Grades: 4-6

58 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT differentiate between needs and wants and reallocate resources so that they can cheerfully give to those less fortunate. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? How can we more fully live the Gospel in our daily lives so that we may be an example of Jesus Christ for our community? Why is it important for us to differentiate between our needs and wants? How do the liturgical season of Advent and the virtue of Hope call us to respond to the needs of the poor and hungry? Vocabulary: Sows Reaps Sparingly Compulsion Abundantly Hope Learning Tasks: Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. Suggested hymn: I Surrender All Curricular Outcome 3: Grades 4-6 Scripture Connections: When you begin to break apart the Scripture with the students it is suggested that they are the ones doing the thinking here. The following are just suggestions for where to take this discussion. Begin with the three A s and see what the connections the students are

59 able to make on their own (in pairs/small groups/etc). Have them build on one another s ideas here. When discussing this Scripture with the students it is important to remember the three A s: o Action: When Paul writes about giving in Corinthians he uses the image of a farmer planting crops. This image is used to show us that giving is an active process! We must understand that it is not enough to think somebody must do something. We must do something! Paul uses the words sows and reaps to remind us that what we plant in our fields we grow. Substitute fields for our communities, crops for people, and see what develops! It is in act of giving that we become Christ for brothers and sisters. o Attitude: Paul makes it very clear! God loves a cheerful giver! How many times have we heard a parent say to a child Tell them you're sorry!? It is very evident that the child isn t sorry and has no remorse. Their words may say, I m sorry. but their attitude says, No, I m not! When we give, we must give freely! We must give joyfully! o Abundance: Paul says, God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Abundance...does Paul mean financial abundance? Not necessarily. Think back to a time when you did something nice for someone. How did you feel? How did the other person feel? Needs vs Wants: o Discuss with students the difference between needs versus wants. Students can use the worksheet at the end of the lesson to organize their thinking. You will need to give specific examples for the students to see what things are truly needs (shoes) vs wants (Nike gym shoes). Remind the students that during the season of Advent our focus is on preparing ourselves for the gift of Jesus on Christmas day. Not on what things we are going to get from Santa, which are temporary. Rather on the everlasting gift of Jesus Christ. Advent is the season of preparation. We are preparing our minds, bodies, and souls for the birth of Jesus Christ. Our actions should reflect this hope. Curricular Outcome 3: Grades 4-6 Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! During this lesson we will learn a little bit about two saints. Encourage your students to go out and learn even more about these incredible people. o St. Juan Diego:

60 o Is the first Roman Catholic indigenous (native) saint from the Americas. He was a native of Mexico who converted to Catholicism at the age of 50. It is said that that the Virgin Mary visited him multiple times in December of 1531 on the hill of Tepeyac (in modern day Mexico City). Mary appeared to Juan and asked him to have the bishop to build a shrine to her on the hill at Tepeyac. However, the bishop did not believe Juan. When Mary appeared to him again Juan told Mary that the bishop did not believe him. Marty told him to gather roses and take them to the bishop as a sign. Juan found many roses on the hillside, even though it was winter. When he arrived to see the bishop he opened his cloak to let the roses fall to the floor. At that time an image of Mary was visible on the inside of his cloak. After seeing this proof the bishop built the shrine. St. Juan Diego spent the rest of his life honoring Mary by living a life of prayer and caring for the shrine and the people who visited it. Suggested video St. Nicholas: St. Nicholas is known as the first Santa. He was from a very wealthy family. Both of his parents died when he was a teenager. Nicholas decided to give away his money to the people around him, but did so secretly. It is up to you how in depth you want to go with this saint. Could be difficult depending on where your students are with Santa being real or not. There is a great resource called St. Nicholas Center that has a great deal of activities and materials for you to use in your room. Virtue: Hope We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The third virtue we will examine is hope. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." 84 "The Holy Spirit... he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life." 85 Hope it the virtue that gets us through the tough times in life. It can help us overcome tragedies and times when life feels overwhelming. Curricular Outcome 3: Grades 4-6 Activity: God Loves a Cheerful Giver Students will use their Needs vs Wants organization sheet for this activity. Think about one or more things on your wants list that you can do without. For some of the students these may be things they get regularly like Starbucks or chips from 711 or it could be something they would like for Christmas. How could you use that money in a different way to help someone less fortunate that you? Help the students to understand that giving isn t always about money. It can be our time, prayers, and talents too! See the worksheet attached.

61 Liturgy and Prayer: Advent Wreath Lighting Service; Jesse Giving Tree; O Antiphons How can you connect the Advent Wreath Lighting Service to the God Loves a Cheerful Giver activity? Could you connect the Jesse Giving Tree to their monetary sacrifices? Could students in the class pull a few tags and as a class purchase a few items with the money they bring in? Assessment: Write about how you decided what to give and who to help. How did it feel when you gave up something you really wanted in order to help someone else? Why do you think it is important to God that we give cheerfully? (3-4 paragraphs) Name: Needs vs Wants Needs Wants

62 Name: God Loves a Cheerful Giver Directions: Everyone has something to give and we all know that God loves a cheerful giver! We can give of our time, prayers, money, and talents. How can you cheerfully give this season? Time: Prayers:

63 Money: Talent: Create an action plan: There are four weeks in Advent. Select at least one thing from each box and do something for someone else each week. Write about how you decided what to give and who to help. Explain how it felt when you gave up something you wanted to help someone else. Why do you think it is important to God that when we give we do so cheerfully? (3-4 paragraphs) Curricular Outcome 3: Grades 7-8 Topic: Describe the universal experience of abundance versus need. Liturgical Season: Advent (Hope) Grades: 7-8 Religion Standard:

64 CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT differentiate between needs and wants and reallocate resources so that they can cheerfully give to those less fortunate. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? How can we more fully live the Gospel in our daily lives so that we may be an example of Jesus Christ for our community? Why is it important for us to differentiate between our needs and wants? How do the liturgical season of Advent and the virtue of Hope call us to respond to the needs of the poor and hungry? Vocabulary: Sows Reaps Sparingly Compulsion Abundantly Hope Learning Tasks: Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. Suggested hymn: I Surrender All Curricular Outcome 3: Grades 7-8 Scripture Connections: When you begin to break apart the Scripture with the students it is suggested that they are the ones doing the thinking here. The following are just suggestions for where to take this discussion. Begin with the three A s and see what the connections the students are able to make on their own (in pairs/small groups/etc). Have them build on one another s ideas here.

65 When discussing this Scripture with the students it is important to remember the three A s: o Action: When Paul writes about giving in Corinthians he uses the image of a farmer planting crops. This image is used to show us that giving is an active process! We must understand that it is not enough to think somebody must do something. We must do something! Paul uses the words sows and reaps to remind us that what we plant in our fields we grow. Substitute fields for our communities, crops for people, and see what develops! It is in act of giving that we become Christ for brothers and sisters. o Attitude: Paul makes it very clear! God loves a cheerful giver! How many times have we heard a parent say to a child Tell them you're sorry!? It is very evident that the child isn t sorry and has no remorse. Their words may say, I m sorry. but their attitude says, No, I m not! When we give, we must give freely! We must give joyfully! o Abundance: Paul says, God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Abundance...does Paul mean financial abundance? Not necessarily. Think back to a time when you did something nice for someone. How did you feel? How did the other person feel? Maslow: o In our first lesson of this series we learned about Abraham Maslow. o He was an American psychologist who created a theory that humans have a specific set of needs that need fulfilled in a specific order for them to be successful. This theory is known as Maslow s hierarchy of needs. Physiological Needs: These are the most basic of needs: food, water, shelter, sleep and clothes. Safety Needs: These include health, security, order, stability Social Needs: friendship, supportive family, acceptance, being part of a group Self-Esteem: self-respect, respect from others Self-Actualization: concern for personal growth, realizing personal potential o Take a moment to reread 2 Corinthians 9: 6-8 and Maslow s hierarchy of needs. o Discuss with students the difference between needs versus wants. Curricular Outcome 3: Grades 7-8 o o Students can use the worksheet at the end of the lesson to organize their thinking. You can refer to Maslow to have the students see what things are truly needs (shoes) vs wants (Nike gym shoes). Remind the students that during the season of Advent our focus are on preparing ourselves for the gift of Jesus on Christmas day. Not on what things we are going to get from Santa, which are temporary. Rather on the everlasting gift of Jesus Christ.

66 Advent is the season of preparation. We are preparing our minds, bodies, and souls for the birth of Jesus Christ. Our actions should reflect this hope. Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! During this lesson we will learn a little bit about two saints. Encourage your students to go out and learn even more about these incredible people. o St. Juan Diego: Is the first Roman Catholic indigenous (native) saint from the Americas. He was a native of Mexico who converted to Catholicism at the age of 50. It is said that that the Virgin Mary visited him multiple times in December of 1531 on the hill of Tepeyac (in modern day Mexico City). Mary appeared to Juan and asked him to have the bishop to build a shrine to her on the hill at Tepeyac. However, the bishop did not believe Juan. When Mary appeared to him again Juan told Mary that the bishop did not believe him. Marty told him to gather roses and take them to the bishop as a sign. Juan found many roses on the hillside, even though it was winter. When he arrived to see the bishop he opened his cloak to let the roses fall to the floor. At that time an image of Mary was visible on the inside of his cloak. After seeing this proof the bishop built the shrine. St. Juan Diego spent the rest of his life honoring Mary by living a life of prayer and caring for the shrine and the people who visited it. Suggested video o St. Nicholas St. Nicholas is known as the first Santa. He was from a very wealthy family. Both of his parents died when he was a teenager. Nicholas decided to give away his money to the people around him, but did so secretly. It is up to you how in depth you want to go with this saint. Could be difficult depending on where your students are with Santa being real or not. There is a great resource called St. Nicholas Center that has a great deal of activities and materials for you to use in your room. Curricular Outcome 3: Grades 7-8 Virtue: Hope We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The third virtue we will examine is hope. Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." 84 "The Holy Spirit... he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life." 85

67 Hope it the virtue that gets us through the tough times in life. It can help us overcome tragedies and times when life feels overwhelming. Activity: God Loves a Cheerful Giver Students will use their Needs vs Wants organization sheet for this activity. Think about one or more things on your wants list that you can do without. For some of the students these may be things they get regularly like Starbucks or chips from 711 or it could be something they would like for Christmas. How could you use that money in a different way to help someone less fortunate that you? Help the students to understand that giving isn t always about money. It can be our time, prayers, and talents too! See the worksheet attached. Liturgy and Prayer: Advent Wreath Lighting Service; Jesse Giving Tree; O Antiphons How can you connect the Advent Wreath Lighting Service to the activity? Could you connect the Jesse Giving Tree to their monetary sacrifices? Could students in the class pull a few tags and as a class purchase a few items with the money they bring in? Assessment: Write about how you decided what to give and who to help. How did it feel when you gave up something to help someone else? Why do you think it is important to God that we give cheerfully? (5 paragraphs) Name: Needs vs Wants Needs Wants

68 Name: God Loves a Cheerful Giver Directions: Everyone has something to give and we all know that God loves a cheerful giver! We can give of our time, prayers, money, and talents. How can you cheerfully give this season? Time: Prayers:

69 Money: Talent: Create an action plan: There are four weeks in Advent. Select at least one thing from each box and do something for someone else each week. Write about how you decided what to give and who to help. Explain how it felt when you gave up something you wanted to help someone else. Why do you think it is important to God that when we give we do so cheerfully? (5 paragraphs) Curricular Outcome 4: Grades PK-K Topic: Evaluate Catholic Social Teaching in response to 21 st century scarcity. Liturgical Season: Christmas (Faith) Grades: PK-K Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. SACRED SCRIPTURE: Read, comprehend and articulate salvation history as conveyed in God s revelation through the signs of Scripture.

70 Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT evaluate church teaching on 21st century scarcity so that they can persuade others to do something to help others in their community. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? How can we more fully live the Gospel in our daily lives so that we may be an example of Jesus Christ for our community? How do new ideas change the way we see our world? How do the liturgical season of Christmas and the virtue of Faith call us to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable? Vocabulary: Vulnerable Faith Learning Tasks: Scripture: Exodus 22:20-26 Leviticus 19:9-10 Job 34:20-28 Proverbs 31:8-9 Sirach 4:1-10 Isaiah 25:4-5 Isaiah 58:5-7 Matthew 25:34-40 Luke 4:16-21 Luke 6: John 3:17-18 Curricular Outcome 4: Grades Pk-K you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Scripture Connections: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) We have spent a great deal of time looking at poverty in the United States this year. We know that food insecurity is a real problem for millions of Americans every day. Poverty knows no borders, no race or gender. It is a fact that one half of the World s population lives on less that $2.50 a day. Think about that. Really. That won t buy you a Happy Meal at McDonald s or a Grande Iced Coffee from Starbucks. Things that many of us take for granted as a regular part of our weekly routines. We are in the middle of the Christmas season. A time of excess for so many people. Who has heard the saying Jesus is the reason for the season.? (Allow for students to explain

71 what they think this means.) As Catholic Christians we must remember what the season is really about. Of course, we are celebrating the birth of Christ, but remind the students that the gift of eternal salvation was born with Christ because he was born to die for our sins. So much of Jesus ministry and teaching is directing us to help those around us who are in need. At this time you could refer back to the parable of The Sheep and goats (Mt. 25: 35-45). Additionally, the Scripture references above are provided so that you have tangible places for the students to reference in the Bible when looking for more places for direction on how we should minister to the poor and suffering in our world. The Church's Social Teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. o The USCCB says that the best way to identify if we are a moral society is to see how the poor and vulnerable are managing? The Parable of The Sheep and Goats (or the Last Judgment) tells us that when we help the poor and vulnerable we are helping Jesus. o The Church has a long tradition of helping the poor and vulnerable. Think of the Beatitudes (refer to Scripture or you could play the song.) o You could also play the song Do They Know it s Christmas This song was created to raise money to help people in Africa suffering from the effects of famine in the 1980s. Here is the 30 th anniversary version with some artists the students may recognize. Be aware that there are some images in this video that you will want to preview before showing the class. o The USCCB clearly states, in accordance with Scripture, that we are our to love one another and we must take action to help those in need! Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! o This lesson we will learn a little bit about the Holy Family. You can show the video about the Holy Family. o You can read the Matthew, Luke or John s Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus. Curricular Outcome 4: Grades Pk-K you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Virtue: Faith We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The fourth virtue we will examine is faith. A person cannot be fully united with God/Christ with just faith. They must also be people of hope and love. Mary and Joseph are the perfect examples of people who had Faith. Both of them committed their entire selves to God and sought to know God s will. Having faith isn t enough. You have to live your faith...you have to share it with others! How do you live your faith every day? How do you show others you are a follower of Christ?

72 Activity: Instagram As a class you are going to convince others that helping the poor and vulnerable in your community is a good idea. You need to motivate people to get off their couches, turn off their TVs, put down their phones, and DO SOMETHING. Remember...it s not just about having faith. Faith in action is our objective! As a class you need to brainstorm a fun and catchy hashtag for this project. Something that will catch people s attention and make them want to read your tweets! Be creative and have fun here! As the teacher you need to have 2-3 organizations ready for the students to learn more about. These need to be organizations that operate in/or around your school. Depending on your students you may want to have the materials printed or digitally bookmarked for them. The class will need to make three Instagram posts: one about Catholic social teaching, one about the organization they researched, and one challenging them/others to get involved. Each post will include a picture and a caption. o Extra hands would be helpful here. Maybe you could reach out to an older grade for help or reach out for some parent volunteers. Here is a great website with a free Instagram template. Once finished collect the posts. You can make a class bulletin board with the student s work. Try the website or for ideas on how to set this up. The kids could really have fun and create creative names for their Instagram accounts. It is up to you to take this as far as you d like. Liturgy and Prayer: Three Magi Blessing/Eucharistic Adoration Check to see if your parish has a Three Magi Blessing service scheduled for the beginning of January. If not suggest one. Here is more information. Have your class attend Eucharistic Adoration. Assessment: For this lesson, you can use the completed posts as an assessment. Curricular Outcome 4: Grades 1-3 you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Topic: Evaluate Catholic Social Teaching in response to 21 st century scarcity. Liturgical Season: Christmas (Faith) Grades: 1-3 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. SACRED SCRIPTURE: Read, comprehend and articulate salvation history as conveyed in God s revelation through the signs of Scripture.

73 Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT evaluate church teaching on 21st century scarcity so that they can convince others to do something to help others in their community. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? How can we more fully live the Gospel in our daily lives so that we may be an example of Jesus Christ for our community? How do new ideas change the way we see our world? How do the liturgical season of Christmas and the virtue of Faith call us to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable? Vocabulary: Vulnerable Faith Learning Tasks: Scripture: Exodus 22:20-26 Leviticus 19: 9-10 Job 34: Proverbs 31: 8-9 Sirach 4:1-10 Isaiah 25:4-5 Isaiah 58: 5-7 Matthew 25: Luke 4: Luke 6: John 3: Curricular Outcome 4: Grades 1-3 you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Scripture Connections: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) We have spent a great deal of time looking at poverty in the United States this year. We know that food insecurity is a real problem for millions of Americans every day. Poverty knows no borders, no race or gender. It is a fact that one half of the WORLD s population lives on less that $2.50 a day. Think about that. Really. That won t buy you a Happy Meal at McDonald s or a Grande Iced Coffee from Starbucks. Things that many of us take for granted as a regular part of our weekly routines. We are in the middle of the Christmas season. A time of excess for so many people. Who has heard the saying Jesus is the reason for the season.? (Allow for students to explain what they think this means.) As Catholic Christians we must remember what the season

74 is really about. Of course, we are celebrating the birth of Christ, but remind the students that the gift of eternal salvation was born with Christ because he was born to die for our sins. So much of Jesus ministry and teaching is directing us to help those around us who are in need. At this time you could refer back to the parable of The Sheep and goats (Mt. 25: 35-45). Additionally, the Scripture references above are provided so that you have tangible places for the students to reference in the Bible when looking for more places for direction on how we should minister to the poor and suffering in our world. The Church's Social Teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. The USCCB says that the best way to identify if we are a moral society is to see how the poor and vulnerable are managing? The Parable of The Sheep and Goats (or the Last Judgment) tells us that when we help the poor and vulnerable we are helping Jesus. o The Church has a long tradition of helping the poor and vulnerable. Think of the o Beatitudes (refer to Scripture or you could play the song.) You could also play the song Do They Know it s Christmas This song was created to raise money to help people in Africa suffering from the effects of famine in the 1980s. Here is the 30 th anniversary version with some artists the students may recognize. Be aware that there are some images in this video that you will want to preview before showing the class. The USCCB clearly states, in accordance with Scripture, that we are our to love one another and we must take action to help those in need! Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! This lesson we will learn a little bit about the Holy Family. You can show the video about the Holy Family. You can read the Matthew, Luke or John s Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus. Curricular Outcome 4: Grades 1-3 you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Virtue: Faith We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The fourth virtue we will examine is faith. A person cannot be fully united with God/Christ with just faith. They must also be people of hope and love. Mary and Joseph are the perfect examples of people who had Faith. Both of them committed their entire selves to God and sought to know God s will. Having faith isn t enough. You have to live your faith...you have to share it with others! How do you live your faith every day? How do you show others you are a follower of Christ?

75 Activity: Instagram As a class you are going to convince others that helping the poor and vulnerable in your community is a good idea. You need to motivate people to get off their couches, turn off their TVs, put down their phones, and DO SOMETHING. Remember...it s not just about having faith. Faith in action is our objective! As a class you need to brainstorm a fun and catchy hashtag for this project. Something that will catch people s attention and make them want to read your tweets! Be creative and have fun here! As the teacher you need to have 2-3 organizations ready for the students to learn more about. These need to be organizations that operate in/or around your school. Depending on your students you may want to have the materials printed or digitally bookmarked for them. Students will need to make three Instagram posts: one about Catholic social teaching, one about the organization they researched, and one challenging them/others to get involved. Each post will include a picture and a caption. Here is a great website with a free Instagram template. Or you can create your own. Once finished collect the posts. You can make a class bulletin board with the student s work. Try the website or for ideas on how to set this up. The kids could really have fun and create creative names for their Instagram accounts. It is up to you to take this as far as you d like. Liturgy and Prayer: Three Magi Blessing/Eucharistic Adoration Check to see if your parish has a Three Magi Blessing service scheduled for the beginning of January. If not suggest one. Here is more information. Have your class attend Eucharistic Adoration. Assessment: For this lesson, you can use the completed posts as an assessment. Curricular Outcome 4: Grades 4-6 you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Topic: Evaluate Catholic Social Teaching in response to 21 st century scarcity. Liturgical Season: Christmas (Faith) Grades: 4-6 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. SACRED SCRIPTURE: Read, comprehend and articulate salvation history as conveyed in God s revelation through the signs of Scripture. Language Arts Standard:

76 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT evaluate church teaching on 21st century scarcity so that they can convince others to do something to help others in their community. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? How can we more fully live the Gospel in our daily lives so that we may be an example of Jesus Christ for our community? How do new ideas change the way we see our world? How do the liturgical season of Christmas and the virtue of Faith call us to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable? Vocabulary: Vulnerable Faith Learning Tasks: Scripture: Exodus 22:20-26 Leviticus 19:9-10 Job 34: Proverbs 31: 8-9 Sirach 4:1-10 Isaiah 25:4-5 Isaiah 58:5-7 Matthew 25: Luke 4:16-21 Luke 6: John Curricular Outcome 4: Grades 4-6 you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Scripture Connections: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) We have spent a great deal of time looking at poverty in the United States this year. We know that food insecurity is a real problem for millions of Americans every day. Poverty knows no borders, no race or gender. It is a fact that one half of the World s population lives on less that $2.50 a day. Think about that. Really. That won t buy you a Happy Meal at McDonald s or a Grande Iced Coffee from Starbucks. Things that many of us take for granted as a regular part of our weekly routines. We are in the middle of the Christmas season. A time of excess for so many people. Who has heard the saying Jesus is the reason for the season.? (Allow for students to explain what they think this means.) As Catholic Christians we must remember what the season is really about. Of course, we are celebrating the birth of Christ, but remind the students

77 that the gift of eternal salvation was born with Christ because he was born to die for our sins. So much of Jesus ministry and teaching is directing us to help those around us who are in need. At this time you could refer back to the parable of The Sheep and goats (Mt. 25: 35-45). Additionally, the Scripture references above are provided so that you have tangible places for the students to reference in the Bible when looking for more places for direction on how we should minister to the poor and suffering in our world. The Church's Social Teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. o The USCCB says that the best way to identify if we are a moral society is to see how the poor and vulnerable are managing? The Parable of The Sheep and Goats (or the Last Judgment) tells us that when we help the poor and vulnerable we are helping Jesus. o The Church has a long tradition of helping the poor and vulnerable. Think of the o Beatitudes (refer to Scripture or you could play the song.) You could also play the song Do They Know it s Christmas This song was created to raise money to help people in Africa suffering from the effects of famine in the 1980s. Here is the 30 th anniversary version with some artists the students may recognize. Be aware that there are some images in this video that you will want to preview before showing the class. The USCCB clearly states, in accordance with Scripture, that we are our to love one another and we must take action to help those in need! Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! This lesson we will learn a little bit about the Holy Family. You can show the video about the Holy Family. You can read the Matthew, Luke or John s Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus. Curricular Outcome 4: Grades 4-6 you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Virtue: Faith We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The fourth virtue we will examine is faith. A person cannot be fully united with God/Christ with just faith. They must also be people of hope and love. Mary and Joseph are the perfect examples of people who had Faith. Both of them committed their entire selves to God and sought to know God s will. Having faith isn t enough. You have to live your faith...you have to share it with others! How do you live your faith every day? How do you show others you are a follower of Christ? Activity: Twitter

78 As a class you are going to convince others that helping the poor and vulnerable in your community is a good idea. You need to motivate people to get off their couches, turn off their TVs, put down their phones, and DO SOMETHING. Remember...it s not just about having faith. Faith in action is our objective! As a class you need to brainstorm a fun and catchy hashtag for this project. Something that will catch people s attention and make them want to read your tweets! Be creative and have fun here! Once you have your class hashtag the real work begins. As individuals you will need to do some research about volunteer opportunities in your community. Since our focus in on hunger make sure that one aspect of the volunteer opportunity will deal with food insecurity or food. You will need to construct three tweets: one about Catholic Social Teaching, one about the organization you researched, and one challenging them to get involved. Remember each tweet is only 140 characters so you will need to be thoughtful with you words. Once finished collect the tweets. You can make a class bulletin board with the student s work. Try the website or for ideas on how to set this up. The kids could really have fun and create creative names for their twitter accounts too. You could create a class twitter account (that you would run) and tweet the student s work including hashtags. Faith in action. It is up to you to take this as far as you d like. Sacrament: Three Magi Blessing/Eucharistic Adoration Check to see if your parish has a Three Magi Blessing service scheduled for the beginning of January. If not suggest one. Here is more information. Have your class attend Eucharistic Adoration. Assessment: For this lesson, you can use the completed tweets as an assessment. You could have the students write a reflection about the Catholic Social Teaching in the Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. Have them summarize what the Church teaches and why. Curricular Outcome 4: Grades 7-8 you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Topic: Evaluate Catholic Social Teaching in response to 21 st century scarcity. Liturgical Season: Christmas (Faith) Grades: 7-8 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. SACRED SCRIPTURE: Read, comprehend and articulate salvation history as conveyed in God s revelation through the signs of Scripture. Language Arts Standard:

79 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT evaluate church teaching on 21st century scarcity so that they can convince others to do something to help others in their community. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? How can we more fully live the Gospel in our daily lives so that we may be an example of Jesus Christ for our community? How do new ideas change the way we see our world? How do the liturgical season of Christmas and the virtue of Faith call us to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable? Vocabulary: Vulnerable Faith Learning Tasks: Scripture: Exodus 22:20-26 Leviticus 19:9-10 Job 34:20-28 Proverbs 31:8-9 Sirach 4:1-10 Isaiah 25:4-5 Isaiah 58:5-7 Matthew 25:34-40 Luke 4:16-21 Luke 6: John 3:17-18 Curricular Outcome 4: Grades 7-8 you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Scripture Connections: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) We have spent a great deal of time looking at poverty in the United States this year. We know that food insecurity is a real problem for millions of Americans every day. Poverty knows no borders, no race or gender. It is a fact that one half of the World s population lives on less that $2.50 a day. Think about that. Really. That won t buy you a Happy Meal at McDonald s or a Grande Iced Coffee from Starbucks. Things that many of us take for granted as a regular part of our weekly routines. We are in the middle of the Christmas season. A time of excess for so many people. Who has heard the saying Jesus is the reason for the season.? (Allow for students to explain what they think this means.) As Catholic Christians we must remember what the season is really about. Of course, we are celebrating the birth of Christ, but remind the students

80 that the gift of eternal salvation was born with Christ because he was born to die for our sins. So much of Jesus ministry and teaching is directing us to help those around us who are in need. At this time you could refer back to the parable of The Sheep and goats (Mt. 25: 35-45). Additionally, the Scripture references above are provided so that you have tangible places for the students to reference in the Bible when looking for more places for direction on how we should minister to the poor and suffering in our world. The Church's Social Teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. o The USCCB says that the best way to identify if we are a moral society is to see how the poor and vulnerable are managing? The Parable of The Sheep and Goats (or the Last Judgment) tells us that when we help the poor and vulnerable we are helping Jesus. o The Church has a long tradition of helping the poor and vulnerable. Think of the o Beatitudes (refer to Scripture or you could play the song.) You could also play the song Do They Know it s Christmas This song was created to raise money to help people in Africa suffering from the effects of famine in the 1980s. Here is the 30 th anniversary version with some artists the students may recognize. Be aware that there are some images in this video that you will want to preview before showing the class. The USCCB clearly states, in accordance with Scripture, that we are our to love one another and we must take action to help those in need! Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! This lesson we will learn a little bit about the Holy Family. You can show the video about the Holy Family. You can read the Matthew, Luke or John s Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus. Curricular Outcome 4: Grades 7-8 you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Virtue: Faith We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The fourth virtue we will examine is Faith. Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By Faith "man freely commits his entire self to God." 78 For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God's will. "The righteous shall live by faith." Living faith "work[s] through charity." 79 A person cannot be fully united with God/Christ with just Faith. They must also be people of Hope and Love. Mary and Joseph are the perfect examples of people who had Faith. Both of them committed their entire selves to God and sought to know God s will.

81 Having Faith isn t enough. You have to live your Faith...you have to share it with others! How do you live your Faith every day? How do you show others you are a follower of Christ? Activity: Twitter As a class you are going to convince others that helping the poor and vulnerable in your community is a good idea. You need to motivate people to get off their couches, turn off their TVs, put down their phones, and DO SOMETHING. Remember...it s not just about having faith. Faith in action is our objective! As a class you need to brainstorm a fun and catchy hashtag for this project. Something that will catch people s attention and make them want to read your tweets! Be creative and have fun here! Once you have your class hashtag the real work begins. As individuals you will need to do some research about volunteer opportunities in your community. Since our focus in on hunger make sure that one aspect of the volunteer opportunity will deal with food insecurity or food. You will need to construct three tweets: one about Catholic Social Teaching, one about the organization you researched, and one challenging them to get involved. Remember each tweet is only 140 characters so you will need to be thoughtful with you words. Once finished collect the tweets. You can make a class bulletin board with the student s work. Try the website or for ideas on how to set this up. The kids could really have fun and create creative names for their twitter accounts too. You could create a class twitter account (that you would run) and tweet the student s work including hashtags. Faith in action. It is up to you to take this as far as you d like. Liturgy and Prayer: Three Magi Blessing/Eucharistic Adoration Check to see if your parish has a Three Magi Blessing service scheduled for the beginning of January. If not suggest one. Here is more information. Have your class attend Eucharistic Adoration. Curricular Outcome 4: Grades 7-8 you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Assessment: For this lesson, you can use the completed tweets as an assessment. You could have the students write a reflection about the Catholic Social Teaching in the Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. Have them summarize what the Church teaches and why.

82 Curricular Outcome 5: Grades PK-K you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Topic: Compare and Contrast the difference between Social Justice and Charitable Works. Liturgical Season: Early Ordinary Time (Justice) Grades: PK-K Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

83 Objective: SWBAT compare and contrast the difference between Social Justice and Charitable Works so that they can identify ways to solve problems in their communities. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? What is social justice? What are charitable works? What is oppression and what is the root cause? Do we have choices concerning fairness and justice? How do the liturgical season of Ordinary Time and the virtue of Justice call us to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable with charitable works and acts of social justice? Vocabulary: Charity Justice Learning Tasks: Scripture: Amos 5:24 Rather let justice surge like waters, and righteousness like an unfailing stream. Scripture Connections: Charitable Works vs Social Justice In the Scripture passage from Amos the image of water is used to demonstrate the kind of justice God is expecting for his people. Think of how water is used in our world. o It is life giving. Without it we would die. Our food depends on water to grow and the animals need water to survive. o Too much water becomes problematic. Flooding is destructive and can be deadly. Curricular Outcome 5: Grades PK-K you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Now look at the Scripture. o Think about moving water. There are babbling brooks, gentle creeks, quiet streams, and rolling rivers. o How do these images change based on the speed of the water? o If justice is in fact moving like a surging river...what should it look like? The song connection for this lesson is We are Called by David Haas. At this time you are going shift gears. Move them to think about justice vs charity. Up to this point, most of the students have been focusing more on charitable works when we think of helping people in our community (and that is great!). Now we want them to think bigger! How are justice and charity alike? Both justice and charity deal with social problems. However, they address these problems from different sides. Social Justice:

84 o This is when you look beyond the needs of the individual and look to the greater good. Think social change. Think Common Good. o Justice deals with fairness and equity among all members of society. o Justice looks to help with long-term needs. o Justice is going to be more public...think collective, legal, government. o If you think cause and effect...justice is trying to solve the root causes of injustice. Think leaky pipe flooding the basement. Justice is trying to fix the pipe. o Examples: legislative action, political action, changing policies and practices, etc. Charitable Works: o This is when you help someone in need. With that said, it isn t going to necessarily change the situation that is causing them to be in need. o Charity looks to help with immediate needs. o Provides services directly to the people like food, shelter, and clothing. Things you would think of as life or death needs. o Think individual/private acts. o If you think cause and effect...charity is trying to clean up the effects of injustice. Think leaky pipe flooding the basement. Charity is the bucket you use to get the water out. It helps, but water is still leaking out of the pipe. o Examples: Food banks, clothing drives, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, etc. Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! This lesson we will learn a little bit about St. John Bosco. John Bosco is an Italian born saint in the 1800s. His mother, who despite being poor showed John the importance of helping the homeless people in their community, raised him. Raised Catholic, John wanted to become a priest. It took many years of hard work but in 1841 he was ordained a priest. His ministry led him to work with young men in prison. These boys were living in poor conditions and he decided to try and prevent these boys from entering prison in the first place. Curricular Outcome 5: Grades PK-K Virtue: Justice We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The fifth virtue we will examine is Justice. Justice is wrapped up in how we work to ensure that we are respecting the rights of everyone and that we are working for equity for all people. Activity: Two Feet of Love in Action: The USCCB has provided a great resource for teachers. The follow pages are suggested for your use: o o Page 15 will explain what the two feet represent and is in kid friendly language. Page 19 is a blank template for the students to complete their work (you could have them focus their work around hunger, homelessness, unemployment). The left foot should focus on social justice and the right foot on charitable works. You

85 o can refer to this link for a quick handout. It would be a great resource for parents too. Page 23 is a closing prayer. Liturgy and Prayer: St. Blaise - Blessing of the Throats: Find out if your parish has a blessing scheduled and attend. If not, reach out to see if this is a possibility for your school community. Assessment: Completed activity Two Feet of Love in Action and the reflection question at the end. Curricular Outcome 5: Grades 1-3 you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Topic: Compare and Contrast the difference between Social Justice and Charitable Works. Liturgical Season: Early Ordinary Time (Justice) Grades: 1-3 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

86 Objective: SWBAT compare and contrast the difference between Social Justice and Charitable Works so that they can identify ways to solve problems in their communities. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? What is social justice? What are charitable works? What is oppression and what is the root cause? Do we have choices concerning fairness and justice? How do the liturgical season of Ordinary Time and the virtue of Justice call us to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable with charitable works and acts of social justice? Vocabulary: Charity Justice Learning Tasks: Scripture: Amos 5:24 Rather let justice surge like waters, and righteousness like an unfailing stream. Scripture Connections: Charitable Works vs Social Justice In the Scripture passage from Amos the image of water is used to demonstrate the kind of justice God is expecting for his people. Think of how water is used in our world. o It is life giving. Without it we would die. Our food depends on water to grow and the animals need water to survive. o Too much water becomes problematic. Flooding is destructive and can be deadly. Curricular Outcome 5: Grades 1-3 Now look at the Scripture. o Think about moving water. There are babbling brooks, gentle creeks, quiet streams, and surging rivers. o How do these images change based on the speed of the water? o If justice is in fact moving like a surging river...what should it look like? The song connection for this lesson is We are Called by David Haas. At this time you are going shift gears. Move them to think about justice vs charity. Up to this point, most of the students have been focusing more on charitable works when we think of helping people in our community (and that is great!). Now we want them to think bigger! How are justice and charity alike? Both justice and charity deal with social problems. However, they address these problems from different sides. Social Justice: o This is when you look beyond the needs of the individual and look to the greater good. Think social change. Think Common Good.

87 o Justice deals with fairness and equity among all members of society. o Justice looks to help with long-term needs. o Justice is going to be more public...think collective, legal, government. o If you think cause and effect...justice is trying to solve the root causes of injustice. Think leaky pipe flooding the basement. Justice is trying to fix the pipe. o Examples: legislative action, political action, changing policies and practices, etc. Charitable Works: o This is when you help someone in need. With that said, it isn t going to necessarily change the situation that is causing them to be in need. o Charity looks to help with immediate needs. o Provides services directly to the people like food, shelter, and clothing. Things you would think of as life or death needs. o Think individual/private acts. o If you think cause and effect...charity is trying to clean up the effects of injustice. Think leaky pipe flooding the basement. Charity is the bucket you use to get the water out. It helps, but water is still leaking out of the pipe. o Examples: Food banks, clothing drives, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, etc. Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! This lesson we will learn a little bit about St. John Bosco. John Bosco is an Italian born saint in the 1800s. His mother, who despite being poor showed John the importance of helping the homeless people in their community, raised him. Raised Catholic, John wanted to become a priest. It took many years of hard work but in 1841 he was ordained a priest. His ministry led him to work with young men in prison. These boys were living in poor conditions and he decided to try and prevent these boys from entering prison in the first place. Curricular Outcome 5: Grades 1-3 Virtue: Justice We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The fifth virtue we will examine is Justice. Justice is wrapped up in how we work to ensure that we are respecting the rights of everyone and that we are working for equity for all people. Activity: Two Feet of Love in Action: The USCCB has provided a great resource for teachers. The follow pages are suggested for your use: o o o Page 15 will explain what the two feet represent and is in kid friendly language. Page 19 is a blank template for the students to complete their work (you could have them focus their work around hunger, homelessness, unemployment). The left foot should focus on social justice and the right foot on charitable works. You can refer to this link for a quick handout. It would be a great resource for parents too. Page 23 is a closing prayer.

88 Create a Venn-Diagram Social Justice vs Charitable Works. Students could make their own or with partners. I would recommend having one as an anchor chart in your room too. Liturgy and Prayer: St. Blaise - Blessing of the Throats: Find out if your parish has a blessing scheduled and attend. If not, reach out to see if this is a possibility for your school community. Assessment: Completed activity Two Feet of Love in Action and the reflection question at the end. Curricular Outcome 5: Grades 4-6 Topic: Compare and Contrast the difference between Social Justice and Charitable Works. Liturgical Season: Early Ordinary Time (Justice) Grades: 4-6 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT compare and contrast the difference between Social Justice and Charitable Works so that they can identify ways to solve problems in their communities. Essential Questions:

89 How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? What is social justice? What are charitable works? What is oppression and what is the root cause? Do we have choices concerning fairness and justice? How do the liturgical season of Ordinary Time and the virtue of Justice call us to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable with charitable works and acts of social justice? Vocabulary: Charity Justice Learning Tasks: Scripture: Amos 5:24 Rather let justice surge like waters, and righteousness like an unfailing stream. Scripture Connections: Charitable Works vs Social Justice In the Scripture passage from Amos the image of water is used to demonstrate the kind of justice God is expecting for his people. Think of how water is used in our world. o It is life giving. Without it we would die. Our food depends on water to grow and the animals need water to survive. o Too much water becomes problematic. Flooding is destructive and can be deadly. Curricular Outcome 5: Grades 4-6 Now look at the Scripture. o Think about moving water. There are babbling brooks, gentle creeks, quiet streams, and surging rivers. o How do these images change based on the speed of the water? o If justice is in fact moving like a surging river...what should it look like? The song connection for this lesson is We are Called by David Haas. There are two video suggestions. The first is for older students. Please watch the video before showing your students. Some of the images may be too much for some students. You know you students and can make that judgment. The second video is just a video. No images just the song. If you are at all concerned please show the second video. At this time you are going shift gears. Move them to think about justice vs charity. Up to this point, most of the students have been focusing more on charitable works when we think of helping people in our community (and that is great!). Now we want them to think bigger! How are justice and charity alike? Both justice and charity deal with social problems. However, they address these problems from different sides. Social Justice:

90 o This is when you look beyond the needs of the individual and look to the greater good. Think social change. Think Common Good. o Justice deals with fairness and equity among all members of society. o Justice looks to help with long-term needs. o Justice is going to be more public...think collective, legal, government. o If you think cause and effect...justice is trying to solve the root causes of injustice. Think leaky pipe flooding the basement. Justice is trying to fix the pipe. o Examples: legislative action, political action, changing policies and practices, etc. Charitable Works: o This is when you help someone in need. With that said, it isn t going to necessarily change the situation that is causing them to be in need. o Charity looks to help with immediate needs. o Provides services directly to the people like food, shelter, and clothing. Things you would think of as life or death needs. o Think individual/private acts. o If you think cause and effect...charity is trying to clean up the effects of injustice. Think leaky pipe flooding the basement. Charity is the bucket you use to get the water out. It helps, but water is still leaking out of the pipe. o Examples: Food banks, clothing drives, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, etc. Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! This lesson we will learn a little bit about St. John Bosco. John Bosco is an Italian born saint in the 1800s. His mother, who despite being poor showed John the importance of helping the homeless people in their community, raised Curricular Outcome 5: Grades 4-6 him. Raised Catholic, John wanted to become a priest. It took many years of hard work but in 1841 he was ordained a priest. His ministry led him to work with young men in prison. These boys were living in poor conditions and he decided to try and prevent these boys from entering prison in the first place. Virtue: Justice We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The fifth virtue we will examine is Justice. Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the "virtue of religion." Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor. Justice is wrapped up in how we work to ensure that we are respecting the rights of everyone and that we are working for equity for all people. Activity:

91 Hand in Hand: This activity takes the cause and effect relationship between charity and justice and allows the students to look at 4 different issues facing people today (hunger, homelessness, unemployment, and no insurance). They must identify the root cause and the effect plus what act of charity and work of justice they could do to help solve the problem. Create a Venn-Diagram Social Justice vs Charitable Works. Students could make their own or with partners. I would recommend having one as an anchor chart in your room too. Liturgy and Prayer: St. Blaise - Blessing of the Throats: Find out if your parish has a blessing scheduled and attend. If not, reach out to see if this is a possibility for your school community. Assessment: Completed activity Hand in Hand and the reflection question at the end. Explain how charity and justice are two different things and why both are necessary for positive change to occur in our communities? Name: Hand in Hand Problem Example: Flooded basement Cause/ Social Justice Solution (SJS) Cause: Old pipes in the building SJS: Bring in a plumber and have the pipe replaced so that it will not leak anymore. Effect/ Charitable Works Solution (CWS) Effect: Water is in the basement CWS: Gather friends with buckets to get the water out of the basement. Hunger Cause: Effect: SJS: CWS:

92 Homelessness Cause: Effect: SJS: CWS: Unemployed Cause: Effect: SJS: CWS: No Insurance Cause: Effect:

93 SJS: CWS: Explain how charity and justice are two different things and why both are necessary for positive change to occur in our communities? Curricular Outcome 5: Grades 7-8 Topic: Compare and Contrast the difference between Social Justice and Charitable Works. Liturgical Season: Early Ordinary Time (Justice) Grades: 7-8 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT compare and contrast the difference between Social Justice and Charitable Works so that they can identify ways to solve problems in their communities.

94 Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? What is social justice? What are charitable works? What is oppression and what is the root cause? Do we have choices concerning fairness and justice? How do the liturgical season of Ordinary Time and the virtue of Justice call us to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable with charitable works and acts of social justice? Vocabulary: Charity Justice Learning Tasks: Scripture: Amos 5:24 Rather let justice surge like waters, and righteousness like an unfailing stream.. Scripture Connections: Charitable Works vs Social Justice In the Scripture passage from Amos the image of water is used to demonstrate the kind of justice God is expecting for his people. Think of how water is used in our world. o It is life giving. Without it we would die. Our food depends on water to grow and the animals need water to survive. o Too much water becomes problematic. Flooding is destructive and can be deadly. Curricular Outcome 5: Grades 7-8 Now look at the Scripture. o Think about moving water. There are babbling brooks, gentle creeks, quiet streams, and surging rivers. o How do these images change based on the speed of the water? o If justice is in fact moving like a surging river...what should it look like? The song connection for this lesson is We are Called by David Haas. There are two video suggestions. The first is for older students. Please watch the video before showing your students. Some of the images may be too much for some students. You know you students and can make that judgment. The second video is just a video. No images just the song. If you are at all concerned please show the second video. At this time you are going shift gears. Move them to think about justice vs charity. Up to this point, most of the students have been focusing more on charitable works when we think of helping people in our community (and that is great!). Now we want them to think bigger! How are justice and charity alike? Both justice and charity deal with social problems. However, they address these problems from different sides. o Social Justice:

95 o This is when you look beyond the needs of the individual and look to the greater good. Think social change. Think Common Good. Justice deals with fairness and equity among all members of society. Justice looks to help with long-term needs. Justice is going to be more public...think collective, legal, government. If you think cause and effect...justice is trying to solve the root causes of injustice. Think leaky pipe flooding the basement. Justice is trying to fix the pipe. Examples: legislative action, political action, changing policies and practices, etc. Charitable Works: This is when you help someone in need. With that said, it isn t going to necessarily change the situation that is causing them to be in need. Charity looks to help with immediate needs. Provides services directly to the people like food, shelter, clothing. Things you would think of as life or death needs. Think individual/private acts. If you think cause and effect...charity is trying to clean up the effects of injustice. Think leaky pipe flooding the basement. Charity is the bucket you use to get the water out. It helps, but water is still leaking out of the pipe. Examples: Food banks, clothing drives, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, etc. Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! Curricular Outcome 5: Grades 7-8 This lesson we will learn a little bit about St. John Bosco. John Bosco is an Italian born saint in the 1800s. His mother, who despite being poor showed John the importance of helping the homeless people in their community, raised him. Raised Catholic, John wanted to become a priest. It took many years of hard work but in 1841 he was ordained a priest. His ministry led him to work with young men in prison. These boys were living in poor conditions and he decided to try and prevent these boys from entering prison in the first place. Virtue: Justice We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The fifth virtue we will examine is Justice. Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the "virtue of religion." Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor.

96 Justice is wrapped up in how we work to ensure that we are respecting the rights of everyone and that we are working for equity for all people. Activity: You could have your students read the following article from the website This article will allow the students to read about some additional examples of works of justice verses acts of charity and how to differentiate between the two. This is a great resource if you have students that are struggling at the end of the lesson. Hand in Hand: This activity takes the cause and effect relationship between charity and justice and allows the students to look at 4 different issues facing people today (hunger, homelessness, unemployment, and no insurance). They must identify the root cause and the effect plus what act of charity and work of justice they could do to help solve the problem. Liturgy and Prayer: St. Blaise - Blessing of the Throats: Find out if your parish has a blessing scheduled and attend. If not, reach out to see if this is a possibility for your school community. Assessment: Completed activity Hand in Hand and the reflection question at the end. Explain how charity and justice are two different things and why both are necessary for positive change to occur in our communities? Name: Hand in Hand Problem Example: Flooded basement Cause/ Social Justice Solution (SJS) Cause: Old pipes in the building SJS: Bring in a plumber and have the pipe replaced so that it will not leak anymore. Effect/ Charitable Works Solution (CWS) Effect: Water is in the basement CWS: Gather friends with buckets to get the water out of the basement. Hunger Cause: Effect:

97 SJS: CWS: Homelessness Cause: Effect: SJS: CWS: Unemployed Cause: Effect: SJS: CWS: No Insurance Cause: Effect:

98 SJS: CWS: Explain how charity and justice are two different things and why both are necessary for positive change to occur in our communities? Curricular Outcome 6: Grades PK-K Topic: Connect the power of prayer and action in addressing systemic injustice. Liturgical Season: Lent (Temperance) Grades: PK-K Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. CHRISTIAN PRAYER AND SPIRITUALITY: Understand and express the different forms of prayer consciously recognizing the work of the Holy Spirit and the meaning of selfsurrender to God. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

99 Objective: SWBAT construct a prayer to end hunger in their communities. Essential Questions: How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? Why is prayer important? How do the liturgical season of Lent and the virtue of Temperance call us to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable? Vocabulary: Temperance Learning Tasks: Scripture: Philippians 4:16 Colossians 4:2 Thessalonians 5:17 Luke 18:1 1 John 5:14-15 Jeremiah 29:12 Mark 11:24 Romans 12:12 Psalm 145:18 Matthew 7:11 James 5:13-16 Curricular Outcome 6: Grades PK-K Scripture Connections: There are countless references to prayer in Scripture. The references above are just a few for you to use as you prepare your lessons. One suggestion is 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing. o Prayer is simply a conversation with God. Those prayers can be formal like the Our Father or Hail Mary. More often those prayers come in an unstructured format. Like the kind you say at bedtime. Another, Philippians 4:16 I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. o This Scripture is important to remember when it comes to addressing systemic o issues of injustice. It reminds us that we can do all things with Christ because that is the source of our strength. As we discussed in previous lessons we must take action in order to affect change in our communities. We need to remember that prayer is equally, if not more, important.

100 Inspiration Station: It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! This lesson we will learn a little bit about St. Katherine Drexel Here is a video created by a student about the life of Katherine Drexel. The information is presented in a less traditional way, but highly engaging for younger students. The thing to focus on is how she used prayer and her conversations with God to transform her life and ultimately the lives of the people around her. The song suggestion for this lesson is by John Michael Talbot The Cry of the Poor. This song s focus is about how God hears the prayers of his people...especially the poor. Please preview the video before showing your students. Virtue: Temperance We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The fifth virtue we will examine is Temperance. Temptations are all around us. Temperance is the virtue, which that acts against these temptations. During the season of Lent we take time to turn away from sin and seek a close relationship with God. Many of us do this by giving something up for the 40 days of Lent (fasting) and we have an increased focus on prayer as we work to better our relationship with God. Curricular Outcome 6: Grades PK-K Activity: Prayer In this activity the students will write a prayer as a class to end hunger in our community. At this point they should have plenty of information about the issues around hunger, but you may want to have the statistics from lesson 1 handy. They need to know what needs to be included in their prayer. It is suggested that these be posted on the board. Prayers do not need to follow a particular formula. However, there are some things that need to be included. You should pray: o For the people who are negatively affected by hunger. o For the leaders in the community who make decisions that can make a difference. o For people in the community to be motivated to join the cause. o For God s help. Remind the students that we must ask God for help in our prayers and believe that with God all things are possible. Liturgy and Prayer:

101 Reconciliation/Fasting/Almsgiving Find out when your students are going to attend the sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent and help them prepare. Work with your students so they understand the purpose of fasting and almsgiving. Assessment: Students will construct their prayers to God. These prayers can be completed individually or in groups of 2 or whole class. These prayers should be focused on an end to hunger in our communities. Name:

102 Curricular Outcome 6: Grades 1-3 Topic: Connect the power of prayer and action in addressing systemic injustice. Liturgical Season: Lent (Temperance) Grades: 1-3 Religion Standard: CHRISTIAN LIVING: Understand and live the moral teachings of the Church through a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ expressed in love for God, positive self-image, personal integrity, social justice, the dignity of the human person and love of neighbor. CHRISTIAN PRAYER AND SPIRITUALITY: Understand and express the different forms of prayer consciously recognizing the work of the Holy Spirit and the meaning of selfsurrender to God. Language Arts Standard: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Objective: SWBAT construct a prayer to end hunger in their communities. Essential Questions:

103 How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text? Why is prayer important? How do the liturgical season of Lent and the virtue of Temperance call us to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable? Vocabulary: Temperance Learning Tasks: Scripture: Philippians 4:16 Colossians 4:2 Thessalonians 5:17 Luke 18:1 1 John 5:14-15 Jeremiah 29:12 Mark 11:24 Romans 12:12 Psalm 145:18 Matthew 7:11 James 5:13-16 Curricular Outcome 6: Grades 1-3 Scripture Connections: There are countless references to prayer in Scripture. The references above are just a few for you to use as you prepare your lessons. One suggestion is 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing. o Prayer is simply a conversation with God. o Those prayers can be formal like the Our Father or Hail Mary. o More often those prayers come in an unstructured format. Like the kind you say at bedtime. Another, Philippians 4:16 I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. o o o Inspiration Station: This Scripture is important to remember when it comes to addressing systemic issues of injustice. It reminds us that we can do all things with Christ because that is the source of our strength. As we discussed in previous lessons we must take action in order to affect change in our communities. We need to remember that prayer is equally, if not more, important.

104 It is important to have people we can look up to in life. In pop culture we have singers, actors/actresses, athletes, etc. In the church we have the saints! The saints were real people. Sinners just like you and me, but despite their sinfulness they strive to serve God! This lesson we will learn a little bit about St. Katherine Drexel Here is a video created by a student about the life of Katherine Drexel. The information is presented in a less traditional way, but highly engaging for younger students. The thing to focus on is how she used prayer and her conversations with God to transform her life and ultimately the lives of the people around her. The song suggestion for this lesson is by John Michael Talbot The Cry of the Poor. This song s focus is about how God hears the prayers of his people...especially the poor. Please preview the video before showing your students. Virtue: Temperance We may remember from our last lesson that we are gifted with seven virtues, and virtue is a good moral quality. The fifth virtue we will examine is Temperance. Temptations are all around us. Temperance is the virtue, which that acts against these temptations. Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion. During the season of Lent we take time to turn away from sin and seek a close relationship with God. Many of us do this by giving something up for the 40 days of Lent (fasting) and we have an increased focus on prayer as we work to better our relationship with God. Curricular Outcome 6: Grades 1-3 you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me Mt. 25: Activity: Prayer In this activity the students will write a prayer with a partner (or individually) to end hunger in our community. At this point they should have plenty of information about the issues around hunger, but you may want to have the statistics from lesson 1 handy. They need to know what needs to be included in their prayer. It is suggested that these be posted on the board. Prayers do not need to follow a particular formula. However, there are some things that need to be included. You should pray: o For the people who are negatively affected by hunger. o For the leaders in the community who make decisions that can make a difference. o For people in the community to be motivated to join the cause. o For God s help. Remind the students that we must ask God for help in our prayers and believe that with God all things are possible. Liturgy and Prayer: Reconciliation/Fasting/Almsgiving Find out when your students are going to attend the sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent and help them prepare.

105 Work with your students so they understand the purpose of fasting and almsgiving. Assessment: Students will construct their prayers to God. These prayers can be completed individually or in groups of 2. These prayers should be focused on an end to hunger in our communities. Name: