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1 e. pl m Sa se ea Pl do n' s d i K g n i p e e K n o i n e A y. p co Copyrigh 2014 Our Sunday Visior Publishing Divison, Our Sunday Visior, Inc. All righs reserved. Please call , or visi o order.

2 THE WAY GOD TEACHES A CULTURE OF DISTRACTIONS We live in a culure of disracions. There is more informaion, relevan or no, flying a us oday han ever before. The pervasiveness of elecronic media ensures ha we are never far from a saus updae, someone who wans o say hello, a company ha wans o sell us somehing, or a recap of he day s news and evens. Samp mple. Please e don' copy. Aduls oday can remember a ime when he world mw was simpler and quieer. Bu oday s kids have grown up in his media-sauraed environmen, and i affecs he developing brain. Researchers such as Dr. Clifford Nass a Sanford Universiy have documened how our culure of muli-asking wih media has shorened aenion spans and changed he way our brains work, especially for children. Curren research suggess ha a person s aenion span is abou equal o age in minues up o he early wenies, which is when he prefronal ronal corex (he par of he brain where execuive funcions such as aenion processes ake place) finishes growing. Nihil Obsa: Msgr. Michael Heinz, Ph.D. Censor Librorum Kevin C. Rhoades Bishop of For Wayne-Souh Bend June 23, 2014 The Nihil Obsa and Imprimaur are official declaraions ha a book is free from docrinal or moral error. I is no implied ha hose who have graned he Nihil Obsa and Imprimaur agree wih he conens, opinions, or saemens expressed. Scripure exs in his work are aken from he New American Bible, revised ediion 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraerniy of Chrisian Docrine, Washingon, D.C., and are used by permission of he copyrigh owner. All righs reserved. No par of he New American Bible may be reproduced in any form wihou permission in wriing from he copyrigh owner. Excerps from he English ranslaion of he General Direcory for Caechesis, copyrigh 1997 by Libreria Edirice Vaicana, are used wih permission. Published in he Unied Saes, 1998, by Unied Saes Caholic Conference, Washingon, D.C. We could si back and wish for a reurn o a simpler world and life (and here s probably a place for a discussion abou ha issue, oo). We could say ha i s no our job Every reasonable effor has been made o deermine copyrigh holders of excerped maerials and o o enerain he youhs of oday and ha hey need o learn o pay aenion longer (all secure permissions as needed. If any copyrighed rue). Bu, meanwhile, we are losing our children, because e our educaional mehodologies have no kep pace wih heir shorening aenion spans. s. And, frankly, he Gospel work wihou proper credi being given in one maerials have been inadverenly used in his message is oo imporan o le his happen. form or anoher, please noify Our Sunday Visior in wriing so ha fuure prinings of his work may be As caechiss and eachers of he Faih, we proclaim he answers o some of he correced accordingly. mos profound quesions of human exisence: Who am I? Why am I here? Where Copyrigh 2014 by Joseph D. Whie, Ph.D. did I come from? Wha s i all for? and Wha will happen in he fuure? Our faih Published gives answers o all of hese quesions and no jus any answers, bu good answers. In our minisry of caechesis, we are handing on he meaning of life. And, ragically, we are ofen boring people wih he very message ha could bring hem lasing happiness. c. wec As a Church, we canno afford o le his happen. I s ime o ake a fresh look a how o opall righs reserved. Wih he excepion of shor excerps for criical reviews, no par of his work may engage our children and youh and help hem hear God s message for hem. be reproduced or ransmied in any form or by any means whasoever wihou permission in wriing y.from he publisher. Conac: Our Sunday Visior Publishing Division, Our Sunday Visior, Inc., 200 Noll Plaza, Joseph Whie, Ph.D. Huningon, IN 46750; ; bookpermissions@osv.com. Su. 2 ISBN: (Invenory No. X1627) Design by: Tyler Oinger Cover phoo by: Thinksock PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Copyrigh 2014 Our Sunday Visior Publishing Divison, Our Sunday Visior, Inc. All righs reserved. Please call , or visi o order.

3 Keeping Kids Aenion r e h. w 6, on, al ria hed lic d ne in be ay ny g Sample. Pleas ease e don on' copy py. THE DIVINE PEDAGOGY We use he erm divine pedagogy o describe God s own way of eaching us. The General Direcory for Caechesis (GDC),, he Church s guidebook for handing on he Faih, says he following: owing: Caechesis, as communicaion of divine Revelaion, is radically ally inspired by he pedagogy of God, as displayed in Chris and in he Church (143). Our call as eachers and caechiss is o hand on he ruhs of he Faih. When we do his well, we are no only using he bes of wha we know abou how people learn, bu also echoing God s own way of eaching us his ruhs. We should also respec ha, even as we each ohers, God remains acive in he hear of he human person, bringing growh o he seeds of faih ha are planed here. py.he hė Pedagogy and mehodology are no exacly one and he same. Pedagogy refers o he principles ha help us decide boh how conen is seleced and he mehods we use. There are five aspecs of he pedagogy of God ha is, of he way God eaches. We will use hese five aspecs o frame how God s own pedagogy can help us engage he aenion of our learners. Images: Shuersock, Chris Enhroned: J. Paul Gey Trus 3 Copyrigh 2014 Our Sunday Visior Publishing Divison, Our Sunday Visior, Inc. All righs reserved. Please call , or visi o order.

4 THE WAY GOD TEACHES Invie he Learner The pedagogy of God is inviaional and person-cenered. God begins by reaching ou o us, no by waiing for us o come o him. God also mees us where we are and accommodaes for our paricular needs. Therefore, effecive caechesis engages he learner, and caechiss need o be aenive o his or her needs. Firs, children have limied life experiences from which o draw. Second, children and early eens end o be very concree hinkers. Their abiliy o absrac general principles from paricular experiences is quie limied. Finally, children aren paricularly ineresed in he experiences of ohers. They are sill learning ha oher people have differen perspecives from heir own, and, in many cases, hey s- sill feel very much like he ceners of heir own universes. Sample. Please don' copy. Inviaional, Person-Cenered Caechesis S, Many caecheical programs for children oday were developed based on he principles of adul educaion from decades ago. The principles were laer adaped o he caecheical seing and evenually scaled down o children s caechesis. Effecive adul formaion is based on he idea ha reflecing on our own life experiences and sharing our personal sories wih ohers will bring us closer o God and help connec our faih o oher aspecs of our lives. Ye, here are several poenial problems wih using his approach wih children. ass of By way of example, imagine ha a caechis asks a classroom of firs graders a fairly absrac quesion such as, When have you experienced God a home wih your family? Firs, many hands will go up no because he children have processed he quesion and hough of a response bu because each child wans o be he one o answer he quesion. The momen one child is called upon, several oher children will immediaely une ou, raher han waiing o hear wha ha child has o say. They lose aenion because hey don see he oher child s response as direcly relevan o hem. The child who is called on ofen doesn benefi much from a quesion like his eiher, because e such an absrac quesion is no developmenally appropriae. He or she is likely o say somehing like, When we were a Mass, or When we prayed a dinner, because he concree mind of a firs-grader is looking for a specific menion of God in he experience and may have rouble seeing God in more suble ways. Shuersock Using he pedagogy of God, we can craf a beer approach o beginning and susaining a class discussion one ha engages all he children and keeps heir ineres. INVITE LEARNERS INTO THE PROCESS. We don find God ; God finds us. I is God who iniiaes he relaionship wih humaniy, and we respond o his inviaion. God is aware of our needs and makes provisions for hem. As caechiss, we have a responsibiliy o invie our learners o he process o engage hem and make provisions for heir aenional needs. 4 Copyrigh 2014 Our Sunday Visior Publishing Divison, Our Sunday Visior, Inc. All righs reserved. Please call , or visi o order.

5 Keeping Kids Aenion ACTIVE ATTENTION-GETTING TECHNIQUES ACTIVE QUESTIONING/DISCUSSION TECHNIQUES ASK YOUR LEARNERS WHAT QUESTIONS THEY HAVE ABOUT THE TOPIC. Wha do hey wonder? You migh wan o give a few examples. Quesions guide our learning; hey engage us in he process. We are less ineresed in answers if we haven ye asked quesions. USE ATTENTION CUES o le sudens know i s ime o lisen. For younger children, cachphrases USE A HIDDEN WORD OR PROP TO BEGIN DISCUSSION. Have sudens guess wha you like 1-2-3, eyes on me are someimes appropriae. Visual cues, have in your mysery bag, or pu a prop relaed o he lesson on a able in he fron of he room and make sure i is covered wih a cloh. See if hey can such as a physical gesure, can be guess wha i migh be from he shape. especially helpful. Research ells us ha children wih aenion ASSESS LEARNING THROUGH CHORAL RESPONDING. We ofen end problems end o have more diffi- o ask facual quesions abou wha sudens have learned culy paying aenion o ory informaion compared wih audi- and hen wai for someone o raise a hand and respond individually. For reasons already discussed, his can dimin- visual informaion. ish group paricipaion. Insead, when asking a quesion definie answer, invie choral responding. In oher QUIET THE ROOM. I s hard o pay audi-e. wih Please a words, ask he class o respond ogeher. For example, insead of asking one aenion in he mids of chaos person o name he hree divine persons of he Triniy, say, The hree divine and noise. Someimes we are persons of he Holy Triniy are God he Faher, God he (pause here and wai emped o ry alking (or even for a class response) and God he (pause here and wai for a class response). yelling) over he group, bu his can be unpleasan for everyone, PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS. For quesions wih caechis included. If he room wo discree answer opions for example, rue/false, good choice/bad is especially loud, quiely say, If choice, ec. you may wish o use some sor of gesure, such as humbs up you can hear my voice, raise your or humbs down or sanding up/siing down (which has he added benefi hand. A firs, only he sudens of geing ou some exra energy). For quesions wih more possible answers, closes o you will respond, bu allow kids o wrie heir responses on a piece of paper and urn he paper ohers near hem will wonder over when hey are ready. wha is happening. Say he same hing again, and more sudens Addiional Recommendaions will raise heir hands. This will n MOVE FROM ONE ACTIVITY TO THE OTHER PERIODICALLY: from gahering o pray o evenually ge he aenion of presening he lesson, from ar response o discussion, from he pracical applicaion or pracice o saying a closing prayer, for example. even he noisies sudens, who will wonder why ohers have heir hands raised. Sample. Plea leas ase don' copy. POSITIVELY REINFORCE ATTENTION. When you need a group o quie down or o look your way, sar by saying, Le me see who is lisening, or Le me see who is ready. When you see a child who is quie and aenive, hank him or her for being ready. The oher sudens will noice and begin o do he same. n HAVE THE CLASS CHANGE POSITION, from siing o sanding, or from one par of he room o he nex. This will help o rese he aenion ion span clock. Quesions for Reflecion: Wha mos easily engages he aenion of my learners? Wha new echniques can I uilize o susain aenion during class discussions? Copyrigh 2014 Our Sunday Visior Publishing Divison, Our Sunday Visior, Inc. All righs reserved. Please call , or visi o order. 5 OSV Phoo

6 THE WAY GOD TEACHES Make i real God s pedagogy is incarnaional. God s plan of salvaion is characerized by his words and deeds, and he uniy beween he wo. From speaking he universe ino exisence, o his promise o Noah, o his covenans wih Abraham and Moses, and o he Word made flesh in Jesus Chris, i is clear ha God s Word becomes acion. An effecive pedagogy is winessed in he life and behavior of he caechis. I makes he Faih come o life hrough hands-on aciviies and applicaions and mulisensory eaching mehods. I provides learners wih clear ideas of how o go ou and live he Gospel. Samp mple. Please don' copy. AN INCARNATIONAL CATECHESIS We all learn in differen ways. Some are audiory learners and undersand well from lisening o he message. Ohers are visual learners and benefi from visual aids and demonsraions of he lesson. Sill ohers learn bes by moving and doing. They are called kinesheic learners. In he 1980s, an idea emerged ha shed new insigh on how people learn. In his 1983 book Frames of Mind, Harvard Universiy psychologis Dr. Howard Gardner proposed a new heory of inelligence called he Theory of Muliple Inelligences. Gardner assered ha here was no jus one ype of inelligence bu many differen ways in which a person could be smar. He proposed he following eigh ypes of inelligence: n LINGUISTIC INTELLIGENCE: he abiliy o read, wrie, or speak well. n SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: he abiliy o read chars, graphs, and diagrams, or o excel in he visual ars, such as paining, drawing, or phoography. sphy. Images: Shuersock n LOGICAL-MATHEMATICAL INTELLIGENCE: he abiliy o use numbers and logic, solve puzzles, or use he scienific mehod. n MUSICAL/RHYTHMIC INTELLIGENCE: skill a singing, playing an insrumen, and appreciaing or composing music. n BODILY-KINESTHETIC INTELLIGENCE: skill a using he whole body in physical movemen or handson learning aciviies. n NATURALIST INTELLIGENCE: sensiiviy o he feaures of he naural world; he abiliy o discriminae beween various ypes of living hings. n INTERPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE: he abiliy o relae o various ypes of people, o work in groups, and o ge along wih ohers. n INTRAPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE: skill a inrospecion and conemplaion. 6 Copyrigh 2014 Our Sunday Visior Publishing Divison, Our Sunday Visior, Inc. All righs reserved. Please call , or visi o order.

7 Keeping Kids Aenion Images: Shuersock Sample. Plea ease No maer wha learning syles s are represened in your classroom, he mos imporan ool you have is yourself. The General Direcory for Caechesis pus i his way: No mehodology, no maer how well esed, can dispense wih he person of he caechis in every phase of he caecheical process. The charism given o him by he Spiri, a solid spiriualiy and ransparen winess of life, consiues he soul of every mehod. Only his own human and Chrisian qualiies guaranee a good use of exs and oher work insrumens. (156) This means ha your winess is criically imporan. You each no only by wha you say, bu also by wha you do, boh in he classroom and in he communiy. You help God s Word become acion in he lives of your learners. As caechiss and eachers, each of us has a responsibiliy o be an incarnaion of he Gospel message. MULTISENSORY METHODOLOGY e. Please e don' copy. Using muliple senses in he way we communicae he message is especially imporan when i comes o eaching he Faih. God s Word is for everyone, no maer how hey learn bes. We make our message more available o everyone indeed more caholic when we use a variey of mehods. The GDC says, he variey of mehods is a sign of life and richness as well as a demonsraion of respec for hose o whom caechesis is addressed (148). Here are a few acive-learning aciviies ha can be adaped o almos any conen: VISUAL, INTERACTIVE STORY TIMES. In he Judeo-Chrisian radiion, we ofen hand on ruhs in he form of sory. Help he sories in your lessons come alive by using ineracive soryelling echniques involving visuals and hree-dimensional diṁ props. Try acing ou he sory wih he children. MUSIC, RHYTHM, AND MOVEMENT. Music and rhyhm is a grea way o memorize maerial. When here are prayers or poins o memorize, look for a song o help. Mos of our radiional Caholic prayers are already se o various melodies, and many key poins from he lessons are ofen on he soundracks ha accompany curriculum wrien by major Caholic publishers. Songs wih hand moions are even beer, as hey especially appeal o he kinesheic learners in he group. Copyrigh 2014 Our Sunday Visior Publishing Divison, Our Sunday Visior, Inc. All righs reserved. Please call , or visi o order. 7

8 THE WAY GOD TEACHES GAMES. Kids and eens love o play games. If possible, avoid individual compeiion, because his can creae an undesirable amosphere in he class. However, social psychologiss have found ha when children compee on eams, he amosphere is more focused on working ogeher, and his can build communiy and cohesiveness. Here are a few examples of games ha can be used wih almos any conen: n TICK-TACK-TOE When i s ime o complee he chaper es or chaper review in your exbook, divide he room down he middle, and make your wo eams he Xs and he Os. Draw a ick-ack-oe board. Have he children urn o he page wih he chaper es/review, and give quesion one o he Xs. If hey answer correcly, hey can pu an X on he board in he place chosen by he suden who answered, and hen he Os have a urn wih quesion number wo. If Sd Sam he Xs answer o quesion number one is incorrec, ha quesion goes o he Os, and so on. n GAME SHOW When you have compleed a few weeks of learning on various opics, arrange quesions abou he conen ino various caegories. This works especially well wih he uni ess in many of he exbook series used in Caholic parishes and schools. For example, if you have jus compleed a uni of chapers on he sacramens, you migh have had a chaper on he Sacramens of Iniiaion, one on Sacramens of Healing, and one on Sacramens a he Service of Holy Communion. Wrie hese hree caegories on he board wih poin values for each quesion, and hen allow sudens o choose ose a caegory and quesion value o score poins for heir eam. For example, hey migh say, I ll ake Sacramens of Iniiaion for 200 poins. Coninue play unil all of he quesions have been asked. Sample. Plea ease e don' copy. n MYSTERY WORD When you are inroducing a new and imporan word or concep, ry puing a blank line for each leer on he board and having he sudens guess he leers. You can also vary his wih longer phrases, or he key concep, learning objecive, or main poin of he chaper. Wih senences and phrases, wrie some of he words and leave ohers blank. Ask he sudens if hey can guess he whole word ha goes in he blank. n WHO AM I This is a game ha can be adaped d o conen ha involves disinguishing beween characers or caegories. You could play Holy Family: Who Am I, or Holy Triniy: Who Am I, or 7 Sacramens: Who Am I. For older children and eens, you migh have a game of 12 Disciples: Who Am I or Virues: Who Am I. Make an envelope for each answer. Pu he clues on he fron of he envelope e and pu a piece of paper wih he answer (or a picure of he answer) on he inside. For example, for 7 Sacramens: Who Am I, you migh have an envelope on which is wrien, This is he sacramen in which waer is poured on he person, or hey are immersed in waer, and hey are forgiven of all original and any personal sin, and hey become par of he Church and an adoped son or daugher of God. On he inside of he envelope, here would be eiher he word bapism or a picure of a bapism (or boh). For each quesion, he caechis or eacher reads he clues from he ouside of he envelope. The children raise heir hands when hey hink hey know he answer. Afer a child guesses, he caechis/eacher er hands he envelope o he child so he or she may open i and see if he answer given was correc. py. Quesions for Reflecion: How can I serve as a living example of he hings I wish o each? y. Wha learning syles do I see represened in he group of learners I each? How can I beer mee he needs of children wih diverse learning syles? 8 Copyrigh 2014 Our Sunday Visior Publishing Divison, Our Sunday Visior, Inc. All righs reserved. Please call , or visi o order.