About Religion Classes
The good news class!

Variety Lives in Religion Class!

         If you ever ask your child what they do in religion class, you may get a blank stare back at you.  Why?  More so than any other subject, religion is a very diverse subject that offers many different ways to learn.  Because of this, no two religion classes are exactly the same.  Some classes include direct instruction, some include group discussions, some include journaling, some include movies, and some of them are a mix of all of the above.  Here is a brief explanation of the different things we frequently do in religion classes.

Prayer

        All religion classes have some type of prayer.  Part of learning your faith is learning to pray, and prayer occurs in thousands of different ways.  Students are often given the job of leading class prayer, and are instructed with "Spiritual Showcase" and other types of prayer assignments.  In addition, prayer is necessary because we NEED God's direction and guidance to make the most of each religion class!

Notes

       This is perhaps our "bread and butter" in religion class.  Notes are short lectures directed by Mr. Rickbeil to directly teach some religious concept.  Notes can be particularly effective because they assist students with different types of learning styles.  Visual learners benefit from writing the notes in front of them and seeing the powerpoint slides present the information to them.  Auditory learners learn from Mr. Rickbeil's explanations and loud voice.  Even kinesthetic learners can learn from some examples that get students up and moving. 

       Although most notes are available for download on this web site, please realize that there is more to taking notes than just writing the information.  Each note-taking lecture includes examples and questions that can't be duplicated just by downloading the powerpoint.

Discussions

       Religion is very applicable to our lives, and is often applies through discussion.  Students have a great deal to learn by listening to others' examples of God working in their life, and students are encouaged to share stories from their own faith.  In addition, many questions in class are not just "yes" or "no" answers, and require students to see all sides of the issue.

Textbook and Bible Readings

       Many students learn best by reading, and our religion textbooks do a fine job presenting concepts in a way that caters to middle-school students.  In addition, students read frequent Bible passages and stories, particularly in 6th and 7th grade.  Much of the Christian tradition is based on the stories of the Bible, and students get to learn these stories directly from the source with the Bibles that they receive in religion class.

Movies

       Believe it or not, there is a great deal to be learned from watching and analyzing a good movie!  6th grade students learn the stories of Moses through the "Prince of Egypt", and compare it to the story of the Exodus in the Bible.  7th grade students analyze "The Nativity Story" to see how it represents the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.  8th grade students learn about morality and free will from "The Truman Show", learning what it means that God gives us the ability to make free choices.  In addition to these movies, Mr. Rickbeil uses video clips and music videos to teach different religious concepts.

Technology Projects

        Students today need to use technology, and several projects have been designed incorporating the technology available to the students to help them learn.  Each class has at least one technology project offered to integrate faith and technology.  For more information on this, check out the technology project pages.

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