Level:Level 2 Ages 10-11
Subject: Religion
Topic:
1. Responding to the invitation to be God’s friend
2. Relating to God: shaping relationships with others and the universe
3. Ways to continue to grow as God’s friend, as members of the Body of Christ
Objectives:
1. Students will examine the connections between baptism, friendship with God and prayer as they look at how each played a part in Sr. Dorothy’s life.
2. Students will explore how Sr. Dorothy’s relationship with God shaped her relationships with other people and with the rest of God’s creation. Students will be asked to reflect on the same connections in their own lives.
3. Students will explore the life-style choices within the Church as ways individuals are called to continue to grow in relationship with God, self, others, the universe. Students will examine the life-style vocation Sr. Dorothy was called to and how that vocation shaped her life.
A Note to Teachers:
The materials in this lesson plan will need to be spread out over a number of days. Teachers will want to read through the lesson and test the web site links to insure that they are suited to their particular students. There are materials to tell the story of Sister Dorothy Stang to younger children. Information is underDay Three below.
It is strongly suggested that you read the materials about Sr. Dorothy and decide which links would be best for your students.
There are many good background articles on teaching prayer to children that can be accessed through the Finding God website at: .
PowerPoint presentations and worksheets 4A through 4G are linked on the same page as this document.
Procedures:
Day One:
1. Ask the students, “What does ‘baptism’ mean to you?” List their responses. Distribute worksheet 4A (linked on the same page as this document). Have them use the words to complete the paragraph by filling in the blanks. They could do this as a group.
When they are finished the paragraph should read: My baptism frees me from original sin, makes me a part of the Body of Christ, fills me with the Holy Spirit, calls me to love others, makes me a child of God, calls me to have a welcoming attitude towards others, means that I have accepted the message of Jesus, means that I share in the mission of Jesus.
2. Review the paragraph with the students, pointing out how their ideas about baptism are incorporated into the paragraph. Reinforce the following points with the students:
Baptism is the first sacrament of initiation
Baptism is the beginning of a lifelong journey of knowing, loving and serving Jesus.
Baptism is a response to an invitation from God: God wants to love us and invites us to love in return.
Baptism is an invitation to let God’s love help us be the special person God creates each of us to be.
Baptism makes us a part of the Body of Christ, the Church.
3. Invite the students to explore how Baptism can affect our relationships with self, others, the world around us and God by assigning worksheet 4B (linked on the same page as this document). Review their work with them, asking students to share their ideas with each other.
Optional Exercises to reinforce the concepts/Homework:
1. Give the students some four strips of paper (it can be plain or color). On one strip invite the students write something about themselves for which they are thankful. On a second strip invite the students to write something about another person for which they are thankful. On the third strip invite the students to write something about the world for which they are thankful. On the fourth strip invite the students to write something about God for which they are thankful. Have the students link their strips together to make a chain, leaving the last link open. Then have the students link all of their chains together. Place the chain in a special place in the classroom and lead the students in a prayer of thanksgiving for their uniqueness, for the people who are a part of their life, for the world and for God’s loving presence. OR Give each of the students four Post-It notes. Have them write what they are thankful for (as above) on each. Help them to use the notes to create a prayer tree in a special place in the classroom and lead them in a prayer of thanksgiving as above.
2. Use the outline that is found at: lead the students in a “Responsive Lord’s Prayer”. The students are asked to give their response to each phrase of the prayer. This can be done verbally or as a journaling exercise in class. The exercise could also be printed out and assigned as homework.
3. Share the following version of the Millennium Prayer with the students and pray it together as a class:
God of love and mercy, you call us to be your people, and you gift us with your abundant grace. Make us a holy people, radiating the fullness of your love. Form us into a community, a people who care, expressing your compassion. Remind us day after day of our baptismal call to serve, with joy and courage. Teach us how to grow in wisdom and grace and joy in your presence. Through Jesus and in your Spirit, we make this prayer. Amen.
Day Two:
1. Review with the students: “What does Baptism celebrate?” “How does Baptism affect your relationship with yourself, with others, with God, with creation?”
2. Ask the students: “What’s the word ‘prayer’ mean to you? When do you pray? How do you pray?”
3. Share with the students as much of the PowerPoint presentation, Prayer: the Breath of Life, found in 4C (linked on the same page as this document) as you think is helpful. It will help the students connect the concept of prayer to the concept of responding to God’s invitation into a relationship that all of us receive at Baptism. For your use and preparation a print out of the presentation as slides with notes. The notes contain a script to use with the slides. After the presentation ask the students to write a prayer. The prayers can be used in class in the days and weeks that follow.
4. Use 4D with the students as a prayer journal project. Decide how long you want the project to be (a week, a month?). Ask each student to design a prayer journal. Give each student a copy and ask them to use it as an outline for a simple journal they keep in the prayer journal they have made. Each day they are to find time to answer the questions that are on the page.
Optional Exercises to reinforce the concepts/Homework:
1. Help the students look at the space they have at home for prayer by assigning the printout that can be found at:
2. Take the students to the following site, or print out the page and give copies to the students. Review the information with them.
Name of site: Finding God: Praying Your Way Through the Day
Address of site:
Brief description of site: 12 tips to help everyone “pray always”.
3. Use the hand out from the following site and guide the students through the prayer experience:
Name of site: Faith First: Mountain Top Meditation
Address of site:
Brief description of site: Provides a guided meditation to help the students identify their image of God.
4. You may want to explore the resources at prayer and helping others to pray. There may be other materials there that you want to incorporate into your work with your class.
Day Three
1. Review with the students the work of the first two days on baptism and prayer.
2. Introduce the students to Sister Dorothy Stang: tell them you’d like them to look at her story and look for ways she lived out of the grace of her baptism. You can share Sister Dorothy’s story by sharing with the students the book Angel in Our Forest at the top of this page:
OR by sharing materials found at:
Name of site: NotreDameOnline.org—Sister Dorothy Stang
Address of site:
Description of site: Have the student’s read the Word document: “Amazing Grace” and/or the information at Have them read it as a class. You may want to explore some of the other resources that are linked to this page, especially the mini-biography that is linked there.
3. Have the students process the story by asking them: “What do you think is important in Sister Dorothy’s story?” Give them a chance to ask questions for clarification.
4. Remind the students of the work they did on worksheet 4B: Baptism affects how we see ourselves, others, God and the world. Ask them how Sister Dorothy’s baptism shaped how she saw herself, other people, God and the world?
5. Have the students do worksheet 4E. This can be assigned individually or to small groups. When the students have had time to work on the assignment, have them share their responses in class.
Optional Exercise to reinforce the concepts/Homework:
1. Lead the students in prayer using the Prayer for Healing:
Blessed are You, Holy Creator, Source of all that is good, beautiful and whole. Where wholeness is splintered or shattered, goodness damaged or marred, and beauty bruised or broken, we ask for healing and deep peace. Be healing balm for this world: for all people, creatures, places, events, and for the environment. We welcome the touch of your Healing Love and Gentle Presence. Inspired by Dorothy Stang, your servant and martyr, we pray in communion with all the saints in glory, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
This prayer is found at:
Day Four
1. Review the work of the past three days.
2. Ask the students: “What does the word ‘vocation’ mean?” “How is ‘vocation’ connected to Baptism?”
3. Assign the following questions:
Where does ‘vocation’ come from?
What kinds of vocation are there?
What is your vocation?
What is the connection between Baptism and vocation?
What is the connection between prayer and vocation?
4. Review the answers the students come up with. They will have some success and some difficulty! To clarify the answers, share with the students the materials in the PowerPoint presentation, Vocation rooted in Baptism, found in 4F. This is a simple presentation and the content IS the script. For your own background as you deal with this topic, you may want to read the articles by Sr. Catherine Bertrand that can be found at: and
5. Ask the students to think about Sister Dorothy’s life: “What ministry (or ministries) did God call her to do?” (Teacher, religious educator, community organizer, etc.) “What lifestyle did God call her to?” (Religious life as a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur) Ask the students: “What would have been different in her life if God had called Sister Dorothy to the lifestyle of marriage?” “What would have been different in her life if God had called Sister Dorothy to the single life?” Stress with the students that ALL the lifestyles are ways we grow in love and service, one is not better than the other.
6. Assign worksheet 4G to the students. Pray with them the prayer for vocations that is found on the worksheet. You may want to give them time to do the worksheet and then have them share their work in small groups or with the whole class.
Optional Exercises to reinforce the concepts/Homework:
1. Assign the students the task of researching three religious communities. Ask them to discover: What kind of ministries do they do? Where do they serve? When did they start? What do you like about them? A good source of information for this assignment can be found at:
Name of site: National Religious Vocation Conference
Address of site:
Brief description of site: ThisReligious Institutes Web Links page has links to dozens of religious communities of men and women.
2. Three good sites that you can use with the students to help them develop habits of prayer are:
Name of site: Sacred Space
Address of site:
Brief description of site: Sponsored by the Irish Jesuits, it provides a meditation each day on one of the readings of the Daily Mass.
Name of site: Pray as you go
Address of site:
Brief description of site: Sponsored by the Jesuits in Britain, it provides pod-casts of meditations for each day (based on the liturgy of the day) as well as other guided prayer exercises.
Name of site: Prayer Windows
Address of site:
Brief description of site: The web site of New England Jesuit-artist Bob Gilroy, it provides ideas for incorporating art into prayer and meditation.
Assessment/Evaluation:
Students should be able to answer:
What is baptism?
What is prayer?
What is vocation?
How are the three terms connected?
What are some ways to pray?
Who was Sister Dorothy Stang?
What was her ministry?
What was her lifestyle?
What are the three lifestyle vocations?
What are the similarities and differences between each?