Five Series Reviewed by High School Taskforce

TOP Pros and Cons

Didache Series by Midwest Theological Forum (Semester Series only)

  1. SCHOOL Edition (hard cover)
  2. Strengths
  3. Well written text; gives a great synopsis of the faith
  4. Artwork, illustrations, charts very well done
  5. Great use of Scripture
  1. Weaknesses
  2. Overly doctrinal; too much content
  3. Only traditional and comprehensive tests & quizzes
  4. No interactive online study guides, no suggestions for YouTubes or video clips

b.  PARISH Edition (softcover textbooks)

  1. Strengths
  2. Rich content
  3. Beautiful artwork
  4. Good use of margins to incorporate Youcat sections and questions
  1. Weaknesses
  2. More memorization than encouraging a life of faith
  3. Too advanced for parish level
  4. No catechist manual

2.  St. Mary’s Press

a.  SCHOOL Edition (Semester Series)

  1. Strengths
  2. Relational aspect stressed throughout the text
  3. Repetition of story of salvation
  4. Excellent teacher manual
  1. Weaknesses
  2. No enough depth
  3. Teacher manual confusing and disjointed
  4. Follows the Framework so exact that it does not flow well
PARISH Edition (one Book: Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth, 3rd Edition)
  1. Strengths
  2. User friendly
  3. Online activities provided
  4. Great reflection questions
  5. Weaknesses
  6. Does not provide specific lessons on Scripture
  7. Not many graphics
  8. Does not follow the Framework in sequence
  1. Ave Maria Press (semester Series) General Editor is Michael Pennock

a.  Strengths

  1. Well written, easy to read
  2. Online support material
  3. Wide variety of prayer experiences
  4. Weaknesses
  5. Too much reading
  6. Student text in wrap-around teacher manual much too small
  7. Topics in chapters disjointed

4.  Credo by Veritas General Editor is Thomas Groome

  1. Strengths
  2. Excellent questions
  3. Very good prayer services
  4. Good formative activities
  5. Weaknesses
  6. Textbook choppy, shallow, lacking depth
  7. Confusing layout
  8. Lack of audio/visual suggestions
  1. Our Sunday Visitor
  2. Strengths
  3. Great online resources
  4. Variety of prayer experiences
  5. Beautiful and up-to-date pictures
  6. Weaknesses
  7. Print from student text too small in teacher edition
  8. Not enough prayer suggestions
  9. Lack of many higher-order thinking questions for discussion