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CHAPTER 1: God is Our Father
In this chapter the children learn that God created the world and all people.
Distribute the activity sheets. Help the children find the hidden letters (g is on the trunk of the tree in the left foreground, one o is in the branches of the same tree, the other o is in the pond, and the d is between the tree and the bush in the center background). Have the children complete the sentence and then color the picture. While the children are coloring, play “Thank You, God,” #2 on the Grade 1 CD.
Answer: Everything God created is good.
Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Visual-Spatial, Musical
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CHAPTER 2: We Believe in the Blessed Trinity
In this chapter the children learn that God sent his own Son, Jesus, to us.
- Click here for the activity “God’s Greatest Gift.”
Distribute the activity sheets. Read the words of the song. Have the children practice singing. Let them suggest actions they can do while singing particular verses. Then, pray together in word and song.
Multiple Intelligences: Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal
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CHAPTER 3: Jesus Grew Up in a Family
In this chapter the children learn ways the Holy Family showed love for God, each other, and other people.
Distribute the activity sheets. Read the directions. You may want the children to attach the figures to empty paper rolls instead of craft sticks. The children can also make props to use with the figures. Then invite the children to use the figures and props to dramatize stories about the Holy Family.
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial, Interpersonal
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CHAPTER 4: Jesus Works Among the People
In this chapter the children learn that the word trust means "to believe in someone's love for us." They also learn that Jesus wants us to trust God the Father.
Distribute the activity sheets. After you have read the directions, tell the children that they may use different colors for the X spaces. Remind the children to complete the sentence below the puzzle.
When the children have completed the activities, pray together: "God we believe you love us. We trust you."
Answer: Jesus tells us to trust God.
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial, Linguistic, Interpersonal
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CHAPTER 5: Jesus Teaches Us About Love
In this chapter the children read and discuss the story of the Good Samaritan. They learn that Jesus taught us that all people are our neighbors.
Distribute the activity sheets. Ask volunteers to tell what is happening in each picture. Then have the children draw to complete the story. When the children have finished drawing, emphasize that good neighbors would work together to pick up the game pieces.
Have the children work in small groups to act out the picture story or dramatize one of their own.
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial, Interpersonal, Bodily-Kinesthetic
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CHAPTER 6: The Church Year
In this chapter the children learn that the Church praises Jesus all year long.
Distribute the activity sheets and material to make praise shakers. Help the children to complete each step. When the children have completed their shakers, have them bring the shakers to the prayer space. Invite the children to sing “Jesus in the Morning,” using the shakers as accompaniment. The song is #3 on the Grade 1 CD.
Multiple Intelligences: Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal
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CHAPTER 7: Ordinary Time
In this chapter the children learn that we celebrate All Saints’ Day on November 1 in Ordinary Time.
- Click here for the activity “All Saint’s Day Mobile.”
Distribute the activity sheets and construction paper. Help the children glue the sheets to the construction paper. As the children are coloring, explain the symbolism of the pictures. Say:
- Saint Patrick used the shamrock to teach people about the Blessed Trinity.
- Saint Rose of Lima planted and took care of flowers. She used the flowers to help her family and people in need.
- A crown reminds us of Saint Margaret. She was the queen of Scotland. She gave food and clothes to the poor and hungry people of her country.
- Saint Peter was a fisherman. Jesus called Peter to follow him.
- Saint John Bosco taught young people how to make things. He started a shoe factory to give jobs to young men. They used the money to help themselves and people in need.
- Saint Nicholas gave gold coins to a poor family to help them.
Then have the children cut out the squares. Next, help them punch holes at the top of each square and thread a length of yarn or string through the hole. Help the children tie the strings to a coat hanger or strip of cardboard.
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial, Interpersonal
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CHAPTER 8: Jesus Had Many Followers
In this chapter the children listened to and discussed the story of Jesus calming the storm at sea.
Distribute the activity sheets. Ask the children to look at the pictures as you read aloud the Scripture story, the last sentence being, “Jesus told the wind and the waves to be still.” Then have the children draw a picture to show what happened next.
When the children are finished drawing, dramatize the Scripture story. Invite volunteers to be Jesus and the apostles. Ask the other children make the sounds of the wind and the rain. Then pray together: “Thank you, Jesus, for all the amazing things that you have done.”
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic
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CHAPTER 9: Jesus Died and Rose to New Life
In this chapter the children learn that Jesus died and rose to bring us new life. They learn that we pray Alleluia, a word of praise.
Distribute the activity sheets. Explain that the cross, butterfly, and flowers stand for new life that Jesus brings to us. Ask the children to color each section of the mobile. Then help them glue the activity sheet to a piece of construction paper. Guide the children to use the dashed lines to cut out the sections of the mobile on the activity sheet. Help them to use a piece of string to hang each section of the mobile from a plastic coat hanger.
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial
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CHAPTER 10: Jesus Sends the Holy Spirit
In this chapter the children learn that the Holy Spirit is with us everyday. They learn that the Holy Spirit helps us to share God’s love with others.
Distribute the activity sheets. As the children color the flame and the words on the prayer card, discuss why the Church uses a picture of a flame or fire to remind us of the Holy Spirit. (See the As Catholics section of the chapter.)
Help the children to cut out the prayer card and glue or tape it to red, orange, or yellow construction paper. Then invite the children to carry their prayer cards to the prayer space. Pray together: “Holy Spirit, help us today.”
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial
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CHAPTER 11: The Holy Spirit Helps the Church to Grow
for the activity "The Church.” Distribute the activity sheets. Have the children color and cut out the poster. When the children have finished their posters, gather in the prayer space. Have the children point to themselves and say, “I am the Church.” Then have them join hands and say, “We are the Church.” Then pray together, “Holy Spirit, help us to learn more about Jesus and the Church.”
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial, Interpersonal, Bodily-Kinesthetic
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CHAPTER 12: The Church Serves
for the activity "The First Church Leaders.”
Distribute the activity sheets. Help the children find the hidden letters: P in the upper left-hand corner; E on the tunic of the apostle second from left; T on the pocket of the apostle holding the walking staff; E on the top left brick of the wall; R in the cloud in the upper right-hand corner. Then ask the children to color the picture. Remind them that Peter and the apostles traveled to teach people about Jesus. They helped the Church grow.
Answer: Peter and the apostles were the first Curch leaders.
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial, Linguistic
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CHAPTER 13: Advent
for the activity "A Prayer Picture.”
Distribute the activity sheets. Have the children color the picture. Then help the children write an Advent message on the back of the picture. An example is “We are praying for you during Advent.”
When the children are finished writing, collect their papers. Give the pictures to a person on the parish ministry team. Ask this person to give the pictures to parishioners who are in need of prayer.
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial, Linguistic, Interpersonal
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CHAPTER 14: Christmas
for the activity "Christmas Story Figures.” Before class, make play clay. Give each child some clay and ask him or her to mold an animal that could be added to the Christmas manger scene. Let the figures dry overnight and when you next meet, help the children to paint the figures. Encourage the children to take the figures home and add them to their Christmas scenes.
Then distribute the activity the activity sheets. Tell the children to take the sheets home to show the play clay recipe to their families. Explain that the family can work together to make the figures during Christmas time.
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic
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CHAPTER 15: We Belong to a Parish
In Chapter 15 the children learn about the parish community and its activities.
Before beginning the activity, write the word parish on the chalkboard or on poster board. Have the children take turns sharing what they know about a parish. Ask a volunteer to find the word parish in the glossary and write its definition on the chalkboard or poster board. (parish- a group of Catholics who join together to share God’s love.) As a group, talk about the word parish and its meaning.
Distribute the activity sheets and read the directions aloud. Make a two-column chart on the chalkboard or poster board and label the columns Picture 1 and Picture 2. Have the children use a pencil to number the two the pictures on their activity sheets. Ask for volunteers to identify the details for each picture. Record their responses on the chart. Then, compare the columns on the chart. Ask: Which picture shows the meaning of the word parish? Then, ask volunteers to share things that they have seen in their own parish that show the meaning of the word parish.
Answer: Things in the first picture that are not in the second include the priest, a man helping the woman on crutches, song books in the third pew, people singing, and people smiling.
Multiple Intelligences: Logical-Mathematical, Intrapersonal
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CHAPTER 16: We Celebrate the Sacraments
In Chapter 16 the children learn that we celebrate God’s love in the sacraments.
- Click here for the activity for "Seven Sacraments."
Start a discussion about the seven sacraments. Invite volunteers to name each sacrament or as many as they can. Write each sacrament on the chalkboard or a poster board. Point to each sacrament, and have the children read the name of each aloud. Talk about what is celebrated at each sacrament.
Distribute the activity sheets and read the directions aloud. If possible, show the children examples of pages from your parish web site. Help the children think of visuals to use for the sacraments. Remind the children to use their We Believe texts to help find information and pictures about each sacrament. Invite volunteers to share the completed web pages or include the designs on your parish web site. Answer: First picture—We pray before the cross; second picture—We remember that Jesus gave himself in the Eucharist; third picture—We welcome new members into the Church.
Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Visual-Spatial
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CHAPTER 17: The Church Welcomes New Members
In Chapter 17 the children learn about the sacrament of Baptism.
- Click here for the activity "Make a Baptism Mobile."
*In advance, provide three pieces of string or yarn for each child. You may want to trace cardboard pieces in the shape of the Baptism sign and paste them to the back, before attaching string, to make the mobile less flimsy.
Distribute the activity sheets and read the directions aloud. Ask volunteers to identify each image on the patterns. Read the words together on each pattern. Encourage the children to color each pattern. You may want them to use crayons, markers, colored pencils, and even glitter. Provide assistance as needed. Help the children to use scissors to cut out each pattern and use the string to attach each piece to the Baptism sign.
Display the completed mobiles in the prayer space. Pray together: Thank you God for giving us a share in your life.
Multiple Intelligences: Bodily-Kinesthetic
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CHAPTER 18: We Are Followers of Jesus
In Chapter 18 the children learn ways members of the Church follow Jesus and share the light of his love.
*In advance, gather the materials needed for the project: crayons, scissors, paste, small paper bags (one for each child), and flashlights. You may want to make a luminaria to display.
Distribute the activity sheets and read the directions aloud. Ask a volunteer to read aloud the words on the star. Remind the children to use a dark colored crayon to trace the words inside the star before cutting out the pattern. Provide assistance to the children as needed in attaching the stars to the bags. Encourage the children to be creative when decorating the bags.
Gather the children together in the prayer space. Turn out the lights in the room, and ask the children to turn on their flashlights to light the luminarias, as you play the song "Walk in the Light" #21, Grade 1 CD. Have the children sing along. (You may want to have volunteers light the luminarias if there is not a flashlight for each child.) Then pray together: Jesus you are the Light of the World. Help us to share your light with others.
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial, Musical
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CHAPTER 19: We Celebrate God’s Forgiveness
In Chapter 19 the children learn about God’s forgiveness.
- Click here for the activity "A Story of Forgiveness."
* In advance, provide three popsicle sticks for each child.
Start a discussion about forgiveness. Talk about the story of the forgiving father. Ask: What did Jesus want to us to learn in this story? Then, distribute the activity sheets and read the directions aloud. Ask volunteers to identify each animal on the page. Encourage the children to think of a story that contains the three animals and teaches us about forgiveness. Have the children use crayons to color the animals, and use scissors to cut out each animal. Help the children to attach the animals to popsicle sticks. Allow time for the children to use the animals in a story. Ask volunteers to share their forgiveness stories. You may want the children to work in pairs to tell their stories.
Multiple Intelligences: Bodily-Kinesthetic, Linguistic
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CHAPTER 20: Lent
In Chapter 20 the children learn that the season of Lent is the time when the Church gets ready to celebrate Jesus’ death and Resurrection.
Review with the children that Lent is a special time when the Church gets ready to celebrate Jesus’ death and Resurrection. Say: Lent is a time when we remember all that Jesus has done for us. During Lent we try to grow closer to Jesus. Talk about ways we can try to grow closer to Jesus.
Distribute the activity sheets and read the directions aloud. Read together the words at the bottom of the page. Remind the children to use a purple crayon to trace these words. Say: The Church uses the color purple for Lent. Encourage the children to use a pencil to draw a picture in the frame and then use crayons to color the picture. Display the completed activity sheets in a bulletin board during the season of Lent.
Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Visual-Spatial |
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CHAPTER 21: The Three Days
In Chapter 21 the children learn that during the Three Days we celebrate Jesus’ dying and rising to new life.
Distribute the activity sheets and read the directions aloud. Ask the children to look at each picture on the left side of the activity sheet and think about what is happening in each picture. Invite volunteers to share their ideas. Then, guide the children to follow along as you read aloud each sentence on the right side of the activity sheet. Remind the children to match each sentence with the picture it describes by drawing a line.
Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical
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CHAPTER 22: Jesus Gives Us the Eucharist
In Chapter 22 the children learn that in the sacrament of the Eucharist, bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
In advance, you may want to write the “scrambled” words for items 1-4 on the chalkboard. Distribute the activity sheets and read the directions aloud. Next, read the sentence aloud and point to the scrambled word on the chalkboard for item 1. Ask the volunteer to unscramble the letters to form the word Jesus. Guide the volunteer at the chalkboard to write the new word, one letter at a time, while erasing each “scrambled” letter from the chalkboard. As a class, read aloud the completed word. Do the same with other volunteers for the remaining items on the activity sheet. Answers: 1. Jesus; 2. Eucharist; 3. Mass; 4. parish.
Answer:
1. The Last Supper is the special meal that Jesus shared before he died.
2. The Eucharist is the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ.
3. The Mass is another name for the celebration of the Eucharist.
4. We join with our parish for the celebration of the Mass.
Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic
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CHAPTER 23: We Celebrate the Mass
In Chapter 23 the children learn more about what we say and do at Mass.
Begin with a discussion about the celebration of the Mass in your parish. Ask the following questions: What are some things that we do when we gather together for the celebration of the Mass? What are some things that we see and hear at the celebration of the Mass? You may want to make word webs using the following headings: “things we do”, “things we see”, and “things we hear” to record the children’s responses. In addition, encourage the children to talk about the images of the celebration of the Mass found in Chapter 23 of their We Believe text.
Then, distribute the activity sheets and read the directions aloud. Encourage the children to use a pencil to draw the pictures before using crayons, markers, or colored pencils. If possible, ask the children to suggest a caption for their pictures. Label their illustrations. Include the completed activity in a bulletin board or display about the celebration of the Mass.
Multiple Intelligences: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Visual-Spatial
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CHAPTER 24: We Share God’s Love
In Chapter 24 the children learn how we can share God’s love.
Review with children that Jesus showed us how to love and serve God. Say the following: We love and serve God by learning the ways he wants us to live. We try to do the things he wants us to do. We tell others about God and share his love. Then talk about ways we can share God’s love with others. If possible, play “Walk in Love” # 28 on the Grade 1 CD and invite the children to suggest some gestures to accompany the song.
Distribute the activity sheets and read the directions aloud. Read the question at the bottom of the page together. Remind the children to use a red crayon to color the spaces that contain the heart image to reveal the answer to the question at the bottom of the page. Guide the children to use their pencils to write the words God’s love on the line. Display the completed activity sheets.
Answer: What do we share with others? God’s love.
Multiple Intelligences: Musical, Visual-Spatial
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CHAPTER 25: We Honor Mary and the Saints
In Chapter 25 the children learn about Mary and the ways in which we honor her and the saints.
In advance, gather scissors (for each child), paste or glue, crayons, markers, glitter, and so on, sheets of oak tag paper or cardboard, and a roll of clear contact paper for the prayer card activity. If possible, compile some examples of prayer cards that honor Mary, such as the Hail Mary, Memorare, the Magnificat, the Angelus, and Hail, Holy Queen. Before beginning the activity, display the prayer cards on the chalkboard or bulletin board. Say the following: The Church honors Mary because she is the mother of Jesus. To show our love for Mary we call her “Our Lady” and “Blessed Mother.” The Church also has special prayers to honor Mary. Ask the children to point to the prayer cards that honor Mary. Talk about the image or design that is found on the front of the card, and read aloud the words to the prayer contained on the back of the prayer card.
Distribute the activity sheet to the children. Read the directions aloud. Then, direct the children’s attention to the words of the Hail Mary on the activity sheet. Explain to children that they will make a prayer card to honor Mary. Encourage the children to be creative. Use crayons, markers, colored pencils, glitter, and so on, for the image on the front of the prayer card. Guide the children to use the scissors to cut the decorated front and the back of the prayer cards. Next, have the children use glue or paste to attach the cards to a sheet of oak tag paper or cardboard. Then, have the children trim the oak tag paper or cardboard around the front and the back of the prayer card. Finally, join the cards together by placing the each side of the prayer card next to each other on a sheet of clear contact paper. Fold the clear contact paper in half, to make one card. Help the children to use scissors to trim the clear contact paper around the prayer card.
Gather together in the prayer space and us the prayer cards to pray the Hail Mary together.
Multiple Intelligences: Bodily-Kinesthetic, Visual-Spatial
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CHAPTER 26: We Care for the Gifts of God’s Creation
In Chapter 26 the children learn that we are to care for God’s creation.
Before beginning the activity, gather the children together. Ask the following question: What are some of the gifts of God’s creation? List the children’s responses on the chalkboard or poster board. Review the list of responses and ask the children how they can take care of the gift of God’s creation.
Distribute the activity sheets and read the directions aloud. Encourage the children to use a pencil to circle the people that are caring for the gifts of God’s creation. Invite volunteers to share their answers. Encourage the children to use crayons to color the images on the activity sheets.
Answer: People who are caring for God’s gifts of creation include the boys flying the kite, the boy talking to the woman on the bench, the boy watering the flowers, and the girls with the dog.
Multiple Intelligences: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Visual-Spatial
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CHAPTER 27: Easter
In Chapter 27 the children learn that Easter is the time when the Church celebrates that Jesus rose to new life.
Distribute the activity sheets and read the directions aloud. Say: During Easter we celebrate that Jesus rose to new life. What are some signs of new life? Allow time for the children to respond. Then, invite volunteers to proclaim the words on the banner. Guide the children to use their pencils and trace the words on the banner. Remind the children to include "signs of new life" on their banners.
Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial, Linguistic
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CHAPTER:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
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