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JennyMaine Forum Pro
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 4:58am | IP Logged
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Could you share your favorite resources for high school religion? I'm wishing I had a living book list for this!
Thanks!
__________________ --JennyMaine, Mom to Catherine (17) and Sam (15) "The countenance is a reflection of the soul. You should always have a calm and serene countenance." -- Therese of Lisieux
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JennGM Forum Moderator
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 7:44am | IP Logged
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I'm not teaching high school, but living books that fit religion abound, and I'm wondering what exactly you are looking for.
What subject areas are you covering for each year? Do you have a spine and want to have living books to illustrate each area?
Just trying to flesh out your request a bit.
__________________ Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JennyMaine Forum Pro
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 8:40am | IP Logged
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Jennifer, basically I'm wondering what other moms of high schoolers have used successfully for religion when they are trying to plan a CM education at that level. What resources, how often were written narrations required, what other projects or essay assignments were used, etc.
Specifically, I'd like to cover some apologetics and the Mass beginning next month. I do have a copy of The Incredible Catholic Mass by Rev. Martin Von Cochem, which I think is fabulous.
I'm struggling because I like to glean from the wisdom of those who have gone before us using CM, and I'm not finding much support for continuing with it through the high school years.
__________________ --JennyMaine, Mom to Catherine (17) and Sam (15) "The countenance is a reflection of the soul. You should always have a calm and serene countenance." -- Therese of Lisieux
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Angel Forum All-Star
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 8:56am | IP Logged
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JennyMaine wrote:
I'm struggling because I like to glean from the wisdom of those who have gone before us using CM, and I'm not finding much support for continuing with it through the high school years.
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And Ambleside, which does continue CM through the high school years, is decidedly Protestant.
I'm curious to see which books are recommended, too.
__________________ Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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JennyMaine Forum Pro
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 10:28am | IP Logged
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Exactly, Angela.
I have to chuckle - homeschoolers in general are pretty thin on the ground where I'm located. Homeschooling high schoolers gives new meaning to the word sparse. Catholic homeschoolers are virtually unheard of. And a Catholic homeschooler trying to use CM methods with high schoolers? Oh my, the world is flat and we just sailed over the edge!
__________________ --JennyMaine, Mom to Catherine (17) and Sam (15) "The countenance is a reflection of the soul. You should always have a calm and serene countenance." -- Therese of Lisieux
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SallyT Forum All-Star
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 11:04am | IP Logged
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We haven't been all that CM-y, in terms of requiring narration for religion -- mostly we just read and live. And we use the Didache series, which my daughter adores, in spite of the fact that they're fairly textbooky.
But she also reads lots of saints' writings -- she's been immersed in St. Faustina for a long time -- and novels like those by Louis de Wohl. In high school, especially the older they get, they're really ready to take on at least snippets of the "real thing," ie works by the saints whom they already know from the stories of their elementary years. Now that I think of it, the same high-schooler is also reading, slowly, Augustine's Confessions -- how much more "living" can you get??
I also wound up with, from some freebie table someplace at some homeschooling gathering, a copy of an old book called The World's Great Catholic Literature. It's a treasure: has everything from Saint Paul at the beginning to twentieth-century fiction and philosophy. These are snippets, but I would definitely think of it as a "living anthology." I'm planning to use it actually as part of a "History of Ideas" course this fall, rather than for religion per se, but anything in this book could certainly fall under the rubric of "living religion reading."
HTH,
Sally
__________________ Castle in the Sea
Abandon Hopefully
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JennGM Forum Moderator
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 1:56pm | IP Logged
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I think for some years it would be hard to keep the list down, as there are all sorts of possiblities. I'm not planning for a high schooler, and should keep my eyes on my own planning, but I love brainstorming book ideas.
What Sally is using, the Didache series is what I was going to suggest as a spine. My sister actually reads aloud to her younger ones (13 on down) some of these texts, particularly the Bible Study.
The link above gives a table of contents of what is covered during those years.
Typically the four years cover this type of content, not necessarily in this order:
Freshman: Apologetics, sometimes also Logic
Covering the Catechism, Commandments, Prayers, Sacraments, Mass
Frank Sheed's books
Faith Explained by Leo Trese
The Courage to Be Catholic by George Weigel
Owen Francis Dudley, fiction series based on apologetics
Sophomore: Bible Study, Salvation History
(As an aside, the Didache book is really excellent on this level, written mainly by Scott Hahn. It really echoes the class I took at FUS.)
Junior: Church History
There are so many living books you could use here, especially saints' biographies. Crocker's "Triumph", Warren Carroll's books, Louis de Wohl for starters.
An older book which I really recommend (I have the 1954 9th edition) is An Outline History of the Church by Centuries. From St. Peter to Pius XII by Joseph McSorley, B. Herder Book Co. See a partial review. It's not an outline, but very informative breakdown of each century. Not a narrative style, but not very dry, either.
Senior: Morals,Vocation Discernment and Preparation
Getting a feel for what to cover each year, then it is easier to plan out the reading. While not completely CM living style, I do think this is the time to start taking from primary sources, instead of secondary, when applicable.
Similar to the "World's Great Catholic Literature" I'd recommend using the books from Father John Hardon: Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan and Treasury of Catholic Wisdom. Another good anthology of primary sources is The Wisdom of the Saints: An Anthology by Jill Adels (although I'm shocked at the price; buy it used!)
I have been brainstorming a religious orders unit study ever since Paula gave the ideas, but it's kind of spread into a fostering vocations at different ages. Reading for those areas could fit into both junior and senior years for the field of study, although any year would work. I hope to share that soon.
I do tend to go for what I have on my shelves. I read "older" material at high school age, as I was reading from my mother's shelves. But there currently is a wealth of material in print to form reading lists.
__________________ Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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SallyT Forum All-Star
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 2:30pm | IP Logged
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Yes, I really shouldn't downplay the Didache books. My high-schooler especially loved Understanding the Scriptures and talked about it constantly -- I didn't have to ask her to narrate! She's going to be reading Our Moral Life in Christ this year, and is very excited about it.
Any kind of saints' reader would be useful -- I'm currently picking away at a little anthology of Doctors of the Church, which I checked out from our church library. It's a 2-volume set, with very manageable readings. Can't recall the title right off the top of my head, but it's something really exciting like "Doctors of the Church."
We have also liked How The Catholic Church Built (or saved? my brain isn't functioning today!) Western Civilization, by Thomas Woods. I used that as a spine for history a year or so ago, actually, but it would work as religion/church history. It's lively and readable, and my high-schooler enjoyed it.
We've used The Rule of Saint Benedict as a lunchtime read-aloud for everyone. We have NOT read every word of it. I skipped all his directions for the use of psalmody and went for items with more entertainment value (like the directive that a monk going traveling request some underwear to take with him). If you were going to do a study of vocations/the religious life, there's a lot you could do with the Rule (discussing how it could also apply to family life, for example, if one's vocation is in that direction).
G.K. Chesterton is good, too, though I always feel like I'm in the slow-reader class when I read him. Currently I'm also picking my way through his St. Thomas & St. Francis.
Mere Christianity, The Four Loves, pretty much anything else from C.S. Lewis. Not Catholic, but Christian classics which anyone really ought to read.
I haven't read Sigrid Undset's Catherine of Siena, but a friend was recommending it to me. I have Kristin Lavransdatter on my high-schooler's reading list, so we might try to squeeze in that one as well.
I'll have to peruse my shelves some more, too. My husband is a theologian who teaches college undergraduates, so our shelves are groaning with potential good reads for the motivated teenager . . . if I find anything else good, I'll report back.
Sally
__________________ Castle in the Sea
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Erin Forum Moderator
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 4:17pm | IP Logged
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Jenny
In the next couple of weeks I'll be able to answer your question, after 3 years I am going to finally unpack all of my adult/teen religion books and will be typing a list. I'll come back and share
Not meaning to hi-jack but a question for Sally. My ds15 is struggling with Intro to Catholicism, he'd much prefer to read saints books only, one things he struggles with is the questions in the text, do you think narrating the chapters would work just as well?
__________________ Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
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SallyT Forum All-Star
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 11:17pm | IP Logged
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Could do, I imagine, Erin. My daughter used that book in a co-op class, so I really didn't have that much involvement with her learning from it. She happens to be a review-question-answering kind of girl, but what I really think she got a lot out of were the class discussions. I would think that if you maybe looked at the questions and pulled out some ideas for him to read for, let him keep a reading journal maybe as a way of doing written narration, and then instigated some conversation based on the reading, that would seem to me to accomplish the same thing as the questions.
Sally
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SallyT Forum All-Star
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 11:19pm | IP Logged
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Or if he just really, really doesn't click with the book, try something else. Not that I have a ready suggestion right now, but maybe it's just not a good fit for that particular child. I wonder if you could use a lot of saint books as a "faith explained" kind of course . . . like a research project that's going to answer the big question, "what is our faith, and how do the saints explain it to us?"
Sally
__________________ Castle in the Sea
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Natalia Forum All-Star
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Posted: June 12 2010 at 12:16pm | IP Logged
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Jenny,
Have you seen Elizabeth Foss Confirmation reading list? I was searching in the archives here and couldn't find it but it has plenty of living books resources. and I think with some modification it can be stretched over several years. Maybe somebody can post a link to the list?
__________________ Natalia
http://pannuestrodecadadia.blogspot.com
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JennGM Forum Moderator
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Posted: June 12 2010 at 1:36pm | IP Logged
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Books from various Confirmation reading lists especially for olders is a great idea. Here are some old threads that should give you ideas and multiple links for confirmation reading:
::Confirmation Preparation
::Transitions Booklist
::Didache Series and Apologetics and Confirmation
::Confirmation for Youngers but ideas are for olders, too.
::Confirmation Preparation
::Living Books for confirmation?
__________________ Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Angie Mc Board Moderator
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Posted: June 12 2010 at 1:50pm | IP Logged
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JennyMaine wrote:
I have to chuckle - homeschoolers in general are pretty thin on the ground where I'm located. Homeschooling high schoolers gives new meaning to the word sparse. Catholic homeschoolers are virtually unheard of. And a Catholic homeschooler trying to use CM methods with high schoolers? Oh my, the world is flat and we just sailed over the edge! |
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JennyMaine, I'll ask my dd what books she read throughout her high school years for religion. She was/is an avid reader and pretty much chose her own books and course of study for religion during that time (she just graduated.)
Now my son (incoming freshman) is a different story. He is very busy with activities and isn't as avid a reader. I'll need to help him to choose just the right books, prioritize them. He has already said that he wants to focus on apologetics. We have Amy Welborn's "Prove It" series so we will probably start there. We will use discussion as our main form of accountability/outcome measurement, and I anticipate having him write a few essays on his favorite topics.
Love,
__________________ Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
About Me
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Natalia Forum All-Star
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Posted: June 12 2010 at 5:09pm | IP Logged
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The Transition Guide is the list I was talking about. Thanks Jenn for unearthing the link. And thanks for all the confirmation links. I just realized that my son is going to be confirmed next year!
__________________ Natalia
http://pannuestrodecadadia.blogspot.com
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