The Junior High Religion classes have had a great first quarter. At the start of the school year, both 7th and 8th grade completed a Unit on Prayer and the Bible. As a new teacher this year my goal was to see how much the students already knew and to continue to build upon their current foundation to help them for the rest of the school year. Many students loved learning about different types of prayers and the different writing sections of the Bible (history, prophets, wisdom books, gospels, letters, etc.)
In 7th grade moved into a Unit all about the triune nature of God. Students are studying Bible passages in the Old and New Testament to learn about the unique and complementary nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Many thoughtful discussions and questions came up and it was exciting to see students engage more and more.
In 8th grade we moved into a Unit all about the Ancestors of Faith. We started with the early Church and then analyzed Bible passages in the Acts of the Apostles to see what fellowship and community looked like for the early Christians. We also developed a mission statement for the class of 2024. You can read it below:
We, the class of 2024, want to bring motivation and inspiration to the future leaders of our school and fill their minds with memories of gratitude, respect, love, and dignity, so we can be leaders who form a strong community with each other wherever we go.
Currently, we’re in a short Unit all about Life and Bible Questions. We all have questions about life and the Bible. This is a chance for students to ask those questions and spend time discussing them in class. Maybe it’s about heaven, dinosaurs, or why did God make satan. When reading the Bible it’s important to know that the Bible was written for us and not to us, which means we need to carefully consider the original context of the Bible authors. Additionally, we need to know that the Bible was never meant to answer all of our questions. Sometimes we’re left saying “I don’t know” and that’s ok.
