CATECHETICAL RESOURCE BOOK #2 For Youth - Adult The Editors of Celebrating The Lectionary Paper, Regularly: $6.00, Sale Price: $3.00 64 pages, 8½" x 11" ISBN 0-89390-614-X View Table of Contents View Excerpt Quantity:

This resource book for catechists and group leaders consists of prayers, poem tips, cooperation games, group-building activities, and general crafts. Covering the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary time, it can be used with the Celebrating The Lectionary program or with any other catechetical program. Users of the CTL Covenant People, Spirit Alive, Justice & Mercyt, or Children's Catechumenate packets will receive one of these booklets in each packet.
                     See also: Catechetical Activity Resource Book for Ages 3-11

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Introduction to Skills and Methods

    Storytelling and symbol

    Drama

Biblical Costumes and Props

Using the Bible Creatively

How Symbols and Rituals Help Shape Our Faith

Advent and Christmas Symbols and Crafts

Lenten and Easter Symbols and Crafts

Biblical Images of God

Leading Guided Meditations

Poetry

Creating and Writing Prayers

Opening and Closing Prayers

Traditional Prayers

Journaling

Games and Activities

    Get-Acquainted Games

    Group-Building Activities

    Cooperative Games

    Games for Remembering Biblical Stories

    Using Game Boards

Enabling Faith-in-Action

    Outreach Tips

    More Outreach Ideas

    Mission Awareness Resources

    "Welcome" in Other Languages

Debating Procedures

Letter-Writing Campaigns

Fund-Raising

Basic Supply Kit

Craft Ideas

    Craft Recipes and Activities

    Card-Making

    Candle-Making

Craft Clay

    Play dough recipes

    Crafts

    Puppet Making

    Banner-Making

Music Resources

    Songwriting Tips

    Musical Instruments

Index

Introduction to Skills and Methods

Welcome to the Catechetical Resource Book for Youth-Adult. We developed this book to offer new and experienced catechists a handy resource for enhancing catechetical planning and preparation. It is distilled from fifteen years of use in Celebrating The Lectionary, a lectionary-based, whole-parish catechesis curriculum for parishes and schools (published by Resource Publications, Inc.) This book contains a wealth of ideas in the areas of biblical costuming, crafts and games, as well as seasonal ideas and information. An alphabetical index is included for your convenience.

Storytelling

A key ingredient in our Judeo-Christian heritage and the transfer of our faith story has always been storytelling. The following are some approaches appropriate for catechesis.

Straight Narrative

This method can be difficult because it relies purely on the skills of the storyteller. Usually, it is better to tell a story in your own words than to read it from a book.

Storytelling Tips

Even with props, the story must come through the teller -- not only through the voice, but also through facial expressions, especially the eyes.

• Learn to tell the story in your own words so you can maintain eye contact with your audience. If you need to, occasionally glance at the story. For this purpose, mark five or six key words with a yellow highlighter.
• If you find you lose the attention of the group, ask some questions to bring the group back to you again.
• Visuals help keep individuals focused and help them remember the story. However, visuals should not remain static. Discuss the pictures. Ask questions about who is in the picture and what is happening.
• An overhead projector works well for illustrating a story through your own drawings or computer-generated visuals. You can copy graphs, charts, maps, and line art onto transparencies with a copy machine.
• If you ask a question, do not be afraid to wait for an answer. If no answer is forthcoming, rephrase the question. Use questions that cannot be answered with yes or no.
• Enliven your story with dialogue, action words, sound effects, and facial expressions. Make faces, cry, and laugh.
• Storytelling is an art that grows through practice. Try practicing in front of a mirror or with your own children to gain confidence. If you have access to a video camera, record yourself to see how you are doing.

Drama and storytelling are closely related. The following are some dramatic techniques you might find useful with your group:

Acting Out

After reading a story, the leader might ask everyone to act it out. This is a way of eliciting feedback and seeing if they heard the story. Try one of the following

Stories in Character: Encourage your group to listen to the Scripture carefully, and then act out the stories. Set the mood with simple biblical costumes that consist of robes, pieces of colorful cloth, and towels for headdresses. Using props can help activate the members' imagination.

Role-Playing: Members act out, without rehearsal, the role of someone in a biblical story, and saying what each thinks the person might have said in this situation. It could also mean acting out the part of someone in a modern-day scenario.

Roving Reporter: This technique interjects a reporter who interviews participants about what happened. Another version of this is the panel show, with a host quizzing the panel for details and insights.

Microphone for a Roving Reporter

Materials

• aluminum foil, black yarn, long cardboard tube, tape, marker

Roll the foil into tight ball so it fits on one end of the cardboard tube. Attach an 8-to-10-inch piece of yarn to the inside of the tube at the opposite end. Write the name of the station on the side.

Forms

Mime: Members can entirely mime stories or mime them over a narrative. The latter technique allows them to concentrate on their actions instead of their lines.

Simulation Exercises: Here you create a situation that everyone acts out. Sometimes they know it is a simulation -- which was the case one Easter week when some groups recreated what it was like to be an early Christian. Sometimes they do not know -- which was the case one time when a leader deliberately set up a projector with a broken bulb.

Tableaux: The leader tells a story through a series of freeze-frames. Members strike a pose at each pause in the story.
 

Biblical Costumes and Props

Having members dress up in biblical costumes helps set the stage for the use of imagination. The stories become more real as the group dramatizes them in their own words. If you do not sew, this is a wonderful time to enlist the help of others in your parish who want to contribute to the program by sharing their talents. If possible, keep a biblical "Costume Box" to store a variety of props. Include costumes, jewelry, pouches, sandals, fishnet, and make a campfire prop around which you can tell the story as exciting additions for dramatizations.

Tunic

The basic garment for both men and women was the tunic. It was often woven in a single piece on a wide loom. The loose tunic allowed air to circulate and helped keep the body cool.

Materials

• Use old sheets.

Spread out a sheet, and draw the simple pattern as per illustration. Cut it out. Fold it in half, and cut a hole out of the center for the head.

Cloak

The cloak was a sleeveless garment that was worn over the tunic. It became a robe by day and served as a blanket by night.

Materials

• Use old sheets.

Cut a length of sheet from the participant's shoulders to his or her midcalf. The width should be approximately 1 yard (or a meter). Fold the two lengthwise edges in toward the middle, and mark the neckline/shoulderline with a pencil. Sew the seams of the shoulders and the side (leaving space for the armholes).

Headdress: Men

Men wore a variety of headgear in biblical times. The headgear indicated their economic status. Men of poorer circumstances sometimes wore brimless caps. Those of higher status wore turbans. Men sometimes wore head scarves, mainly for warmth. They draped these loosely over the head and held them in place with a headband of narrow twisted strips of fabric wound around the head.

To make a headscarf:

Materials

• large square of fabric, strips of cloth or a nylon stocking

Cut nylon stocking (or other scrap fabric) into 1-inch strips. Place square of fabric over the head. Stretch the nylon over the square of fabric to secure the cloth on the head.

To make a brimless cap:

Materials

• black felt or paper

Cut felt into a 10-inch circle. Fold into fourths and trim as shown. Tape each "seam" closed to form a small brimless cap. (Option: Glue a small button in the center.)

Headdress: Women

Women usually wore a long head cloth or veil. Often a padded ring was attached to the top of the headdress so they could comfortably carry a pitcher of water.

Materials

• lightweight cotton fabric, self-stick closures

Cut a rectangle of fabric (depending on the length required) from shoulder to ankle length. Place the fabric over the head, and determine where to place the self-stick closures so the scarf feels secure on the head. (Tip: Pull edges of the fabric away from face, the and hold it at the back of the neck. Sew the self-stick closures along the edges of the fabric where they meet at the back of the neck.)