One of my favorite cartoons shows a professorial-looking catechist or Sunday school teacher in a classroom full of pre-school children and saying to them, “I’m new to teaching your age group. How much do you know about systematic theology?”
The truth is, if we’re not familiar with the developmental characteristics (emotional, psychological, spiritual, physical, mental) of the age group we teach, we can find ourselves facing some real challenges.
Here are links to some very helpful descriptions of the faith development of children in grades one through eight (from the Finding God catechist manual). Take a look at the age-level you teach or will be teaching.
Getting to Know a Child – Grades 1 through 6
Getting to Know a Child in Junior High
What is something you didn’t know about that age group? What is something that you would add (from your own experience of working with this age group)?
Thanks! This is very very helpful for my ministry 🙂
You’re welcome, Jaymee!
Wow. This data for 6th graders is spot-on. I was shocked 6 years ago when I first went from teaching RCIA to 6th grade: the kids’ brains were so capable, and actually more nimble than the adults. Information has to be repackaged for them to learn it, but doesn’t have to be dumbed down.
It just seems like an ideal age for learning.
I agree, Christian…6th grade is a very cool grade to teach
Thanks for wonderful website and resources.
The file getting-to-know-a-child-gr7-8 cannot be downloaded. Can you please fix it.
Thanks.
Thanks for the heads-up, Paul. The file should be fixed now.