You want to improve student handwriting and spelling in religion classes? Because there is a straight forward, time-tested solution to this problem. Begin with set Catholic Saint Hagiography handwriting literacy task in total silence for like ten minutes at the start of every one of your religion lessons, but after your introductory short prayer and perhaps a short inspiring poem about God and/or Life.
This was how many old-time clergy and monks were sometimes trained. They were also trained to publicly speak in monasteries, by reading Scripture or Bible Study texts out aloud during lunch breaks, while everyone else listened in silence when eating. Everyone had a regular scheduled turn at this practice.
Year Level Selection
I took this Saint Hagiography writing practice into my classroom for an entire year because it works particularly well with Grade 9, [the “lost year”] when students are just starting to get a interest in history, and finding out their own identity as persons.
This is because by studying real Catholic Saints and how they handled life’s challenges, they’ll also encounter people who, in their lives, faced similar moral problems and dilemmas to themselves. Some students will often find an personal hero to follow. Make sure they research the meaning of saint names, by using name definition websites.
Classroom Application
Students were permitted to research an allocated Saint/s of the Day, which I would habitually write out on the whiteboard board first. I used a massive Church History PowerPoint Timeline which I personally developed as my own history reference point. I would print out a century slide sheet as I went along to use as a guide for lessons.
Students also had a Saint of the Day worksheet given to them at the start of the year, with research study questions for each Saint. They were to write some sentences and summarise key points about each Saint’s life. By the end of the Calendar Year, we had studied approx. 300 major Saints over a period of 20 centuries. Student Notebooks were full of handwriting, countless new words, and complied knowledge. A Catholic Church History Timeline which you can purchase from our website shop was used as a reference.
What happened? The National Writing Test (NAPLAN) score for our classroom and in fact that entire grade in that school soared to new heights. The School Principal and other teachers were stunned. No doubt this was one of the key task factors that worked! I saw the “uptick” statistical evidence for my students and gave feedback on each result.
Notable Issues
For students with Learning Support needs, let them access short videos on the Saints using headphones. Several good Catholic websites have short videos on the Saints of the Day. They can listen and write at least a few words. There are also boys who hate handwriting. Computer addiction is a problem. Do not permit the computer, and give them a printed Saint sheet to copy from with a reward to complete the work. Access to computer is the obvious reward.