Religion 1

Instructor Mrs. Kelly Tramontin Phone n/a

Classroom

Room 35 E-mail ktramontin@fsha.org

Office Hours

m-f 6:45-7:30amm-th lunch and enrichment

Text:

E Book version of God’s Word Revealed in Sacred Scripture (Veritas, 2011)

Bible (NRSV preferred)

Pocket dictionary (optional)

Description:

Religion 1 is a ninth grade course introducing students to the basics of Catholicism and Christianity as a whole. The

course traces the roots of the Church from the Judaic Tradition of the Old Testament through the birth of Catholic

Christianity. This overview allows students from both Catholic and non-Catholic backgrounds to examine the Church as

young adults on personal faith journeys. Topics of study include the parts of the Mass, traditional Catholic prayers, the

Sacraments, the Liturgical Calendar, Catholic Morality, Spirituality, Prayer and Tradition. The class consists of lecture,

projects, research, discussion, oral and written student presentations, cooperative learning group experiences,

journaling, paired group experiences, and analysis of supplementary materials including video/DVD selections, written

stories, and use of the Bible.

Goals:

Gain a deeper knowledge of themselves and their own understanding of faith.

Expand their knowledge of Catholicism and Christianity as a whole.

Exercise and grow their critical thinking skills.

Requirements:

9th grade status

Please see additional Student Expectations contract

The FSHA Honor Code is strictly adhered to

Resources:

Podium (instructor will have all assignments posted by 3pm daily)

FSHAmail (please check daily – this is the email account instructors will use to contact you outside of school)

Course Website/Blog: http://religion4freshies.blogspot.com

Various web tools that will be introduced and used in class (including, but not limited to Google Docs, Spaaze,

Evernote, NoodleTools, Presentme, Easi.ly, Wordle, SimpleMeet, Diigo, Glogster, Prezi, etc.)

Evaluation:

Student grades will be based on the completion of the assignments listed under “Assessments” below. Grading in this

course is based on the point system. Each assignment is valued at a certain number of points. The total earned can

be divided by the total point value of the assignment to get a percentage and grade equivalent.

Assessments:

assessment type: scheduling: point value:

% of grade:

participation weekly grade 25 25%

tests (5) at the end of sections 100 30%

projects (5) at the end of sections 100 30%

final (1) end of the semester 200 15%

FSHA Grading Scale: A = 100-90%, B = 89-80%, C = 79-70%, D = 69-60%, F = 59% and below

Participation Grade:

Religion is a very unique course in that there is often no right answer to the questions that are asked. The course is

designed to be open, interesting, and inviting to all students—not only those of Catholic backgrounds. As a result,

Religion is a course that thrives on class participation. When all students are alert, prepared, and participatory the

class as a whole benefits from the various thoughts and beliefs shared. Students will be given a weekly “participation

grade” based on several factors including, but not limited to participation in class discussions, critical questions asked,

discipline/conduct, preparedness, completion of homework or group assignments, effort, teamwork, respect during

prayer services, etc. Every week, the students will receive a grade out of a possible 25 points for their overall

participation in the course.

Late work Policy:

NO POINTS ARE AWARDED FOR LATE WORK! A student who is absent will have the same number of days as she

was absent to make up/turn in all work. (Note: projects or long-term assignments given with over one week to finish

are expected to be turned in on that date whether or not the student is absent, not present in class, or not on campus

for the due date.) Make-up tests, quizzes, etc. will be available in the library to take at the student’s leisure. Exams

and course work not made up will be assigned no passing points. Special circumstances must be discussed with the

instructor prior to any absences. All assignments will be due at the beginning of class, assignments that are not turned

in by that time will receive a “0” and will not be able not be made up. Please note, excuses such as “My printer was

out of ink,” “My computer crashed,” or “My email/flash drive/disk isn’t working” will not suffice. Please also see the

Student/Parent Handbook for a full list of the computer/laptop guidelines and policies—all which will be upheld and

enforced in this class.

Week Topic Required Reading

Week 1 Introduction to the course n/a

Weeks 2-3 Who am I? n/a

Weeks 3-5 Who is God? V: 10-12, 18-19, 26-35, 41-43

Weeks 6-8 What is the Bible?V: 46-47, 60-65, 79-83, 103-108, 114-119, 132-

136, 139-143

Weeks 9-11 What is the Old Testament? V: 6-7, 46-47, 82-83, 157-162

Weeks 11-15 What is the New Testament?V: 46-47, 157-158, 171-176, 178, 192-204, 210-

213, 232-247

V = Veritas textbook

Course schedule