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 The Scope and Sequence charts show an overview of the content and objectives of each grade level in Blest Are We. Charts are divided by level and are available in HTML format or PDF format. |
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Click here for a PDF version | |||
| Unit Theme | What Catholics Believe | How Catholics Worship | How Catholics Live | How Catholics Pray |
Unit 1 We Answer God's Call The young people’s exploration of the Old Testament begins with the story of Abraham and Sarah. The themes of revelation and covenant are introduced. |
1. Revelation and Response • Discover how God reveals himself in everyday life • Understand that Abraham and Sarah are models of faith in their response to God’s revelation and that Abraham is the patriarch of the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths • Learn that Mary played an important role in the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham • Identify ways to respond to God in faith just as Abraham and Mary did • Trust in God’s presence and be able to pray with the faith of Abraham for God’s direction CCC 87, 89, 94, 142–43, 146, 494, 971, 2570–72, 2592 |
2. Sacrifice and Promise • Realize the value of Christian sacrifice and identify ways to make sacrifices for the good of others • Learn about Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God • Discover how the Mass recalls Jesus’ sacrifice for our salvation • Understand sacrifices and promises as they relate to living our faith • Recognize Sunday as a day to celebrate the Mass and pray for God’s blessings so that we are better able to make sacrifices for others CCC 1325, 1382–84, 1406 |
3. Covenant and Commitment • Identify gestures that express promises or agreements • Discover how God fulfilled promises to Jacob and Rebecca and what it means to have a covenant with God • Learn about the covenant God made with Noah • Identify commitments Catholics can make to their faith and to one another • Pray for God’s blessings in both word and gesture CCC 2153–55, 2164, 2471–74, 2506 |
4. Piety and Prayer • Identify the qualities of friendship, such as loyalty • Learn about Joseph of the Old Testament and his devotion to and trust in God • Learn about Joseph of the New Testament and his devotion to and trust in God • Practice praying prayers of praise to God • Pray in the words of Mary, who exemplified trust in and loyalty to God CCC 2619, 2664, 2680, 2729, 2754 |
| Unit Theme | What Catholics Believe | How Catholics Worship | How Catholics Live | How Catholics Pray |
| Unit 2 God Saves and Delivers us A study of the Exodus offers insight into the Christian belief in deliverance through the Paschal mystery. |
5. Slavery and Deliverance • Recognize ways people can become spiritually or materially enslaved today • Understand the role of Moses in rescuing the enslaved Israelites and the importance of the Exodus • Realize that Jesus freed us from sin and death and will give new life to us in the kingdom of heaven • Appreciate songs that celebrate God’s deliverance • Praise God for the gift of freedom CCC 204–05, 210–11, 213–14, 231, 290, 296–97, 317–18, 356–57, 366, 382, 617, 655, 658, 979, 982, 1009–12, 1019 |
6. Passover and the Eucharistic Celebration • Learn how Jews commemorate the Passover • Understand connections between the Passover and Jesus’ death, Resurrection, and Ascension • Appreciate the miracle of the Eucharist through the story of the Feeding of Five Thousand • Recognize God’s gift of freedom in our lives • Identify the similarities of the blessings prayed at the Christian Eucharist and at the Jewish Passover Seder CCC 1171–73, 1204, 1334, 1337, 1339, 1402–05 |
7. Commandment and Fulfillment • Recall the importance of rules, especially the ones that guide our moral lives: the Ten Commandments • Learn that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments to help people live in love and goodness • Identify ways Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the covenant at Sinai and how to live the commandments in the spirit of Jesus • Discover how Saint Teresa of Ávila showed love for God and name ways to do the same • Use a prayer method of Saint Teresa of Ávila CCC 1879, 1882, 1897–99, 1954–55, 1961–62, 2053, 2518 |
8. Our Journey and God's Presence • Recognize God’s power and goodness in the signs and wonders around us • Explain how the Israelites, with God’s help, were able to find and settle the promised land • Identify ways to be people of constant prayer • See examples of God’s blessings around us as sources for constant prayer • Pray a Catholic morning prayer CCC 2619, 2671, 2698 |
| Unit Theme | What Catholics Believe | How Catholics Worship | How Catholics Live | How Catholics Pray |
| Unit 3 God Invites Us Into His Kingdom The Old Testament history of the kingdom of Israel provides an understanding of teachings about the kingdom of God in the New Testament. |
9. Our Land and God's Kingdom • Recognize that that the Catholic Church is a large community of believers led by the pope and the bishops of each diocese • Learn a story about the first leaders of Israel in order to understand that just as God gave the Israelites the promised land, God promises us a share in his kingdom • Describe the special mission entrusted to the Church as the beginning of God’s kingdom and to Peter as the head of the Church • Name ways to carry out the Church’s mission • Pray to praise God for the gift of his kingdom on earth CCC 167, 169, 171, 552–53, 669, 671, 677, 775–76, 796, 811, 813–69, 871–73, 915–17, 922–23, 944–45 |
10. The Ark and the Temple • Become familiar with special actions and objects in the Church that remind us of Jesus Christ and prepare us for God’s life in us • Give examples of symbols from creation, human life, and the Old Testament that are sacramental signs • Identify relationships between Catholic and Jewish customs of worship and between sacraments and sacramentals • Learn a story about the sacrament of Holy Orders that helps illustrate the difference between sacraments and sacramentals • Pray using sacramentals CCC 1130, 1146–52, 1217–19, 1222, 1555–59, 1667, 1670 |
11. David's Sin and the Story of the Fall • Understand that humans have free will and that the right choice is not always the easiest choice • Learn about the mystery of evil and God’s power to forgive through the biblical stories of David and of Adam and Eve • Recognize that God helps us make good moral decisions and that when we repent, like David, we are forgiven for our sins • Describe ways to discern whether a choice is morally right or wrong • Pray with penitential prayer CCC 1741–42, 1748, 1750–60, 1783–85, 1788, 1790–91 1793–94, 1801, 2511, 2520, 2530, 2532, 2538–39, 2553 |
12. Psalms of Praise and Works of Wonder • Express praise to God for the things in the world that remind us of God’s goodness • Learn about the Book of Psalms • Identify ways that psalms are used in the liturgy and recognize the value of psalms as forms of prayer • Interpret two psalms through writing and drawing • Praise God through a song based on a psalm CCC 2585–89, 2596–97, 2628 |
| Unit Theme | What Catholics Believe | How Catholics Worship | How Catholics Live | How Catholics Pray |
| Unit 4 God Reminds Us to Do His Will Prophets played a vital role in the religious awareness of the people of Israel and later in the understanding of Christ’s message. Exile and reconciliation are important themes. |
13. Disobedience and Guidance • Realize that we sometimes need other people to remind us to do God’s will • Describe the Israelites’ neglect for God’s will, their downfall, and the prophets sent by God to turn them back to him • Recognize the gifts that result from being faithful to God and the ways in which Jesus Christ guides us back to God • Identify ways to guide others back to God • Pray litanies as a way to remain focused on God CCC 64, 354, 385, 402, 410–11, 421, 436, 438, 453 |
14. Exile and Remembrance • Name situations in which people may feel lost and recognize that God’s help is available at such times • Learn the prophecies about the Messiah that helped guide the Israelites when they were lost during the Exile • Describe how Jesus Christ is like a good shepherd who brings us back from forms of exile in our own lives • Identify modern forms of exile and how to overcome them • Pray the kaddish, a Jewish prayer of hope in times of loss CCC 1084–90, 1111, 1127 |
15. Hope and Faithfulness • Reflect on the experience of being reunited with a loved one • Discover how the Jewish people were given hope during the Exile and became reunited in a life of faith after the Exile • Describe faithful practices that can give us hope, keep us close to God, and help us avoid the exile of sin • Give examples of the faithful practices that are involved in the theological and moral virtues and the precepts of the Church • Pray the Act of Hope CCC 1706, 1812–16, 2041–43, 2168–71, 2290 |
16. Trust and Prayer • Recall ways in which other people take care of our needs and wants • Understand that we, like Esther, can trust in God to help us meet our needs and should pray to him with persistence • Give examples of the necessary elements of prayer—faith and persistence. • Describe what Jesus taught about prayer and persistence, and write faith-filled prayers • Pray the Exultet, celebrating God’s care for us CCC 2656 |
| Unit Theme | What Catholics Believe | How Catholics Worship | How Catholics Live | How Catholics Pray |
| Unit 5 God Promises Everlasting Life The Maccabean revolt, religious sects, and the hope for the messiah mark the period before the coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ life and teachings are connected to God’s promises in the Old Testament. |
17. A New Life and a Coming Messiah • Identify Christian sources of happiness • Learn about the struggles of the Jews in the last few centuries before Jesus and become familiar with eschatological doctrines • Recognize that the Old Testament reveals the concepts of everlasting life, the coming of Jesus Christ, resurrection, the Communion of Saints, and the Trinity • Develop awareness of the help we can receive from saints • Unite in prayer with the Communion of Saints by praying litanies CCC 51, 54–66, 161, 234,424, 702–16, 767, 954, 992, 1030–32, 1856–61, 1864 |
18. Baptism and Repentance • Reflect upon the need to prepare for special events, especially ones that are religious • Identify Jewish groups that existed before Christ began teaching and learn how John the Baptizer prepared people for Jesus’ coming • Discover that the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Reconciliation help prepare us for God’s kingdom • Define the seven sacraments, the graces they bestow, and the appropriate times to receive them • Meditate on a reading from the sacrament of Baptism CCC 1272–74, 1304–05, 1316–17, 1319–20, 1422, 1449, 1456, 1458, 1470, 1601, 2363, 2369 |
19. Christians and the Reign of God • Understand that everyone is created in God’s image and is worthy of respect • Learn that Jesus Christ fulfilled God’s promise of a messiah and that his Spirit dwells in us, giving us dignity • Recognize the call to bear witness to our own and others’ dignity through loving actions, especially the spiritual works of mercy • Give examples of practicing spiritual works of mercy • Pray a saint’s prayer for holiness CCC 128, 1695, 2104–08, 2202, 2276–77, 2297, 2362, 2447 |
20. Hope for the Ages • Identify the qualities of a loving caregiver and recognize such qualities in God • Associate Jesus’ ministry with Old Testament prophecy and learn Jesus’ teachings about the sincerity of prayer and the way to pray • Further explore Jesus’ teachings about prayer and sincere faith, and define meditation • Meditate while learning about the prayers Jesus said before he died • Pray to the Holy Spirit and meditate with fine art CCC 2605–06, 2619, 2671, 2705–06, 2723, 2766 |
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