Religious Education - Year 8

Course Description and Outline

In Year 8 students learn what people understand about God from creation and describe the relationship between people and the universe. They identify characteristics of community embodied in the Church. They learn that Catholics celebrate their relationship with God in the Mass and the Seven Sacraments. Students will be challenged to explore a variety of spiritual, moral and social issues through the following topics:

TERM 1: BELONGING AND ACCEPTANCE IN CATHOLIC COMMUNITIES

  • The Parish and the School are Catholic Communities
  • The Community of John XXIII College
  • Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Venerable Mary Ward
  • Easter
  • Catholic prayers

TERM 2: THE UNIVERSAL NEED FOR GOD

  • The search for true happiness
  • The saving power of God
  • Jesus and Community
  • How we come to know God
  • God's Chosen People of Israel
  • The characteristics of the religion of Israel
  • The new covenant of Jesus
  • The Church founded by Jesus
  • Praying the Rosary

TERM 3: CREATION-GOD'S ORIGINAL PLAN

  • The purpose of Creation
  • Living in harmony with God's Creation
  • Creation- a sign of God's love
  • God creates original harmony
  • God's original harmony damaged
  • Jesus the Redeemer
  • Signs of the Power of Jesus
  • The end of the universe as people know it

TERM 4: GROWING IN THE IMAGE OF GOD

  • The teenage body
  • Jesus taught about the human body
  • Baptism - the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit
  • The Sacrament of Confirmation
  • The Eucharist
  • The Mass - origins and structure
  • Advent - a time of special prayer

Assessment

This course is Skill-based with individual and group assessments. There are a variety of tasks to challenge the students as they strive to demonstrate their understanding of the Topics covered. The following types of assessments and weightings is as follows:

Topic Tests: 20% | In class Essays: 20% | Investigation: 25% | Examinations: 40%

Investigations may include research, oral and audio-visual presentations using ICT. All students will sit an examination on the content of the Year 8 topics at the end of Semester Two.

Reporting

An interim report on class work and behaviour will be issued towards the end of Term 1. The achievement for the unit will be reported as a College A - E grade. In addition, the student's approach to class work and behaviour will be reported via the usual key performance indicators.

Student Expectations - Homework

Students will be expected to complete approximately 60 minutes of homework each week. This time should be spent consolidating material covered in class as well as any assigned tasks.