| Christ Jesus, the Way
Home and Family
What is My Child Learning?: Fifth Grade
Unit 1
Chapter 1 God's World
Your child is studying the two creation stories in the Book of Genesis and exploring God's creation to acquire a deeper understanding of God. Creation shows God's love and goodness. All creation is interdependent — dependent on one another. We are called to serve and to share with all creation. How have you been a steward of God's creation recently? Where do you find harmony with God, with nature, and with others?
Chapter 2 God's Covenant
Your child is continuing a study of the Ten Commandments as guides for living. Your child knows from experience how to make and keep promises. God made a lasting promise or covenant with the people of Israel and, in Jesus, God made a new covenant with all people. God promises eternal life to all who have faith in Jesus. What choices have you made recently which show your faithfulness to the covenant? How is living as God wants you to live a challenge for you?
Chapter 3 The Spirit of God
Your child is learning more about God's Holy Spirit who is active in the events of the Old and New Testament. The Holy Spirit helps us as we attempt to live out the commandments and the teachings of Jesus. The Holy Spirit helps us keep faithful to God's covenant and is at work wherever people help others. A person touched by the Holy Spirit is forever changed, transformed into a sign of Christ for the entire world to see. How is the Holy Spirit your guide, your strength, and your inspiration? What signs in your life show that the Spirit is present and active?
Chapter 4 God Calls You
Your child is reflecting on the deep, everlasting love of God and the call to be one with God. Your child is being invited to share an intimate friendship with God and to ask the question: If God loves us so much, why do bad things happen? The power of sin is strong in the world, yet God's eternal love is stronger than sin or death. Jesus is the Word of God, and it is through Jesus that God offers us the complete message of saving love. It is out of love that God invites us to share in this fullness of life, eternal life, following the way of Jesus' love in the world. Do you think of God as calling you to friendship? Of all the ways you feel God touches your life, what is the one that is most meaningful to you?
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Unit 2
Chapter 5 Witness
Your child is exploring faith as a gift from God. Your child learns that a Christian is required to accept in faith all that God has revealed. Your child will learn that Christian faith calls the students to a life of prayer and action. He or she will examine the lives of several people of faith such as, Mary Magdalene, Therese of Lisieux, and Oscar Romero. Your child will learn that the faith of these people and others can offer support when there is doubt and new strength to face the challenges of faith. How do you cope with the times of challenge to faith in your life? Is your child aware that you do handle these challenges?
Chapter 6 The Story of Faith
Your child is learning about the family of faith. Your child will learn about the beginning of the faith family tree beginning with Abraham, Sarah and Moses. Your child will read stories from the New Testament in order to understand how a new covenant with God was created. The stories of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and others show how they were models of faithful obedience to God. In what ways do you pass on family faith stories to your child?
Chapter 7 The Messiah
Your child will learn about the promise of a Messiah made to the people of Israel. Your child will learn that Jesus is both fully God and fully man and that he was born to bring salvation to the world. From his humble beginnings, your child will learn how the power of Jesus is within his message and actions. Your child will start to recognize the meaning of being a disciple of Jesus in his or her own life. How can you help your child discover ways to be a disciple of Jesus?
Chapter 8 Family
Your child is learning that a family is called to be a community of life and love. Your child will learn that God made families so they could learn to share their lives and love with one another. Your child will realize that caring for family members is part of being a member of a family. Your child will examine the early life of Jesus and his family to understand how they were an example of a family who cared for each other, shared responsibilities, and forgave and respected each other. How is your home a place where your child can learn faith-based solutions to family problems?
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Unit 3
Chapter 9 Signs and Symbols
Your child will learn that the Church is a sign and instrument of God?s love in the world. Through signs and symbols your child will learn to understand Jesus? actions and the Church?s sacramental actions. Your child will learn that as members of the Church, the Body of Christ, he or she is called to be a sign of God?s saving love in the world. Which sacrament speaks most clearly to you of God?s love?
Chapter 10 Your Catholic Heritage
Your child will learn that the faith we have today has been handed down for centuries, from generation to generation. This chapter will help your child understand that they are part of something greater than he or she ever imagined. Your child will learn that Sacred Traditions and family traditions are signs of living faith. They are also ways of living faith. How is your life enriched by sacred tradition?
Chapter 11 Unity
This chapter will help your child recognize the God-given gift of diversity — among people, races, and cultures. Your child will discover that differences enrich and strengthen everyone in the group. Your child will learn that there are many approaches to enable him or her to experience, build and celebrate unity within his or her own class. When have you prayed for unity?
Chapter 12 Signs of the Kingdom
Your child will discover the truths of the kingdom of God by looking, thinking, and writing their own parables. The kingdom of God is invisible unless a person has the eyes of faith to see it. The stories, activities, and photos in this chapter are meant to spark your child?s imagination. Tell your child your own kingdom story. How do you witness the power and love of God in your life?
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Unit 4
Chapter 13 Liturgy
The goal of teaching about the liturgy is to evoke full participation in liturgy. The more your child understands, the more he or she will wholeheartedly sing, pray, respond, and listen to the Scripture and homily. Your child will realize that ritual is already part of his or her life and he or she will feel more comfortable with liturgy. What do you enjoy most when you participate in the liturgy?
Chapter 14 New Life in Christ
In this chapter, your child will approach the sacrament if Baptism on an emotional level. Your child will focus on the signs used in Baptism—water, the oil of chrism, the white garment, and the candle. As the signs of Baptism are presented, your child will discover that there are deeper meanings of anointing, purifying, and filling with light. This will prepare him or her to reflect on the new life he or she has with Jesus in Baptism. What are some of your most memorable experiences of family baptisms?
Chapter 15 Receive the Holy Spirit
In the Old Testament, priests, prophets, and kings were anointed to do God's work. Living out these positions of leadership among God's people required assistance. Your child is learning that he or she shares in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly, work of Jesus. Your child is reminded that God offers all of us the help we need. Where does your mission as a baptized and confirmed Christian call you now?
Chapter 16 Eucharist
Recognizing Jesus is a skill that everyone needs. Your child is learning that Jesus is present in the Scriptures, in the priest, in the consecrated bread and wine, and in the assembly at Mass. Children recognize Jesus in a kind pastor or a beloved first grade teacher, but they can find it difficult to see Jesus in peers or people in general. Your child is learning to open his or her eyes to the Christ who lives inside. Your child is learning to see the goodness in his or her life. There they will recognize Jesus. How does the Eucharist empower your life?
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Unit 5
Chapter 17 Marriage
Your child is learning about the sacrament of Marriage and how loving another person requires sacrifice and unselfishness. Your child is being encouraged to better understand how in the sacrament of Marriage, the husband and wife promise to love and be faithful to one another, and to share that love with others. What models of relationships have influenced your understanding of the sacrament of Marriage?
Chapter 18 Called to Serve
In this chapter, your child is learning more about Christian vocation, especially through the sacrament of Holy Orders. The vocation of fifth graders is to search and learn, and to love God and their neighbor. Your child is being encouraged to seek and listen, think and pray, to ask questions and keep an open heart. What do you see as your vocation in life?
Chapter 19 A Reconciling Community
The Church community celebrates forgiveness in the healing sacrament of Reconciliation, or Penance. Your child is reviewing the elements of the Rite of Reconciliation and exploring a deeper understanding of the forgiveness of God, and being forgiving of others. When was the last time you received the sacrament of Reconciliation?
Chapter 20 A Healing Community
In this chapter your child is learning about the ritual elements of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. He or she is learning that this anointing brings spiritual healing and peace, and is a sign of strength and comfort. Have you ever received or been present at an Anointing of the sick?
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Unit 6
Chapter 21 Respecting Life
Beginning in unit six, your child’s attention is turning toward learning about important aspects of living a moral life. In this chapter your child is being invited to take another look at the wonderful world God created and to see the true value of every created thing. How do you show respect for God’s creation and for all human life?
Chapter 22 A World in Harmony
In this chapter, your child is taking a closer look at the Beatitudes as guides for Christian living. Happiness comes from being in harmony with God. Your child is learning that living the Beatitudes brings about that harmony and is a way to happiness. What brought you happiness today?
Chapter 23 A Just World
In this chapter your child is learning that working for social justice means more than just an occasional service project. It requires a firm belief in the dignity of each person and the oneness of all people. Your child is exploring how he or she is a part of the mission of Jesus and how working for social justice is a way of living his or her faith. How do you work to overcome social injustice?
Chapter 24 A New Creation
In this final chapter, your child is exploring death, and how life on earth is a journey with death as a gateway to new life in God. He or she is being invited into a deeper understanding of how the death and resurrection of Jesus is a sign of hope for all Christians. Your child is learning that God is making him or her a new creation everyday in the ordinary ways that he or she loves, cares for and helps others. What do you think life will be like after death?
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