Legacy Curriculum

Introduction

In the King David era, archaeologists have unearthed tablets inscribed with school exercises from that time period which may have been when formal schools actually emerged. By the first century BC, Jews had set up elementary schools in synagogues and homes throughout all of Israel. The basic subjects taught were memorization of Holy Scripture, reading, writing, and mathematics. Older students sometimes sought out master teachers who could instruct them in the intricacies of Holy Bible interpretation and Jewish tradition.

We are further told in the Holy Book of Acts 22:3 of St. Paul finding such a teacher in Gamaliel, who was a respected member of the Sanhedrin.

In the year 61 AD, St. Mark the Evangelist entered the City of Alexandria preaching Christianity to Egypt. As the growth of the Christian faith grew, St. Mark guided by the Holy Spirit recognized the need for establishing a theological school to explain and to consolidate the Christian faith. The School of Alexandria is well documented as the earliest important institution of theological learning in Christian history.

Alexandria at that time was a melting pot and a homeland of learning for many. It was inhabited by Egyptian, Greek, and Jewish cultures. Therefore, it was a necessity to have a Christian school of learning. It was further felt by St. Mark that a center of learning was the only way in which to give respect and rise to Christianity, a new religion.

The theological school began by teaching the people who wanted to be baptized whether they were Jewish, Gentile, or Christian. The beginning priority of the school was to strengthen faith. The school opened its doors to all people with different religions, cultural backgrounds, and varying social positions. The theological school was a mix of both sexes without discrimination. Its emphasis was placed upon theoretical studies and the life of faith and true Christian love.

The Sunday School book for each grade is designed to start on the second week of September, after the Coptic New Year (El Nayrouz), and ends after the first week of September. Thus, the first lesson to be taught from every book will be the lesson for the second week of September.

The First Period -The Second Week of September Until the End of January:

The servant will continue in the order of lessons in the book for three weeks in September, four weeks in October, four weeks in November, four weeks in December, and four weeks in January. Occasionally, one month may have five Sundays instead of four, therefore, on the first fif th Sunday the first filler lesson can be used. Another filler lesson can be used for each subsequent fif th Sunday in a month. It is preferred that the filler lessons be used in the order they are arranged in the book for the sake of unity between all the churches in the diocese. There are seven filler lessons at the beginning of each book for every grade.

The Second Period – The Beginning of February Until the End of the Fifty Joyous Days Following the Glorious Resurrection:

Since the Glorious Resurrection Feast varies in its date every year and Jonah’s Fast is always two weeks before the Great Fast on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; filler lessons can be used for the weeks before Jonah’s Fast in the month of February until the Sunday before Jonah’s Fast. Then, the servant should use the fixed two lessons assigned, one for the Sunday before Jonah’s Fast and the second one for the Sunday after Jonah’s Fast. If Jonah’s Fast falls in the second week of February, no filler lessons will be needed for the month of February. Subsequently, the lesson will follow consecutively the order of lessons from the preparation week at the beginning of the Great Fast (week 0) until the Fifty Joyous Days. This consists of seven lessons during the Great Fast period and seven lessons for the Fifty Joyous Days. Note that there are no lessons for Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday.

The Third Period – The Second Week of July Until the First Week of September:

Again since the Pentecost Feast varies in date depending on the Glorious Resurrection, the servant will fill the period between the Pentecost Feast and the Apostles Feast (the Apostles Fast period) with filler lessons. The Apostles Feast is fixed on July 12 of every year, so the last filler lesson for this period will be used for the first Sunday of July. Subsequently, the servant will follow the order of lessons in the book. Three lessons for the three remaining weeks of July after the Apostles Feast, four lessons for the month of August and a final one lesson for the first week of September before the Coptic New Year on September 11. If July or August has five Sundays, a filler lesson should still be remaining for use.

The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States, under the auspices of His Grace Bishop Youssef, felt the pressing need for a modified Sunday School Curriculum which would be better suited to address the problems and issues facing children both in America and the lands of immigration. Therefore, the efforts and time of many faithful servants have been dedicated to modify and improve the presently used English translation of the syllabus published by the Youth Services Committee of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate. This has resulted in the elimination of many existing lessons from this syllabus and the substitution with new lessons that are more appropriate for our youth in American society. These additional lessons give greater consideration to the differences in quality of life, education, media influence, cultural differences and the surrounding diversity of beliefs between Egyptian society and that of the west

We pray that God may bless this work for the spiritual growth of our children in the immigration countries. We also thank His Grace Bishop Youssef for his continued support, prayers and motivating guidance in this service.

May God reward every servant who offered time and effort toward the completion of this Sunday School Curriculum.

“ Thus Far the Lord Has Helped Us ” (I Samuel 7:12)

The children in this age group would listen to short stories and remember parts of them. They cannot differentiate between fantasy and reality. They are also good imitators, will copy their teachers in many things they do, like singing and need very creative visual aids. Ideally, they like things that are moving and have different interesting sounds. They would also be interested in new experiences and willing to play with other children. They like to dress up in a play or an act. Some of them may show some readiness to reading. The child should never be threatened as a punishment because this may scare him/her. The main theme to be conveyed at this age is that they are loved and that Sunday School is fun.

A six-year-old child leads a life of continuous experience, thoughts, and exciting treatment. So, Church Education attempts at helping the child to know how the Lord cares for him/her. Thus the child will respond through his love to God and his obedience to Him. The servant should be aware of the fact that the child is curious to know everything about God. Therefore, tell him that God is our Shepherd and that the Lord always cares for him, his family, his school, his church, his friends and life inside and outside the church… And here we find that a hymn that give courage and a story, which is lively, will be important and effective.

These children begin to recognize the action of the Spirit in the universe and the Spirit opens their heart and strengthens their talents. Thus, the experienced servant who feels the work of God in the universe is that who is able to transfer these matters to the children. The work of the Holy Spirit in our life delivers such matters to the children. The children, then, are pleased and satisfied, as they understand what they learn.

The children of grade 3 enjoy stories with visual aids and different sounds. They particularly like stories with animals. The main theme to be conveyed at this age is the power and strength of their God. They start to understand things about heaven and death but the servant has to put it in pleasant easy words and not to scare the children from God or the Bible stories. They also have a tremendous memory capacity at this age and this is a good opportunity to memorize as much as possible from the Bible and Psalms or prayers.

The students of grade 4 should know most of the Holy Bible stories and many of the saints stories by the end of this grade. They have to test the blessings of living in grace and behaving in grace. We have to offer opportunities to the students so that they may discover these aspects in the lessons and apply them. The servants should be creative in presenting the lessons in interesting means to avoid the common boardroom words used in this age.

The students of grade 5 will still enjoy stories with visual aids but they are more critical of what they hear. They particularly like to ask logical questions and like to hear logical answers. The main theme to be conveyed at this age is that they are loved and respected. The child is sensitive in this age to his teacher’s image. It is also a critical stage for developing their self-esteem.

The question that faces the child at this age is “Who am I?” That is why the programs set for that age are always designed to help the student to know himself and form his relationship with the Lord Jesus. The child asks more questions about the meaning and the reasons behind the faith. He needs clear, simple and convincing answers.

In order to offer the children of this stage a spiritual Ecclesiastical Service based on sound bases, we have to be well acquainted with the psychological, social and religious aspects of this stage. In dealing with the young people’s attitude and defining the psychological aspects of this stage, the study emphasizes the social and religious aspects.

The students of grade 8 are in a transition period between childhood and adulthood. They still like stories but they also like to discuss and understand information. They need good effort from the teacher to keep them interested and focused on the lesson. The use of audiovisual aids is still very important at this age. They also start to question many of the previous learned facts of faith seeking understanding.

The students of grade 9 are at high emotional peak of their teenage period. These energetic feelings should be directed totally towards the knowledge and love of God. Spiritual activities are very essential. It is also a very critical age where reading the Holy Bible and knowing its contents should be emphasized. They are probably hungering for the facts and the details. It just has to be introduced to them in an interested manner. They need good effort from the teacher to keep them interested and focused on the lesson. The students’ interest increases when they participate in the lesson either by holding frequent discussions in the class or by assigning research projects to one or few students for next class. They should be encouraged to search and perform their own projects. The use of audiovisual aids is still very important at this age. They also start to question many of the previous learned facts of faith seeking understanding.

The students of grade 10 enjoy being mentally challenged and appreciate a high level of knowledge and discussion. They also use logic to analyze any information they receive. The new lessons inserted in this curriculum stressed more Holy Bible information, knowledge of other beliefs, church history and social topics relevant to this age.

The students of grade 11 enjoy being mentally challenged and appreciate a high level of knowledge and discussion. They also use logic to analyze any information they receive. The new lessons inserted in this curriculum stressed more Holy Bible information, knowledge of other beliefs, church history and social topics relevant to this age.

The students of grade 12 enjoy being mentally challenged and appreciate a high level of knowledge and discussion. They also use logic to analyze any information they receive. The new lessons inserted in this curriculum stress more Holy Bible information, knowledge of other beliefs, church history and social topics relevant to this age.

Below is a list of Colored Picture and Activity as a supplement for your class:

Colored Picture and Activity Curriculum

Below is a list of Coptic Lessons as a supplement for your class:

Coptic Curriculum

Below is a list of Hymns as a supplement for your class:

Hymns Curriculum

Below is a list of Liturgical Rites as a supplement for your class:

Liturgical Rites