Archdiocesan Curriculum Standards and Glossaries

The Archdiocese of Washington has established curriculum standards and guidelines for pre-school through grade 8 under the title of “Forming Disciples for the New Evangelization.” There curriculum standards are meant to help catechists in both Religious Education Programs and Catholic schools in the archdiocese to teach consistently and comprehensively from parish to parish and to ensure that the content of our teaching fits with the overall effort to form a disciple of Jesus Christ. The curriculum standards span six key elements: (1) Knowledge of the Faith, (2) Liturgy and Sacraments, (3) Morality, (4) Prayer, (5) Education for Living in the Christian Community, and (6) Evangelization and Apostolic Life. Parent guides for “Forming Disciples” may be found on the Archdiocese of Washington’s Parish Faith Formation webpage (scroll to the bottom) and a link to this page is provided to parents in our “Frequently Asked Questions.”

Archdiocesan standards are not provided for the Christian Initiation of Children and Teens classes. However, helps for understanding the process for these classes and our own curriculum approach are provided on this page.

• Using the Archdiocesan Standards: An Informal Approach

• Pre-School ~ Curriculum Standards

• Kindergarten ~ Curriculum Standards and Glossary

• Grade 1 ~ Curriculum Standards and Glossary

• Grade 2 ~ Curriculum Standards and Glossary

• Grade 3 ~ Curriculum Standards and Glossary

• Grade 4 ~ Curriculum Standards and Glossary

• Grade 5 ~ Curriculum Standards and Glossary

• Grade 6 ~ Curriculum Standards and Glossary

• Grade 7 ~ Curriculum Standards and Glossary

• Grade 8 ~ Curriculum Standards and Glossary

• Understanding the Christian Initiation of Children

• Understanding the Christian Initiation of Teens