Matthew Graham

Coursework for GPDE 5376 C

Part One of the Course Work: The Reflection

During this course I learned a plethora of things that has been really

beneficially for me to integrate into my teaching going into my second year

as a teacher. For the first time, I had Formative Assessment, Summative

Assessment and Performance Assessment defined for me. These were terms

that I was not familiar with before the class, but terms that are very

important for me in how I run my classroom.

An integral part of this class in its beginning was defining what the

purpose of assessment was overall. I have come to understand that

Assessment is needed to inform and to guide both teaching and learning. I

learned that my classroom must have an assessment plan that gathers

evidence of student learning and that sets specific guidelines for the teacher

instructions. This will help me to know what students know and what they

are capable of. I must come to know what the students misunderstand and

where there misconceptions come from, the reason for the misunderstanding

in other words. I must have my assessment plan be a map for the students

that they can use to guide and inform their learning.

Another purpose of assessment is to help students set learning goals. I

learned in the class that students have what really is a necessity for them to
be able to reflect on where their learning is currently and what they need to

do to achieve the learning goals that they have set for themselves. I learned

that my students can make significant advances in directing their own

learning and what they understand about themselves as learners. For this to

happen, students need to be involved in their own assessment.

Assessment plays a key role in motivating students. Research has

shown that students can become confident in their learning, if they

experience progress and if they feel that they are achieving something. This

will replace the feeling they get of not feeling good enough perhaps when

they think of where they stand academically in comparison to those that

they see as more astute around them. Students will see themselves as

competent and successful if they are involved in my assessment process. As

teachers, we just have to watch when it comes to giving out rewards and

punishment instead of just letting students take part in the assessment

process. This is what leads to students feeling of a lesser quality than those

around them.

Overall, the central mission of assessment has a dual mission; it seeks

to improve teachers teaching and students learning at the same time. This

assessment that I have been speaking of is an ongoing interaction between

the teacher and the learning process as a whole. It is important that the

teacher and leader of the classroom use this information that they attain well
in order to help the students to reach their full potential. Students have the

propensity as we know, to first find their desire in learning through the help,

guidance and advocacy of the teacher.

Focusing just on Formative Assessment now, there are a plethora of

things to learn. Monitoring student learning in order to give prompt feedback

is important in formative assessment. This feedback will be used by

teachers to improve teaching and by students to improve their learning.

Students with this feedback will be able to see what they are good at and not

good at and they will physically be able to see that they are making some

kind of progress. On the other hand, it helps the teachers to see

transparently the strengths and weaknesses of the students. Formative

assessments tend to be low stakes and dont even need to be graded.

Summative assessment is the next step up from Formative

assessment. Formative Assessment prepares student for the unit test, the

summative assessment. The main goal of this assessment is to see where

student learning goals have been achieved or not achieved at the end of an

instructional unit. The scores will be compared and contrasted against the

standard. These assessments are high stakes, thus they come along with

high point values. They can include thing such as final papers, a senior

recital, or a midterm exam.

 Lastly is the performance assessment. This assessment commonly is

used by faculty after the summative assessment has been given out and

graded. There now lies the task of having to re-teach that which was not

understood by the vast majority of the class. This can be done in varying

degrees. Students may be asked to present on the information to other

classmates or even to a different grade level to make sure that they master

understanding of the material. This assessment does not change the

summative assessment grade, but can be calculated in unison with it after it

is completed and the information in the learning goal for the unit has now

hopefully been achieved.

Part Two of the Course Work: Fifteen Annotated Bibliographies

Greenstein, Laura. What Teachers Really Need to Know about

Formative Assessment. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2010. Print.

This book speaks to the importance of entrance slips. For example, a

teacher may ask what the correlation between A and B? A teacher may also

ask what do you find confusing about C? Students should write their answers

on a separate sheet of paper. Activities such as these should take only a

couple of minutes at the beginning of teacher instruction. These slips can be

signed or submit through anonymity.

I plan on using entrance slips in my classes. I will hang on to them and

return them to students at the conclusion of the unit of instruction. They will

serve as a measure of learning and help student to self-assess themselves

and to reflect on their achievement. I will use entrance slips to see if

students can make the correlation between difficult points in theology class.

Hopefully, this will augment their ability to perform higher on the summative

assessment on whatever particular topic we are on. An example would be

for students to compare and contrast sacramental baptisms and the

baptisms of Saint John the Baptist.

Bailey, Kim, and Chris Jakicic. Common Formative Assessment: A

Toolkit for Professional Learning Communities at WorkTM.
Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree, 2012. Print.

This book seeks to answer the question: why do educators assess? The

books explains that assessment is done in order to see the progress that

students are or are not making toward explicit learning goals. It talks of how

teachers use informal ways of assessing students such as ongoing

observation, dialogue, questioning, and anecdotal note taking. If a teacher

needs a more formal method, they select or design an appropriate

assessment matched to their intended purpose and then use the information

that the student-completed assessments provide to answer their questions in

regard to student learning.

I do use several assessment in my class, but will be adding both formative

and performance assessment to my class to bring to light certain purposes

that I am trying to make clear to the students. The purpose of these

assessments will be for me to identify if students have mastered certain

concepts and skills or not. It will allow me to evaluate the effectiveness of

instructional strategies and it will motivate students to be more engaged in

learning.

Fisher, Douglas, and Nancy Frey. Checking for Understanding:

Formative Assessment Techniques for Your Classroom. N.p.: n.p.,
n.d. Print.

This book focuses on the necessity for projects and performances in order to

check for student understanding. They give students opportunities to use

new learning to create original works. This allows what the book calls a

transfer of learning. This also allows teachers to make sure that meaningful

work is being put forth from the students. Some projects may be more

extensive such as portfolios, but other projects are simple visual displays

that can easily be used in the classroom every day.

I will definitely be using projects as a means of performance testing in my

classroom. I believe that having students do portfolios forces them to have

to grapple with the classroom information on a much deeper level. I also

think that just making the students do projects that will provide visuals for

the lesson will make them feel more involved in the classroom and hopefully

give them a deeper desire to want to know what is going on in the

classroom. In other words, I will use student work for visuals for the other

students, so that they are learning from each other.

Brookhart, Susan M. How to Give Effective Feedback to Your

Students. N.p.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, 2008. Print.
One part of this book is based on giving feedback when returning a test or an

assignment to students. It talks of the need to go over tests and

assignments before moving on to the next ones. When teachers give

feedback, there needs to be time built in to the plan for the day, to actually

use the information. There needs to be a clear connection made by the

teacher for the students between the learning target and group feedback.

An example would be: I need you all to be able to do this so we must

review this particular aspect of theology.

Feedback is one of the most important things to give as a teacher. Feedback

needs to be given back in a timely manner; otherwise the students are

passed it and have forgotten about it. We must give them corrective

guidance while it is still fresh for them. I do plan on going over tests now

after they take them. I especially plan on showing them how certain parts of

the test correlated with each learning goal we had each day leading up to

this summative assessment.

Dodge, Judith. 25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated

Classroom. New York: Scholastic, 2009. Print.

The author focused intimately on different forms of assessment that can be

used on a daily basis to provide constant assessment in a class. One

example that they gave was an opinion journal. In this journal there was the

unit topic and they had to give the big idea. There was also a list of

questions to help them write such as; In my opinion ________ leads to

__________. There were also things such as; I believe that __________ is

dangerous or beneficial because_________.

These opinion journals would be great for theology class. One of the

toughest parts of teaching theology is to change student thinking from

memorizing the material, to implementing it in their own life and in daily life

in general. These journals will force the students to come up with the main

big idea. They will then have to explain how it fits in their life and how it

affects them and why. It will force them to think outside of themselves and

to make connections to how this big idea affects not only them, but the

entire world.

Boss, Suzie, and Jane Krauss. Reinventing Project-based Learning:

Your Field Guide to Real-world Projects in the Digital Age. N.p.: n.p.,
n.d. Print.

This particular book focuses on learning, but specifically student learning in

the sense of its connection with internet learning. It talks of helping students

to makes sense of the raw information that students will encounter on

websites during research. Teachers must be able to find rich databases

based on factual points for the students. This book discusses how higher-

order thinking is connected to sorting, organizing and analyzing information.

I agree with this book that there is a need every once in a while for a project

that forces students to have to use technology in order to learn how to

research well. I do believe that this intensive research does help form the

students in the higher learning that we expect them to show on their

summative assessments. Having to organize quickly and to sift through and

analyze complex material that they may not be used to, really stretches

them to reach their full potential.

Blaz, Deborah. Differentiated Assessment for Middle and High

School Classrooms. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education, 2008. Print.

Chapter Six of this book focuses on using technology in assessment. It talks

about how technology is a smart way of giving quick feedback. For, tutorial

support explains to the students why they got an answer incorrect and even

let them do similar examples. This type of practice tends to motivate

students to work harder over longer periods of time. It can provide an audio,

visual or textual message to the students, depending on how they prefer to

learn the subject matter.

I very much am attracted to using technology as an assessment for

homework. I like how students can on their own can instruction via the

computer with the particular areas that they struggle with. It is nice that

they get to click on and work with similar material to test if they are getting a

better grasp of the material and to have the material explained to them.

This is better than having students come in to me the next day with a lot of

questions that they can explore on their own. It also will help cut down on

the number of students who dont finish their homework because they dont

get it, so they just stop trying.

Urbanski, A. "Teacher Professionalism and Teacher Accountability:
Toward a More Genuine Teaching Profession." Educational
Policy 12.4 (1998): 449-57. Web.

This article focuses on the necessity for credible assessment. It talks about a

need for triangulation of local and state data. This comes along with credible

assessment tasks. The assessment task should directly reflect the standards

of the reality of the substance of the course essentially. The assessment in

class should have a real world assessment for the students to archive their

learning goal to in the hopes of truly being able to analyze information.

I completely agree with this article. My assessment must be credible. They

must focus on the learning standard that exists in my room and there must

be a connection to the real world assessment. The substance of my class is

meant to be analyzed and synthesized in a way that can be brought into real

life situations. These results and attempts by the students can all be put in

data. For the first time this year at our school, we will be doing data spread

sheet in correlation with student understanding of learning goals which will

be given weekly to students to show if they are getting learning goals in

each of their classes. For this data to be relevant, the assessment must be

credible.

Pellegrino, James W. "Commentary: Understanding What We

Measure and Measuring What We Understand." Changing
Assessments (1992): 275-300. Web.

This article gleamed insight on the difficulty of finding good projects. It talks

of how teachers struggle finding good ideas for projects and then when they
find good ideas, there is a struggle to fit it into a crowded curriculum. It goes

on to talk of project-based learning over textbooks and how it allows for a

variety of possible solutions, instead of just what students see the textbook

is looking for. They emphasize using community professionals as a resource.

I whole heartedly agree with this article and was so excited to read it. It is

true that our curriculum is very tight and time is very precious. However,

project-based learning can be of much higher quality than continual textbook

work. For, students learn to just see what the textbook wants to hear and

answers accordingly, but arent learning much. However, projects force

students to use their creative mind and to synthesize and use critical

thinking. It also forces them to use community professionals among other

resources to find answers, which is in turn helping them to become

professional students.

Miller, Andrew. "Designing Rubrics for Project Based Learning."

(n.d.): n. pag. Web.

This article focused pretty strongly on the wording used in designing rubrics.

It had two central focuses: 1) use parallel language and 2) use student

friendly language. To respond to the first, the rubric should easily be able to

read from left to right. Parallel language is about clarity and transparency.

Use the words having or not having. To address the second component,

simply use language that is easy and straight forward. Essentially our rubric

is not a dissertation, its a rubric and directions and we need to make it

simple.
I will definitely implement this in my class. I am making rubrics for the first

time this year and I definitely see the importance of it being transparent and

straight forward. The point of it is to clearly show what kind of work will lead

to what level of a grade. If the students cant even understand what is

expected of them, how can we expect them to meet their learning goals? As

teachers sometimes we come from a strong academic background and a

plethora of education, but this is one of those areas where you just need to

be simple and straight forward.

Adams, C. (2004). Guidelines for participants in a Socratic seminar.

Vestivia Hills High School, Birmingham, AL.

This book is focused on the teaching method of using the Socratic seminar.

This type of teaching style can be a form of assessment. The overall point of

the Socratic seminar is that it is supposed to be mostly student driven. The

teacher will begin a discussion to be continued on and finished by students

in the class. This type of teaching is usually more common in a literature,

religion or history course.

I very much have a planned out method for how I will be using the Socratic

seminar as a formative assessment this upcoming year. When we read

through the Marriage section of Sacraments, I have the students read

Humane Vitae, which is a papal document on the Churchs teaching on

marriage. I plan to use Socratic seminar in having the students talk to each

other about their understanding of this reading and how it applies to this

course and to the current world we live in. The way, I will have it set up, is I
will have two circles. On the inside will be the first participants, which each

have a partner on the outer circle scoring their attention rate and ability to

participate. Later on, the circles switch shoes and play the other role. This

will force the students to really have to participate and pay attention. I will

score the students in addition to their scores for each other and the total

combined grade divided by three, will be there assessment score.

Wiggins, Grant P., and Jay McTighe. Understanding by Design.

Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, 1998. Print.

This book was interesting to read for it said some things that I wasnt

expecting to hear. It brought out and spoke of the dichotomy between good

test scores and actually understanding the information. This belief is focused

on the fact that teachers tend to retain assessment habits that are

superficial that easily text aspect of knowledge. It talks about correct

answers on test not actually offering adequate evidence of understanding.

I love this book. I believe that this book resonates with every teacher in a

way that we have trouble putting into words. I cant tell you how many times

I give correct for something being correct on a test, but realize that they

really arent getting the full context of the answer. The best way to do this is

to avoid what the text talks of as superficial questions on test and simply

have two main parts of the test based on the model we learned. We should

have 70-80% be common knowledge and then really challenge the students
for the other 20%, so that their correct answer really shows thorough

knowledge.

Harvey, Stephanie, and Anne Goudvis. Strategies That Work:

Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding. York, Me.:
Stenhouse, 2000. Print.

This text honed in on creating an environment for thoughtful content. It

spoke to the importance of focusing on comprehension and understanding,

rather than sheer memorization of information. The goal here is rather to

connect students with real-world issues. There should be content-related big

ideas at the center, essential questions and key concepts. They also talked

of the necessity to engage students interest and enthusiasm.

I will be implementing this thought process in my class as part of my

assessments. I do want to encourage student choice and independent

thinking based on big ideas and essential questions to bring about critical

thinking. I will need to provide time for this thinking to take place and I will

have to set expectations to push students towards high levels of thinking.

Farr, Steven. Teaching as Leadership: The Highly Effective Teacher's

Guide to Closing the Achievement Gap. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
2010. Print.

After a textual analysis, I realized that a center focal point of this text was

making progress transparent. They offered the advice of stapling an old

copy of each students first assessment exam to each subsequent

assessment, to show student growth to the students themselves. They talked

of using an elaborate bulletin board system to track individual progress in all

subjects. There is a strong belief in this text that highly effective teachers

understand that students need to see that they are progressing, in order for

them to believe that they are truly making some kind of progress.

I believe in the same values as this text and hold them in my class.

However, there is always room for improvement on my part as the arbiter of

the class. I do believe that as teachers we provide the extrinsic and intrinsic

motivations for students much of the time, that they simply just dont have

on their own yet. It is essentially to show student progress and it is essential

to give students prompt feedback on their work. I will be implementing a

new procedure of stapling all formative assessments for a particular chapter

on the back of the summative assessment for the chapter, so that students

can see their progress.

Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People:

Restoring the Character Ethic. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

This book essentially came up with the seven habits of highly effective

people. This would be in reference to both students and teachers reaching

their full potential. 1) Be proactive: Set the goals on your own and make

your pace toward excellence. 2) Begin with the end in mind: Always keep

striving for the ultimate teleos. 3) Put first things first: Know what is most

important. 4) Think Win/Win: Be able to do multiple things at the same time

with your learning goal in sight. 5) Seek first to understand, not to be

understood: We should first have knowledge of the content first and then

worry about being understood in our verbiage. 6) Synergize: Essentially

speaks to working in groups and helping others come to the knowledge that

you have. 7) You have now achieved victory and independence.

Everything I put in the last paragraph is my own personal response to the

seven habits. I believe these habits to be imperative in the deepest meaning

of the word. Especially when it comes to assessment and being transparent,

both teachers and students must be proactive. We must have the end in

mind and put the most important things first. Critical thinking must come

first. We must have a win/win philosophy. We must work together. The bible

puts it as iron sharpens iron. Together we are stronger collectively by

sharing our knowledge to strengthen the group as a whole. Finally, we have

achieved victory and independence when all of the aforementioned habits

are actualized in the person.

Part Three of the Course Work: My own Formative Assessment,

Performance Assessments and Summative Assessments that I have
made (Implementation Plan)

First, I will start with Formative Assessment. I didnt do many

formative assessments last year. So, I made up three here for an
elective that I teach: It include three new quizzes

Mr. Graham
Name:_____________________
Theology of the Body
Partner Quiz

1. What are the two things present in the flesh of the flesh?
 2. What is the life of the spirit and how is it work together with the life of
the flesh?

3. Describe to me the interior gaze and what that means?

4. Tell me what reciprocal innocence is:

5. Why do we have an obligation to God with our bodies?

6. What are our bodies meant to do?

7. What does it mean that our bodies have a speech/language?

Mr. Graham Name:

___________________________
Theology of the Body
Quiz #2

1. What does Matthew 5:27-28 say?

 2. Point A section one in your notes, we are called to penetrate the full
ethical and anthropological meaning of the stamen to understand the
general truth ______ ________ _________ ________ ___________.

3. Point A section two of your notes: What did Christ come to do in

accordance with the law?

4. Continuation of point two: How is man called to find himself?

5. Adultery is a breach of what?

6. The example given from Scripture was David and who?

7. What are the three forms of lust?

8. What is the connection that I explained between lust, self-mastery and

purity of heart?

Mr. Graham
Name:_________________________
Theology of the Body
Quiz #3

1. In Genesis 3:1-5, what does the human heart question?

2. Man casts God from his heart and cuts himself of from what (finish
the sentence)

3. Does mans state after the fall differ greatly from before sin? What do
we say in the notes about this?
 4. The body was the expression of the person in the visible world
(finish the sentence)

5. The body was the unquestionable sign of the _________ ________

_________.

6. Man and woman hide their nakedness from each other and what else
as talked of in point number five of part B in your notes?

7. Give me a summary of what point six of Part B of the notes says:

8. What is the double meaning of shame?

9. Shame is not just in the body, but in the spirit. Explain what we said
about this in point ten of your notes:

10. What does shame and guilt tell us about our bodies and the
speech of the body?

Now, I went through some of my test that students struggled on for

my classes and I changed the test to the format that we had learned
to put them in. Now students should be able to achieve 70-80
percent of the information before it becomes sophisticated. Before,
my tests were mostly knowledge heavy and very sophisticated. It
includes five brand new tests.

Mr. Graham
Name:____________________________
Moral Theology Test #1
Part One: Matching (Match the letter in the space provided with the
correct definition)
- (2 points per answer)

___Objective Morality ___Freedom ___Virtue

___Human Soul ___Christian Vocation

___Scripture and Tradition

___Lifes Purpose ___Catholic Moral Theology ___

Philosophical Ethics

A. Gods call to persons to follow his will

B. Directs us toward eternal salvation
C. Based on reason alone
D. The Power to do Gods Will
E. Sources of Catholic Moral Theology
F. To know, love and serve God
G. Created directly and solely by God
H. A habitual and firm disposition to do good
I. Standards of conduct that are universal rather than conditioned by
culture or personal preference

Part Two: True/False (Put T for True or F for False in the space
provided)
- (2 points per answer)

1. The final goal for each person according to moral theology is to at least
make it to purgatory. __

2. Christian moral life is forged in the heart. ___

3. Christian morality aims to help the individual to become Christ-like. ___

4. Original Sin only affected Adam and Eve. ___

5. Christian ethics differ from secular ethics because secular ethics do not
necessarily have a religious basis. ___

6. The moral law was created by the early Church to control human
passions. ___

7. Natural science is incompatible with moral theology. ___

8. Christianity is a religious morality. ___

 9. Divine Revelation is the foundation of moral theology. ___

10. A persons body and soul have two completely different natures.
___

Part Three: Multiple Choice (Circle the best answer)

- (3 Points per Answer)

1. The following virtue, which is not a cardinal virtue is:

A. Fortitude
B. Chastity
C. Temperance
D. Justice

2. The ethical requirements of the Gospels can only be followed:

A. Through reason
B. By priests and nuns
C. Instinctively
D. With the aid of divine grace
E. In theory, but are actually outdated

3. Moral Theology is the science which:

A. Accepts Divine Revelation
B. Examines Divine Revelation
C. Responds to human sciences
D. All of the above are correct
E. None of the above are correct

4. Christian morality is:

A. A useful list of moral dos and donts
B. A theoretical morality of love that has no need for concrete
guidelines
C. A morality founded in Christs love with teachings and guidelines to
assist the moral life
D. None of the above is correct

5. Some characteristics of Christian morality are:

A. It includes rewards and punishments
B. It affects the profound attitudes of the person
C. It transforms the person on the inside and the outside
D. It stresses what ought to be done
E. All of the above

6. Faith, Hope and Charity are the:

A. Golden Rule
B. Cardinal virtues
 C. Theological virtues
D. Beatitudes
E. None of the above is correct

7. Moral Standards are inscribed on the heart of every human person by:
A. Parents
B. Teachers
C. A fear of punishment
D. God himself
E. The Ten Commandments
8. One concept that distinguishes Christianity from other moralities is:
A. It stresses what ought to be done
B. It affects the person
C. The necessity of Gods grace for salvation
D. It is legalistic
E. It is over 2500 years old

9. Holiness is:
A. Okay for priests and sisters
B. Participation in the life of grace and free dedication to Gods will
C. Attending college to get the facts on holiness
D. All of the above are correct
E. Only A and C are correct

10. When seeking a life of morality, a person has continuous need of

Gods:
A. Understanding
B. Ten Commandments
C. Grace
D. Love
E. Omnipotence

11. Freedom is:

A. The power to do as you wish
B. The power to accomplish Gods will
C. Both of the above
D. A power shared with animals
E. None of the above is correct

12. The Magisterium is:

A. The pope and those bishops teaching in union with him
 B. A power given to theology teachers
C. Aided by ancillary sources
D. All of the above are correct
E. Only A and C are correct

13. Three assisting sources of moral theology are:

A. Astrology, civil law, and anthropology
B. Canon law, psychology, and Christian mysticism
C. Canon Law, anthropology, and psychology
D. None of the above

14. Sacred Scripture refers to:

A. Sacred Tradition
B. The Old Testament
C. The New Testament
D. Only B and C are correct
E. None of the above are correct

15. Moral Theology is a reflection of revealed truth as expressed in:

A. Sacred Scripture, canon law and natural law
B. Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and natural law
C. Sacred Tradition, the Ten Commandments and natural law
D. The Bible alone

16. Moral Theology is based on:

A. Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture
B. Principles found in the lives of the saints
C. The Old Testament only
D. The New Testament only
E. None of the above is correct

17. Christs New Commandment of love is best illustrated in the

parable of the:
A. Mustard seed
B. Rich man and the beggar Lazarus
C. Good Samaritan
D. Pharisee and the publican

18. Catholic moral theology seek s to reflect:

A. The new life in Christ
B. The new life received in Baptism
C. The life which directs man toward salvation
D. Only A and C are correct
E. Only A, B and C are correct
 19. Pluralism is: (Depending on scores, this may become extra
credit)
A. Acceptable in relative matters such as politics or customs
B. Always forbidden
C. A compromise in basic Catholic principles
D. Only B and C are correct

Part Four: Short Answer (Worth Five Points)

1. Give me an example of a moral situation (outside of examples

discussed during class) and tell me what the Church would say are the
morally correct actions in this situation.

2. What do our actions reflect about us?

Mr. Graham
Name:______________________
Moral Theology Test on Chapter Three

Section I: Matching (Put the letter in the space provided with the term it
defines)

___ Freedom ___ Full Knowledge ___

Partial Knowledge

___ Indirect responsibility ___ Responsibility ___

Indifferent acts

___ Moral Acts ___ Acts of Man ___

Human Acts

A. Actions which have no moral value in themselves

B. Accountability for ones acts before oneself and a superior authority
C. Actions done without knowledge or will
D. Accountability for the secondary effects of a free act
E. Knowledge obscured by the presence of some obstacle interfering with
a moral judgment
F. Are judged to be moral or amoral.
G. Clear and deliberate knowledge of the merit or sinfulness of an action
H. Actions done using knowledge and will
 I. The ability to choose Gods will

Section II: True/False (Write True or False in the space provided, it is not
necessary to make those false into a true statement)

1. The highest levels of freedom lead to the highest levels of morality.

______
2. All People are tempted to sin. _____
3. Grace forces a person to make correct moral decisions. ______
4. Human Freedom is limited. _____
5. Freedom and just law cannot truly oppose one another. ______
6. Freedom restricts law. ______
7. The circumstances of an act alone determine its morality. ______
8. Law restricts Freedom. ________

Section III: Multiple Choice (Circle only the best answer)

1. A human act requires:

A. Sneezing and breathing
B. Knowledge and will
C. Nothing
D. All of the above are correct
E. None of the above is correct

2. The grace of God:

A. Diminishes freedom
B. Makes no difference
C. Makes the correct moral choice clear
D. Is only for those who are tempted to sin every day
E. Increases freedom sometimes

3. Acts of humans:
A. Can be controlled
B. Cannot be controlled
C. Never occur
D. None of the above is correct
E. All of the above are correct

4. Prudence is best acquired by:

A. Discussing your moral choices with your friends
B. A daily examination of your moral choices
C. Reading famous authors
D. None of the above is correct
E. All of the above is correct

5. Freedom fundamentally depends upon:

 A. Prayer
B. Monthly confession
C. Regular examination of your daily moral choices
D. The truth
E. Only A and B are correct

6. All of the following are rational principles of the moral life except:
A. Freedom
B. Conscience
C. Prudence
D. Law
E. None of the above is correct

7. Freedom is limited because:

A. There are rules
B. Humans are limited beings
C. We cant choose our birth dates or talents
D. Life stinks
E. Only A and C are correct

8. Humans are able to act morally because:

A. They have the gift of speech
B. They have an intellect
C. They have free will
D. All of the above are correct
E. Only B and C are correct

9. Our actions help to form:

A. Our character
B. Our love life
C. How much God cares about me
D. None of the above

Part III: Short Answer (Fill in the blank or answer the question provided)

1. How can we truly love as Christ loves?

2. When/how does human freedom attain its perfection?

3. To truly be free, we must be able to have this : _____ _______

4. True Freedom comes from:

5. What is freedom of indifference?

6. What is freedom of excellence?

7. What do good moral actions lead to and what do bad moral actions
lead to as explicitly stated in class? (Try to give a specific answer and
not just a general truth about good and bad actions)

8. ____________ increases our merit or blame in moral situations and

______________ reduces or eliminates the morality of an act.

9. What can limit human freedom?

10. What is vincible ignorance?

11. What is invincible ignorance?

12. Perfect Freedom is expressed in what virtue?

_____________________________________.

13. What are the three things involved in judging the morality of an
act?
1.
2.
3.

14. What is an example of something that could reduce my

culpability in an action? (Something that will make me less morally
responsible in a situation)

15. A rat finds a womans diamond earring, picks it up, and takes it
to its nest. A man sweeping the floor in a dance hall after a wedding
reception finds a womans diamond earring, pawns it, and pockets the
 cash. In both cases, it is highly unlikely that the woman will ever see
her diamond earring again. Why is the rats action amoral (neither
good nor evil), while what the man did considered an act of theft?

16. A man goes into diabetic shock while driving his car, loses
consciousness, and causes an accident that injures two people. Is this
not considered a moral act or considered a morally evil act? Explain.

17. A young woman gets an abortion because she is frightened,

confused and forced into it by her parents. Is this a morally evil act
and why?

18. A group of students in a dorm room decide to look at

pornography on the internet in a dorm room, then abuse a woman
because they cannot control their lust and later deny both events when
questioned by the school president later. There are three acts that
have been committed here. Are all of them moral acts or are just some
of them moral acts? Are all of them or just some of them considered
morally evil actions if they are considered a moral act?

Mr. Graham
Name: ________________________
Moral Theology Test on Conscience and Law

Section I: Matching (Match the letter with the term it defines in the
space provided)
Conscience ___ Consequent judgment ___
Vincible ignorance ___

Scrupulous conscience ___ Autonomous morality ___

Moral Rectitude ___

Natural Law ___ Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit ___

Moral Law ___

Just Law ___ Eternal Law ___

New Law ___

Universality ___ Unjust Law ___

Positive Law ___

Ecclesiastical Positive Law ____ Revealed Law ___

A. Found in the Old Law of the Old Testament and the New Law of the
New Testament
B. The Law that directs the life and worship of the Church
C. The Law that holds the baptized person as a new creature
D. Human or civil laws that do not correspond to divine Law and should
not be followed
E. Gods wisdom as manifested in all acts and movements
F. Laws created by the proper authorities (the Church or legitimate
authority)
G. The ability to be applied to everyone, a characteristic of natural law
H. Is an ordinance of reason for the common good corresponding to divine
law and promulgated by who has care of the community
I. The part of the eternal Law that applies to the rational creature
J. Correctness of method of judgment
K. Assist the conscience to make sound moral judgments
L. Should be the basis for a well-formed conscience
M. Moral judgment made after the act
N. The belief that conscience is the only moral authority
O. Reasons judgment of the morality of an action
P. Can be overcome by simple diligence and conscience formation
Q. Judges an act to be morally evil when it is not so

Section II: True/False (Put T for True or F for False in the space
provided)

1. A true conscience usually leads a person to sin. ___

2. A conscience that acts against truth is no conscience at all. ___
3. A true conscience coincides with the moral law. ___
 4. Conscience should be based on personal truths that vary from person
to person. ___
5. An erroneous conscience coincides with the moral law as a result of
subsequent judgments. ___
6. Prayer and meditation are means to forming a right conscience. ___
7. Spiritual direction exists primarily for the clergy. ___
8. The Sermon on the Mount in St. Matthews Gospel is a great reference
to self-examination. ___
9. Slavery to ones passions causes corruption of conscience. ___
10. Conscience is the practical judgment on the morality of a given
action. ___
11. All just laws must be obeyed. ___
12. Laws for society must reflect equality of proportion to be just. ___
13. Obedience to law enslaves conscience. ___
14. Christians are bound in conscience to obey unjust laws. ___
15. Christians have an obligation to work for the elimination of unjust
laws. ___
16. Law exists for the common good. ___
17. Ecclesiastical Law is called canon Law. ___
18. Positive Law is promulgated by those who have authority. ___
19. Natural Law recognizes the dignity of man. ___
20. The purpose of civil Law is to allow a proper measure of freedom
in society. ___
21. Habitual sin and the very habit of bad actions can distort having
a good conscience. ___

Section Three: Multiple Choice (Choose only the best answer)

1. Just law is:
A. An ordinance of reason
B. Without properties
C. Only A and C are correct
D. None of the above is correct
2. Eternal Law is the:
A. Primordial Law, the foundation of all law, intrinsic and universal
B. Order and harmony of the universe
C. Ten Commandments
D. Only A and B are correct
E. None of the above is correct
3. Laws of nature, such as gravity, are different from natural law because:
a. God told us this is the New Testament
b. Natural law deals with laws of gravity and material objects
c. Laws of nature are not actual laws because they merely describe
nature.
d. Only A and C are correct.
e. None of the above is correct
4. Human Law is:
 A. Directly manifested by God
B. Unjust and should not be obeyed
C. A morality determined by mankind
D. Civil or ecclesiastical
E. Only A and C are correct
5. A well-formed conscience obliges a person to:
A. Disobey any civil law with which he or she disagrees
B. Obey all civil laws
C. Obey Gods law rather than a civil law opposed to it
D. Know Church law
E. None of the above is correct
6. Actively opposing an unjust law:
A. Should never be done because it creates disorder
B. Is optional
C. Is the only duty of Christian citizens
D. Is necessary at times but should never be done easily

7. Proofs for existence of conscience are:

A. Sense experience, law and rational discernment
B. Law, moral conscience and docility
C. Rational Discernment, sense experience and moral reflection
D. All of the above are correct
E. None of the above are correct
8. Moral Law:
A. Is necessary for a scrupulous conscience
B. Doesnt coincide with a true conscience
C. Is a guide for the formation of conscience
D. Only A, B and C are Correct
E. Only B and C are correct
9. The concomitant act of conscience occurs:
A. After a moral choice has been made
B. Before the choice to act has been made
C. During the act
D. Only A and B are correct
E. None of the above is correct
10. Invincible ignorance is ignorance that is:
A. The fault of the person
B. Not the fault of the person
C. Ignorance of Law
D. Easily overcome
E. Only B and C are correct
11. Vincible ignorance is:
A. A result of continually changing truths
B. A result of a persons failure to discover the Law
 C. The result of a scrupulous conscience
D. Usually sinful if the act is wrong
E. Only B and D are correct
12. One has to form ones cosnciece according to Church teaching
because:
A. It is a means to salvation
B. The instructor said so
C. Otherwise mistakes will be made in moral choices
D. It feels better if you do
E. Only A and C are correct
13. The purpose of conscience is:
A. To find ways around moral choices
B. To help us socially
C. To evaluate whether a particular act is good or evil
D. Only A and C are correct
E. None of the above is correct
14. Means to forming a conscience include:
A. Acceptance of moral teaching
B. Prayer and meditation
C. Spiritual direction
D. Religious experiences
E. Only A, B and C are correct
15. Conscience is:
A. Practical judgment of reason by intellect on evil or good act
B. Application of objective moral law to concrete circumstance
C. Holy
D. A and B are correct
E. None of the above are correct
16. The organ of the human body that the Old Testament identifies
the conscience with is:
A. The heart
B. The kidney
C. The soul
D. The lungs
17. How is a good conscience formed:
A. Habitual enlightenment of moral truth
B. The guiding light of the ten commandments
C. Christs teachings on charity
D. Occasional sin
E. A, B and C are correct
18. The basis for knowing the moral law in Christ is:
A. Ten Commandments and Beatitudes
B. Ten Commandments and Charity
C. Beatitudes and Charity
D. Beatitudes and Grace
 19. How can someone be confident that they are acting in good
conscience:
A. Sincere seeking out of proper Church teachings
B. Application of knowledge of Church teaching
C. Both A and B are correct
D. Listening to your parents
E. None of the above are correct
20. Why is a sincere desire to do what is right not enough for a good
conscience:
A. Good question
B. You need repentance
C. You need knowledge of moral law
D. You need love
21. The two elements of a sincere repentance are:
A. Contrition and forgiveness
B. Contrition and sorrow
C. Contrition and amendment
D. Contrition and some sin
22. Our first obligation in regard to the moral law is:
A. To understand it
B. To not care about it
C. To read about it
D. To share it with others
E. A and D are correct

Section Four: Short Answer (Answer the questions in the space

provided)
1. How can the New Law be described as a Law of:
Love-

Grace-

Freedom-

2. List the two conditions necessary for civil laws to be both valid and
just:

3. List two things that could be the sources of a distorted conscience:

 4. Why is conscience not just a feeling?

5. Does an appeal to conscience automatically justify an act? Why or Why

not?

6. What does it mean to say that Law is an ordinance of reason?

7. What does it mean to say that Law exists for the common good?

8. What does it mean to say law is made by legitimate authority?

9. What does it mean to say that law must be legislated in an official

manner?

10. What is the ultimate source of legitimate authority?

11. What does it mean that the natural law is written within the
human heart?

12. What is moral relativism? Give me an in-depth example of how it

has hurt the Church and the generation of people that grew up in that
time period.

Mr. Graham Name:

________________________
Sacraments test #3

Part One: Matching (Two Points Per Answer)

______ Counsel ________ Anointed _______ St.

Ambrose of Milan
______ Septuagint ________ Sapientia ________
Confirmation

______ Sacred Chrism _________ Confirmation Name _________

Disciple

______ Proper disposition _________ Baptism __________ First

Holy Communion

A. Important Greek translation of the Old Testament

B. Matter used for the Sacrament of Confirmation
C. Saints name
D. Received usually as an adolescent (Latin Rite)
E. Received at the age of reason (Latin Rite)
F. Received as infants in both the Latin Rite and Eastern Rite of the
Catholic Church
G. Partaking of a sacrament while in the state of grace
H. What one is after receiving Confirmation
I. Every Christian is called to be one of these
J. Gift of the Holy Spirit to help make sound moral decisions
K. Latin for wisdom
L. Made first use of the word confirmation

Part Two: True/False (Put a T for True or F for False in the space given)
- (Three Points Per Answer)

1. ____ The word Christian is derived from the word Christ, which means
Holy One.

2. ____ Only the workings of the Holy Spirit can explain how and why the
Church has survived as an institution for two millenniathe worlds
oldest ongoing institution.

3. ____ The term dual sacrament refers to the Sacraments of Baptism and
the Holy Eucharist.

4. ____ The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are listed in the Book of Isaiah.

5. ____ Christian initiation is incomplete and the unity is not complete

unless one has received the Sacraments of Baptism, First Eucharist and
Confirmation.
 6. ____ The early Church celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation
during the Easter Vigil.

7. ____ Human reason (rationality) and the human intellect are two
faculties that can assist us to arrive at a certain level of knowledge
about God and his attributes.

8. ____ In a situation wherein a correct moral decision is required, we can

rely primarily on the gift of understanding received in the Sacrament of
Confirmation from the Holy Spirit.

9. ____ The role of a Confirmation sponsor is similar to that of a baptismal

godparent.

10. ____ Reception of Confirmation officially marks the end of a

students religious education.

Part Three: Fill in the blanks (Three Points Per Answer)

1. The definition of Apostolate is:

________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________.

2. The Sacraments of _________________, _______________________, and

_____________________ are each dependent upon the use of oil in their
rites.

3. The ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Confirmation is a

_______________ or, under certain circumstances, a ___________________
but never a ______________________.

4. This person ________________ determines the age at which a person can

receive Confirmation.

5. The Substance of Confirmation is:

________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.

6. This was the first mission given to the Apostles after Pentecost:
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.

7. This action symbolized the receiving of the Holy Spirit:

____________________________________________________________________.
8. The role of the Confirmation Sponsor is as follows: (Give at least two
responsibilities)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

9. The Matter and form of Confirmation are:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.

10. Pick a gift of the Holy Spirit and describe it in a minimum of three
sentences:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
Part Four: Essay (Worth a Total of 16 Points)

-Write a five paragraph essay describing the following: Give me the

rubric/describe how the Sacrament of Confirmation is celebrated in the
Church, step by step as best as you can. Tell me what the requirements are
for a person to receive Confirmation (There are three in particular we talked
about in class from the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph#1319)
and why they are important. Please include an intro, then three body
paragraphs, followed by a conclusion for your essay. Any paragraph less
than four sentences for your body paragraphs will be docked points. I will
accept three sentences only for the intro and conclusion paragraphs.

Mr. Graham
Name:_____________________________
Sacraments test #4

Part One: Matching (Match the letter with the term it is associated with in
the space provided)

____ Homily _____ Transubstantiation _____

The Nicene Creed

____ General Intercessions _____ Genuflection _____

Preparation before Mass

____ Mass of the Catechumens _____ Eucharist _____

Words of Consecration

____ Proper Disposition _____ Gloria

____ Sign of the Cross _____ Real Presence

A. Blessing oneself with holy water and kneeling before the tabernacle,
acknowledging the Real Presence of Christ, our Savior
B. A Prayer of praise of the Blessed Trinity
C. In the early Church, the breaking of bread
D. Profession of Faith
 E. Sign that reminds us of our Baptism, asks God for purity of heart and
mind, and acknowledges the Blessed Trinity
F. The form of the Sacrament whereby the bread and wine become the
Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ
G. Prayers for individuals, the Church, and the whole world.
H. The Body and Blood of Christ under the appearance of bread and wine
I. Partaking of a sacrament while in the state of grace
J. The changing of bread and wine into the Body, Blood, soul and divinity
of Christ
K. Priest or deacons comments on the Scriptural readings
L. The Liturgy of the Word, which is attended also by those who are not
yet members of the Church
M. Sign of respect by bending the knee(s) to acknowledge the Presence of
Christ in the Blessed Sacrament

Part Two: True/False (Put T for True or F for False in the space provided)

1. The tabernacle contains and protects the consecrated Hosts. ______

2. Receiving Holy Communion in the Sacrament of the Eucharist worthily

forgives both venial and mortal sins. ______

3. Bread and Wine become Christs Body and Blood when the priest
pronounces the words of consecration. _______

4. Receiving the Holy Eucharist while in the state of mortal sin is a

sacrilege. _______

5. St. Ignatius of Loyola was among the earliest Christians who

acknowledged the Eucharist as the Body and Blood of Christ. _______

6. The theological term for the changing of the whole and entire
substance of bread and wine into the substance of the Body and Blood
of Jesus Christ is consubstantiation. _______

7. St. John the Evangelist clarified the nature of the Eucharist in great
detail. ________

8. Even though the Apostle St. Paul underwent a direct conversion by our
Lord himself and preached to the Gentiles, he was not well versed on
the Eucharist. ________

9. The Vicar of Christ is the succession of the Bishops. _________

10. The ministry of priests can be found in both the Old and New
Testaments. _______
Part Three: Fill in the blank/Short Answer

1. Explain the dimensionality (the space Christ takes up) in regards to

what this means and how it is different from us.

2. The only Sacrament that provides grace and Christs actual presence in
His body and blood is ______________________________________.

3. ______________ is the one who works through the minister of a

Sacrament.

4. In Persona Cristi means ______________________________________ and is in

reference to this person: ___________________________.

5. What did the Donatists believe?

6. This saint talked about the Eucharist being the Body and Blood of
Christ in the late AD 100s:
_______________________________________________________________________.

7. As we learned in lecture there are three key terms referring to Christ

and his work in the Sacrament. We say that Christ is the ____________
that _____________ a _____________, which is the substance of the
Sacrament.

8. What did Calvin say and why did the Church disagree with it?

9. The Doctrine of the change that brings about the Real Presence of
Christ is referred to as ______________________.

10. It is only through a ______________________ life that we can have

divine grace infused in us that transforms us and allows us to live
saintly lives and to live a virtuous life.

11. In reference to the Sacramentality of the Mass that we talked

about in class. We said that Christ is the _____________ that is broken,
 which we symbolize in mass when the priest breaks the consecrated
bread at mass, and that he is broken for the forgiveness of
_________________________________ (be very specific for the second
part/Two word answer)

12. In class we said that a Sacrament is a sign only

________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________. (Finish the sentence)

Extra Credit: I told you that the Bread and Wine are the what that
symbolizes the Real Substance. I will only accept the answer that starts with
an (a).

Part Four: Essay

- For the Essay portion of the Test, please do the following. I am only
asking you to write three paragraphs, but they must be at least five
sentences per paragraph. In paragraph one describe to me how the
mass is celebrated (what happens and in what order). In paragraph
two describe to me what the invisible mission of man is that we talked
about in class and in paragraph three describe to me what the visible
mission of man is; that we talked about in class. In these paragraphs,
include what God gave us to help us live out these missions. Clue: It is
the same answer for both.

Lastly for performance assessments, I went through were students

struggled most last year and came up with three paper assignments
for performance assessments after the summative assessments.

Mr. Graham
Essay#1
Church History

For this assignment, you must pick one of the following and write a five
paragraph essay. If you feel you need to use more than five paragraphs in
the essay, there is no problem with that. Your essay must be typed, not hand
written. The essay can be double spaced, but must be size twelve font and
must be in Times New Roman. The essay must consist of five whole pages. If
you are just about at the end of the fifth page and only have one or two
sentences before the next page, then that is fine. The essay must have a
bibliography in APA format on its own separate page at the end of the essay.
It is mandatory to use three resources, you are welcome to use more, but
need at least three. There can be no adjusting of margins, to make your
pages longer. Good luck and God bless!
Essay Topics:

1. Pick a writer during the Early Christian period of the Church. Write
about their writings and how these writings affected the faith of the
Christians at the time.

2. Write an essay on Martyrdom. Thoroughly explain martyrdom and all

of the forms that it can come in. Specifically, pick one martyr in the
Church and explain how their life helped lead to the spread of
Christianity. (Preferably pick a saint from the earlier time period of the
Church)

3. Talk about what the Catholic Church teaches about abortion and
contraception as talked about in the textbook. Talk about a writing
from a Saint in the Church to support your argument. Also,
supplement your argument with the Catechism of the Catholic Church
and/or the Holy Bible.

Mr. Graham
Essay#1
Sacraments

For this assignment, you must pick one of the following and write a five
paragraph essay. If you feel you need to use more than five paragraphs in
the essay, there is no problem with that. Your essay must be typed, not hand
written. The essay should be double spaced, but must be size twelve font
and must be in Times New Roman. The essay must consist of five whole
pages. If you are just about at the end of the fifth page and only have one or
two sentences before the next page, then that is fine. The essay must have a
bibliography in APA format on its own separate page at the end of the essay.
It is mandatory to use three resources, you are welcome to use more, but
need at least three. There can be no adjusting of margins, to make your
pages longer. Good luck and God bless!

Essay Topics:
 1. Write an essay on Baptism. Go through the process of how baptism is
celebrated and its importance. Tell me what the matter of the
Sacrament is and why. Also, talk about the difference between Baptism
with John the Baptist and with the Church today. Talk about who has
responsibilities in baptism and what they are.

2. Write an essay on Confirmation. Tell me what the matter of the

Sacrament is and why (what is it symbolic of). Also, talk about how the
Sacrament is celebrated. Include who has responsibilities in this
Sacrament and what they are. Talk about the effects of this Sacrament
and what has changed in a person due to this Sacrament.

Mr. Graham
Essay #2
Church History

Essay Topic:

Pick one heresy in the Church. Describe the heresy and what it taught.
Tell me what part of it was in-line with the Church (if any) and what was
against Church teaching and why. Tell me who was responsible for the
heresy and what Church council fought against this heresy in the
Church. Give me the name of the Council, the year of the Council and
where the Council took place. Tell me how this heresy affected the
Church as a whole.

Directions:
Write this essay in five paragraphs, with an intro, at least three body
paragraphs (more can be used if you would like or if you feel that it is
necessary) and a conclusion.
The paper should be at least Two pages in Times New Roman and
single spaced.
Use at least one source. Put the source on a separate bibliography
page in MLA format.
 However, the majority of this paper should be your own writing,
not quotes. Thus, the need for only one source. You may use more
than one source.
When quoting in the paper, it should look like this, write the quote in
here(Authors last name, page number).