Experience the fastest growing Catholic Religion textbook in the US
Questions? Contact us or call (800) 888-9344
What makes Spirit of Truth unique?
Keeps Your Students Engaged
Spirit of Truth provides interactive, teacher-led lesson plans for every day of the school year, including vivid sacred art reflections, stories of the saints, games, role-plays, and critical thinking questions, to help you capture and keep your students’ attention.
Delivers a Meaningful Encounter with Our Faith
Spirit of Truth covers the breadth of the Catechism in a rich and age-appropriate way and is designed to connect with students of diverse backgrounds and differing familiarity with the Catholic Faith.
Emphasizes the Importance of Your Students’ Personal Spiritual Journey
While it’s important for your students to understand the Faith, Spirit of Truth is designed to help them internalize the Faith and apply it to their own lives, providing ample opportunity for them to reflect on how everything they are learning applies to their own lived experience.
Provides Your Staff with Ongoing Support
A master teacher will be assigned to you as long as you have the curriculum. They will introduce Spirit of Truth to your staff via live webinar and be available throughout the year as a resource for questions and ideas. Supplemental online resources will keep your content fresh and relevant to your students, such as weekly Sunday Gospel lessons, Liturgical calendar content, lessons on current events, and much more.
Questions? Contact us or call (800) 888-9344
Resources Included with Spirit of Truth
View all School Edition online resources
Questions? Contact us or call (800) 888-9344
What students learn by grade level
Download the full program scope and sequence
Kindergarten
Jesus and the Holy Family
Students are introduced to the loving goodness of Jesus Christ, meet the members of the Holy Family, and learn who the saints are and what they teach us.
- Why virtue is good and sin is bad.
- The importance of developing good habits.
- How to speak to God in prayer.
Grade 1
God is Love
Students begin to develop an awareness of God as our Father in Heaven, the creator of Heaven and earth, who is all good, who created them in His image and likeness, and who loves them unconditionally.
- Basic parts of the Mass.
- The reality of sin in connection with the Sacrament of Confession.
- The lives of saints and the basics of prayer as a conversation with God.
Grade 2
Our Life in Jesus
Students focus on how much children are loved by Jesus Christ, and how His death and Resurrection has opened the way to Heaven.
- The parts of the Mass.
- Lives and lessons of the saints.
- More ways to pray.
- A special focus on the Sacraments of Confession and Eucharist.
GRADE 3
The Kingdom of God and the Church
Students learn about the Catholic Church, the Holy Spirit and how He guides Her, and how Jesus continues His mission through Her.
- Basics of the Trinity and all seven Sacraments.
- Prayer and living as children of God.
- Jesus’ Parables of the Kingdom, and Mary as the Mother of the Church.
- Includes a supplement on Confirmation for restored order dioceses.
grade 4
Jesus Teaches Us How To Live
Students focus on the moral life.
- What it means to be created in the image and likeness of God, and how we should respond to His grace so we can spend eternity with Him in Heaven.
- Conscience formation, the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the Golden Rule, and the Great Commandment.
- The reality of sin and the necessity of virtue.
Grade 5
The Sacraments
Students will explore in-depth the gift of God’s grace in the Sacraments.
- Sacraments: what they are and why Jesus instituted them; form, matter, history, celebration, and effects of each Sacrament.
- The meaning of God as the source of life.
- The Holy Mass and Holy Days of Obligation
- Longer biographies of the saints, especially young saints.
grade 6
Sacred Scripture
Students spend this year immersed in God’s Word in Sacred Scripture, and explore how the Bible, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, records God’s plan of salvation.
- Basics of how to use the Bible and Magisterial authority.
- How and why we should pray with Scripture.
- How the Bible is different from other books.
- The four senses of Scripture.
Grade 7
Living as a Disciple of Christ
Middle-school students explore Jesus and the Gospel message, with an emphasis on unifying themes in Scripture and an in-depth examination of the four Gospels.
- Personal growth: the origin, dignity, and destiny of the human person.
- An exploration of each Sacrament.
- Prayer: its elements, qualities, and challenges; ways of praying; Mary and the saints as models of prayer.
grade 8
The Communion of the Faithful
Middle-school students build on their understanding of personal growth, with an emphasis on our vocation to love and our responsibilities to God and each other.
- Morality: conscience formation through prayer and an objective moral standard.
- Church History: our identity as Catholics; how the saints have shaped the liturgy, hierarchy, and doctrine of the Church.
- Citizen and Government: the natural rights of persons; the purpose of government.
- God’s Plan for Marriage and the Family: our identity as male and female; purposes and abuses of sexuality; resisting temptation so as to avoid sin and grow in virtue.
Questions? Contact us or call (800) 888-9344
Frequently Asked Questions
All Sophia Institute for Teachers materials are written by veteran Catholic school teachers with advanced degrees. They are then tested in classrooms as well as reviewed by leading academics before publication.
In grades K-5, as long as you have a teacher’s guide for your use and student workbooks for each student, you are ready to go. We recommend each student have his or her own copy of the Bible to use in grades 6, 7 and 8.
Additional online supplementary materials can be found here.
Yes!
Once you adopt the Spirit of Truth religion textbook for your school, you will be assigned a Sophia Institute master teacher for the life of the program who will provide you and your faculty with a free, live training webinar, as well as be available via email to answer questions or provide other advice. Additional webinars that help provide background knowledge on the Faith and teaching strategies may be purchased.
We also provide your teachers with fresh classroom materials each month. Free lesson plans on the Sunday Gospels are provided for each week, and lesson plans that help students apply Catholic principles to current events are provided each month. Teachers also have access to our curriculum exchange, and all of the sacred art included in our books are also available in our digital art library.
You may view sample units on this page. Please email us to request review copies.
We encourage you to schedule a live tour to see how Spirit of Truth can help your classroom come alive.
No!
The beauty of Spirit of Truth is its lesson plan format. Its comprehensive but modular design ensures that it can be used successfully by experienced and knowledgeable teachers as well as by teachers with little to no theology background.
Because all the readings, handouts, activities, and assessments are ready to go, your students will receive a complete understanding of the Faith even if their teacher is learning along with them.
Teachers frequently report how well Spirit of Truth has increased their personal understanding of the faith and bolstered their own spiritual life.
To help you manage the expense of textbooks, we offer you 40% off if you order 10 copies or more of the student workbook.
Schools and parishes considering Spirit of Truth may receive free digital sample sets by filling out this form. Printed samples can be received on a case by case basis. Email us here to request sample sets.
If you would like additional hard copy samples, these may be purchased at regular price, and may be returned within 90 days for a full refund if you decide against adoption.
Questions? Contact us or call (800) 888-9344
