If your church has a recreation room, hold the class in that space. Before or after class, invite students to take advantage of the games and activities offered in the room. Ping pong tables, pool tables, dart boards and even video games all are examples of games that may be made available to catechism students. Recreation activities also may be offered as a reward for listening intently and participating in the lesson plan. The point is to take the idea of catechism class outside of the traditional classroom setting and offer something more appealing for the teenagers.
Many school classrooms do not allow students to eat or drink beverages, other than water, during class time. Rather than discouraging snacks, incorporate them into class. Set aside a separate snack time or allow the students to eat and drink quietly during the lesson. Additionally, plan special food nights where everyone chips in and orders food such as pizza or subs. Another idea is assigning snack responsibilities to one or two people each week. Ask them to provide items such as cookies, cupcakes or brownies for the class.
Rather than spending time reading from the catechism lesson book, find that same lesson depicted in a movie. "The Ten Commandments," "The Passion of The Christ" and "Joan of Arc" are examples of movies that depict aspects of the Catholic religion. Create discussion questions about specific characters and religious themes in the movie for the group to discuss after watching. Because movies are lengthy, you might decide to hold a traditional class for the first half of the period and then watch a piece of the movie for the second half.
Incorporate your lesson plan into a game played by the class. For example, if your lesson plan is to review the Last Supper, create a bingo game where each square represents someone involved with the story of that meal. Jesus and the Apostles would be examples of primary characters on the bingo card. Herod, the Romans and Mary Magdalene would be additional characters that may be used for the card. Hand out bingo cards to everyone, then draw the name of one of the characters out of a bag. Before students can claim that square on their card, they must tell you about that historical figure. Other game ideas include incorporating catechism lessons into "Jeopardy" or quiz formats, where members of the class compete against each other for points. The one with the most points wins. Offering a small prize such as a coffee shop gift certificate or free movie ticket keeps the teenagers engaged as well.