A PDF of our FAQ's can be accessed here:
Word of Life Frequently Asked Questions
Word of Life Portal
- Where do I go to sign into the portal?
After accepting your portal invitation and setting up your account, utilize the Word of Life Support Site as your home base to access the portal. Bookmark this page and click on the link in the upper right, “Go to Word of Life Portal” to login. We encourage you to explore the many resources on the Support Site to learn more about the curriculum and digital portal, too!
- Can I choose a password option instead of being directed to retrieve a code via email every time I sign in?
Yes! Navigate to the drop-down menu that appears when you click on your name in the upper right corner. Click on “Change Password” and follow the prompts to set up a password.
- I’m a School Teacher. Can I invite my students to the portal even though it only has the option to “Add Parents”?
Within the SCHOOL portal, you have permission to add students by their school email address under the “Add Parents” option. Schools have permission to add both students and parents in the same way. Within the PARISH portal, only parents are to be invited. Parish students can access the portal at home through their parent’s login.
- How do I invite parents to the portal who have children in different classes/grade levels?
For parents with multiple children in different classes, invite them by email into each applicable classroom within the “Set Up Classrooms” menu. Parents will receive a separate invitation to each class, and they need to accept each one. Parents should stay logged into the portal while accepting the invitations to allow the portal to link together the classrooms into one Student-Parent account. Parents will have a drop-down within the portal to toggle between classrooms once all invitations are accepted. You also have the option to use “Copy Invitation Link” to share a direct link or create QR codes by classroom. If using this option, advise parents to sign up with the same email address for all classrooms to allow the portal to combine the classrooms under one Student-Parent account.
- Do all families need to create separate student accounts?
No. We recommend only setting up separate student accounts (using “Add Student” option in the portal menu) under special circumstances only. For most families with multiple children, follow the directions in question #3 above. For special circumstances, parents may add a student account within their account. Special circumstances apply especially when utilizing the tracking feature in the portal, and these circumstances are: A) Twins or two children from the same family are in the same class, or B) A parent has a different last name than their child.
- Is the Word of Life portal compatible with Google Classroom?
Links to individual portal resources and videos can be shared in Google Classroom. The links will work for any user who has a portal account set up and is logged in on the device from which they are accessing Google Classroom. Google classroom can also be used to share the initial classroom invitation link (using the “Copy Invitation Link” option in Set up Classrooms) for setting up individual student accounts.
- Can I use the same login for Formed and the Word of Life portal?
Yes! Your Word of Life portal login credentials will work to login to Formed, and vice versa.
Together, Word of Life and Formed are powerful tools for evangelizing and catechizing the entire family, and we encourage you to utilize both in your ministry. Under “Family Faith Resources” on the Word of Life Portal, there are suggestions for programs to view on Formed and instructions for how to sign up to make it easy for families to start using the Formed platform. Complete access to Formed content is accessible to parishes and schools that have a subscription.
- I have more questions about the portal. Where can I learn more?
Please navigate to the Word of Life Support Page – Frequently Asked Tech Questions for more questions and answers on the Word of Life portal.
Lesson Planning & Teacher Resources
- How do I fit all the content into one 45–60–minute class each week?
Each chapter within the Word of Life curriculum provides you with a toolkit of print and digital resources from which you can choose what you will use within your lesson. There is an abundance of material to equip you as teacher/catechist to decide what tools work best for your students in class. Any extra resources you don’t get to within your class period is a wonderful opportunity to send home to share with parents to build holiness at home. For help choosing resources and timing, download the Word of Life Lesson Planner Guide, which can be found on the Word of Life Support Site as well as in your digital portal. More helpful articles are available on our Teacher Resources page.
- The vocabulary words in some of the lessons can be challenging for my students. What can I do to help them learn?
Digital Flashcards featuring the vocabulary words are available on the portal for each chapter in K-5, accessible to teachers/catechists as well as to families via the Student-Parent portal. They can be used as part of a lesson or review game, in the classroom or at home. Lesson Enhancement videos often contain vocabulary words presented in a fresh way to increase student comprehension. Chapter Reviews and Chapter Assessments can be used as vocabulary teaching tools as well. We encourage you to lean into the vocabulary words and use them in your lessons to expose children to the full and beautiful language of our faith. Write them on the board, send them home to families, and use them in conversation.
- My catechists need more help with lesson planning. What can I do to help them?
There is a simple Lesson Planner Guide on the Support Site to assist catechists in lesson planning. These guides help catechists quickly identify the resources that will be most effective for their unique class, and to prioritize the various resources based on the time available to deliver a lesson. Let your catechists know that they do not need to cover everything in every lesson. There is extra material that can be sent home to encourage families to discuss faith together and build holiness at home.
- My students are more concrete learners, are there any crafts associated with WOL?
The Optional Activities and Bonus Activities on the Word of Life Portal contain craft ideas and hands-on learning opportunities for students. These printable resources guide activities which are closely tied to the lesson content. Explanations for how they can be used are in the Teacher/Catechist Manual, directly within the lesson focuses and/or at the end of each chapter.
Building Holiness at Home
- I have invited all my parents to the portal, but they are not registering for it. Help!
Sometimes the invitations get lost in spam/junk folders, so you can ask parents to search their email folders for support@wordoflifeseries.org to find the invitation. You also can re-send invitations using the paper airplane icon to the right of their email address in the class list on the portal. If email invitations are not working, there is an option to “copy invitation link” within the “add parents” portion of classroom set up, and you can directly share this link with them or create a QR code. We have created Parent Onboarding Instructions to be shared with parents to help them through the portal registration process.
- How can I get more involvement from parents?
Give parents simple ways to use the portal resources at home (keep it simple, starting with one thing they can do together as family). Sometimes using incentives with kids or families will get their attention and interest, and once they see how easy and valuable these resources are, they will be more motivated to engage consistently. You can also send home the family faith pages at the end of each chapter. Some resources that you can share with parents include helpful tutorial videos created for parents, and our Word of Life Parent Letter. Finally, you may find inspiration by watching recordings of a few recent webinars on this topic, including Evangelizing the Family with Word of Life and Increasing Parent Involvement in Catechisis and Evangelization.
- Are the family faith pages on the portal?
Yes. Word of Life provides Family Faith Pages at the end of each chapter in the student texts (K-5) and digitally on the Portal. These pages help families talk about faith at home, providing simple discussion questions (and answers) to spark conversation about what the students learned in class, suggestions for life application in the family (including virtuous living), and family prayer and family activities to practice the Catholic faith at home. Pages are perforated in the student text so that they can easily be sent home after class. Parents also have access to this page on the Student-Parent portal.
- What can families/parents do on the portal at home?
To see what parents and students have access to within the portal, navigate to the drop-down menu in the upper right corner of your portal homepage and select “Student-Parent Portal.” This allows you to navigate through the Chapter Resources and Resources by Type to see what families can see. We recommend starting small with families and giving them one video to watch, and as they get more comfortable you can layer in routines throughout the year. You might start with Lectio Divina videos or audio, or the Lesson Enhancement video, or Sacred Art video/interactions. Students also enjoy the digital student text; this is a great tool for reviewing the lesson throughout the week.
Middle School
- What videos are available for Grades 6-8 on the portal?
The Lesson Enhancement Videos are an important part of the Middle School curriculum. These dynamic, engaging videos provide students with new ways to understand the content in their books. See “Resources by Type” --> “Lesson Enhancement” on the portal. There is a printable document available along with the videos that explains where to show each video and provides discussion prompts. The other videos on the portal are a valuable resource just for teachers, called Teacher-to-Teacher Videos. We highly recommend all middle school teachers/catechists and administrators watch these! See question #19 below for more on the teacher-to-teacher videos.
- Is Lectio Divina in the Middle School curriculum?
Yes! Each lesson starts with teacher-led Lectio Divina prayer. This is explained in the front matter of the Manual; see the page entitled “Prayer.” Within each lesson plan, there are guided directions to utilize Lectio Divina prayer to start each lesson. There is also a printable worksheet on the portal called “Introduction to Lectio Divina” that can be shared with students and parents.
- Will there be a Book A and a Book B for 7th and 8th Grade?
There will not be a fall semester and spring semester separation for Middle School Student Texts moving forward (Grades 6-8); each grade level will be printed in one complete book. However, due to size, the Teacher Manual and Catechist Manuals will be split into two books. Both books will ship together when you place your order.
- Will there be teacher-to-teacher videos with Dr. Tim Gray with the 7th and 8th Grade curriculum?
There will be teacher-to-teacher videos for Grades 7 and 8. These videos are highly recommended for every teacher to watch as they will equip you to understand the big picture of the curriculum, the main ideas of each unit, and the highlights of each chapter, including ideas for how to approach lesson planning and teaching.
Bilingual
- What resources are available to support our bilingual community?
There is a wide array of bilingual resources on the ESPANOL Portal, the Word of Life Support Site, and formed.org content. Visit Bilingual & Spanish Resources - Word of Life Help Center for more details.
Coaching
- How can I set up a coaching session?
Our coaching team would love to meet with you to help you implement Word of Life with success in your community. Please visit Individualized 1-on-1 Coaching to set an appointment. All coaching sessions are complimentary for our Word of Life partners.
- What does a teacher/catechist training session look like and how can we set one up?
During a 1-on-1 coaching session, we can discuss, plan for, and schedule a group training session for your teaching team. Typically, teacher/catechist group trainings last for 60 minutes on zoom. You may choose to gather your teaching team in one meeting room to view the zoom training together, or participants can join the training from individual devices from home. It is up to you as the school/parish leader what will work best for your team. Our training sessions are interactive; we love to ask and answer questions so that we are best meeting the unique needs of your team. All coaching sessions are complimentary for our Word of Life partners.
- Can we schedule a catechist training on a Sunday?
Our Curriculum Coaches are happy to accommodate training requests for weekday evenings or Saturdays depending on availability. At the Augustine Institute we honor the Lord’s commandment of keeping the Sabbath holy - we do not schedule trainings on Sundays.
- How do I sign up for a Word of Life workshop or webinar?
Keep an eye on the Word of Life Coaching page for upcoming workshops and webinars. We will also send out communication via email throughout the year. You are always welcome to watch recordings of our previous workshops and webinars.