Open-and-go lesson plan for St. Thomas Aquinas

Ready to tell your students or children about one of the most important philosophers and theologians in history?

This quick lesson will help you share the story of St. Thomas Aquinas. The only props you’ll need are a pack of Post-It notes and some coloring supplies.

St. Thomas Aquinas was a brilliant medieval scholar who became one of the most important thinkers in Catholic theology. 

This 4-minute read-aloud video gives a great introduction to his life and work:

While the kids watch, you can print out a coloring page. You can find one here or search for “St. Thomas Aquinas coloring page.” Or encourage your little artists to draw their own picture of St. Thomas.

After watching the video, chat with the kids about the video while they color. 

Discussion questions:

You might also pray together for St. Thomas’ intercession, saying something like this:

You can read more about how to do a “wonder wall” here, but the concept is really simple. Just have the kids write down things they’re curious about on the Post-It notes and put them up on the wall to explore whenever you have some down time.

Tell the kids, “St. Thomas Aquinas loved to learn everything he could. Let’s make our own place to explore ideas and interesting questions. Whenever we think of something interesting we want to learn more about, we can write it down on a Post-It note so we remember to look it up later. We can get books about it from the library or look up videos about it online.”

Enjoy learning about the world the way St. Thomas Aquinas did!