The Vision Books now published by Ignatius Press for youth nine to fifteen years old, are one of the most popular and well-written series of saints' lives ever produced for young people. This Teachers' Guide now offers teachers and parents a simple and practical means to stimulate both the spiritual growth and intellectual development of students through an organized and systematic study of seventeen biographies of holy men and women in the Vision Books series.

This guide facilitates students interaction with the spiritual truths, moral lessons, and sound academic content found in each book. It is divided into sections, each of which contains an overview of the saint's life and activities that illustrate the person's impact on the Church and his time. These activities are destined to challenge student thinking, to promote the application of spiritual insights to the reader's life, and to expand the reader's understanding and appreciation of the holiness of the saints.

The activities serve as a catalyst, or a beginning point, for teachers to direct student learning. Teachers can select any combination of activities for individual students, for small groups, or for class-wide discussion. The activities include chapter vocabulary, language in context, time line, map projects, topics for written reports, biographical sketches, and using Scripture and the Catechism, and discussion questions.

Michael Allen was born and raised in Vermont. He has been actively involved in public and higher education for the last 34 years and is a member of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, Georgia. He and his wife, Carol, have been married for 35 years and have two grown children.