KOL AMI RELIGIOUS SCHOOL CURRICULUM
This curriculum works on the idea that learning should be a
sequential experience.Tuned by grade
and the student’s level of maturity, material is introduced sequentially to
develop a knowledge base about Jewish religious belief and practice, culture,
history, and Hebrew.In the process of
understanding, interpreting, and challenging the materials, Jewish identity and
commitment will be enhanced.Note the
emphasis on comfort in the Synagogue and the observance of Shabbat, which
demands the full integration of the Hebrew and Judaic Studies elements of the
curriculum.Rather than mere rote
recitation of Shabbat prayers, each will be translated and the different
sections of the service explained and made meaningful.Also, the concept of Tikkun Olam will play a
significant role in the education of our young people.
This curriculum is built on a partnership between students,
teachers, and parents.To be effective,
the learning that occurs in the classroom must be encouraged and supplemented
at home.
Judaic Studies Curriculum
Pre-Kindergarten
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
Sixth Grade
Seventh Grade
Eighth Grade
Ninth Grade
Tenth Grade
Eleventh And Twelfth Grades
Hebrew Curriculum
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
Sixth Grade
Seventh Grade
Textbooks
Judaic Studies Curriculum
Pre-Kindergarten:
Training Wheels employs the Hadassah Program for preschoolers.
Along with the Yeladim class, children are introduced to Jewish life, observance, and practice.
The focus is on holidays and comfort in the synagogue.
Kindergarten:
This class will foster a basic understanding of Jewish practice, life, and culture through music,
dance, drama, art, and cooking. Key concepts are presented, including monotheism, community, and Shabbat.
Practice of Mitzvot is incorporated into class time
Textbooks:
Let’s Discover The Holidays – Fall/Spring
Holiday Kit – Level 1
First Grade: Students’ study of the holidays advances along with an understanding of the synagogue.
Jewish history is introduced through Bible stories and emphasis is placed on learning the people and places of Israel.
Students grow comfortable with the Shabbat service. The practice of Mitzvot is incorporated.
Textbooks:
Let’s Discover the Bible – Set 1 and Set 2
BJL Beginnings Fall & Winter/Spring
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Second Grade:
Building on their knowledge, students work through Midrashim to further their understanding of Biblical stories.
A time line is also developed to build awareness of Jewish continuity and history.
Focus continues on the Shabbat service and the practice of Mitzvot.
Textbooks:
My Jewish Year
The Ten Commandments
Shalom Alef Bet
Third Grade:
Students begin in this grade to work with Basic Judaism for Young People – Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.
This series of books provides a multifaceted approach to Judaic Studies within a framework bound
by the concepts of Jewish universality and particularity. History, ritual, theology, values, and life events
are topics for discussion. Volume One of the series – Israel – develops students’ sense of identity and a feel
for Jewish culture and history by teaching about “Eretz Yisrael”, “Pikuah Nefesh”, and “Kevod HaBriyot”, among
many other subjects. Volume Two – Torah’s chapters are devoted to topics like “Haftarah,” “Talmud”, and “Rashi”
with students working through key concepts of Jewish belief and behavior. Focus remains on the Shabbat service
and the practice of Mitzvot.
Textbooks:
Basic Judaism for Young People – Vol. 1 – Israel
Student Activity Book Basic Judaism for Young People – Vol. 1 – Israel
Fourth Grade:
Students complete Basic Judaism for Young People with the volume titled: God.
Here they wrestle with Jewish concepts of God, the meaning of prayer, and such concepts at “Tikkun” and “Teshuvah”.
Study of current events is also stressed. Focus remains on the Shabbat service and the practice of Mitzvot.
Textbooks:
Basic Judaism for Young People – Vol. 2 - Torah
Student Activity Book Basic Judaism for Young People – Vol. 2 - Torah
BaBaganewz Magazine
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Fifth Grade:
Using the Talmud and Torah as texts, students explore their Jewish heritage and culture.
Study of current events is also stressed. Mitzvot are practiced and work on the Shabbat service is continued.
Textbooks:
Teaching Torah
BaBaganewz Magazine
Sixth Grade:
A more sophisticated understanding of the Jewish people will begin with history distinguished from Bible study.
Students learn about ancient Jewish history, the Rabbinic Age, and the Diaspora through the nineteenth century.
Family history is incorporated as well as Life Cycle. Study of current events continues while Mitzvot are practiced.
Each student will be expected to lead a Shabbat service.
Textbook:
The Time of Our Lives
Seventh Grade:
The topic is the history of Jews in the United States. Special emphasis will be on the late nineteenth century and the twentieth century.
Topics will include assimilation, acculturation, the impact of the Holocaust, as well as moral and ethical issues Jews face in the Diaspora.
A Mitzvah project tied to classroom learning will be undertaken as well as research using the computer.
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Eighth Grade:
As part of the process for admission to the 8th grade and to help insure that students make a commitment to and take responsibility for their
religious school education, each student is required to show why he/she wants to continue in Hebrew school beyond the B’nai Mitzvah.
This requirement can be written (two-three pages), or artistic, or musical and should address themes like:
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How am I Jewish?
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What does being Jewish mean to me?
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Why my Jewish education is important to me?
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An admissions’ committee will review the projects and pass on their appropriateness.
This course has two objectives. First, it seeks to apply Jewish ethical principles to issues and conflicts in daily life and the larger world.
Some materials will be drawn from Teaching Hot Topics and short reading and research assignments will be given.
Second, Judaism will be explored from within and without by focusing on the different Jewish religious traditions and then understanding
Judaism from a comparative religions perspective. A Mitzvah project is required and will be linked to classroom learning.
Textbooks:
Usborne, History of World Religions
Teaching Hot Topics
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Ninth Grade:
This year the ninth grade will take two approaches in Judaic studies. The first will focus on the literature of the Bible: Forget the bible stories you learned as
a young child. We will read selected stories of the Bible and become familiar with major and minor characters as well as learn why and how the rabbis
developed the close reading practice of Midrash or extracting meaning from inferences within the text. Students will gain a deeper appreciation for the
characters in the Bible and the meaning their stories have for our own lives.
In the second approach, students study modern Jewish history in depth, beginning in the shetls of Eastern Europe, the migration to America,
the rise of New York City’s Lower East Side, the Holocaust, the birth of Israel, and the Jewish community at the beginning of the 21st century.
A Mitzvah project is required. A Jewish educational travel experience is part of the curriculum. This year’s trip will be to the Los Angeles area
where students will interact with and visit a long established Jewish neighborhood and Jewish rehabilitation center plus spend time at the Museum of Tolerance.
Textbook:
Jewish Dimension of Social Justice, Tough Moral Choices of Our Time
Tenth Grade:
This class will be taught from two perspectives. The first will be an introduction to Rabbinic Texts: Using texts from the Talmud,
Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Sages) and Midrash, students will explore classical rabbinic approaches to ethical, spiritual, and legal questions for our time.
Each student will be asked to prepare a brief presentation on a topic of interest to be assigned at the beginning of the year.
They will also use this class to prepare for the Confirmation ceremony at the end of the year.
A second perspective employs sociological, historical, and cultural insights to understand being Jewish in the modern world.
In addition to investigation of values and ethical behavior, the class will explore the role and meaning of Israel in American-Jewish life,
the impact of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, intermarriage, assimilation, and the crisis in the Middle East. Service participation and a Mitzvah project are required.
Textbooks:
The Focus
Night
Essays from: In the Land of Israel
Eleventh And Twelfth Grades:
In this once-a-month two-hour class, students consider Jewish ethical behavior and the responsibility of being Jewish in the modern world.
Among the topics studied are: Jewish attitudes toward the body, love and marriage, career, homosexuality, drugs, observance, Israel, community,
and Tikkun Olam. A key component of these classes will be discussions facilitated by community experts in medical ethics, law, theology, and history.
Textbooks:
Tough Questions Jews Ask
Nine Questions People Ask
In God’s Image – Making Jewish Decisions About the Body
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Hebrew Curriculum
Kindergarten:
Students will begin to acquire Hebrew vocabulary such as names, holiday terms, family members, numbers, and other terms
that are used repetitively in the home, classroom, and synagogue. Picture recognition of Hebrew words.
First Grade:
Students’ Hebrew vocabulary will build as they learn the days of the week, counting, parts of the body, names of food, and the names of ritual objects.
Second Grade:
A focus on prayer begins with students learning blessings for Shabbat, the four questions for Passover, Oseh Shalom, and L’asok B’divrei Torah.
Children will begin to blend Hebrew letters and vowels.
Third Grade:
Students learn phonetically to read and write all the Hebrew letters. Students will begin to converse in simple sentences in Hebrew.
Fourth Grade:
Students will perform drills in reading and writing Hebrew. Texts provide stories utilizing Siddur vocabulary in a contemporary setting providing
simple Hebrew stories based on holidays, classroom, and family events. In prayer, students will learn V’shamru, Brachot Kriat
Hamagilah, Brachot Pesach, Mi Kamocha, and the first section of the Amidah. Conversational Hebrew instruction will continue.
Fifth Grade:
Students continue with Siddur fluency, vocabulary, and grammar concepts. New prayers will be studied: Amidah, Brachot Ha Torah, Hatikvah, Eyn Kelohainu,
and Birkat Hamazon. Conversational Hebrew instruction will continue.
Sixth Grade:
Students take the Cantor’s trope class and prepare for reading the Torah and Haftorah portions.
They will also gain fluency with the Shabbat service. Conversational Hebrew instruction will continue.
Seventh Grade:
Conversational Hebrew instruction will continue utilizing a CD ROM as the main teaching tool. The CD works with a variety of ability levels.
The focus will be to individualize plans for each student based on need and ability, ranging from reading for Bar/Bat Mitzvah to the study
of basic conversational Hebrew, to working on advanced Hebrew skills
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Textbooks:
Hebrew Level I:
Z’Man Likro Vol. 1 and 2 – Time to Read Hebrew
Hebrew Level II:
Z’Man Likro Vol. 1 and 2 – Time to Read Hebrew
Hebrew Level III:
Shalom Ivrit Vol. 1
Hebrew Level IV:
New Siddur for Hebrew and Heritage Vol. 2
Hebrew Level V:
Shalom Ivrit Vol. 1
Hebrew Level VI:
Shalom Ivrit Vol. 2
Hebrew 7th Grade:
Darkonim / Computer Lab Hebrew CD ROM Hebrew Program
