Preschool-2nd Grade:

The beginning of Religious Education is a time for building children’s Jewish identities and connection to Jewish holidays, values, culture and the Bible. It is important that children and their parents feel that Jewish tradition belongs to them. It is also an opportune time to tap into a child’s natural and open sense of spirituality. By presenting the curriculum in an interactive manner, the foundation is set for their subsequent Jewish education.

Preschool (ages 3-4): Intro To Being Jewish, Mitzvot, Hebrew, Community- Building

Texts: Jewish and Me Series

  • Students will focus on the idea of identity – connection to Jewish practice and actions.
  • Students will explore what it means to be Jewish.
  • Students will build community and relationships with their peers, teachers, and clergy.
  • Students will learn about Shabbat and holidays.
  • Students will learn about Mitzvot through our “Jewish and Me: Doing Mitzvot” series.
  • Students will get to know our Synagogue and feel safe and comfortable in our sacred space.
  • Students will start to learn modern Hebrew through “Letter of the Week” and “Jewish Life Vocabulary.”
  • Students will start to learn prayers and music during music and services.

Kindergarten: Holidays, God, Mitzvot, Hebrew, Community-Building

Texts: Let’s Celebrate” Series/”Let’s Discover God” Series/ “Let’s Discover Kindness” Series

  • Students will explore what it means to be Jewish.
  • Students will focus on the idea of identity – connection to Jewish practice and actions.
  • Students will build community and relationships with their peers, teachers, and clergy.
  • Students will learn about mitzvot (Commandments) and Jewish values.
  • Students will learn about Shabbat and holidays.
  • Students will learn about God.
  • Students will start to learn modern Hebrew through “Letter of the Week” and “Jewish Life Vocabulary.”
  • Students will start to learn prayers and music during music and services.

1st Grade: Torah, Review of Holidays, Hebrew, Community-Building

Texts: Teach me Torah Series and I Can Celebrate the Jewish Holidays

  • Students will be introduced to Torah/Torah stories.
  • Students will continue to learn about celebrations, symbols, and customs surrounding the Jewish holidays.
  • Students will learn about Jewish symbols and ritual objects.
  • Students will learn about practices both in the home and the synagogue.
  • Students will build community and relationships with their peers, teachers, and clergy.
  • Students will start to learn modern Hebrew through “Letter of the Week” and “Jewish Life Vocabulary.”
  • Students will start to learn prayers and music during music and services.

2nd Grade: Cycle of the Jewish Year, Israel, Hebrew, Community-Building

Text: Yisrael Sheli, The Great Holiday Scavenger Hunt

  • Students will learn about the cycle of the Jewish year in conjunction with the calendar and holidays.
  • Students will learn about Israel as a special land and place for the Jewish people.
  • Students will learn Modern Hebrew through “Hebrew Through Movement.”
  • Students will build community and relationships with their peers, teachers, and clergy.
  • Students will start to learn modern Hebrew through “Letter of the Week” and “Jewish Life Vocabulary.”
  • Students will start to learn prayers and music during music and services.

3rd Grade: Torah, Calendar, Hebrew, Chugim, Community-Building

Texts: The Explorer’s Bible, Volume 1: From Creation to Exodus and My Jewish Year

  • Students will closely examine Torah Stories, focusing on Genesis and Exodus.
  • Students will see a relationship between the Torah and their own lives.
  • Students will continue exploration of the Jewish calendar, exploring the structure of the lunar calendar.
  • Students will learn Modern Hebrew through “Hebrew Through Movement.”
  • Students will deepen their connection to prayer and music. They will increase their prayer fluency and reflect on their connection to God through worship.
  • Students will build community and relationships with their peers, teachers, and clergy.
  • Students will take classes from a list of chugim (elective-style courses) that range in topics relating to Jewish life. This will broaden a student’s sense of what it means to be Jewish and allow students to further their social experience with their Jewish peers.

4th Grade: Prophets and Kings, Jewish Holidays, Hebrew, Chugim,Community Building

Texts: The Explorer’s Bible, Volume 2: From Sinai to the Nation of Israel and Jewish Holidays, Jewish Values

  • Students will further their exploration of sacred text by continuing to study significant bible stories beyond the books of the Torah. They will focus on stories of significant Prophets and Kings in the Tanach.
  • Students will see a relationship between Sacred Text and their own lives.
  • Students will revisit the Jewish holidays and examine the value and relevance of each.
  • Students will learn Modern Hebrew through “Hebrew Through Movement.”
  • Students will deepen their connection to prayer and music. They will increase their prayer fluency and reflect on their connection to God through worship.
  • Students will build community and relationships with their peers, teachers, and clergy.
  • Students will take classes from a list of chugim (elective-style courses) that range in topics relating to Jewish life. This will broaden a student’s sense of what it means to be Jewish and allow students to further their social experience with their Jewish peers.

5th Grade: Israel, Holidays, Hebrew, Trope, Chugim,Community-Building

Text: Experience Modern Israel

  • Students will study modern Israel – its significance, culture, people, geography, and ancient history.
  • Students will learn Hebrew through “Hebrew Through Movement.”
  • Students will deepen their connection to prayer and music. They will increase their prayer fluency and reflect on their connection to God through worship.
  • Students will build community and relationships with their peers, teachers, and clergy.
  • Students will begin their formal B’nai Mitzvah preparation by working on Hebrew decoding and learning Trope (which are the symbols used for teaching the melody when chanting from the Torah). These will continue over the next couple of years in preparation for B’nai Mitzvah.
  • Students will take classes from a list of chugim (elective-style courses) that range in topics relating to Jewish life. This will broaden a student’s sense of what it means to be Jewish and allow students to further their social experience with their Jewish peers.

6th Grade: Jewish Life Cycle, History of the Jewish People, Hebrew, B’nai Mitzvah Preparation, Trope, Chugim, Community-Building

Texts: The Time of Our Lives and The History of the Jewish People, Volume 1: Ancient Israel to 1880s America

  • Students will explore significant moments in the Jewish Life Cycle, including: birth, B’nai Mitzvah, confirmation, marriage, divorce, conversion, sickness, and death.
  • Students will learn Jewish History from Ancient Israel to 1880s America.
  • Students will deepen their connection to prayer and music. They will increase their prayer fluency and reflect on their connection to God through worship.
  • Students will build community and relationships with their peers, teachers, and clergy.
  • Students will dedicate time to learning B’nai Mitzvah prayers and participate in individual tutoring.
  • Students will continue the study of Trope, which are the symbols used for teaching the melody when chanting from the Torah. This will continue in preparation for B’nai Mitzvah.
  • Students will take classes from a list of chugim (elective-style courses) that range in topics relating to Jewish life. This will broaden a student’s sense of what it means to be Jewish and allow students to further their social experience with their Jewish peers.

7th Grade: American Jewish History in the Common Era, Social Responsibility/Jewish Values, B’nai Mitzvah Preparation, Community-Building

Text: Challenge and Change: History of the Jews in America (Books #1-3)

  • Students will study significant moments in American Jewish History and what it means for them to be an American Jew.
  • Students will learn and implement Jewish values
  • Students will explore responsibility to their peers, communities, and to the world in the context of becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and will do so within the context of our Jewish Values.
  • Students will build community and relationships with their peers, teachers, and clergy.
  • Students will study toward becoming a B’nai Mitzvah by dedicating time to learning B’nai Mitzvah prayers and participating in individual tutoring.

8th Grade: The Holocaust, Anti-Semitism , Chugim, Community-Building

Texts: Holocaust: The Holocaust, the World, and the Jews, 1933-1945 and The History of Israel

  • Students will explore what events happened leading up to and during the Holocaust.
  • Students will ask how we, as a Jewish community, should act today in response to the Holocaust.
  • Students will build community and relationships with their peers, teachers, and clergy.
  • Students will study Antisemtism and how it relates to our society today.
  • Students will take classes from choices of chugim (elective-style courses) that range in topics relating to Jewish life. This will broaden a student’s sense of what it means to be Jewish and allow students to further their social experience with their Jewish peers.

9th Grade: Israel, Chugim, Community-Building

Texts: Israel….It’s Complicated

  • Students will explore their relationship with Israel. They will study the Jewish historical connection to the land, learn about its history as well as today’s modern culture: Its innovation, entertainment, place in the world, food, government, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Learners will explore how Israel is both a uniquely Jewish place as well as home to a remarkable range of diverse people from all over the world.
  • Students will learn about the complexities that Israel has to navigate and gain a deep--and nuanced--understanding of the unique, multifaceted place that Israel is.
  • Students will take classes from a list of chugim (elective-style courses) that range in topics relating to Jewish life. This will broaden a student’s sense of what it means to be Jewish and allow students to further their social experience with their Jewish peers.

Confirmation (10th grade), Chugim, Community-Building

  • Confirmation at Bet Shalom is an incredible opportunity for our 10th graders to consider what it means to confirm a commitment to Jewish life, tradition, and community. The class is taught by our rabbis and will include deep and rich discussions around critical issues facing our life as Jews today. It is a time commitment that will have a lasting impact on your inner life and the person you are becoming.
  • Students will take classes from a list of chugim (elective-style courses) that range in topics relating to Jewish life. This will broaden a student’s sense of what it means to be Jewish and allow students to further their social experience with their Jewish peers.

High School Chug (Open to 9th-12th Graders)

  • Moadon is the Hebrew word for "Youth Lounge" or "Teacher's Lounge" and truly describes our hope that teens will come together in this chug to socialize, learn, and implement ways to positively impact the world. The class covers such topics as social action, advocacy, tikkun olam (community service), life skills, health and wellness, current events, Antisemitism, leadership development, and much much more.

Jewish Cooking

  • This chug will focus on the history of Jewish and Israeli food. Students will learn about food from various groups, like Ashkenzi and Sephardic, why Israeli food uses the ingredients it does, and the significance of food used for Jewish holidays. Students will also explore the strong Jewish connection to food, how food builds Jewish identity, and the unique nature of passing Jewish recipes down from generation to generation, even during the hardest of times, like the Holocaust. Students will learn, cook, eat, and build relationships all around our Jewish dishes.

Hebrew

Grades PreK – 1st Grade:

Hebrew for PreK through 1st grade incorporates the program, “Hebrew Through Movement,” and is based on the idea that we should introduce a second language through the same method that we acquired our first language as infants. This means that we move from “sound-to-print.” Students will learn the sounds of Hebrew letters and vowels as they apply to words and phrases, eventually learning the corresponding written letters and vowels. Students will be introduced to Hebrew words/phrases through “Letter of Week '' and “Jewish Life Vocabulary” that teachers will use in the classroom and families will be encouraged to use at home. Students will also be exposed to Hebrew through music and prayers.

2nd Grade

Our Hebrew program for 2nd grade is called, “Hebrew Through Movement” and is based on the idea that we should introduce a second language through the same method that we acquired our first language as infants. This means that we move from “sound-to-print.” Students will learn the sounds of letters and vowels as they apply to words and phrases, eventually learning the corresponding written letters and vowels. Students will be introduced to Hebrew words/phrases by listening to their teachers speak in Hebrew, while at the same time, observing what type of movement their teachers make when words are said. Students go through a three-step process of learning. First they observe what the teacher does, then mimic the action with the teacher, and finally perform the action on their own. As students move through what the program calls, “Foundational Levels,” they will move on to speaking and learning Hebrew within the context of holidays and prayers. In addition to this, there will be a “Letter of Week” and “Jewish Vocabulary of the Week” that teachers will use in the classroom and families will be encouraged to use at home.

3rd-4th Grade:

Our Hebrew program for 3rd-4th grade is called, “Hebrew Through Movement” and is based on the idea that we should introduce a second language through the same method that we acquired our first language as infants. This means that we move from “sound-to-print.” Students will learn the sounds of letters and vowels as they apply to words and phrases, eventually learning the corresponding written letters and vowels. Students will be introduced to Hebrew words/phrases by listening to their teachers speak in Hebrew, while at the same time, observing what type of movement their teachers make when words are said. Students go through a three-step process of learning. First they observe what the teacher does, then mimic the action with the teacher, and finally perform the action on their own. As students move through what the program calls, “Foundational Levels,” they will move on to speaking and learning Hebrew within the context of holidays and prayers. 3rd and 4th graders also spend dedicated time in prayer class, learning the meaning behind prayers and prayer literacy.

Grades 5th – 7th: Hebrew Reading with a focus on Prayer and B’nai Mitzvah preparation

Beginning in 5th grade (the beginning of formal Hebrew reading) and continuing through 7th grade, students learn to decode Hebrew and read it fluently. Students will focus on basic reading comprehension and expand to master basic prayer literacy and preparation for chanting from the Torah. This study includes our Hebrew Boot Camp, the study of Trope, prayer reading, and moving through a series of three B’nai Mitzvah Cohorts.