Curriculum Overview Core philosophy The philosophy of our program reflects a commitment to active, play-based, experiential learning, with an inquiry-based, whole-person approach to curriculum design. The whole-person framework creates learning and assessment about what a learner knows (head), puts into action (hand), believes and values (heart), and where the learner belongs (feet). The whole of a person, not just the head or the heart, needs to be nurtured to enable a Jewish child to grow into an engaged Jewish adult. In this overview you will see that each grade has a big idea theme for the year, essential questions that stimulate curiosity, and learning components divided into four categories: Knowing What is something each learner would like to know more about in the content areas of Jewish tradition: Torah, Hebrew language, holidays, Jewish traditions, culture, Israel and ethics and values. Doing What is something new that each learner wants to be able to do to live a rich Jewish life? What are the traditions, the special customs, the prayers, the blessings, the songs, the rituals that are uniquely Jewish? Believing What is one new action that each learner can take to highlight the benchmarks of their Jewish journey? Belonging How does each learner feel connected to others in our larger community?
Pre-K/Kindergarten Big Idea: In the Beginning... Essential Question: What does it mean to create something? What is my role in the ongoing project of creation of the world? What does the Torah and its stories and teachings have to say to me and my world? Knowing 7 Days of Creation from the Torah What was created, who created it and why? Be able to articulate an answer to the following questions: What is the Torah? What is a blessing? When and why do we say blessings? What are some of the ways Jews celebrate Shabbat? What are the themes, stories, symbols and traditions of core Jewish holidays? Rosh Hashanah - Birthday of the world, New year for Jewish calendar, Symbols of a sweet new year: apples & honey, shofar comes from a ram's horn Hebrew words: Rosh, Shanah, Shofar, Or, Choshech Yom Kippur - Saying we are sorry, trying our best, but sometimes we miss the mark Hebrew words: Teshuvah, Slicha Sukkot Why do we shake a Lulav and Etrog on Sukkot, Sitting in a sukkah, What is a sukkah, Why do we build a sukkah? Hebrew words: Sukkah, Lulav, Etrog, Bracha Hanukkah - Story of Hanukkah main characters, main concept: miracle of oil, what is a Hanukkiyah, Sevivon - dreidel Rosh Hodesh New month in Jewish calendar, telling time by the moon (sun and moon were created on Day 4 of creation), Rosh Hodesh is the holiday for the moon Tu B Shevat New year/birthday of the trees, what do trees need? Connection to day 3 of creation, special fruits and food Hebrew words: Etz (tree) Purim - Characters in the Purim story (Esther, Mordechai, Haman, Ahashverosh, Vashti), Boo for Haman, groggers make noise Hebrew words: Hamantaschen, Simcha, Adar Passover Exodus: slavery, Moses versus Pharaoh, what does freedom mean, Mah Nishtanah chorus and 1 st /2nd question, special foods for Passover and Afikomen bags! Capstone Project: Days of Creation book! Doing Read, sing and perform choreography for the following prayers: - Shema - Barchu - Roll into Dark - Lecha Dodi
Blessings over food - snack (different kinds of snacks), bread, different fruits/vegetables Blessings on Shabbat - candles, grape juice, hand washing, challah Blessings for certain holidays - Hanukkah, Four questions for Passover Believing Maa seh Beresheet - The Wonders of Creation Derech Eretz - Respecting and Valuing Others Shabbat - A day of peace and rest Torah - Handed down stories of our tradition Belonging Learners will understand that being a part of a classroom community and connected to one another is an integral part of learning at HSP.
First Grade Big Idea: The blessings and celebrations of a Jewish life in Jewish time Essential Question: Why do people celebrate? What special traditions and rituals surround holidays and festivals? What holidays and festivals are important parts of Judaism? What is a symbol? How are symbols used in celebrations and holidays? Knowing Review: Days of Creation Be able to articulate an answer to the following questions: What is the Torah? What is a blessing? When and why do we say blessings? - Blessings are in Hebrew and help us say thank you for the everyday miracles in our lives. What is Hebrew and why is it important to the Jewish people? - Introduction to Hebrew alphabet and Hebrew words through movement What are some of the ways Jews observe Shabbat? What are some examples of how to act with Derech Eretz? What are the themes, stories, symbols and traditions of core Jewish holidays? - Shabbat Traditions of Shabbat: Having a Shabbat dinner, Candles, Grape Juice, Hand washing, Challah - Rosh Hashanah - Symbols of Rosh Hashanah: blessings over the apples and honey, round challah, shofar from a Ram's horn - Hebrew words: B racha, Tapuah, Dvash, Rosh - Head, Shanah- year, shecheyanu - Yom Kippur - Saying we are sorry, trying our best, but sometimes we miss the mark - Hebrew words: Teshuvah, Slicha - Sukkot - Names of parts of the Lulav and Etrog and connecting each part of the Lulav and Etrog to our bodies, putting the lulav together, blessings over the lulav - Hebrew words Lulav, Etrog, Arava, Hadas - Hanukkah Review story of Hanukkah, Symbols of Hanukkah: 8 candles, dreidel, oily foods, Making a Hanukkiyah, Blessings over the Hanukkiyah - Tu B Shevat review new year of the trees, why is it important to take care of trees, saying blessings over different kinds of fruit - Purim - Megillah is a scroll that tells the story, Review characters in Purim story, Mishloah Manot giving gifts of Hamantaschen on Purim, how does it feel to give? - Passover review story of Exodus from Egypt, Mah Nishtanah chorus first and second question, exploring and tasting symbols on the seder plate, making a seder plate Doing Read, sing and perform choreography for the following prayers - see tefillah pages: Blessings over food - snack (different kinds of snacks), bread, different fruits/vegetables Blessings on Shabbat - candles, grape juice, hand washing, challah Blessing on Havdallah Blessing of Shecheyanu - special for first grade!
Blessings for certain holidays Hanukkah Barchu Shema Mi Kamocha Hashkiveinu Adon Olam Mah Nishtana Believing Gemilut Hasadim Tzedakah Hodayah - Expressing Gratitude Belonging Saying a blessing connects me to the moment I am in, the people around me, the people who came before me and the all of the people who will come after me. Learners will understand that being a part of a classroom community and connected to one another is an integral part of learning at HSP.
Second Grade Big Idea: The transformation of the Jewish people from enslaved to free people and the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that come with freedom. Essential Questions: What does it mean to be a leader? Are leaders born or can they learn? What does it mean to be enslaved and what does it mean to be free? Knowing Exodus Story story of Moses and his growth as a leader of the Jewish people, experience of being enslaved in Egypt and becoming free 10 plagues and rituals associated with 10 plagues understanding what each plague means, it s effect on the Egyptians, removing 10 drops of wine at the Passover seder 10 Commandments Introduce Hebrew letters in connection with symbols What are the themes, stories, symbols and traditions of core Jewish holidays? - Rosh Hashanah - Sound of Shofar, call to wake up and change, trying to be the best person we can be, bracha and names of shofar blasts, Tashlich tradition to throw bread away - Hebrew words: Review Rosh, Shanah, Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah - Yom Kippur Review traditions of Yom Kippur fasting, charity, prayer. Introduce story of Jonah. - Hebrew words: Teshuvah, Tashlich, Tzedakah, Tefillah - Sukkot - wandering in the desert, building a sukkah, blessing on sitting in the sukkah, review Lulav & Etrog - Hebrew words: Ufros Aleinu Sukkat Shlomecha, Sukkah, Lulav, Etrog - Shabbat - Lecha Dodi, Shalom Aleichem, brides and angels - Hanukkah - Who were the Macabees? Story of Hanukkah Concept of Miracle, Publicizing the Miracle, Connecting Miracles to Exodus story - Hebrew words: Nes, Gadol, Hayah, Sham, Teach/Review Hebrew letters on the Dreidel - Tu B shevat Review: New year of the trees, why are trees important, Introduce 7 species of special foods from the Torah - Hebrew words: Names of 7 species in Hebrew - Purim Review: Purim characters and stories, Four mitzvot of Purim Megillah, Meal, Mishloah Manot & Matanot L evyonim - Passover Review seder symbols, Mah Nistanah third and fourth question, plagues - Shavuot - Israelites wandering in the desert and going to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, concept of counting the Omer Doing Read, sing and perform choreography for the following prayers - see tefillah pages: Barchu Shemah Mi Kamocha
Hashkiveinu Adon Olam Lecha Dodi Shalom Aleichem Blessings over the Hanukkah candles Mah Nishtana Believing Kavanah - Intention Derech Eretz - Respect for all people Simcha - Joy Ometz - Courage Belonging Learners will understand that being a part of a classroom community and connected to one another is an integral part of learning at HSP.
Third Grade Big idea: Torah: Scroll, Stories and inspiration Essential Question: How does the Torah guide us to live a Meaningful life and make the world a better place? Knowing Torah is a Hebrew word meaning instruction - from Shoresh (root) of the word Yarah - meaning show, direct, shoot (like a bow and arrow) and hatah (which traditionally means sin) can be understood as a miss - sometimes we try and we miss. Torah is not just a physical object, but the idea of God speaking/ongoing Truth revealed to each generation that can be interpreted by the reader. Torah is a brit a covenant with tradition that each generation forms in a new way. The mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah are things that we can do every day, every week and every year (rituals) that can help us find Meaning. What are the themes, stories, symbols and traditions of core Jewish holidays? - Rosh Hashanah - Origin of Rosh Hashanah from Torah, Why does Rosh Hashanah have many names? Names of Rosh Hashanah: Yom HaDin Yom Hazikaron Yom Ha Teruah Rosh Hashanah - Hebrew words: Review Rosh, Shanah, Teruah, Din, Zikaron - Yom Kippur - Kol Nidre - making and keeping promises - Sukkot Review other symbols of Sukkot: lulav, etrog, sukkah, Inviting Ushpizin (special guests) to the sukkah - who do we invite, structure of sukkah for welcoming, bringing your harvest to the Temple, names of Sukkot what do the different names mean. - Hebrew words: Hag holiday, Zman Time, Simchateinu Our joy - Shabbat - Welcoming guests on Shabbat, Day of rest, what does it mean to rest? Shabbat Shalom - a day of Peace - Hanukkah review story, Pirsum ha-nes, advertising the miracle - Tu B shevat review new year of trees, Gratitude for trees - Purim deep dive into the Megillah story what actually happened in the story of the Megillah? - Passover review story, four questions of Mah Nishtana, four children, 10 plagues, Passover through art, drama, film, cooking Doing - Read, sing and perform choreography for the following prayers - see tefillah pages for the following prayers: - Barchu - Shema/V ahavta - Haskiveinu - Lecha Dodi - Shalom Aleichem
- Roll into Dark - Oseh Shalom - Independently read and study a text with a partner and ask questions and have a discussion. Believing/Values/Concepts: - Brit - Covenant/Contract - our words have value - Hevruta - Learning in pairs - Great learning can happen when you share with a partner. - V higaditah L Bincha - You shall teach them to your children - I am able to interpret the Torah for myself in a way that makes sense in today s world. - Shalom - Peace - We have a special responsibility in the world to make peace become a reality. - Eretz Yisrael - The Land of Israel - I have the opportunity to feel a connection to the land where the stories of the Torah occurred and the Jewish people have undertaken an enormous special project to create a Jewish state. - Hachnasat Orchim - Welcoming the stranger and making room for everyone. Belonging - Judaism is a chain of tradition that connects us to the teachings and ideas of the people who came before us. - Learning Torah brings people together to discuss and share their ideas and perspectives.
Fourth Grade Big idea: Heroes from the Jewish bookshelf: the story goes on... Essential Question: How did the story of the Torah give us holidays, rituals, customs, values, traditions and more? Why are holidays, rituals, customs, values and traditions important to me, my family, and my community? What is my role in the ongoing story of the Jewish people and what is my responsibility in interpreting Torah? Knowing What does Tanach (the Hebrew Bible) stand for (acronym for Torah - Five books of Moses - Beresheet (Genesis), Shemot (Exodus), Vayikra (Leviticus), Bamidbar (Numbers), Devarim (Deuteronomy), Neviim - means prophets, contains stories of prophets, kings, judges, and the Jewish people once they moved into the Land of Israel, kings, and the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and outside of it (story of Esther, Ruth, Jonah). - Greek origins of names for Torah versus Hebrew names - Concept of canon - why were these stories selected and others not? Esther versus Judith, Purim versus Hanukkah - Sections of Tanach and Torah - broken down into 54 weekly parshiyot (portions), perek (chapter), pasuk (verse). - Just the Torah in a book form is called Chumash (from the root Chamesh - meaning five). - Text study - reading the Pshat (the plain meaning of the text) and the Drash (an interpretation of the words on the page) What are the themes, stories, symbols and traditions of core Jewish holidays? - Rosh Hashanah - New year means new start, teshuvah means return, trying again when we make a mistake, steps of teshuvah - what is the journey I take to change my behavior,tashlich - tossing away - Hebrew words: teshuvah, tashlich - Yom Kippur Root: K.P.R. what is Kapara, what does it mean to atone? - Sukkot - What is a Sukkah, why are there specific laws on how to build a sukkah? Mishnah 1:1-11 - Hebrew words: Skach, Sukkah, Lulav, Etrog - Hanukkah review story of Hanukkah, analyze Oil versus Military Victory - Purim analyze Heroism in the Purim story. Who is the real hero of the Purim story? What kind of hero is Esther? Mordecai? Ahashverosh? - Passover review the story of Passover, new concepts: Bedikat Hametz, Matzah and Getting rid of Hametz, B Chol Dor (in every generation). - Shavuot - Ruth & Naomi, heroes of Hesed what does Hesed mean? Doing - Read, sing and perform choreography for the following prayers: - Lecha Dodi - Kiddush for Friday night
- Psalm 150 - Or Chadash - Adonay Sefatai - Avot - Who are our Avot? - Shema/Echad/Gadlu/Lecha Adonay - Navigate a Tanach - locate a verse in a book - Study text independently (or in Hevruta - pairs) ask questions about the text, what do I notice? What s interesting? Is there anything strange happening? - Identify multiple perspectives in a text. - Use evidence from the text to support interpretations. Believing/Values/Concepts: - B tzelem elohim - What does it mean to be created in God s image? - Talmud Torah - Tefillah - What does it mean to pray the words on the page? From your heart? - H esed - Kindness and Friendship - Nes - Miracles - we can stop, notice and appreciate the world around us for the miracle that it is. - Haverut - Being a good friend - Kushiah - A challenging question - What is the value of asking a really good question? Belonging - My ability to read and interpret the stories of the Torah and the Jewish people who have come before me gives me tools to construct my own Meaning and to live a meaningful life.
Fifth Grade Big idea: Truth, Authority and Responsibility: Becoming a Jewish adult Essential Question: What is the role of an adult? What is the role of a prophet? What does it mean to speak truth to power? What is truth? What is my responsibility in my community to speak my truth and to act on behalf of myself and others? What does it mean to become a Jewish adult? Knowing - What does it mean to become Bar/bat mitzvah? - What are mitzvot? - How has Jewish ritual evolved throughout generations? Why do Jews do what they do? - Who were the Prophets in the Ancient land of Israel? - What has holy space looked like throughout Jewish history? - What happened after the Children of Israel left Egypt and reached the land of Israel? - Hebrew root צ וּ ה Tzivah/ Mitzvah means commandment, not good deed. - Hebrew root צדק for Justice, Tzedekah (giving), a Tzadikk is a righteous person. - Prophets in the book of Neviim were leaders who spoke out when they saw injustice in the time period after the Land of Israel was settled. - The mishkan/temple were places where Jewish rituals ק ר בּ נוֹת) sacrifices) were originally performed. Root of K.B.R. means drawing closer. Even when the Temple stood, there was a tension between the importance of performing mitzvot in a correct way at the correct time and doing spontaneous acts of kindness and justice. - Jewish ritual has evolved throughout generations. ק ר בּ נוֹת became prayer and rituals and communal meals. - Understanding of timeline of events after Children of Israel left Egypt until time of the Temples. - What are the themes, stories, symbols and traditions of core Jewish holidays? - What are the themes, stories, symbols and traditions of core Jewish holidays? - Rosh Hashanah understanding diversity of Jewish communities and customs through special Rosh Hashanah foods from around the world: pomegranate, leeks, dates - Yom Kippur - Prayers on YK - Ashamnu - why plural, Ki Hinei Kachomer - Sukkot - What does the sukkah represent, look at story in Exodus 23:14-15, what does it mean to us today? Exodus versus temple holiday - Hanukkah - Symbols of Hanukkah, light against the darkness, a little going a long way, origin of the custom of giving presents - Purim Mishloah Manot and Matanot L evyonim why are these two customs a part of the Purim story? - Passover - Ha lachma anya and Bechol Dor Doing - Read, sing and perform choreography for the following prayers - see tefillah pages: - Blessing over Tallit - Ahava Rabah/V ha er
- Shemah paragraph 3 chanted with trope - Gevurot, Kedushah and Shalom Rav in Amidah - Birchot Hatorah (blessings before and after Torah reading) - Mi Sheberach - Adon Olam B - Identify situations in which social actions are required and suggest solutions. - Identify people in positions of power and how they can influence people s rights and freedom. - Identify rights and responsibilities as a citizen within your community. Believing/Values/Concepts: - Mitzvah - Commandment/Obligation (NOT good deed) - Kehillah - Community - Hiddur Mitzvah - Celebrating or Beautifying a Mitzvah - Ahava - Love - Tzedek - Justice - Kedushah - Holiness - Rachmanut - Compassion/Mercy Belonging Performing Jewish rituals connect us to other Jews who have performed these acts for generations and all over the world. Giving, kindness and actively working to end injustice and suffering of others are commandments and authentic Jewish acts inspired by the stories of our prophets.