UHS Curriculum Goals 2009-2010
2nd Grade, meeting one hour on Sundays for Reading Readiness:
2nd graders will be able to name all Hebrew letters.
They will be able to explain that Hebrew is read right to left, that there are no capital letters, but that some letters look different whenever they come at the end of a word.
They will be able to explain that vowel sounds like aaah, and eee are made in Hebrew by adding dots and dashes above and below the letters.
They will be able to explain that the Torah and other parts of the Hebrew Bible were written in Hebrew letters, that Hebrew is the historic language of the Jewish people and is now the language of the State of Israel, and that Jews traditionally say our prayers in Hebrew.
Materials supplied by UHS: text book, coloring book made in house, and such other posters, charts, flash cards, games and ancillary materials as become available.
3rd Grade, meeting Wednesdays and Sundays focusing on Reading Basics
3rd graders will become able to decode accurately any Hebrew text.
They will be able to read proficiently or perform musically a series of 10+ practiced texts such as the Torah Brachot, 4 Questions, Ein Keiloheinu, Hinei Ma Tov, HaTikvah.
They will have a usable vocabulary of 50+ words including numbers to 10, various body parts, and words often used in brachot, including the 10 words that begin mitzvah brachot.
They will be able to recite the names of books of the Torah in Hebrew and English and be able to explain the B’reisheet/Genesis begins with Creation, and continues through the stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, who invites his family to Egypt; and that the rest of the Torah involves the life and leadership of Moses as God helps him bring the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and back to the Promised Land.
Materials supplied by UHS: Text, workbook, worksheets, posters, flash cards, games and on-line support where students can hear their homework words read aloud.
4th Grade, meeting Wednesdays and Sundays focusing on Brachot, Friday Evening and beginning the Sh'ma and its brachot.
4th graders during the fall will become competent to proficient at performing and understanding the general meaning and particular vocabulary from many brachot, with extended attention to the at-home brachot for Friday evening, Shalom Aleichem, one paragraph of the Birkat HaMazon, and the Havdallah brachot.
In spring semester 4th graders will become competent to proficient at performing and understanding the general meaning and particular vocabulary from selected prayers from the Friday Evening synagogue service including L’cha Dodi, Bar’chu, Maariv Aravim, Ahavat Olam, the Shma/Vahavta, G’ulah, and if time permits Hashkiveinu.
They will be able to explain that the Hebrew Bible has 3 parts: Torah, Prophets and Writings, or Torah, N’viim and Ketuvim, that we divide Torah into 54 parts called sidrot or parashiot and that each Monday, Thursday and Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon (as well an on certain holidays) we read in shul from the Torah, usually taking the sidrot in order. That we begin Genesis/B’reisheet each Simchat Torah and finish Deuteronomy/D’varim and start over again the next Simchat Torah and that Simchat Torah comes at the end of Sukkot in the early autumn. They will be able to name the books of N’viim from Joshua through Ezekiel and recognize the names of the 12 Minor Prophets. They will be able to find any text by book/chapter/and verse.
They will be able to recognize the meanings of another 30 important prayer words and the prefixes for THE, AND, WE/US/OUR, YOUR/ HIS
Materials supplied by UHS: Texts, CD of games and review, binder of school information, plus posters, flash cards, games, Tanakh, Siddur, worksheets.
5th Grade meeting Wednesdays and Sundays focusing on Shabbat Shacharit and both Musaf and weekday Amidah.
5th Grade students will become competent to proficient at performing and understanding the general meaning of and selected vocabulary from the prayers of Shabbat morning worship, including the first 3 prayers of the Musaf. They will also be able to explain the contents of the weekday Amidah and how and why it is different from Shabbat Amidah. The prayers they will study briefly will include reviewing Bar’chu, and reading a short version of Yotzeir Or, plus Ahavah Rabbah, Shma/Vahavta and G’ulah. The focus will be on Amidah prayers.
They will be able to recognize the meanings of another 30 prayer words and the rest of the personal suffixes along with the prefixes for IN/WITH, TO/FOR, and LIKE/AS.
They will be able to recite the names of the books of K’tuvim and give a one sentence description of the contents of those books, and explain that we read the 5 megillot at special holidays, and match the book to the holiday.
Materials supplied by UHS: Texts, worksheets, siddur, Tanakh, posters, games, flash cards.
6th Graders meeting Wednesdays and Sundays to focus on Torah Service and Concluding Prayers.
6th grade students will become competent to proficient at performing and understanding the general meaning of and selected vocabulary from the prayers chanted as we take out the Torah and return it, the brachot before and after reading Torah and Haftarah, plus Ashrei, Kaddish Shaleim, and Adon Olam. They will be able to explain that much of the Torah service is a montage of biblical quotations, and be able to give examples. They will review and perfect their performance of prayers learned in earlier years.
They will be able to recognize the meanings of another 30 words and the verb forms for masculine singular perfect, the present participle. They will be able to use the common vocabulary of synagogue worship, using terms for the officiants, activities and items that are part of the rituals of worship.
They will be able to name all the books of the Tanakh and to offer 3 or 4 sentences of description of who the N’viim were and what their significance was in the development of a Jew’s understanding of God.
They will be able to name the months in order and locate 8 holidays into the correct month, and offer for each of those holidays information on a ritual and a moral message. They will be able to find Torah readings and Prophetic readings by using Jewish calendars and Tanakhs. And this year they will explore the meaning of prayer, creating a Prayer Journal with a focus on noting gratitude, regularly and systematically examining ourselves, imagining and seeking connection and reaching out for learning--which are the actions involved in Jewish prayer.
Materials supplied by UHS: Texts, workbooks, worksheets, prayer journal siddur Sim Shalom, Tanakh, posters, games, flash cards.
About materials
Students are provided with a copy of the text or workbooks used by their class, a 3-ring binder, and--when it becomes available later this fall--with a copy of the United Hebrew School Study Siddur. In class they will also have the use of Tanakhs, Siddurim, Calendars, Dictionaries and other reference volumes. At the end of 3rd grade, each student receives a copy of the Five Books of Moses which homework assignments will occasionally ask ask the student to use.
Parents should have at home:
a siddur for Shabbat.
a Hebrew/English Chumash (aka Torah or Five Books of Moses) The Eitz Chaiim edition is the one used by most of our member synagogues, but the Hertz edition or the Plaut edition or other editions are fine.
an English Tanakh--aka Torah, Prophets and Writings, or Hebrew Bible. The JPS Tanakh is one good choice among hundreds of editions; at minimum, go to the Dollar Tree and for a dollar get a Holy Bible which contains, of couse all the Tanakh, though some of the books appear in a different order.
If your synagogue Gift Shop or Office does not offer these books for sale, you may find them on Amazon.com or from the Jewish Publication Society.
Wednesday class structure
Grade 3 students will be divided between the teachers--Bev Gershon and Nina Kohn. The classes will switch after the first grading period. Each Wednesday 3rd graders take a play break in the middle of their session.
Grades 4-6 will have one teacher for their first 50 minutes, then will assemble in the Music Room for singing and group recitation and activities. Then they will have 50 minutes with their other teachers. Occasionally, instead of assembly, these classes will be given a break on the playground or will have an activity combining all the children of their one grade level
Division of work between Wednesday and Sunday
Wednesdays will be for introduction of materials with Sunday for review and reinforcement. Sundays will also invovle lessons about the structure of Tanakh and Siddur.
Limits of UHS curriculum
Tasked with preparing students to participate with competence and some understanding in Jewish rituals, particularly in Shabbat and weekday and holiday worship, UHS does not have time to attempt conversational Hebrew beyond what may be of use in the classroom. Also, UHS does not want to overlap with Sunday school curriculum nor does it have time to give extensive lessons on Holidays, Parashat HaShavuah, Mitzvot, or Israel. These can be taught mostly in English and therefore do not require Hebrew faculty.
Individual UHS teachers may touch on any of these subjects occasionally or may refer to them regularly in teaching vocabulary and prayer. At or before holidays, assembly will be extended for holiday activities. Individual teachers may include holiday songs, brachot or vocabulary in their lessons, but UHS has its hands full with reading and chanting the liturgy, with the vocabulary of prayer and with an overview of Siddur, Tanakh and calendar structure. We include the bird’s-eye view of these texts as part of Jewish literacy, so the children will be able not only to read the prayers or Bible texts but also to find them.
Curriculum is under constant review and we welcome suggestions and ideas and often make modifications to include new materials and insights.
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