Meets weekly on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
In 3rd grade, our Jewish world expands even farther, as we learn about Israel, other types of Jews, and Jewish practice all around the world. Overarching questions we will examine all year are how we each fit into this larger Jewish community – Am Yisrael (the whole nation of Israel) and what is our place in the chain of tradition?
Students will get their first introduction to history. Through stories and activities, they will discover how our community brings us together, providing a lifelong connection to our heritage, culture, and values. Students will learn concepts such as the diaspora, while exploring what connects us all through time and space.
Now that our students are becoming strong readers, we will be using the following texts to help us dive into these topics.
Welcome to Israel: Students will meet Israelis their own age in the pages of this text, as they are introduced to the geography, history, and cultural life. Israel’s struggle to coexist peacefully with its neighbors is presented in a thoughtful and age-appropriate way. This curriculum will also enhance their Hebrew learning, as well as offer more enrichment to their values and mitzvot curriculum.
Hebrew and Jewish Values from Alef to Tav:
Students will continue learning Hebrew with our Hebrew Through Movement program and will also learn how to recognize and write each letter of the alef bet. This program teaches a value each week while learning a new Hebrew letter, along with other vocabulary words that start with the same letter. Students will retain their knowledge of the letters through this practical, active, and engaging curriculum that connects each letter to important stories, lessons, and art projects.
Through this values curriculum, students will also gain an introduction to the myriad Jewish texts, learning a little of where these sources come from as they hear stories from midrash, Torah, Talmud, Hassidic tales, and folk tales.
Each week you will be receiving enrichment materials to look at and do together at home. These will include probing questions and creative reinforcement activities from the Israel curriculum and the Hebrew letter of the week with its value story and accompanying questions and connection activities to enjoy as a family.
Prayers:
Students will master prayers the following “prayers of awe”:
Mi Chamocha
Elohai Neshamah
Ashrei (The first line of text we will learn to sing, and students will also learn the first word of each line after that, which is an alef bet acrostic, further reinforcing their alef bet learning)