CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
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GAN (Kindergarten):
In Gan, our students start each class with a circle time to learn and reinforce the Aleph-Bet, Hatikvah, Modeh Ani, numbers in Hebrew and more. They take an in-depth look at Shabbat – the brachot, the ritual items, the practice. They also complete a unit on Havdallah and help to lead a Havdallah service. The students begin learning the Aleph-Bet by letter and sound with corresponding vocabulary words. In Gan, students begin to study the Torah with stories from Genesis and they will study a general overview of Israel. Additionally, they begin to learn about the people and places that they will find in our synagogue.
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What can you do to reinforce the curriculum?
• Review the Hebrew letter packets with your child
• When looking at a siddur, have your child point out the letters that
he/she has learned
• Make it a point to celebrate Shabbat together and encourage your
child to lead the brachot
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ALEPH (1st Grade):
In Aleph, our students have a morning meeting, much like they did in Gan, to reinforce the basic concepts that the learned the prior year. They continue to learn brachot to add to their knowledge base and reinforce the brachot at snack time. The Aleph children will also complete a unit on Havdallah and help lead a Havdallah service. They continue to review the Aleph-Bet, reinforcing the letter sounds and associated vocabulary. In class, the students will create ritual objects and will focus on proper synagogue behavior. The students will continue to study the Torah, this year focusing on the stories from Exodus. For their study of Israel, the Aleph students will learn about foods that are native to Israel as well as some basic geography. Additionally, the students will learn about being thankful, tying into our lessons on brachot.
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What can you do to reinforce the curriculum?
• Review your child’s Hebrew book together
• When looking at a siddur, have your child point out the letters that
he/she has learned
• Encourage your child to practice saying brachot at home
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BET (2nd Grade):
In Bet, the students will continue to reinforce all of the brachot that they have learned and will continue to learn more blessings for candy, washing hands, blessing children, etc. Now that the children have a strong Hebrew foundation, they will begin to string sounds together to form words, introducing vowels and working on blending sounds. They will use their Hebrew workbooks in class and online Hebrew program at home. In addition, they will study the books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy with their weekly Torah study. For their unit on Israel, the children will focus on major cities, and they will look at customs and stories behind the Jewish holidays.
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What can you do to reinforce the curriculum?
• Review your child’s Hebrew book together and encourage your
child to work on his/her online Hebrew program at home
• Bring your child to shul to celebrate the Jewish holidays, Have your
child lead the brachot associated with each holiday
• Encourage your child to practice saying brachot at home
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GIMMEL (3rd grade):
In Gimmel, your child will reinforce all of the brachot that he/she has learned over the past 3 years as well as learn a few wonder blessings that will add to his/her repertoire. In Gimmel, the students are now working on reading Hebrew with a goal of fluency, as the children should have a handle on letters and sounds. Like the Bet students, the Gimmel students also have an online Hebrew program accompanying their workbook for home usage. They will begin to learn the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service, which they will lead in the early Spring. For their study of Torah, the Gimmel class will take an in-depth look at each of the Ten Commandments, noting the different types of commandments. For the study of Israel, your child will learn about modern Jewish holidays, like Yom Ha’atzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim. One fun aspect of Gimmel is the spiritual connection between Judaism and the outdoors. The children will participate in activities that reinforce a connection to nature, agriculture and respecting God’s creations.
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What can you do to reinforce the curriculum?
• Bring your child to Friday night services to help familiarize
him/her with the Kabbalat Shabbat psalms
• Review your child’s Hebrew book together and encourage your
child to work on his/her online Hebrew program at home
• Spend time outdoors together to show appreciation for God’s world
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For more information, please call 631-928-3737
Heather Welkes, principal
DALET (4th grade):
In Dalet, the students take an in-depth look at the Jewish calendar to compare their secular world with their Jewish world, recognizing Jewish birthdays, learning Hebrew months, days of the week and events such as Rosh Chodesh or the counting of the Omer. In Hebrew, they are working on proficiency and fluency, recognizing more complex vowel sounds and final (soffit) Hebrew letters. They also reinforce the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service, which they will lead again in the early Spring, this time taking on more independent readings. In addition, they begin to study Hebrew from the siddur, learning how to navigate it. They begin to learn more history associated with our traditions, learn about prophets, kashruit laws, and some Jewish literature.
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What can you do to reinforce the curriculum?
• Bring your child to Friday night services to help familiarize
him/her with the psalms
• Hang a Hebrew calendar near your secular calendar and have your
child point out the date in the Hebrew calendar
• Look at food product labels to differentiate between kosher and
non-kosher products
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HEI (5th grade):
In Hei, your child will work on learning some of the significant prayers of the Saturday morning Shabbat service, including choreography, in preparation for Hei,Vav Shabbat in the Spring. Your child will continue to work on Hebrew fluency with tefillah and in Hebrew will work on learning vocabulary, adjectives, verbs and how to differentiate between plural and singular. Your child will learn what it means to be a mensch, an honorable person, through hands-on social action projects while studying the different levels of tzedakah. In addition, the Hei students will study Israel, laying down the foundation for more complex issues that they will learn about in Vav and Zayin.
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What can you do to reinforce the curriculum?
• Bring your child to Saturday morning services to help familiarize
him or her with the prayers
• Have your child practice Hebrew reading at home to increase fluency
• Set an example by showing your child how your give tzedakah and
how it can impact others
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VAV (6th grade):
In Vav, your child will continue to study the Shabbat morning services, reinforcing prayers and brachot, which will be presented at the Hei, Vav Shabbat service in the springtime. They will continue working on fluency in Hebrew, applying all previously learned skills and now adding trope in preparation for Torah reading. Your child will study Jewish life cycle events from birth to death, participating in mock events. They will also spend a year studying the Holocaust, but from a Jewish perspective, learning personal stories of perseverance. In addition, they will focus on the political, cultural and historical forces that face Israel.
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What can you do to reinforce the curriculum?
• Bring your child to Saturday morning services to help familiarize him or her with the prayers
• Have your child practice Hebrew reading at home to increase fluency
• Bring your child to museums and to see guest speakers relating to
the Holocaust
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ZAYIN (7th grade):
In Zayin, your child will start off each Sunday morning in minyan, reinforcing rituals and learning how to put on tefillin. They will focus on the weekday service and compare how it is different to Shabbat. They will continue Trope to reinforce Torah melodies and will continue to build their knowledge base of tefillot. The students will focus on public speaking, learning how to write and deliver a Dvar Torah in preparation for Bnai Mitzvah. In addition, they will learn about modern Israeli History.
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What can you do to reinforce the curriculum?
• It is imperative that your bring your child to Saturday morning
services to help familiarize him/her with the prayers in preparation
for the Bnai Mitzvah
• Have your child practice reading prayers at home to increase
comfort with the service
• Have your child find ways to practice public speaking
