General goals for Hebrew
Beginning in Grade 3 and moving through Grade 7, students will learn and master the following benchmarks:
- Read and print in Hebrew
- Identify letters, vowels and sounds
- Accurately read Hebrew prayers with growing fluency
- Gain knowledge, understanding, and comfort with the order and content of prayers and the structure of the Shabbat service
- Develop facility and the ability to "unpack" the linguistic elements of the Hebrew vocabulary, culminating in the learning of basic Modern Hebrew
Prayer-based Hebrew
In 3rd grade, students reinforce Hebrew letter and vowel identification. Students progress from sounding out to decoding and reading Hebrew words.
In 4th grade, and continuing through 6th grade, students are introduced to the use, format and themes for blessings and the structure of the Shabbat evening and morning services. This lays the foundation for worship throughout each student's lifetime.
In addition, 3rd through 6th grade students will begin to build a Modern Hebrew vocabulary to enhance their connection with and excitement about the living language of Hebrew. In the 7th grade, students will explore Modern Hebrew in more depth, as well as learn about Israeli culture.
Torah component: Introduction to our sacred texts and their relevance in our lives
"Torah" can be defined in two ways. The first, a traditional definition, refers to the Chumash (Five Books of Moses). The second expands on this definition to include the subsequent writings and teachings of our tradition. These writings are an interpretation and an outgrowth of the stories found in the Chumash.
In 3rd grade, students are introduced to the Hebrew Bible through stories of the prophets.
Beginning in 4th grade, our Judaic focus will be on the study of Chumash (Five Books of Moses) using the Torah text as our “textbook”. Through the stories contained in the Torah, students will learn the history of our people. They will also discover Torah as a guide to Jewish living. Students’ experience with genuine text study will help them uncover the many layers of meaning, interpretation, and questions that fuel our lively, ongoing dialogue with the Torah.
In 7th grade the focus expands to include the study of Pirkei Avot and Mishneh Torah (Maimonides). This exposes the students to additional forms of Hebrew in different contexts.
Please click on the following links to learn in more detail about the curriculum at each grade level:
