Grades 1-7

Theme: The importance of the individual in the continuing evolution of the Jewish people and culture

Subject Content:

• Jewish Values: Bible stories and heroes
• Tu B’Shevat: The desert and the importance of trees in Israel in Biblical times and today
• Festivals: Become familiar with symbols and practices for celebrating festivals using the individual as a framework
• Israel Unit: A simulated trip to Israel
• Ongoing classroom tzedakah project: “Growing a Tzedakah Tree”
• Life Cycle Unit: Babies and growth; Shabbat and the need for rest
• Family Education Project: Jewish Art Unit. A means of expressing Jewish values and connecting to community

Theme: The importance of friendships as the microcosms of the human interactions necessary to create Jewish Community and culture

Subject Content:

• Fall Festivals: Positively identify with the symbols and practices for celebrating Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot focusing on friendships
• Jewish Values: Bible stories that highlight friendship and cooperation
• Chanukah: Develop an awareness of the importance of tolerance and cooperation to achieve common goals
• Tu B’Shevat: Living and growing food cooperatively in Israel in Biblical times and today
• Israel Unit: A simulated trip to Israel
• Ongoing classroom tzedakah project: “Helping Hand/Friendship Chain”
• Life Cycle Unit: Develop respect for humans at every stage of growth from baby naming to Bar/Bat Mitzvah, to wedding, and so on
• Family Education Project: Wisdom of the Aged, featuring a Grandparents Party. Learning about Jewish values together with a family member or friend who is aged

Theme: The value of social responsibility and its expression in action emphasizing that social action can become a part of daily life

Subject content:

• Comparative Judaism: The Fall festivals, Shabbat, and Chanukah are studied not only to emphasize social responsibility as their fundamental underlying value, but also as examples of the differing practices and interpretations past and present
• Sephardic Jewry: Learn about the Golden Age of Spain through to the Inquisition and dispersion emphasizing the positive contributions to society of role models such as Maimonides and Donna Gracia Nasi
• Chanukah: Compare the Maccabees to the Spanish Conversos; Re-enact a Converso Chanukah celebration as a dramatic presentation at Chanukah Assembly
• Shtetl Life: Examine the place and responsibility of the individual in a Shtetl community; Re-enact a simulated Shtetl Shabbat celebration
• Pesach: Discover the importance of personal and national freedom; experience a sense of community through school Seder
• Ongoing classroom tzedakah project: G’milut Chassadim (Acts of Loving Kindness) bar graph to emphasize the students personal contribution to human well-being on an ongoing basis
• Life Cycle Unit: Study a Shtetl life-cycle event
• Family Education Project: Shtetl Stories. Parents tell Shtetl stories in class to explore the ethics, values, and interpersonal relationships in the Shtetlr

Theme: The function and dynamics of Jewish communities in history and today

Subject Content:

• Festivals: Participate in the celebration of festivals to experience a sense of community
• The historical evolution and significance of holidays
• Ongoing Project: Perpetuating values through story-telling
• Jewish Communities in History: Ancient Hebrew kings and prophets
• The Sages and the Talmud: The creation of the Talmud and the importance of its stories in dealing with humanistic issues
• Life Cycle Unit: The Jewish calendar and the development of the Bar Mitzvah
• Israel Unit: Modern Israel’s pioneers and the Kibbutz
• Family Education Project: The Leadership and Values of Ancient Israel. In class, parents tell the stories of ancient Israel to explore human behaviour and relationships

Theme: The Jews are a worldwide pluralistic people and civilization with varying beliefs and values which determine their practices

Subject content:

• Rhythms of the Jewish Year: Review of Jewish calendar and holidays focusing on their significance, meaningful observance, and evolution
• Secular Humanistic Jewish life cycle observances and celebrations
• Chanukah: Create a futuristic Chanukah dramatic presentation and participate in a community-based Chanukah Festival
• Immigration and North American Jewry
• Comparative Judaism: The Torah in Different Jewish Eyes —Understand the significance and connection of the Jewish people to the Torah throughout their history and become aware that various Jewish communities have interpreted the book differently
• Zionism and Modern Israel: The development of Zionism through a look at its heroes
• Tzedakah Project: Collecting and sorting food for the National Council of Jewish Women Passover Food Drive
• Life Cycle Unit: The purpose of life cycle observances from birth to death
• Family Education Project. A Virtual Tour of Israel. Strengthening connections to Israel by visiting it via the internet and by seeking more knowledge about Israel

Theme: Through the study of relevant Jewish history, discover the role of each student as a responsible member of society

Subject content:

• Festivals: Participate in the celebration of festivals to experience a sense of community
• A discussion of the basic concepts of the festivals with respect to their symbols, ethics, and our commitment to universalism
• Tzedakah Project: Prepared for Chanukah celebration; determined by class members
• The Holocaust: Historical background including how the Holocaust could happen and how we can prevent future atrocities; learning the values of resistance and tolerance; present a Yom Hashoah assembly; memorial field trip to Holocaust Centre.
• Jewry in the New World: North American Jewry and immigration with a look at the various religious movements in North America
• Israel Unit: The birth of Israel; Israel and Judaism in the world today
• Family Education Project: Jewish Immigration to Israel. Present an interview of a relative or friend who immigrated to Israel at a school wide assembly

Theme: Secular Humanistic Judaism, our beliefs and their roots, our actions and their impact

Subject content:

• Secular Humanistic Jewish Identity: Basic ideas of Secular Humanistic Judaism
• Living Our Values: Humanistic values in Jewish sources
• Jewish Life In The Ghetto and Shtetl
• New Ideas and Their Impact In Europe: The Jewish Enlightenment
• Mendelssohn. The Haskalah And Emancipation: Modern origins of Secular Humanistic Judaism
• The Birth Of Modern Judaism: Secular Yiddish culture; Jewish socialism and activism; New religious ideas – Zionism, the Secular Humanistic Jewish movement
• The Human Life Cycle: growth, puberty, Bat/Bar/Bnai Mitzvah
• Tzedakah activities (extensive after hours program)
• Preparation for Group B’nai Mitzvah Ceremony
• Family Education Project: Jewish Role Model Research Project. An in-depth study of a Jewish hero who put humanistic Jewish values (ex. tikkun olam) into action and thereby made a difference to humanity.