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Curriculum Handbook
Naomi & Ken Kramer Religious School at Beth Meyer Synagogue Curriculum Outline
for Kindergarten - 8th Grade
2016-2017 School Year
Curriculum Guide - grades k - 8
INTRODUCTION
Beth Meyer Religious School
is a supplementary school
A supplementary school is exactly that -
supplementary. It augments and supports the
learning children do in their homes, with their
friends and families, in their secular schools and in
the synagogue. It is a partnership between children,
parents, teachers and the larger Jewish community.
Jewish learning never ends. We, the partners in this
endeavor, set a child’s feet on a path that will last a
lifetime.
Our Curricular Model
The Beth Meyer religious school uses what’s called
a spiral curricular approach. The basis of this
model is that the same subjects are studied each
year but with a different focus, each year building
on the year before and preparing the students for the
year to come. In that way, a child, going through
our program from start to finish, would gain an ever
deeper understanding of an area or areas of study.
Jewish learning is a never ending cycle of
understanding which spirals upward. That should
be our children’s experience in religious school.
GENERAL CURRICULUM GOALS
Tefilah/Prayer: Children will learn decoding skills to
be able to read fluently. They will learn the meaning and
symbolism contained in each prayer they study in an age
appropriate manner. They will understand each prayer’s
choreography and how it relates to other prayers in each
service. They will develop writing skills and be able to
write in Hebrew script.
Prayer mastery means that a child can read a prayer
fluently, mistake free, understand key words and
concepts, understand the general meaning of the prayer
and where it fits into a service.
Our goal is that our students will be able to participate in
our synagogue service - Shabbat and weekday. Those
students who are interested and motivated will learn the
additional skills needed to lead services.
Judaic Studies: When a student finishes eighth grade,
s/he will have been exposed to and be familiar with:
� The history of Israel and the Jewish people
� The Torah from Genesis through Deuteronomy
� Jewish holidays including home and synagogue
practice, the development of holiday ritual from
Temple times to the present and various historical
influences on that development
� Jewish thought and thinkers from ancient to modern
times
� Nevi’im (The Prophets) and Ketuvim (The Writings)
� The diversity of Jewish life and thinking in modern
times and throughout history
� Jewish values, their origins in Torah and Talmud and
the ways in which they can and should influence the
decisions we make in our everyday lives.
GRADE SPECIFIC CURRICULUM
Grade nd2-Kindergarten
The Primary Years
This program is designed to introduce children to the
formal study of Judaism through games, stories, arts and
crafts projects and individual, group and family activities
which help children and their families explore the richness
of Jewish ritual, history and Torah in an age-appropriate,
hands-on way.
At every level, the students will study:
1) Hebrew,
2) Bible,
3) ethics,
4) holidays and the Jewish lifecycle, and
5) Israel.
The focus at each level will be different, taking into
consideration the increasing maturity of the children and
building on the learning that took place the year before.
By the time children finish the 2nd grade they will have
been exposed to and be familiar with:
� Hebrew letters, vowels, the reading of monosyllables
and simple words
� Shabbat and Havdalah blessings, holiday blessings, the
Four Questions from the Passover seder, Modeh Ani,
Barkhu, Shema, and Ein KeLoheinu
� Torah from Creation through the Exodus
� Stories from the Books of Prophets and Writings
� Jewish values and their relationship to both Bible and
Torah stories and their application in everyday life
� Jewish holidays, their stories, home and synagogue
rituals and the foods and crafts associated with each.
3rd - 4th - 5th Grade The Intermediate Grades
Our 3rd - 5th grade students have approximately 150
hours of instructional time during each of these three
academic years. Beginning in 2011-2012, the Y om
M’Yuhad (a special day) was put into place which offers
some flexibility as to how these instructional hours are
delivered.
On Sunday mornings and Tuesday afternoons, our classes
include 2 main subjects - Tanakh and Tefilah (Bible and
Prayer).
Other subjects - Israel, ethics, holidays and lifecycle - are
covered either during our Thursday Y om M’Y uhad
program, or through independent learning at home. Y om
M’Yuhad is indeed “special” as the classes are elective,
across grades and focus more on creative learning
approaches. We incorporate the arts and “informal
educational” techniques. For those who opt not to attend
on Thursdays, or who cannot attend, we provide learning
packets so that those children can cover these subjects
independently at home.
The 2016-2017 Y om M’Y uhad program is divided into six
units of anywhere from three to eight weeks. Each unit is
independent and families can opt to do one, several or all
of them.
The schedule for the 2016-2017 academic year is:
Unit 1 Fall Holidays Sept 8 - Oct 20
Unit 2 Hanukkah/Ethics Oct 27 - Dec 22
Unit 3 Lifecycle Jan 12 - Feb 6
Unit 4 Purim Feb 23 - Mar 9
Unit 5 Pesah Mar 16 - Apr 6
Unit 6 Israel Apr 20 - Jun 1
Third Grade
The third grade is a bridge year. The focus this year is on
moving children from the early elementary program into
the more intensive intermediate program through hands-on
activities, structured group and individual practice, and
reading, writing, and group participation.
The 3rd grade emphasis is on giving the students
familiarity with and competence in Hebrew reading and
cursive writing.
By the time a child leaves the 3rd grade, s/he will have
been exposed to and be familiar with:
� The Jewish calendar
� Holiday and lifecycle history/development, rituals/
customs and brakhot (blessings)
� The ways in which God is present in our lives and
how we think about and relate to God’s presence
� Selected portions form the Books of Prophets and
Writings (Nevi’im and Ketuvim)
� Hebrew reading and cursive writing.
� Israel’s history, culture and place in our lives
� V’Ahavta, hatikvah, v’shamru, order of the Pesah
seder and the 10 Plagues
Fourth-Fifth Grade
In these grades, the students have one teacher for Judaic
studies and a second teacher for tefilah/prayer.
Judaic Studies - Tanakh (Bible)
"Beginning with Creation, the class will read the Everett
Fox translation of the Torah. Through reading the text,
discussion in both large and small groups, and projects of
various kinds, students will examine our "origin" stories
in order to:
1. Acquire a basic knowledge of the story as it is written. -Who are the major players and what is the sequence of events?
2. Understand what the story tells us about God's relationship
with people -How does God interact with the humanity, how do they respond,
and what does God seem to want from them?
3. Discover what the story says about our behavior in the
world. - How do the people in this story interact with the world around
them, both the environment and their fellow human beings?
-Is their behavior acceptable to God? To other people? Why?
4. Examine what our tradition teaches we us about this story. -What values do we find in this story and how are we expected to
apply those values to our daily lives?
-Have ideas about this story changed over time?
5. Explore how what we have learned from the story helps us
"see the world through Jewish eyes." -What have I learned that I can apply to my daily life?
-How does my learning influence my interactions with God,
other people and the natural world?
-Does this change the way I look at the world?
-What do I bring to this learning that is unique and what do I
leave behind that adds to the body of Jewish learning?
Prayer/Tefilah
The students are now ready for the challenge of learning
our prayer service. Rather than tackle the prayers by
service (which is typically done), we approach the prayers
by levels of difficulty, both in the Hebrew mastery as well
as by concept.
Our teaching method is loosely based on the Penn
Literacy Network - a method to create meaning-centered
approaches to the study of prayer. This model enables
students to grapple with prayer in an attempt to find
personal meaning.
Prayer “goals” for the 4th grade (in no particular order):
Birkot Torah (Torah blessings)
Avot (1st section of the Amidah)
G’vurot (second section of the Amidah)
Mi Khamokha (morning and evening services)
Aleinu
HaNerot HaLalu (Hanukah)
Dayenu and the 4 Children (Pesah)
Al Heyt (Yom Kippur)
Prayer “goals” for the 5th grade (in no particular order):
Musaf Kiddusha (3rd section of the Amidah)
L’cha Dodi (from the Friday evening service)
Friday evening Kiddush (blessing over wine)
Hatzi Kaddish (& intro to the other kaddishes)
Adon Olam
Parts of Birkat HaMazon (grace after meals)
Gesher: 6th - 8th Grade
The middle school years are the Gesher (bridge) years.
The students enter our middle school program as children
and finish post-Bar/Bat Mitzvah as young teens,
responsible for the commandments and able to take their
place among the Jewish community.
Our studies during these years are designed to help the
students across this bridge.
We continue to work on ritual life skills so that the
students will be able to fully participate in prayer and
celebration. The students also continue their studies in
Bible, ethics, mitzvot, history and culture.
The 6th and 7th grades, through their program on Shabbat
mornings, spend time in tefilot (services) and Torah study.
� Tefilot may include a “ learner’s minyan” style
service, or the students may conduct their own
service, or they may participate in the main
sanctuary service - utilizing their new skills.
� Torah study is most often parashat ha’shavua
(portion of the week). There are several
teachers who rotate through the year, providing
the students with different approaches to Torah
study.
The 8th grade, while fully integrated on Wednesday
afternoons, is not required to attend on Shabbat mornings.
Through our Torah reading program, however, many of
the 8th graders continue to read Torah for the
congregation. In addition, some 8th graders choose to help
in our programs for younger children which meet on
Shabbat mornings.
On Wednesday afternoons, each grade has one hour of our
grade-specific core curriculum and one hour of electives,
which are across grades. The core curriculum for the 6th
and 7th grade is a continuation of the tefilah (prayer)
curriculum and learning about becoming bar/bat mitzvah.
The core curriculum for the 8th grade includes theology
and current Jewish issues. The electives for the first
semester will all be tied to Jewish text, for the second
semester, they will be tied to Holocaust studies.
During the weeks from Thanksgiving to Winter break, the
Gesher students work together on producing a “fair” for
our younger students. For the 2016-2017 year, the fair
will be about Jewish History.
From Pesah through the end of the year, all of the Gesher
students participate in a unit on the history of Israel.
Prayer/Tefilah Prayer “goals” for the 6th grade (in no particular order):
Torah service
Birkot HaSahar (early morning blessings)
Tallit and tefillin brakhot
Full Kaddish
Kiddush for Holiday evenings
Intro to Haftarah blessings
Prayer “goals” for the 7th grade (in no particular order):
Ashrei
Psalm 29
Selections from Hallel
3rd paragraph of the Shema
Kabbalat Shabbat service
Yigdal
Special Programs to Note
Sukkah Building - Sunday, Oct 16
In lieu of class, all children, in grades k - 5, along with their
families, are assigned to someone’s home to help build a
sukkah. This is a wonderful time for families to get to know
each other as well as fulfill the mitzvah of building a sukkah!
The 7th grade is invited to the Rabbi’s house to help build his
sukkah.
Gesher Mitzvah Fair - Sunday, Dec 18
The whole congregation is invited to stop by the History Fair
that will be presented by our Gesher students. All of our
religious school students attend to learn about Jewish history
through the ages.
Mishloah Manot (Purim gifts) - February/March
This annual fund-raiser for the school is also a great way to
honor friends, teachers, and others. Information is sent to all
religious school families and there are opportunities to help as
well as to participate.
8th grade - Holocaust Museum in Richmond
Every year, our 8th students join students from Wake County
synagogues for a trip to the Holocaust Museum in Richmond,
VA. Because of a generous donor who underwrites the cost of
the trip each year, this trip is free of charge. We strongly
encourage you to consider sending your child with us to this
museum - and parents are invited to join us. The date for this
year’s trip is Sunday, February 26.
Special Programs to Note
Shabbat programs � Shabbat Mishpaha - Friday evening family service
The evening begins with a “pre-neg” at 6 pm with child-
friendly healthy snacks and the service begins at 6:30. The
service is followed by social/play time (Oneg Shabbat).
� Shabbat Katan - Shabbat morning “family service” for our
youngest children (geared to under 5 years old but siblings
are welcome).
Dates can be found on the Beth Meyer website
(www.bethmeyer.org)
Bar/Bat Mitzvah at Beth Meyer
The school is not focused on bar and bat mitzvah - the focus of
the school is education for life.
That being said, certainly the school is involved in preparing
children to take their place in the community as a bar/bat
mitzvah. To this end, the school provides the following:
Parent/family meetings throughout the year
Guide to Celebrating Bar/Bat Mitzvah at Beth Meyer
Special programs (or support of special programs)
Also - all of our Bar/Bat mitzvah information (Guide to
celebration and other resources) is on the Beth Meyer Website
on the religious school page (under the Lifelong Learning tab).
Information on meeting and special programs will be sent as
the year progresses. The more you can take advantage of these
opportunities, the more meaningful the bar/bat mitzvah
experience will be for you and your family.
Dates when school is closed:
October 2 Erev Rosh HaShanah
October 4 Rosh HaShanah
October 11-12 Yom Kippur
November 22 - 27 Thanksgiving
December 22 - Jan 1 WCPSS Winter Break
January 11 Sisterhood Shabbat
Apr 8 - Apr 18 WCPSS Spring Brk/Pesah
May 27 - 28 Memorial Day Wknd
Last Day of Classes:
June 4
Naomi & Ken Kramer Religious School at Beth Meyer Synagogue 504 Newton Road Raleigh, NC 27615 School Office Phone: 919-848-8111 Synagogue Office Phone: 919-848-1420 Synagogue Fax: 919-848-1571 School Email: [email protected] Synagogue Email: [email protected] Synagogue Website: www.bethmeyer.org
Naomi & Ken Kramer Religious School
At Beth Meyer Synagogue
504 Newton Road
Raleigh, NC 27615
