Our Curriculum
Judaic Studies
Throughout the course of the year, our students engage in meaningful conversations, participate in hands-on justice projects, and deepen their connections to the past, present, and future of Jewish life. All-school programs, field trips, and special events mark significant moments in the Jewish calendar, and experiential portions of the school day emphasize the value of tikkun olam. Each class also focuses on a particular theme, becoming experts on that aspect of Jewish life! In the 2024-2025 academic year, our classes explored:
Kitah Gan (kindergarten) & Kitah Aleph (1st grade): Jewish Values & Me
The Kitah Gan curriculum integrates concepts of social-emotional learning (SEL) with the exploration of middot, the Jewish ethical values that shape our behavior and relationships. Students explore the importance of developing good character traits and learn how these values can be applied in their daily lives. The program aims to nurture a sense of empathy, responsibility, and community, helping students build a strong foundation in ethical behavior rooted in Jewish tradition.
Kitah Bet (2nd Grade): Jewish People, Jewish Stories
In Kitah Bet, students explore how Jewish lives are marked by specific, uniquely Jewish rituals and practices, which contain both individual and communal mitzvot. Students explore mitzvot as core Jewish values that enrich our lives by creating meaningful experiences that we have with other people and with God. Students also discover the role the Torah plays in Jewish life by exploring the weekly parasha within the context of Jewish Peoplehood, and begin to cultivate their own relationship with the stories found within the text.
Kitah Gimmel (3rd Grade): A Journey Through Jewish Time
In Kitah Gimmel, students study the Hebrew calendar over the course of the year, experiencing and examining significant moments in the Jewish year. Students explore each Jewish holiday and its mitzvot, traditions, and customs through art, song, and other creative projects. Students also gain a familiarity with core brachot, key Hebrew vocabulary, and Jewish texts associated with each holiday, beginning their introduction to rabbinic literature.
Kitah Dalet (4th Grade) & Kitah Hey (5th Grade): The Jewish Lifecycle
The Kitah Dalet/Hey life cycle curriculum provides students with a comprehensive introduction to the significant milestones and rituals that mark Jewish life along with their mitzvot and liturgy. Students investigate how Jewish life cycle rituals and their liturgy have evolved over time and find connections between the cycle of Jewish life to the Jewish calendar by studying each of the five Megillot: Esther, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.
Kitah Vav (6th Grade): Children of the God-Wrestler
Our Kitah Vav students explore the TaNaKh, diving deeper into the text than in previous years with the goal of highlighting the complexity and continued relevance of the narratives and themes found within. Students will approach the TaNaKh with a critical eye, analyzing and dissecting the text, and will feel empowered to ask questions of the TaNaKh, its themes, and its lessons through full class debates and creative group projects that will expose them to essential rabbinic questions, challenges, and commentaries.
Hebrew Language
We aim that, with regular practice, all our students will be able to read liturgical Hebrew confidently and fluently and gain an understanding of the words of the prayers. An introduction to Hebrew language, specifically Hebrew vocabulary, is integrated into our Kitah Gan and Kitah Aleph curriculum, with educators using the Hebrew Through Movement curriculum as well as Hebrew songs and games to build foundational vocabulary and comfort with the language.
Kitah Bet and Kitah Gimmel use the Shalom U’vrachah Hebrew curriculum. In Shalom Alef Bet: A Pre Primer for Shalom U’vrachah, the first book in the series, second-grade students will study the Hebrew alphabet’s letters and vowels, practice single-syllable letter-vowel combinations, letter-to-sound relationships, and vowel-to-sound relationships. In Shalom U’vrachah: The New Hebrew Primer, third-grade students will develop their decoding skills using key cultural words and concepts, practice visual discrimination through similar letter-sound and vowel-sound drills, and learn to write in print.
Fourth through seventh grade students use Hineni: The New Hebrew Through Prayer to learn the prayers in the Shabbat morning service; prayers, blessings, and songs for home observance of Shabbat and holidays; and selections from the Friday night service and Hallel. Students will learn to read fluently from the siddur, translate key words and shorashim (grammatical roots), understand the themes of the prayers, place the prayers in the sequence of the service, and participate in synagogue services.
All-school tefillah (prayer service) serves as a complement to the Hebrew curriculum. Our learning services are led by Rav Caleb every Sunday and Wednesday and are designed to help our students learn the rhythms and choreography of a synagogue service while also practicing the weekday prayers and learning their core themes. Throughout the year as students gain familiarity with the foundational prayers of the service, they will be given opportunities to lead either as individuals or in small groups.
Throughout the academic year, each class will take a central role in hosting a special Shabbat service for the Temple Beth-El community. Over the course of many weeks, students will prepare to lead parts of the Saturday morning service, taking on more ritual responsibilities each year. Students and their families also plan the menu for the Saturday luncheon in the social hall, and each class prepares decorations, activities, and other fun surprises during the service! Class services are also an opportunity to honor our students’ families and their commitment to lifelong Jewish engagement.