Educators

Family Guide to Why Be Different? — A Look into Judaism

This document is being made available in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) format. Download guide.pdf (471KB)        

How to Succeed at Jewish Family Education

What exactly is Jewish Family Education? What kinds of programs does it encompass and how can you implement them successfully in your school or synagogue? In the pages of this handbook, we'll clarify the latest thinking on the subject. Tackle some tough questions and common concerns. Inspire you with programming ideas and examples. And showcase what we can offer you in the way of books, resources, and ready made study materials. Due to its length and complexity, this document is being made available in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) format.

How to Use the Ten-Minute Hebrew Reader

This document is being made available in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) format. Download guide.pdf (95KB)        

How to Succeed at Jewish Family Education

What exactly is Jewish Family Education? What kinds of programs does it encompass and how can you implement them successfully in your school or synagogue? In the pages of this handbook, we'll clarify the latest thinking on the subject. Tackle some tough questions and common concerns. Inspire you with programming ideas and examples. And showcase what we can offer you in the way of books, resources, and ready made study materials.     Due to its length and complexity, this document is being made available in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) format.

Teaching Guide for Sam the Detective's Reading Readiness Book

This document is being made available in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) format. Download guide.pdf (260KB)        

Teaching Guide for New Siddur Program Reading Readiness

This document is being made available in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) format. Download guide.pdf (261KB)        

Teaching Guide for New Siddur Program Primer: Power Reading

This document is being made available in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) format. Download guide.pdf (223KB)        

Teaching Guide for New Siddur Program 4: Honor Level

This document is being made available in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) format. Download Teaching Guide (481KB)

Teaching Guide for New Siddur Program 1: Prayer Reading Skills Workbook

This document is being made available in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) format.  Download guide.pdf (429KB)        

Tips 15-20

Classroom Tip #15--Know Where You Are Going and Be Sure the Students Know, Too  

Tips 8-14

Classroom Tip #8--Student Control  

Tips 1-7

Classroom Tip #1--The Big Three  

Introduction

The New Siddur Program for Hebrew & Heritage is the first genuine solution to teaching practical Hebrew for American youngsters. The Hebrew used in rituals in the synagogue and in the home--liturgical Hebrew--is the primary link that unites all Jews throughout the world. It is as relevant and useful to Jews living in the Diaspora as it is to the Jews of Israel. And The New Siddur Program is the first "step-by-step approach" to teaching this elemental Hebrew in the classroom.

20 Tips for Classroom Management With the New Siddur Program for Hebrew & Heritage

By Seymour Rossel   Introduction Tips 1-7 Tips 8-14 Tips 15-20

SAMPLE LETTER TO PARENTS

Ms. Susan Goldman 18 Torahtree Drive Chicago, IL 60618 Dear Ms. Goldman:   I'm looking forward to studying about Israel with Amy. We will meet for fourteen Sundays from 9:30 to 10:25 in Room 32. 1 want to make sure that our classes are as productive and as much fun as possible. In order for all of us to be able to hit the ground running, I'd like Amy to come to the first class with the following: Our textbook: David Bamberger's A Young Person's History of Israel.  

FINAL THOUGHTS

In the hands of a thoughtful teacher, the textbook can be an important catalyst for student learning. In addition, it serves as a comprehensive overview of a given content area, for teachers and parents, as well as students. It provides a common ground for classroom discussion. It is an authority that students can have access to when the teacher is not available. But ultimately it is only a tool; it is the teacher who makes the textbook come alive. We hope that this booklet has generated some ideas to help you make that happen. Kol tuv! (All the best!)

ADAPT TEXTBOOKS FOR SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

No textbook is perfect Sometimes you may have to customize it to suit your needs and those of your students.   Just as secular textbooks may be criticized for ethnic stereotyping, so may some Jewish textbooks.  

IMPROVE STUDENTS' RETENTION OF WHAT THEY READ

To help students recall what they have read, create a context for them. Frame the material for them, focus on essentials, allow them the opportunity to make meaning for themselves, and use visual cues for reinforcement.

GET THE FULL IMPACT FROM PHOTOGRAPHS

Photographs area resource of enormous potential. Use them to engage the students in the material, and teach the students how to "read" a photograph and learn from it Ask the students to look at a photograph and write or tell a story about what is happening in it, or what happened immediately before or after the photograph was taken.   Ask students to write an alternative caption for a photograph, and ask them why they wrote what they did.  

CRAFT ENGAGING LESSONS AROUND YOUR TEXTBOOK

If your school does not permit homework assignments, find other options to reading the textbook aloud It is an unfortunate fact that many schools are reluctant to assign homework. Do not despair if the homework option is not available to you. Please don't fall into the trap of monotonous class reading. There are other, far more engaging, options to consider. Here are some alternatives to choral reading. Try to implement some of them even if you can assign homework:

Teach Israel

 Experience Modern Israel

New from Behrman House. Fly to Israel without a plane ticket.

Discover Israel

 Let's Discover Israel

Offer younger children an exciting and age-appropriate introduction to the Jewish homeland