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Resources for Educators
Whether you are returning to the classroom, continuing remote learning, or implementing a blended home/school environment, we’ve got resources to provide a meaningful learning experience for your students.
We've created free, ready-to-go lessons and downloadable resources plus tools to manage the new digital work environment and even help teachers and students manage stress. Just scroll to see all that is available. Find a type of lesson or a resource that works especially well for your learners? We also provide links to the original materials from which we have drawn many resources.
In addition, here are some Guides for Remote Learning for Hebrew and for Judaics with smart tips that can be applied to any of the free resources on this page.
And we’ve put together a Curriculum Guide to show how three Big Ideas can help you structure a year-long curriculum using these and forthcoming free resources.
Do you want ...
HEBREW
Access the turn-page versions of many Hebrew books for remote and blended learning environments.
Refresh Hebrew Skills
Practice reading with "Click and Read" Practice decoding as you hear each syllable and word read aloud. Two versions are available: a new version for all devices; and the Flash version, usable only on computers (not mobile devices). |
Play games to strengthen skills Learn a Shabbat song, cheer, and clap along while doing a Tsadee Ayin tongue twister, and reading three lines without taking a breath in this reading workout. Want more activities like these? Check out Ten-Minute Hebrew Reader
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Assess and practice decoding skills Assess students’ decoding skills or have them practice decoding, each at their own level. Listen to the author read each page aloud. Want more activities like these? Check out Hebrew Reading Assessment.
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Prepare to start a prayer program Prepare to start a prayer program: match key words and pictures, practice syllables, and read prayer phrases. Play Hebrew word games and identify seven Hebrew roots. Want more activities like these? Check out Kol Yisrael Funbook.
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Build a blessing as you learn to decode Learn and practice the letters and vowels in the first word of the blessing “formula”: בָּרוּךְ (blessed, praised); learn Hebrew directionality; find Bet in prayer excerpts. Let's build a blessing. Want more activities like this? Check out the Alef Bet of Blessing. Families can listen to the free audio companion in which pages are available in a read-aloud format that reinforces proper pronunciation. |
Go on a decoding adventure
Take a guided digital adventure through Israel in search of a missing golden Kiddush cup while learning letters and vowels from key cultural and everyday Hebrew words. |
Make Hebrew Come Alive
Give emerging Hebrew readers actual stories to read Practice decoding skills with a short seder dialogue, games about the Passover seder, blessings, a seder poem, and root practice. Want more activities like these? Check out Shalom, Reader. |
Talk, move, and play with Hebrew Introduce conversational Hebrew for 10 minues each session. Getting to know you! Students act out the multiple meanings of the word shalom (hello, good-bye, peace). Let’s eat! Students will act out ordering food in a restaurant and play Simon Says to practice food vocabulary. Download 285 word cards. Want more activities like these? Check out Hebrew Alive and Ulpan Alef and Ulpan Bet. |
Learn beginner Hebrew with this fun app Learn to decode Hebrew with this digital primer. For laptops and mobile devices. Download the first five lessons FREE from the Apple Store, Amazon App store, or Google Play. Search "Shalom Hebrew." Full app, with 24 lessons, only available from our online store. Order it here.
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Practice heritage words
Enlarge the Heritage Word List and challenge students to read each word correctly. Hide the English and ask them which words they recognize. Students can even draw their answers and label them with the Hebrew words. For more, check out Shalom Uvrachah.
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Prayer Practice and Meaning
Teach prayer through music Students learn that the ֹשְמַע is central to Jewish religious practice and belief; our tradition teaches that God shows us love through the mitzvot in the Torah; and all people are connected. The ֹשְמַע is recited in the evening and morning services, and as a personal prayer before bed. Review the complete Sh’ma module in the Curriculum Core: 3 lesson plans, journal answer keys, song lyrics, and flash cards. A selection of the Sh'ma student booklet is here. Try out the Sh’ma module in the Hebrew in Harmony app. For a complete prayer curriculum, check out Hebrew in Harmony, especially the Curriculum Core. A turn-page version of all Hebrew in Harmony modules combined are available for remote learning.
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Learn prayer skills and related Jewish values Students explore Mi Chamochah’s source in the Torah (Exodus 15:11). They consider what it means to see themselves as having personally come out of Egypt and they creatively interpret the value of pidyon shvuyim (redeeming captives) after finding examples of captivity and freedom. Throughout the lesson they practice key reading and grammar rules (Shin’s double-duty dot; root letters kln and ycw).
For a complete prayer curriculum, check out Hineni. |
Find personal meaning in prayer Learn the movements associated with the Bar’chu, the themes of the prayer, and how to apply those themes to our everyday lives. For more lessons like this, check out Making T'filah Meaningful. |
Practice reading with online Prayer Practice
Practice reading prayers as you hear each word read aloud. Two versions are available: A new version for all devices; and the Flash version, usable only on computers (not mobile devices) |
JUDAICS
Access the turn-page versions of Judaic books for remote and blended learning environments.
Grades K-2
Discover the meaning and rituals of Passover Students will learn about the story of Exodus, discuss the theme of freedom, and explore some key seder rituals through crafts and other fun activities.
Passover begins the evening of March 27, 2021. Want more activities like this? Check out Let’s Discover the Spring Holidays. |
Celebrate Israel’s Independence Day Students will explore this holiday through discussion and creative activities. They’ll learn why Israel’s Independence Day is a joyful, important occasion.
Yom Ha’atzma’ut student material Yom Ha’atzma’ut teacher material
Yom Ha’atzma’ut begins the evening of April 14, 2021.
Want more activities like this? Check out Jewish and Me: Spring Holidays. |
Discover personal meaning in doing mitzvot Introduce learners to key words like tzedakah, mitzvah, and mensch. Show learners how they can give tzedakah in different ways. For more lessons like this one, check out Let's Discover Mitzvot. |
Learn about protecting life from Bible stories Introduce learners to the story of Miriam and others who protected baby Moses. Explore with learners how they can help others through tzedakah and making good choices. Miriam and Moses student lesson Miriam and Moses teacher material
For more lessons like this one, check out Teach Me Torah. |
Grades 3-6
Explore the Passover theme of freedom through art Students will use art as a lens through which to ask questions to drive learning and reflect on themes of slavery and freedom.
Passover begins the evening of March 27, 2021. Want more activities like this one? Check out Make, Create, Celebrate: Jewish Holidays through Art |
Learn how two heroes embody Jewish values Compare and contrast the kind acts of two Jewish heroes, Dona Gracia Nasi and Aaron Feuerstein. Show learners how to bring more kindness into their own lives! For more lessons like this one, check out The Hero in Me. |
Discover themes of justice in the story of Moses confronting Pharaoh
Learners will analyze the story of Moses and Aaron confronting Pharaoh, and discuss why justice is important and how to identify injustice.
Want more lessons like this one? Check out Jewish Values in Exodus. |
Celebrate Israel’s Independence Day Students will learn about Israel’s Independence Day: how it started, how we celebrate it, and why it’s important to the Jewish people. Yom Ha’atzma’ut student material Yom Ha’atzma’ut teacher material
Yom Ha’atzma’ut begins the evening of April 14, 2021. Want more lessons like this one? Check out Jewish Holidays, Jewish Values. |
Grades 7 and Up
Explore the meaning of Passover For Passover, students will delve into Passover traditions (such as clearing the house of hametz) and themes (such as compassion and freedom).
Passover begins the evening of March 27, 2021. Want more lessons like this one? Check out Rediscovering the Jewish Holidays. |
Find meaning in the Jewish holidays
Students will learn how and why we celebrate Israel’s Independence Day, forging personal connections to the holiday. Yom Ha’atzma’ut student material Yom Ha’atzma’ut teacher material
Yom Ha’atzma’ut begins the evening of April 14, 2021. Want more lessons like this one? Check out Rediscovering the Jewish Holidays. |
Learn about different kinds of courage from bible stories Learners will explore the stories of Nachshon who had the courage to walk into the sea and the daughters of Zelophehad who had the courage to stand up for themselves.
Want more activities like this? Check out Values and Ethics. |
Use prayer to find personal meaning in nature Students will reflect on their relationships to nature, especially in terms of prayer. They’ll even compose their own blessings to honor special moments they’ve had in nature. Prayer activity student material Prayer activity teacher material
Want more lessons like this one? Check out Our Place in the Universe. |
Personal and Professional Growth
We invite you to use these tools to help you during these challenging times. This is a growing list, so check back as we add more resources to this section.
Celebrating Passover Together from Afar?
Click here for some tips on how to engage remote seder participants.
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Mindfulness Series, by Nancy Siegel Siegel is an educational consultant specializing in mindfulness education for both adults and children. For more information, visit: nancysiegelconsulting.com
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Simple and Short Mindfulness Activities, by Katie Rein Perfect for use with preschoolers through middle grade. Rein is an educator and director at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue School and has worked intensively with children from preschool through teens around the world. Fluent in Arabic and French, she has also written curriculum in Spanish and Hebrew.
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Tips for More Effective Video Conferencing, with Mallory Penney and Reggie Harris from Better Together Labs Better Together Labs offers experiential workshops in agility, collaboration and play to help teams across various industries work, create, and communicate better together. Harris has held key positions at prominent Silicon Valley companies including Google, Dropbox, and Zynga and has provided his skills for a number of nonprofits. He has a degree in Computer Science with honors from Harvard University and his work is heavily influenced by the philosophies and techniques of improvisation. Penney is a team-building strategist and a firm believer that “fun” is the operative word when it comes to peeling away inhibitions in the workplace to allow collaboration and effective communication to emerge. She is a member of the Applied Improvisation Network and holds a B.A. in Theater and Performance Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. For more information about Better Together Labs, click here.
Story Spine: A Technique for Engaging a Group, with Mallory Penney and Reggie Harris from Better Together Labs
Creative and Playful Ways to Engage Learners on Zoom, with Mallory Penney and Reggie Harris from Better Together Labs _____ |
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Color yourself calm, Jewishly. Relax and be inspired by the Jewish imagery in these intricate black and white line drawings that focus on shalom. Want more coloring pages? Check out Shalom Coloring.
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