Teachers & Educators

Easily Integrate Jewish Values into Your Curriculum

How do we help kids operate in a complicated world? Everyday kids face dilemmas that could be challenging. For example, we value sh'lom bayit and expect children to do the same. What if a non-Jewish friend invites them over for dinner on Shabbat, when the family has designated that as family time? What if the biggest soccer game of the season falls on Yom Kippur?

Coming Soon: Hineni for the OLC

The Hineni series has been a long time favorite for teaching prayer with meaning. You've been asking and soon we will introduce Hineni for the Online Learning Center! Seven modules will feature 35 prayers and blessings, including:

Honoring the Elderly: Free Kindle Chapter

Long life is a reward for living righteously. Help students honor the elderly with activities to share their life stories with a free Kindle edition of a chapter from Teaching Mitzvot - Concepts, Values, and Activities.  

Being Kind to Animals: Free Kindle Edition

Kids know that animals are important. Do they know that Jewish law agrees? Help them explore the ways Judaism supports the value of being kind to animals with a free Kindle edition of a chapter from Teaching Mitzvot - Concepts, Values, and Activities.

New Alef Bet Quest Games Available Now!

We’ve refreshed your favorite primer, Alef Bet Quest with a few new games for the upcoming school year. After completing each lesson, a matching interactive game will be available to help students learn how to decode Hebrew.  One new game allows students to shoot basketballs in a three-point shooting contests after choosing the correct Hebrew letters. Students will  learn to recognize Hebrew letters and vowels as they play through both Jewish cultural words and everyday Hebrew words.

Enriching Instruction with Music: Free Kindle Chapter

Throughout the generations Jews have used music for storytelling, prayer, and teaching. You can easily integrate music into your curriculum with a free kindle edition chapter from The Ultimate Jewish Teacher's Handbook.

Big Changes are Underway in the Online Learning Center

Your excellent feedback about the Online Learning Center has led to big changes to better suit your classroom needs.  Improvements and new features are to ensure that you can provide your teachers with a flexible, easy-to-use, and transformational tool that lets students engage in Jewish learning using the kinds of technology they use for the rest of their lives.  At the end of this month you will see the following changes to your learning space:

Beyond Apples and Honey: Free Kindle Chapter

Jewish education is always changing and we want to help you stay ahead with a free Kindle edition of a chapter from The Ultimate Jewish Teacher's Handbook.

Camp Connection: Use Jewish Values to Reflect on Camp Experiences

Welcome students back in the fall by helping them reflect on their camp experiences from a Jewish values point of view, using the Jewish Values Challenge Cards. 

The Ten Commandments of Social Media

Reinventing my Social Media Presence: A Jewish Educator's Rant By Rabbi Arnold Samlan

Digital Badges Incent Practice and Show Students' Accomplishments

As your students complete lessons in Ready, Set...Go Alef Bet, Alef Bet Quest, Kol Yisrael 1, 2, and 3 as well as the 5 traits in Explorer's Bible 1 Animated, they will be rewarded with badges to encourage learning and track their progress.  A new section to the Online Learning Center has been added to show students' accomplishments called "My Badges" on the yellow navigation bar. 

Camp Connection: Enhance Proper Pronunciation with Visual Tefillah

Your students are headed off to Jewish summer camp this week to spend the weeks ahead immersed in rich Jewish experiences.  Although they will have daily opportunities to practice Birkat Hamazon and other blessings and prayers, many learners will hear the words incorrectly. You can help correct pronunciation with Visual Tefillah in the fall.  This 13-slide slideshow connects kids back to their camp experiences, and also corrects any mispronunciation with line-by-line text in Hebrew and in English. 

Coming Soon: Track Students' Prayer Progress Online with Digital Hineni

Soon educators will be able to use the strong and well-supported Hineni materials with a new online practice element for the Online Learning Center. These materials will be available for laptops AND tablets.  Hineni OLC Edition is a seven-module prayer series featuring 35 different prayers and blessings. The prayers will be presented in a touch-n-read fashion with the ability to click on each word to hear it. Learners will also be able to record themselves for teachers to assess.

Camp Connection: Our Place in the Universe Helps You Connect Students Back to their Summer Camp Experiences in Nature

Students are getting ready to go off to summer camp to experience the outdoors, focus on nature and friendships, and immerse themselves in Jewish settings. 

Set the Stage for Hebrew Decoding Success with Unlimited Alef Bet

Want a fun way for your child to successfully learn to decode the Alef Bet? Behrman House’s newest interactive mobile app for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices introduces young children to Hebrew letters and simple words. Kids will enjoy matching letters to create animated Hebrew words that talk. In creating activated Hebrew words themselves, children will begin to associate the sound with the letter and the words th letter helps to build. A fun and free game, Unlimited Alef Bet helps children learn to decode Hebrew letters, vowels, and words.

An OLC Makeover to Better Suit Your Classroom Needs

We're giving your Online Learning Center classrooms a new makeover.  We always welcome your feedback about your experiences with the Online Learning Center so that we can make improvements to better your classroom needs. We're adding the option to renew licenses, , and more. Our goal is continuous improvement of the OLC so you can focus on your role as a Jewish mentor and role model.  Coming improvements for this year include:

New Scenario Cards Add Challenges to Jewish Values Playing Cards

Add 32 scenarios to the new Jewish Values Challenge playing cards to help teens and pre-teens develop a deeper understanding of 58 Jewish values in a playful environment using card-based games created by Robyn Faintich.  Scenarios for Jewish Values Challenge Playing Cards allows students to explore real life challenging situations that can be handled with Jewish values. Learners will discuss how to handle situations like receiving a gift they do not like, obeying parent's rules, receiving too much change, and much more. 

Give Children the Keys to Independent Discovery with Shabbat Interactive

Now children, ages 6-11, can explore the magic of Shabbat on their own terms with Shabbat Interactive.  This digital experience helps children make meaning of all the core elements of Jewish identity. 

Big Idea #2: Belonging to a Spiritual Community of Practice

Young Learners:      Essential Question What is prayer?      Evidence of Learning Learners can express how prayer makes them feel and give two reasons why they or others might pray.      Supporting Materials

Choose-Your-Own Cheesecake Recipes for Shavuot

Get your Shavuot cheesecake ready for a creating topping with these choose-your-own recipes from Get Cooking! A Jewish American Family Cookbook and Rockin' Mama Doni Celebration. Whether you're picking up a cheesecake from the store or whipping one up from scratch these free recipes from Recipe Rachel and Mama Doni will help you bring something special to your Shavuot celebration.

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