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Recent Acquisitions
Curriculum guides are designed to serve as guides for teaching either a full-year class (approximately 30 sessions) or a complete camp season. Instead of providing already written lesson plans, the curriculum guide allows for teacher creativity in fashioning appropriate learning experiences for his/her particular context. Each unit in the curriculum guide provides goals, objectives, suggested activities, resources, and evaluation. The curriculum guides submitted by the graduates of the RHSOE in May 2008 are:
| Author |
Title, Age Range, Setting, Description |
| Bluman, Olga |
Exploring Reform Judaism Through the Lens of Jewish Ritual and Sacred Practices (Grades 9-12,
Religious School)
This Curriculum Guide seeks to teach the process of Reform Judaism through the lens
of ritual and Jewish sacred practices. The students will have an opportunity to explore some of the tenets
of Reform Judaism and then apply those concepts to different ways of sanctifying time, space and themselves. |
| Hall, Eliana |
Seder Kriat HaTorah (Grades 4-6, Home or Healthcare Setting)
This curriculum explores three themes
within the context of Seder Kriat HaTorah. First is the idea of Seder Kriat HaTorah as a reenactment
of the revelation at Sinai. Additionally, each unit explores the relationship between God, Torah and Israel within the
text and the balance between keva and kavanah during public prayer. By considering each of these the
student will be better prepared to participate meaningfully in the social drama that is Seder Kriat HaTorah.
It is intended to be taught one on one by a layperson and provides opportunities for the teacher to learn along
with their student. |
| Katz, Noam |
Let's Go: Bemidbar! A Travel Guide Through the Book of Numbers (Grade 6, Religious School)
The Israelites' experiences "in the wilderness" closely mirror the individual and collective journeys that adolescents
embark on in the "in-between" phase between childhood and young adulthood. This curriculum highlights Israel's
triumphs, challenges, "roadblocks" and lessons learned on the winding road from Egypt to Eretz Yisrael,
encouraging the students to identify their own Jewish values and beliefs that will help them navigate difficult
transitional moments throughout their lives. |
| Magidson, Jordan |
In Our Image: A Look at How Jewish Identity has Changed in America (Grade 12, Religious School)
Identity and the way we see ourselves is often influenced by the images we see in the media, and Jewish identity isn't any
different. Students will not only look at these forms of popular media as a mirror, reflecting (or even distorting)
our image, but also in the way that it plays a role in how and why our identity is shaped. |
| Margolis, Ari |
Be a Man, Be a Jewish Man: An Exploration into the Multifaceted Relationship Roles of Men through Jewish
and Contemporary Texts (Grades 10-12 Boys, Religious School or Youth Group)
This curriculum creates a
safe, creative, shared space for young men to explore, develop, and experience their own ideas of how they want
to live their values in relationship with others and how they define the Jewish men that they hope to be - space
that is lacking in most male teenagers' lives. |
| Mason, Erin Ellis |
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Counselors: A Teen's Guide to Jewish Leadership (High School,
Camp Counselors-In-Training)
This curriculum guide outlines habits of effective leaders, as seen in the Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People. These habits can be found in Biblical leaders, including Joseph, Esther,
Moses and God. It is meant to allow for personal growth as well as leadership development, focusing on both the
personal aspect of leadership (how one views oneself, chooses one's words and actions, and the behavior one exhibits)
and the relationship aspect of leadership (how we interact with others) |
| Mason, Sara |
From Adam and Eve to You and Me: Journeying Towards Jewish Marriage (Adults, Premarital Counseling)
This curriculum guide is intended to be taught by a rabbi, preferably in conjunction with pre-marital counseling for
couples. It addresses topics related to building a Jewish life together, and subjects which are often sources of conflict
for couples, such as managing money and fighting fair. Each lesson uses Jewish texts to bring traditional perspective
and insight to the issues with which modern couples struggle. |
| Medwin, Daniel Bloom |
Why Mitzvot? A Reform Reexamination of Mitzvot (Adult, Adult Education)
This curriculum guides adult
learners through a process of experiencing and studying mitzvoth, including their sources, practice, and
implications. Each mitzvah is interpreted through a framework called the "Mitzvah Matrix" which includes perspectives,
reasons, and/or benefits of observing that mitzvah. The matrix is framed by two aspects of relationships: connection
and obligation; and how mitzvot can characterize a relationship with others, God, and oneself. |
| Medwin, Lydia Bloom |
Ingredients for Revolution: How the Exodus Inspires Social Change (High School, Religious School or
Youth Group)
This curriculum guide seeks to explain how the Exodus narrative has been influential and transformative in our
lives, our Jewish community and our world in the past and present. The guide explores how the Exodus shapes our
own Jewish identity by illuminating the importance of social justice, as well as how it has inspired and motivated
enslaved groups throughout time to work for their own freedom. Lastly, the guide will offer students a project that
exhibits their learning about revolution: creating a better future based on central Jewish values. |
| Metz, Lev |
From Kevah to Kavannah: Explorations of the Siddur (High School, Day School)
This Curriculum Guide seeks to explore some of the prayers found in the siddur - their textual or historical origins
as well as their theological and spiritual implications. Students will unpack a number of different prayers and use
them as a tool for reflecting on their own beliefs. |
| Polonsky, Rena |
From Prophecy to Leading Jewishly: A Confirmation Curriculum (Confirmation Class, Religious School)
This curriculum guide explores the messages of the prophets and the way they communicate their ideals to the people.
The goal of this curriculum is to help students learn what drives them as a leader and how to communicate to people.
Students will study the prophets, the prophetic messages and leadership. They will also reflect on who they are and
the type of leader they want to be and can be in the Jewish community. |
| Zimmerman, Micol |
Genesis: Rated "T" For Teen (Grades 11-12, Religious School)
This curriculum guide re-introduces the
book of Genesis to adolescents as a narrative that is reflective of their own lives and relationships, and
subsequently, directly relevant to their own experience. This guide is intended to expand, nuance, and enrich
the students' childhood conceptions of the Genesis narratives, to provide students with the tools with which they
can study Jewish text in the future, and to present the book of Genesis as a mirror of and a window into the
human experience. |
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