GIMEL 1 & 2
Dear Kitah Gimel (3rd-grade) families,
Welcome to a new year at Talmud Torah! We are so excited to dive into a new year filled with learning, exploration, and community building. Below is an overview of our Kitah Gimel (3rd grade) curriculum. We aspire to provide you with an easy understanding of the arc of what students will be learning in our classes throughout the year. They reflect not only specific skills that we want our students to acquire, but also our aspirations for the meaningful experiences we will have together throughout the year.
Debby’s Class - Hebrew & Torah
In Debby’s class, students will build on the introduction and strong foundation in Hebrew decoding they developed in Kitah Bet last year. We started the year with a comprehensive review of Hebrew letters, vowels, and their sounds as we prepare to begin our primary textbook, The New Siddur Program for Hebrew and Heritage, Book 1.
The major goal we have for our students is reading with comprehension. We want our students to develop the ability to read prayers with accuracy and fluency. We want them to understand the key words, phrases, and concepts in our prayers. We will also focus on the Hebrew vocabulary and Brachot (blessings) that are emphasized in the Etgar Yesodi curriculum.
Additionally, we will spend a portion of our class each week studying and discussing the Parshat HaShavua (the Torah portion of the week). Discussing the Parsha enhances the connection between Hebrew, the Siddur, Torah, and the connection with our collective Jewish narrative. We have talked about the first few parshiot in class already this year and the students have a lot to say about each of the stories! The debates they are engaged in remind us of the Sanhedrin, an assembly of elders appointed to sit as a tribunal in ancient Israel, as they wrestle with the lessons of the Torah.
Polly’s Class - Jewish Holidays, Rituals, & Traditions
In Polly’s class, students will focus on “The Jewish Year.” Our goal is to empower students to articulate positive Jewish identities and expand their knowledge of the history, traditions, and rituals of the many holidays in our Jewish Year that are celebrated by Jews throughout the world. Using the Etgar Yesodi curriculum, we will engage with the following holidays’ rituals throughout the course of the year:
Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur
Sukkot
Rosh Hodesh & The Hebrew Calendar
Hanukkah
Shabbat
Tu Bishvat
Purim
Pesach
In each of the holiday units listed above, students will reflect on their prior knowledge and current experiences with the holiday, building connections between their own Jewish experiences at home and those we are learning about in class. At the conclusion of each unit, students create a page in their personal birkon (prayer journal). The birkon gives students the opportunity to creatively demonstrate their personal connection to each unit, and serves as a fun project to reflect upon at the end of the year, tracking their personal growth as they acquire additional tools for living intentionally Jewish lives.
Additionally, at the conclusion of our Hanukkah unit we will invite students' family and friends to join us for a special Hanukkah Hagigah celebration on Sunday morning, December 5th! During this program, each family will light the candles on their own Hanukkiah together, and students will share their reflections on what it means to be a Modern Maccabee. Please be sure to hold the date for this fun, culminating family program.
As we move through the school year together, please do not hesitate to contact us with your questions, challenges, and successes!
B’Shalom,
Debby (dzelle@talmudtorahmpls.org) &
Polly (plehman@talmudtorahmpls.org)
BET/GIMEL 3
Kitah Bet/Gimel 3 (3rd grade) 2021-2022 Curriculum Overview
Dear Kitah Bet/Gimel 3 (2nd and 3rd grade grade combined) Parents,
Kitah Bet/Gimel students will be learning a large amount of new material.Our class is divided between Hebrew skills and ETGAR Yesodi units.
Learning Hebrew consists of working in their reading textbooks (Z’man Likro), learning and reviewing letters and vowels and improving their reading skills by doing reinforcement activities in class, learning the conversational Hebrew material that is stressed in the textbook. Since this is a fairly small class, students are working at their own individualized pace. They are also working in another textbook, The New Siddur Program #1, that teaches vocabulary, blessings, and a bit of grammar.
Since the students are attending classes two sessions a week, they will be learning quickly. Luckily, students enjoy doing the workbook pages in the textbooks. The reinforcement of these pages facilitates the mastery of the material: learning letters, vowels and special rules for how to combine them to form words. It is important that the students spend a few minutes working on Hebrew reading homework each week. An extra session at home between classes gives students’ memories a boost and makes the process much easier for the students.
Parents often ask what they can do to support their students. Even if you do not read Hebrew, ask your student to read to you. Students generally want to show you what they have learned. You can check RenWeb/FACTS online to find out what we are doing in class, including homework. Please remind your students to have supplies and their textbook with them for every class.
In the ETGAR units, students will study holidays, Rosh Chodesh, and Shabbat. This is an excellent program that allows the students to take a deep dive into the holidays, learning the material in new and interesting ways.
Community is always a value of our classes. Students take part in assemblies (Mifgash) weekly. Here they enjoy learning about a variety of subjects as a school and participate in Havdalah.
Please feel free to reach out via email with any questions you might have.
B’Shalom,
HaMorah Etta Bernstein
ebernstein@talmudtorahmpls.org