FOURTH GRADE
Grade: 4
Theme/Topic: The Jewish Life Cycle
Synthesis Project: A Family Scrapbook of Jewish Life Cycle Events
Special Events: include regular visits from the CBI clergy and class parents; Junior Congregation will meet: Saturday, December 8, 2007; Saturday, February 23, 2008; and Friday, April 11, 2008.
Our fourth grade students will study the Jewish lifecycle. Within the context of the Jewish lifecycle, they will study the stages of a Jewish life as well as the rituals Jews observe and celebrate. Within the context of these Jewish lifecycle events, our fourth graders will study some Jewish blessings which are integral in many Jewish lifecycle rituals.
Marking meaningful moments in our lives helps us reflect on where we’ve been and where we are. Marking meaningful moments helps us be more deliberate about where we’re going. Jewish rituals around these milestones express the values of our people. Lifecycle rituals connect us to the Jewish people throughout time and space and help us build community in our lives today.
From the perspective of Reform Judaism, lifecycle rituals are dynamic. They continue to evolve and take on new meaning in every generation.
This year, in order to better integrate our Jewish lives with our Jewish studies, clergy members will become regular visiting teachers in fourth grade. Rabbis Folberg and Sternman will be in class often to answer questions, provide details, and conquer tough topics. Parents are also invited to attend class to enrich our examination of life cycle events and to participate in any difficult discussions about a variety of challenging life cycle events, such as: visiting sick people, mourning our relatives who have died, and discovering our Hebrew names.
Questions Our Students Might Ask:
What makes a life cycle event Jewish?
What about being Jewish makes me different?
Does God care if I become bar or bat mitzvah?
Why do Jewish boys have to be circumcised?
What if one of my parents isn’t Jewish?
Sample Vocabulary:
Parashah – weekly Torah portion
Kippah – Jewish skullcap - in Yiddish, yarmulke
Chuppah – marriage canopy
Ketubah – marriage contract
Brit – covenant – in Yiddish, bris
Brachah - blessing
Sample Objectives:
By the end of this course, all students will be able to…
- Describe at least two ‘ingredients’ of a bar or bat mitzvah
- Describe at least two ‘ingredients’ for a Jewish wedding
- Recite and explain at least one of the blessings commonly connected with Jewish rituals – for example, wine/grape juice, candles, challah, etc.
Sample Classroom Texts:
- The Life Cycle Workbook, by Joel Lurie Grishaver (ARE)
- The Life Cycle – Let’s Explore Being Jewish (Behrman House)
- The Empty Drawer, by Naomi Bromberg Bar-Yam (Torah Aura Productions)
- The Complete Dictionary of English and Hebrew First Names, by Alfred J. Kolatch (Jonathan David Publishers, Inc.)
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