Beth+Am-+Beit+Midrash+Ivrit

Objectives of //Beit Midrash Ivrit://

 * To integrate Hebrew education into our current Judaica programs.
 * To utilize Hebrew as a gateway into Jewish living for families.
 * To provide parents of Hebrew learners with the tools necessary to model and reinforce their children’s Hebrew education and/or their own Hebrew education.
 * To plant seeds of excitement and a love for the Hebrew language.
 * To develop a Hebrew literacy connected with Jewish values, traditions, rituals, and life cycle events shared by Jews around the world.
 * To introduce Hebrew as a living language—basic vocabulary, grammar.
 * To motivate students to continue learning Hebrew in high school and college
 * To enable students to achieve prayer book literacy

Specifically,
 * To expand the //Tzavta// Family Shabbat program to all of our Hebrew learners (3-6th grade families).
 * To develop a series of resources for families to engage with the Hebrew language.
 * To provide on-going professional development that enables teachers to understand and teach an integrated Hebrew and Judaica program.
 * To increase the number of opportunities for adults to learn Hebrew.

Method: A Comprehensive Family Education Model
What is critical to the success of this re-envisioned Hebrew program is parents’ active participation in their children’s Hebrew education. //Tzavta//, therefore, will no longer be a parent’s introduction to the value of Hebrew language, but rather one stream of a more fully integrated model of family education.


 * 1) Opportunities for adult Hebrew education: We currently offer a //Toledot// Hebrew class on Sunday mornings as well as various levels of prayerbook and modern Hebrew classes through our community wide adult education program. Some adult Hebrew classes are offered while Hebrew program meets. With the shift to our new Hebrew approach, we expect that parents will have more incentive to be engaged in learning Hebrew. While we already have a solid base of adult Hebrew learners, we expect the number to grow and will track this metric.
 * 2) In addition to our regular adult Hebrew classes, we will offer Hebrew-in-a-day two times a year to encourage parents to read Hebrew with their children. Our long term goal is for the vast majority of our congregants to be able to decode Hebrew.
 * 3) In 3rd grade: A family education program at the beginning of the year to celebrate the formal beginning of one’s Hebrew education. Families receive a Hebrew home kit which includes various resources that enable families to bring the living language of Hebrew into their homes. Kits are to include:
 * Hebrew dictionary
 * Flashcards with words families can put up around the house
 * Multimedia resources: CD of Beth Am //tefillot//, CD-ROM of Hebrew games and lists of online activities.
 * 1) In 4th through 7th grade: Opportunities for parents to participate in coaching their children in Hebrew using a self-paced prayerbook Hebrew curriculum. Students will work independently, with parents, adult volunteer tutors, and in some classroom time to work through the //tefillot//. Classroom time will be focused on modern Hebrew. Resources will be provided to parents to help them work with their children.
 * 2) Family Shabbat Experiences (//Tzavta//): //Tzavta// will be expanded to be a major integrative experience. Children starting in 3rd grade will experience Shabbat rather than study it, using their Hebrew rather than just practicing it, and participating in a community of practicing Jews.
 * Beginning with their child’s formal Hebrew education in 3rd grade families will attend Shabbat services throughout the year. As the student advances in age, Shabbat service attendance will increase. In the 6th grade year, we include B’nei Mitzvah family education when we meet on Shabbat.
 * Junior Congregation: Each year of a child’s Hebrew education, each grade comes together for a family-friendly Shabbat morning service led by the entire grade including a family text study on //parshat hashavua//.

Assessment for students:

 * 1) On a weekly basis, students will be required to turn in a record of their Hebrew practice at home, signed by a parent, documenting regular practice of //tefillot//
 * 2) Teachers/Tutors/Volunteers will regularly assess student progress through one-on-one sessions during class time. As well as the monitoring of students’ use of interactive Hebrew CD-ROMs (i.e. //Hineni Interactive// by Behrman House Publishers).
 * 3) Regular participation in services during Judaica and Hebrew programs, //Tzavta// Shabbatot and retreats. The primary change here will be increasing regular Shabbat worship attendance of families with younger children
 * 4)  Junior Congregation – Each year students in grades 3-7 help to lead a Shabbat morning service for their families.

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