Shir Tikva Religious School - Grade 6
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Awareness – Coming of Age
The Grade Six program of study integrates the experiences of the classroom with the blossoming awareness that soon, the student (and his/her family) will celebrate becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah.
There are five modules of Jewish study in the Grade Six program.
In the first module, students will focus on Jewish Identity – how they see themselves and their families as members of the Jewish community – and begin to define for themselves their personal understanding of what it means to be Jewish as they become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah.
The second area of focus is Theology. Students will study different types of God beliefs and have the opportunity to meet and study theology with Rabbi Gold. The goal of the theology module is for the students to begin to develop their own personal theology.
In the Torah module, students will have the opportunity to study a section of Torah and its corresponding commentaries. Students will practice writing their very first D’rash (commentary) in order to better understand how they can apply Torah to their own lives and better understand the idea of Torah study as a mitzvah.
In the Avodah module students will probe the ritual of the Torah service to find meaning and significance beyond the words of the prayers. Each student will attempt to find personal meaning in the idea that the Torah service is as if, he/she were standing at Mt. Sinai. Students will also have the opportunity to study ritual mitzvoth both in their ancient context and modern interpretation. Mitzvot such as kippah, tallit, tzi-tzit and tefillin will be studied.
The final module, Gemilut Chasadim, provides students with the opportunity to study and engage in mitzvot that help to bring about Tikkun Olam.
Building on their experience last year with their Sister class in Haifa, Israel, Grade Six students will continue to learn about Israel, through a parallel information exchange program with the students they corresponded with last year. Through joint projects, classroom lessons and videoconferences, Grade Six students will discover Israel with the help of Israeli children their own age.
The Jewish studies curriculum is closely connected to the Mitzvah Awareness workshops that families will take part in. Their course of study will provide students with the jumping off point, as they engage in the Mitzvah awareness project they will do for Bar/Bat Mitzvah.
The goals of the Grade Six Hebrew program are :
- to review the basic vocabulary, grammar, prayers and blessings of previous years.
- to introduce specifically selected vocabulary through the use of the modern Hebrew text, Shalom Ivrit 3, which explores a child’s life experiences living in Israel through Hebrew stories.
- to present Hebrew grammar rules simply and clearly.
- to acquire Hebrew language skills through use of the Hebrew language.
- to complete learning of the sequence of the prayer service. Prayers to be studied are:
- Prayers and blessings which make up the Torah Service, including the opening of the Ark , taking the Torah out, Torah blessings, Haftarah blessings, returning the Torah to the Ark
- Ashrei
- Kaddish
- Birkat HaMazon
- to comprehend and explain the concept of each prayer and blessing (what it’s about, why we say it)
- to identify and translate key words found in each of the prayers and blessings.
- to understand the meaning of the prayer or blessing through the use of stories.
In the second semester, Cantor Schachner will teach Introduction to Trope during class on Sunday mornings.
Grade Six Tzedakah Project – Project Bread’s - mission is to alleviate, prevent, and ultimately end hunger in Massachusetts. Throughout the course of the year, the Sixth Grade will learn about the mitzvah of Ma’akhil R’evim, Feeding the Hungry, by participating in the Walk for Hunger on May 6 th, 2007 and by using the grade’s tzedakah collective to support this cause. www.projectbread.org
Grade Six Family Mitzvah Awareness Workshop Program
The Mitzvah Awareness Workshop program is an integrated family education component of the Grade Six year. The Mitzvah Awareness Family programs will take place 4 times throughout the year. The subject matter of these programs will relate directly with the content of the Grade Six program. These programs will take place on four Thursdays throughout the year from 6:00-8:00 p.m. The week that a Mitzvah Awareness program is scheduled, there are no grade Six classes on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon. At least one parent should plan to attend each Mitzvah Awareness Workshop with their child. Please see the school calendar for dates. The topics of the Mitzvah Awareness Programs are:
Program 1 – November 9, Freedom and Responsibility – Why Be Jewish? – Defining Mitzvah.
Program 2 – January 11, Biblical sources of Mitzvot
Program 3 – March 1, Mitzvah Boutique
Program 4 – March 29, Putting Mitzvot into Action
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