The Curriculum
Welcome to Tanach Workshop. In this transformational class, elementary students will learn to become detectives of Torah stories–looking for clues in Hebrew and English about our ancestors: who they were, how they solved their dilemmas, what they valued, and how they lived out their values in everyday life. They will come up with theories about Torah figures and test them out by examining the texts. They will transfer these theories and lessons into their own lives.
In the Torah Sadna, we blend best practices from reading pedagogy with a Jewish values-based approach to social-emotional learning, embedded in the context of our shared Biblical narrative.
Why? We believe in challenging students to think critically about the Torah. We think the Torah can be an integral part of students’ modern lives. We believe in children making authentic connections to the most important stories of our ancestors. We believe that Torah instruction should be held to high standards of pedagogy. We believe that Jewish education shines when it emanates from Jewish values at the core. We believe that an integrated approach to Jewish education is the most effective way for children to be prepared learners for their future as Jewish leaders in a modern world.
We aim to design - and teach others to design - curriculum in a way that blends rigor and skills (both universal and those particular to Judaics) while allowing students to ultimately find their voices and souls in Jewish text.
Our streamlined, deep-focused program merges sound pedagogical philosophy, social-emotional learning, and critical thinking using text as evidence. Students work in chavruta (partnerships) to workshop Torah stories. They use best practices from reading instruction to understand and develop theories about the text. They look for clues–in Hebrew and English–to make predictions and unlock the text. They examine themes within the stories and learn SEL skills using our ancestors as models. They develop theories about Torah figures that rely on textual evidence. Ultimately, they transfer these skills to their own lives in actionable ways.