Omanut: Curriculum Sample
Omanut (art) is a new approach to Jewish learning for Grades 4-5 at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley that will be piloted in the 2014-2015 school year. The program will provide students with innovative, thoughtful, challenging and creative learning experiences as they explore the intersection of their own creativity, Jewish learning, and the arts. Students will build community, friendship, pride, and both arts and analytic skills through collaborative, hands-on projects; while families will be welcomed to participate in special events to further develop their community connection at TBE and with their child’s Jewish learning.
The Omanut curriculum has been carefully crafted to provide students with innovative, thoughtful, challenging and creative learning experiences. Students will engage in Jewish learning centered around three overaching lenses each year: The Space Around Us/ סביבנו, The Space Between Us/ בינינו, and The Space Within Us/ בתוכנו. These lenses will frame the exploration of a range of Jewish topics including Tefillah, Bible, Mitzvot, and Holidays; and allow students to explore how they interact and understand Jewish traditions and values in the world around them, between their friends and in their relationships, and within themselves. Each unit will include guiding text, a few smaller projects, and one larger project culminating in a family program and/or exhibit.
Unit A: The Space Around Us/ סביבנו
o How does space affect light vs. how light affects space? How does light help create a “sacred” space?
o What role does light play in our everyday lives and in our Jewish experience? What is it about light
that has made it appear again and again in Jewish life and in the Torah?
o How can you be a “light” to those around you? How can people be “light” in the world?
SESSION 2: October 5, 1:45 pm - 4:15 pm
Main Text: Creation
Main Project: Scratch Art
סקיצה Time (15 minutes)
Warm-Up (20 minutes)
Text Study/Slideshow/Project (80 minutes)
Reflection (30 minutes)
Take it Home (5 minutes)