The Tal Am Program

The Tal Am Program is a grade one integrated curriculum for Hebrew Language Arts and Jewish Studies. This curriculum offers a variety of stories, songs, recitations and plays which are age-appropriate and aim to develop the child’s Jewish identity. It utilizes a wide range of activities for all modes of communication and integrates Hebrew language acquisition, the development of Jewish tradition  and values, and reading and writing skills.

 

Areas of Judaic Studies:

      I . Prayer--תפילה

A.    Introduction to the Siddur

B.    Daily and Shabbat prayers (oral recitation/melodies, reading)

C.    Prayers and blessings for special occasions and their meanings

D.    Holiday songs at home and school

E.    Prayer content and concepts of faith in HaShem

F.    Synagogue practices and procedures

            Our year end goal for the Tefilla program is the following:

      II . Dinim-- דינים

A.     Performing Mitzvot Daily

        (Tzitzit, Shema at night; Netilat Yadayim; Kippah; Beracha before eating and after; Kosher foods; Tzedakah)

B.    Mitzvot of Shabbat and Moadim  (seasonal holidays)

C.    Middot: Respect for parents, teachers, friends, and other people; Return of lost articles

        III.  Chumash-  חומש

          Parshat HaShavuah:  The weekly Torah Reading highlighting Mitzvot, Middot, personalities and events.

Objectives:

·         Developing weekly Torah study habits

·         Recognition of the name of the Parsha and the Chumash it is in

·         Relevance of the Parsha story to our daily life

·         Multi-sensory participation in learning Parsha through a combination of listening to reading from the Parsha,  drawing and coloring

·         Creating emotional involvement of positive respect with the characters in the Parsha and their actions

·         Creating a tie between Parsha learning in class, the discussion at the Shabbat table, and the Torah reading in shul

Parsha is introduced through the “Big Parsha Book” during class discussion, the audio cassette with selected readings from the Parsha as well as songs about the Parsha, and class posters for bulletin display. 

 

**We do not attempt to cover all the stories in the Parsha; rather we focus on the two to four stories with a special emphasis on the words of the first Pasuk, which contains the name of the Parsha.

 Our criteria in selecting the stories are

·         Important values and morals

·         Appropriateness of ideas and language patterns

·         Topics which are close to the children’s heart

·         Yachad lessons in caring community and anti-bullying

       

      לשון עם ישראל Hebrew:  L’shon Am Yisrael- The Tal Am Language Arts Curriculum

A.     Oral Expression- שיחה  

1.  Exposure to Hebrew sounds, words, idioms, phrases through songs, games and dramatization  
2.  Developing correct pronunciation and spoken vocabulary  

B.    Phonetics  

          1.    Recognizing words, letters and vowels by name and sound

C.    Reading - קריאה

          1.    Developing a basic sight vocabulary  
          2.    Developing word attack skills  
          3.    Developing oral reading skills  
          4.    Developing comprehension of units in basal readers on:  family; school; synagogue; holidays; clothing; food; colors; numbers.

D.    Writing- כתיבה

          1.    Developing skills in writing manuscript and cursive letters  
          2.    Spelling words basic to this grade level  
          3.    Using correct forms in writing simple sentences (masculine/feminine; singular/plural; present tense)