JOFA’s Bereishit and Shemot curricula promote gender sensitivity, encourage questions, and use differentiated learning techniques.
Inspired by students’ thoughtful questions that many teachers did not have the tools to address, the curricula were developed to encourage more reflective study of p’sukim, and thus to accommodate new interpretations, personal connections to principal characters, and attention to often glossed-over moments in the text. The units are designed for both male and female students as a supplement to existing curricula and can be adapted for any level of study, from elementary through adult education. Each unit consists of teacher resources, lesson plans, and worksheets for both English – and Hebrew– speaking classes. Tailored for multiple learning styles, the units expose students to passages of Midrash that encourage critical reading to make sense of the p’sukim and promote inquiry and creative thinking. By providing the tools and teaching the skills needed to approach the text in a thoughtful and inquisitive way, the curricula fill a gap in the materials currently available.
Bereishit: A New Beginning, A Differentiated Approach to Learning and Teaching seeks to give our Imahot (biblical matriarchs) a voice and encourages students to relate meaningfully to them as role models while challenging accepted gender stereotypes. Made possible in part by the Covenant Foundation, with additional support from the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York, the project was directed by Dr. Chaya Gorsetman, who co-authored the curriculum with Amy Ament and Rabba Sara Hurwitz and received guidance and input from a professional advisory board. Based on observations of a third grade class at SAR Academy in Riverdale, New York, and questions raised by the students, the team developed ten units, which were piloted in second, third, fourth, and fifth grades at SAR Academy; Ramaz in New York City; and Yeshivat Noam and Ben Porat Yosef in northern New Jersey. Teacher training programs, mentoring, and additional support were offered during the pilot phase. The presentation of the curriculum at CAJE’s Day School and Early Childhood Conference in June 2005, was met with great excitement. As one teacher noted, “There’s nothing like this out there—not for Orthodox, not for Conservative, or for Reform.”
Shemot: Faith, Resistance, and Leadership: A Differentiated Approach to Learning and Teaching addresses issues of leadership in the Shemot narrative on an individual and collective level. Funded in part by the Dobkin Family Foundation and Judy Heicklen, it continues the high-caliber work of the Bereishit curriculum. The units were written by Tammy Jacobowitz and Judith Talesnick with input from a professional advisory board. The nine units that make up the curriculum were piloted in fifth grade classes at SAR Academy and Yeshivat Noam and Solomon Schechter in northern New Jersey. An educators’ workshop convened by JOFA in the spring of 2009 brought together teachers from a variety of schools in the tri-state area to expose them to the Shemot curriculum methodologies, discuss best practices in teaching humash, and develop a community of practice for ongoing peer support.
The curriculum was presented and enthusiastically received at a session on Gender and Education at the 6th International Conference of the Israel Association for Research in Jewish Education in December 2010.
Based on the Shemot curriculum, in 2009 JOFA published a handbook of activities and other enhancements for the Pesah seder, written by Tammy Jacobowitz and Judith Talesnick.
Both the Bereishit and Shemot curricula will be available online for free download at www.jofa.org in Fall 2011. We encourage schools, teachers, synagogue youth groups, parents, and private study groups to download, read, use, and enjoy these documents.