CURRICULUM GUIDE

JUDAIC STUDIES
GENERAL STUDIES

        The Middle School Judaic Studies department is designed to provide our students with a thorough Torah education – an education that will prepare them to thrive as Torah committed Jews in the complex and globalized world they will be citizens in. This guiding vision guides our curriculum, the skills we emphasize, and the co-curricular and extra-curricular activities we provide our students with to enhance their educational experience and inspire them to develop the middot (character traits) that serve as the hallmark of Bnei and Bnot Torah. Realizing that our students are at the age of Bar and Bat Mitzvah we do all we can to make their experience with us during these formative years the most productive and growth-oriented possible.
        
        Among the skills we stress in all disciplines are: reading Hebrew, speaking and writing Hebrew, textual analysis, and critical and innovative thinking. Our faculty often employ an inter-disciplinary approach to their subjects and constantly stress the relevance and importance of what we teach and its application our students’ everyday lives.
      
TANAKH
        Our Tanakh curriculum includes both the study of Chumash and Navi. To facilitate familiarity with the Tanakh, as well as the ability to reference other parts of Tanakh during class, all students are given their personal Tanakh upon entry into the Middle Division. The Tanakh is theirs to take ownership of in every sense of the term.
        
        Students are taught through multiple modals of education, with state of the art technology, the narratives of what they are studying, the skills necessary to navigate the texts, and the life lessons these texts teach.
        
        In Chumash, the current course of study includes, Sefer Bamidbar and Sefer Devarim. In Navi students study the two books of Shmuel and the first book of Melachim.
      
LASHON
        Our Lashon curriculum is built around the goal of teaching and facilitating the students to be conversant and “at home” with both classical and modern Hebrew. Vocabulary and grammar units are chosen that reflect the words and skills necessary to study Tanakh together with the ability to read and converse in modern Hebrew. Since the Yeshivah of Flatbush is one the only Ivrit B’Ivrit schools, the lessons learned in Lashon class enable our students to learn their other subjects in Ivrit with confidence.
        
        As part of our commitment to Medinat Yisrael and Am Yisrael, students participate in many classes, seminars, special programs, and chesed projects highlighting the centrality of Zionism to our lives.
      
GEMARA
        Our Gemara curriculum introduces students to the intensive study of Torah Sh’bal Peh (the Oral Law, i.e., Talmud) in sixth grade, with a special focus on Mishnah. In seventh and eighth grades students study various masechtot of Gemara. Besides analyzing the Gemara, students are taught the unique textual skills necessary to study Gemara and understand its many nuances. Students also are familiarized with the components of the Halachik process. Students are also taught Talmudic critical thinking and questioning skills.
      
HALACHA
        The Halacha curriculum students study is twofold. One part addresses the laws and customs of the Jewish holidays. The second part addresses specific areas of Jewish law that students experience routinely such as Kashrut, Shabbat, and Tefilah. We also have introduced students to units on financial integrity and honesty in everyday life.
      
LANGUAGE ARTS
         In Language Arts, students are encouraged to read, write, and explore the humanities in a positive environment that fosters collaboration and reflection. Our learning objectives are aligned with Common Care standards, with an emphasis on close-reading, in-depth questioning, and analyzing and deconstructing main ideas in non-fiction texts and classics. All of our students participate in iReady, an online adaptive program designed to advance reading comprehension of non-fiction texts. Our Language Arts classes strive to implement the Collins Writing Program, which uses practical writing activities to increase students’ understanding of content, classroom involvement, and motivation to learn.
      
SOCIAL STUDIES
        Our Social Studies classes follow state-mandated curriculum. 6th grade students focus on global history with an emphasis on world geography and an overview of ancient civilizations and cultures. In 7th grade, students learn American History. They begin the year with the exploration of the “New World” and continue through the Civil War. In 8th grade, they pick up with the Reconstruction and the Industrial Revolution, and continue through the World Wars. Additionally, each student is exposed to current events through assignments and class discussions.
      
MATH
        Our Math curriculum is aligned with the Common Core Standards with a heavy concentration on word problems and the ability to extract the important component from each problem. In 6th grade, we focus on a deeper understanding of basic math concepts, including fractions, decimals and percent. In 7th grade, students learn positive and negative with rational numbers. We then continue with an introduction to algebra. In 8th grade, we emphasize the skills necessary for high school. The curriculum focuses on pre-algebra and geometry. 8th grade students are given an enrichment opportunity to take Math 9.
      
SCIENCE
         The 6th grade is exploring Earth Science, including astronomy, weather and climate, and the geology of the Earth. The 7th grade curriculum focuses on biology and the living environment. Topics range from cells, plants, animals, genetics, and evolution to how we interact with our surroundings. The 8th grade focuses on Chemistry and physics, with a particular focus on preparation for High School by using the Chemistry Regents Reference Tables. Additionally, students in exposed to STEM through hands on experiments in our labs.