9TH GRADE

General Developmental Level

Feels many adult emotions and drives but struggling to integrate them to self ... girls still developmentally ahead of boys, but growth among boys is marked ... beginning to assert independence from parents but still wants them within rescue distance ... often does accepted thing but insists on making own decision to do so ... world of ideas beginning to make sense, as abstractions take on reality ... give-and-take with adults is valuable and enjoyable ... senses need for authority beyond humanity, and open to ideas of God ... moving toward independent ideas ...

Course Titles

First Trimester – The Joy of Text

Second Trimester – What Jews Believe

Third Trimester – Great Jewish Believers

Text and Resources

• A Taste of Text: Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash(URJ Press) – a guide to reading, investigating, and questioning Talmudic and Midashic material.

The books below are used as resources and references.

• Tough Questions Jews Ask: A Young Adult's Guide to Building a Jewish Life (Jewish Lights Publishing) – discusses serious questions (Why should I believe in God? Why should I be expected to marry someone Jewish?) with honesty, respect, and humor
• Mishnah: The Oral Law (Behrman House) – translations of 24 supplements to the laws of Torah with contemporary applications
• Talmud: Law and Commentary (Behrman House) – the development of the Talmud and its transmission from Babylonian times to today
• Midrash: Rabbinic Lore (Behrman House) – ancient stories used to illustrate and teach a religious lesson

10TH GRADE

General Developmental Level

Struggle for independence hits its peak ... desperate to make own decisions ... strongly influenced by home but brings own unique slant to things ... shared attire and behavior of group can disguise independent thought of individuals ... can respond to adult guidance when directed gently and without pressure to conform to standards ... group loyalty is especially strong ... interested in differences between and within religions ... more followers than leaders ...

Course Titles

First Trimester – Adventures of the Jewish People

Second Trimester – Prophets and Writings

Third Trimester – History of Judaism from Abraham to the Common Era

Text and Resources

• The Amazing Adventures of the Jewish People (Behrman House) – an overview of 4000 years of Jewish history in 176 pages
• Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (Jewish Publication Society) – A translation of Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings according to the traditional Hebrew text
• Our Scared Texts: Discovering the Jewish Classics (UAHC Press) – An overview of the Tanakh, Rabbinic literature, and Rabbinic writings from the Middle Ages to today
• Heritage: Civilization and the Jews (DVD) – An interactive documentary that chronicles the history of the Jewish people from biblical times through the 20th century.

11TH GRADE

General Developmental Level

Struggles of adolescence approach resolution ... often secure enough to welcome criticism ... largely preoccupied by immediate problems rather than the future ... seems mentally mature but sense of judgment still developing ... religion can become part of a philosophy of life ... personal choice is at forefront of decision-making ... open to discussion and contemplation of ethics ... can see God's relationship to personal life ... academic subjects must be made explicitly relevant to leader's life ...Seen by parents as still a child ... seen by self, and by world, as increasingly responsible adult ... occupied by driver's license, work, career, college, relationships ... can think through complex problems, and generalize from concrete examples ... sharing with friends crucial ... awed by major life milestones that lie ahead ... big questions take on immediate importance: Is there an absolute standard of right and wrong? ... What is God like? ... anxiety and anticipation for the new world that college or career will open ...

Course Titles

First Trimester – Different Jewish Paths to God

Second Trimester – Judaism and World Religions

Third Trimester – Confirmation Preparation

Text and Resources

The books below are used as resources and references.

• The Many Faces of Judaism (Behrman House) – a comparison of Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist Judaism
• These Words Upon Our Heart (UAHC Press) – an exploration of Jewish literacy through a mixture of history, philosophy, literature, language, and comparative religion
• The Handy Religion Answer Book (Visible Ink Press) – a user-friendly comparative guide for a basic understanding of the world's major religions

SECOND PERIOD CLASSES

Below are course titles from second period classes over the past few years. Some were offered once; others were offered twice or more.

Jewish Games

Hebrew for Travelers

Judaism and Ethics

Judaism and Laws

Jewish Mysticism

Finding God

Jewish Cooking

Sex in the Texts

News for Jews: Current Events of Jewish Interest

Social Justice in Action

Comparative Religions