What are Jewish Social Studies?

Jewish Social Studies includes Jewish history and a study of Jewish communities, past and present.  Though history is the major part of Jewish Social Studies, topics also include Jewish values, heritage, customs, ceremonies, and calendar, as they relate to the continuity of our Jewish Community. The SHDS Jewish Social Studies program provides a strong sense of Jewish self, a knowledge of Jewish community past and present, a willingness and commitment to participate actively in the continuity of Jewish communal life, and helping to solve the problems our Jewish community will inevitably face.  The program is meant to prepare students to be effective, contributing, future members of the Jewish community.   

Integration with General Studies

 
At the Day School, Jewish Social Studies are taught with an attempt to place Judaism within a larger context - i.e. American or World.  We try to correlate the Jewish history with the parallel secular counterpart so that students can understand the place of Jewish history in relation to world history or American history.  Jewish Social Studies can't be taught in a vacuum.  A study of our values, history, and heritage needs to be relevant and applicable to other subject areas at school.

General Content Includes: 

Forces in Jewish History -

• Major personalities
• Events
• Movements and their philosophies
• Periods of history
• Institutions which have shaped our past 

Customs, Ceremonies, and Calendar

• Rituals
• Traditions
• Cultural heritage legacies -- which form the basis for our Jewish identity. 

Current Events and Jewish Civics - What happens in the world around us that affects our present and future lives as Jews, and we look at local, national, and world-wide events affecting our community.  

Civics -- is the study of the workings of our own local Jewish community, the people and institutions that shape it, and other communities around the world. 

The Creative Arts -- Jewish literature, music, and art are forces which have contributed to our heritage and culture. 

All of these are integrated in class lessons. 

Social Studies skills:

Map skills

Thinking skills (gathering data, decision making, comparing, classifying, questioning, reasoning, drawing conclusions)

Participating skills (observing, working in groups, compromising, persuading, evaluating, etc.)

            Instructional Methods

• Multimedia approach has replaced single textbook
• Inquiry and critical thinking rather than memorization are emphasized
• Literature based instruction
• Use of small group, large group, and individual activities
• Role play and dramatization are used
• Research, guided inquiry and problem solving are required
• Open-ended discussion is encouraged

Jewish Social Studies - Grade 3

The Jewish Me

Students explore their "Jewish" selves and create a personal Jewish Heritage Book.   Topics include family, home, holidays, food, synagogue, music, art, rituals, symbols, famous Jews, and more.   

Israel

Today, more than ever, we need to help our children develop identification with Israel. The earlier we start, the better. Students learn about the major cities and extraordinary sites of Israel, the diversity of Israel's people and cultures, our biblical and modern ties with the Jewish homeland, and the geography of Israel. They also learn key Hebrew terms, such as Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel), Ivrit (Hebrew), shalom (hello, goodbye, and peace), and limonada (lemonade). And they learn about important Jewish values, such as rodef shalom (pursuing peace) and ahavat Tzion (love of Israel), that are linked to content. In conjunction with Mrs. Kassel's "Deserts" unit in General Studies, third graders study Israel's Negev region in depth.  Students will study the region's history, explore the Bedouin culture and lifestyle, and research the ways Israelis have made the Negev bloom and flourish.   

Jewish Folktales

Third graders explore our cultural heritage, history and values through a variety of Jewish folktales and short stories. 

Jewish Social Studies - Grade 4

My Jewish Community - Pride of Place

Students explore the people, places and spaces that make up our local Jewish community.  Topics include the synagogues of Syracuse, the mikvah, the Jewish Federation, the JCC, the Syracuse Jewish Home, the Jewish Observer, and other organizations.  Field trips and in-class speakers enhance these studies.

Jewish Communities Around the World

Students compare and contrast our local community to other Jewish communities both within the USA and around the world. 

Israel

Students learn about Israel's history; geography; and political, commercial, and cultural life. Israel's struggle to coexist peacefully with its neighbors is presented in a thoughtful and age-appropriate way. The book also tells kids about Israelis their own age: what they do for fun, their favorite sports and foods, and what their schools are like. Topics include the history, geography, natural resources, plants and animals, regions and cities, people, places, music, art, and flavors that make up the State of Israel.  Students write a research report, create an Israel map, and plan a detailed itinerary for a 7-day trip to the land itself!

Current Events

Students read selections from "The Jewish Observer", the JNF YourPage, and BabagaNewz.  

Jewish Social Studies - Grade 5

American Jewish History

Mention the year 1492, and one conjures up images of Columbus "sailing the ocean blue."  However, it was also the year in which the vibrant Jewish community of Spain came to a tragic end.  Jewish Social Studies in fifth grade begins with this dramatic event and the subsequent arrival of the first Sephardic Jewish settlers in the New World.  Using a variety of children's literature, we continue to chronicle American Jewish life through the Colonial period, the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Industrial Age, the years of Mass Migration and beyond.  

Israel - A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed

This year we explore more than geography, using places in Israel to tell stories, meet Israelis, and grapple with the challenges of Medinat Yisrael. We meet historical figures, as well as contemporary young Israelis who help to model the diversity out of which the fabric of Israel is woven. Honest about the challenges that Israel faces, we move Israel from a subject to a relationship, offering multiple layers for interacting with Israel:

• Historical: Students learn about the history of the state by entering into the rich history of its people and places. They walk the first streets of Tel Aviv, learn about agricultural and urban halutziyut (pioneering), about the mystics who found a home in Tzfat, and about the builders and dreamers who built the Jewish state.
• Cultural: Students interact with the intricate and beautiful fabric of Israeli culture. They meet different socio-ethnic groups of Jews, as well as Muslim and Christian Arabs, Druze, and Bedouins. Food, literature, and art are all part of the experience.
• Biblical: Students explore Eretz Yisrael, the land of the Bible. Chapters expose students to the archaeological richness of the area, and challenge students to think of the relationship between the modern Jewish state and its Biblical history.
• Challenges: Encountering Israel in a real way means delving into the challenges that face the Jewish state, exploring issues such as Israel’s relationships with its neighbors, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, water issues, and environmental concerns.

Current Events/Civics

JNF YourPage, BabagaNewz

Jewish Social Studies - Grade 6

Tradition and Change:  Jewish History Highlights from Biblical times to the Modern State of Israel

Biblical History 

From the establishment of the Covenant to the Conquering of Canaan, from the rise of the Kingdoms to the destruction of the Temple, this unit briefly chronicles Jewish History from the very beginning. 

Rabbis and Romans

Students re-enact the great debate between Hellenism and Hasidism, explore Jewish life under Roman occupation, and study the creation of the Talmud. 

Jewish Life in the Middle Ages 

From the Crusades and European Expulsions to the "Golden Age" of Spain, students explore the growth of both the Sephardic and Ashkenazic communities. 

The Holocaust

The History of Israel

This unit covers the arc of time starting with the foundations of political Zionism in Europe, and includes a portrait of the five major Aliyot, the kibbutz movement, the founding of the State of Israel, and the wars and situations that have followed. 

Current Events - Sources vary.