Online Curriculum and Lesson Planning Resources
Updated Summer 2024
By Wilhelmina Gottschalk, Religious School Director
Ohr Kodesh Congregation, Alvin Browdy Religious School
Jewish Education Project - https://educator.jewishedproject.org/
Best for: Finding an individual lesson plan
Grades: K-7
A clearinghouse of free resources for Jewish educators. Filter by age, setting, topic, among others. JEP links to lessons, resources, and activities around the net. Anything listed on their website should be free to access. JEP also provides timely collections, like "Rosh Hashanah" or "Jewish Disabilities Awareness."
Free registration recommended.
IsraelLlNK - https://www.israellink.org/
Best for: Videos, games, lesson plans to promote Israel education
Grades: 4-7
An educational platform for Israel education. Ohr Kodesh has a subscription to lsraelLlNK for the 23-24 school year.
Unpacked for Educators - unpacked.education/
Best for: Multimedia-focused lesson plans with accompanying discussion topics
Grades: 4-7
In-depth and high quality lessons, mostly Israel-focused, with meaningful student engagement options. Resources are engaging, savvy, and Zionist.
Free registration required to enter.
Figure 1 Topics list from Unpacked
Matan — https://matankids.org/
Best for: Lesson plans and teacher resources related to inclusion
Grades: K-7
“We guide, train, and support Jewish community leaders and educators to provide purposeful, enriching, and inclusive opportunities for people with disabilities and their families.”
Matan provides lesson plans appropriate to Jewish holidays and to Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month in February. They also provide free visual schedules and printable games for Jewish holidays.
Submission of contact info required to access free materials.
National Library of Israel - https://www.nli.org.il/en
Best for: Supplemental resources for Israeli history and culture
Grades: 1-7
“Primary Sources are at the heart of our educational activity. They are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic or event, from people who had a direct connection with it, and as such they serve as a valuable source of information that gives us an authentic glimpse into the past.”
Photos, posters, and other artifacts give insight into Israeli cultural history and holiday celebrations. Some individual lesson plans are available, mostly focusing on particular holidays.
A Bar/Bat Mitzvah Journey (National Library of Israel) – https://education-en.nli.org.il/special-programs/bar-bat-mitzvah-journey
Grades: 5-6
13 lessons using library artifacts to focus on Jewish identity and culture.
Time Capsule (National Library of Israel) - https://education-en.nli.org.il/time-capsule
Grades: 4-7
Educational kits teaching about “historical figures that contributed to Israeli and Jewish culture,” using primary sources and interactive challenges. (Ex. Henrietta Szold, Chana Senesh)
Girls in Trouble - https://jwa.org/teach/girlsintrouble
Grades: 4-7
Best for: Individual lessons with fresh perspectives on Torah
Lessons focusing on the lives and stories of women in the Tanach, including original music from Alicia Jo Rabins.
Jewish Women’s Archive - https://jwa.org/
Best for: Jewish women’s history, Jewish American history
Grades: Middle school and up
Resources for teaching about change-making Jewish women (https://jwa.org/womenofvalor), a full curriculum on American Jewish social justice initiatives (https://jwa.org/teach/livingthelegacy), and more.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - https://www.ushmm.org/teach/teaching-materials
Best for: Lesson plans and extensions for Holocaust education
Grades: 5-7
Resources include units on anti-Semitism, Nazism & Jim Crow, and propaganda. Images of artifacts and firsthand survivor testimony are available (with easy search and filter options) at https://collections.ushmm.org/ (For a Holocaust unit, speak to Wilhelmina about the USHMM’s Timeline activity.)
Yad Vashem - https://www.yadvashem.org/education/educational-materials.html
Grades: 4-7
Extensive English language resources similar to those at USHMM (above). Useful resources for younger grades include interactive learning site “Children in the Ghetto,” and lessons/resources connected to Jewish life in Europe and Holocaust education through the lens of art.
Also — The Shtetl: A Learning Environment - www.yadvashem.org/education/educational-materials/shtetI.html
A Face. A Memory. A Day. (זכרון.יום.פנים) - https://archive.bac.org.il/specials/project/pnym-yvm-zykrvn?language=en
Grades: 4-7
A series of short silent films that humanize the personal stories of fallen IDF soldiers, intended for use on or before Yom haZikaron. English language lesson plans are available for some of the videos, with notation of appropriate age ranges. Lessons provide additional context and are a key part of the video series experience.
Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation - https://www.jewishpartisans.org/home
Best for: Lessons for additional study after a Holocaust unit
Grades: 6-7
Lessons focusing on partisan resistance during WWII, with a goal of influencing Holocaust narratives with an emphasis on courage, personal choice, and standing up for what’s right despite difficult odds. Lessons teach both the sweep of partisan history as well as plentiful resources for learning about individual partisans.
Free registration required to access materials.
Mahlokhet Matters - https://www.pardes.org.il/mahloket-matters/
Grades: 6-7
Best for: Navigating Inner Challenges and Societal Discord through Jewish Text and Socio Emotional Learning. 12 lessons focusing on how to disagree constructively, and to recognize a mahlokhet leshem shamayim (argument for the sake of heaven). Speak to Wilhelmina about accessing this curriculum.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Legacy — www.rabbisacks.org/teaching-resources/
Best for: Torah study, values and ethics.
Grades: 5-7
Rabbi Sacks could be very cerebral, but also tried to make his teachings accessible to younger learners, particularly through his animation videos (www.rabbisacks.org/animations/). Resources are Orthodox with a universal message, and content should be entirely appropriate to Ohr Kodesh’s educational goals.
See also: 10 paths to God, 10 lessons about Jewish identity and ethics for middle school + www.rabbisacks.org/curriculum-resources/ten-paths-to-god/
Journey to the
Mizrah – http://journeytothemizrah.org/
Best for: A focus on global Jewry
Grades: 4-7
Includes 12 interactive and picture-rich lessons about the world, culture, history and food of Mizrachi Jews. Best taught with a projector/smart screen. All lessons require a free registration. Use your own info or log in as “wgottschalk” with password “8300Meadowbrook”.
The American Scripture Project – https://rebuildingdemocracy.notion.site/American-Scripture-Project-cf98b97b3edf4f70abe73cec1f22c4f9 (just search for the American Scripture Project)
Best for: Deep dives into Jewish American identity
Grades: Middle school
“This series of 6
sessions each focused on a seminal American text, turns to what we can agree
upon: America is built upon transformative ideas, beautiful pieces of
writing, and passionate voices from all perspectives. Combining the
Jewish habits of parshanut with
the rich treasury of American texts will inspire and reteach how complex
narratives can unify us as a community of Americans.”
Some Hebrew Resources Online
Login to the ABRS iPads with pin 8300
Everything listed should be free to use. If they ask for login, try abrsatokc, (or) abrsatokc@gmail.com. The password will be 8300Meadowbrook
Alef Bet Quest Hebrew - https://www.behrmanhouse.com/abq/abq.html
Review of letters and vowels, putting words together. You can click to listen to the correct reading, with options for American or Israeli accents.
Hebrew flashcards - https://www.studystack.com/hebrew
Including some Torah vocab
Jigzi – https://jigzi.org/
(Formerly JiTap) Games, activities, vocab
Focus on elementary vocabulary, parasha/holiday content
Does not have an app but website is accessible on mobile device. Has a lot of bells and whistles that can get in the way of content.
Hebrew Games – http://freehebrewgames.com/games/
Memory and speed drills
Dah Bear — https://dahbear.org/ (also an app that isn’t functioning as of 7/1/23)
“Dah Bear is a free learning tool that facilitates higher levels of Hebrew vocabulary mastery by students in day schools and supplemental schools.”
Teachers make vocabulary lists. You can create your own or use someone else’s. Many lists connected to tefillah, holidays, Israel, etc.
My Online Practice Siddur - https://legacy.jewishinteractive.org/kdsiddur/
Friendly interface to a “siddur” that allows students to read along to clearly pronounced text that is sometimes read, sometimes sung.
Alef Bet Wheel - https://www.jewishinteractive.org/ji-products-services/the-ji-collection/ Free app on ipads. Blends letters and vowels.
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