OnwardHebrew Overview

#OnwardHebrew is changing the culture of Hebrew learning in part-time/congregational educational programs. Hebrew is no longer confined to 45-60 minute classes, but rather it moves (literally!) with Hebrew Through Movement, is brought into the minds and hearts of children via Hebrew-rich t'fillot/worship, and is regularly intermingled with English. In addition, a number of education directors have successfully changed their curriculum, teaching decoding in fifth or sixth grade.

Ready to consider #OnwardHebrew? This webpage outlines foundational principles, offers resources, and links you to the Facebook webpage that encourages conversation.

A CONCISE OVERVIEW OF THE INITIATIVE "Disrupting Hebrew School: This New Approach is Transforming Jewish Education" (uploaded March 2019)
NEW "2019 Snapshot Survey of "On-the-Way" and "All In" programs. (uploaded October 2019)

Resources are linked to the photos and videos below. Click on what interests you!

GENERAL BACKGROUND (A GOOD PLACE TO START)

This is a short and sweet overview of #OnwardHebrew, including some integration of research.

A rabbi-educator describes her synagogue's journey with #OnwardHebrew.

A cantor and rabbi/educator talk about #OnwardHebrew from each of their perspectives. Great conversation starter for synagogue leadership teams. (Webinar)

Overview of #OnwardHebrew as introduced in an ARJE in-person seminar.

Join the #OnwardHebrew conversation. A helpful place to ask questions & share your experiences with colleagues.

RESEARCH

SUMMARY: Baseline survey of #OnwardHebrew.

FULL: Baseline survey of #OnwardHebrew.

A series of infographics that share the results of a survey of "On-the-Way" and "All In" educational programs.
(75% response rate)

Articles

Offers one set of reasons why our students have trouble decoding Hebrew.

Discusses why it's a good idea to wait to teach decoding until after students have 5-6 years of learning Hebrew aurally
(by sound).

The benefits of considering #OnwardHebrew.

One of the earliest #OnwardHebrew articles.

other resources

Hebrew instructional assumptions for the 21st Century

A checklist of the assumptions/principles that undergird #OnwardHebrew. Helpful when looking at your program's progress.

Rich learning, even without Decoding

From Rabbi Stacy Rigler, JQuest, Philly: Our fourth grade students are not decoders, but they chant the prayers each week and learn key vocab via Hebrew Through Movement. Our teacher lays out the prayer's words along with images from the HTM curriculum. As they get to the words she spends time talking about the image.

A recent example - Gibor (hero) in G'vurot. with an HTM image of Arafat, Rabin and Clinton making peace. She asks, "Who are these people? What makes them gibor or giborim?" One child knows who they are and explains; others pipe in. "Who sees another image of a gibor she asks?" Other students put their pictures under the word gibor . "The prayer words come to life," she explains. "They are not just Hebrew words, but they relate to what they do every day, the way prayer is meant to be."