Shine a Light Additional Content - 6-8 Grade
The activities in this guide, utilizing a Design Thinking challenge, can be used in any setting across 6th-8th grade.
About this Lesson
This quote from Amanda Gorman's famous Inaugural Poem "The Hill We Climb" is used as the centerpiece for this lesson. Learners are asked to reflect on the quote, specifically on what it means to "BE" the light. Using the idea of increasing and spreading the light from Chanukah, students are taken through a Design Challenge to create a medium to share a message of Judaism they think people need to know - either to help squash Jewish stereotypes, or to help engage allies, or to help combat antisemitism, or to help spread the light and joy of Judaism.
Created by:
Dr. Jennifer Newfeld is the Chair of Jewish Life and a Rabbinics teacher in the middle school at the Charles E Smith Jewish Day School (CESJDS) in Maryland. Prior to working at CESJDS she spent 13 years in synagogue education administration in New York, St Louis and Maryland and many, many summers at a variety of Jewish summer camps. She is also an educational consultant and curriculum writer and has worked with Shalom Learning, the St Louis and Washington DC Federations, ARJE and several synagogues. Jennifer holds an Ed.D. in Jewish Educational Leadership from Northeastern University, an MA from the Jewish Theological Seminary and an M.Ed. from George Mason University.
Discover more
One of the successes of J-Life is that it continues to build community among parents. Most of the learners who started in kindergarten have stayed to continue going on to the upper grades. Parents express that they have a lot of fun participating in J-Life and that they enjoy coming to these experiences.
Educational resources in support of civic responsibility and the democratic process.
Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley (TEPV), Woodcliff Lake, NJ. This online, opt-in, home-based learning model for 7th-9th graders is a partnership with JETS Israel (Jerusalem EdTech Solutions).
Educator Resources for the Shine a Light on Antisemitism Campaign.
Mayim, our initial example of "Additional" Models, could be placed in a Multi-aged, Project-Based Learning, or Experiential Learning bucket. Mayim is a K-5 learning community in which depth of relationships and depth of learning are intentionally fostered and visible everywhere.
Congregation Tifereth Israel (CTI), Glen Cove, NY. CTI learners and their families participate in hands-on experiential learning. The curriculum focuses on Jewish values learned through our stories (both modern and ancient).