Auerbach Family Foundation

Through the generosity of the Lorraine & Jack N. Friedman

Commission for Jewish Education of the Palm Beaches, all

NEXT programs are subsidized for Jewish educators in the

Greater Palm Beaches. More information on the last page.

What’s NEXT?The Professional Learning Program for

Supplementary School Teachers

New Excellent Teacher Training

Welcome to our winter series of courses!

We are pleased to present this

semester’s high-quality, intensive

learning opportunities for

Supplementary School teachers. 

All our courses are online and

asynchronous – meaning that

teachers log in and participate

in the class for ANY two hours

a week that you choose, night

or day.

WINTER 2018 COURSESBeginning the week of February 20 and February 26:

• Meaningful Prayer Experiences (3rd – 12th grades)

• Addressing Disability Inclusion Through a Jewish Lens (All grades)

• Using Media to Open Difficult Conversations About Israel

(6th – 12th grades)

• Beyond Candles and Kiddush: Teaching Spring Holidays (All grades)

• Social Media for Tweens and Teens – Marvel or Menace?

(6th – 12th grades)

• Teaching Jewish Values with Children's Literature (pre-k – 2nd grades)

• Design + Thinking = Innovative Learning Experiences (6th – 12th grades)

• Creating a Positive Classroom Culture (All grades)

• Teaching Holocaust Through Children's literature (3rd – 12th grades)

Registration and more information can be found atwww.gratz.edu/NEXT or NEXT@gratz.edu or (215) 635-7300 ext. 135.

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Course begins February 20, 2018

and will be four weeks long. All

sessions will be asynchronous. Plan

to spend two hours a week on the

course, although you may choose

any two hours that suit you.

Instructor: Laurie Fisher, MAJEd;

MAJS; Religious School Educator

and Former Director of Education at

Mizpah Congregation; Doctoral

Student, Gratz College

In this class, we will go beyond the

meaning of the Hebrew words to find

ways to connect prayer with students’

lives. We will explore strategies to

engage students on an emotional

level so that they go from learning to

doing to connecting with prayer.

We will use the shabbat Amidahas a focus as we explore different

techniques to help your students

connect with prayers and engage in

personal meaning-making. You will

be able to enhance your students’

synagogue participation and b’naimitzvah experience.

This class is appropriate for those whoteach prayer in the classroom and forthose who lead students in prayer.

Meaningful Prayer

Experiences

(3rd – 12th grades)

Addressing DisabilityInclusion Through aJewish Lens

(All grades)

Course begins February 20, 2018

and will be four weeks long. All

sessions will be asynchronous. Plan

to spend two hours a week on the

course, although you may choose

any two hours that suit you.

Instructor: Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer,

MAJS, Adjunct Instructor, Gratz

College and Director of Whole

Community Inclusion at Jewish

Learning Venture. Author of The

Little Gate Crasher

Disability inclusion is not a new topic

in the Jewish community – our sacred

texts going back thousands of years

address how to treat people with

differences, teach students who may

need extra support and recognize the

humanity in all individuals.

In this course, we will explore the types

of disabilities that you might encounter

in your supplementary school. You

will learn specific strategies to make

your classroom truly inclusive from a

Jewish perspective. This will include

guidance in structuring your

classroom and designing activities

that serve students of all abilities

and actively reduce disability

stigma. We will also discuss how to

communicate effectively with parents.

February 2018 is the 10th annual

Jewish Disability Awareness and

Inclusion Month, a worldwide unified

initiative for Jewish organizations to

raise awareness and foster inclusion

of people with disabilities and mental

health conditions. To that end, we will

also identify ways to implicitly and

explicitly teach all your students that

inclusion is a Jewish value.

Course begins February 26, 2018

and will be four weeks long. All

sessions will be asynchronous. Plan

to spend two hours a week on the

course, although you may choose

any two hours that suit you.

Instructor: Steve Kerbel, J.D., M.Ed;

Project Director for the Center for

Israel Education at Emory University

It can be challenging to cultivate a

meaningful sense of connection

between North American youth and

Israel. Well-chosen and composed

media can quickly and dynamically

communicate complex ideas in

compelling ways - making media a

wonderful tool for bringing Israel “to

life” for your students.

Brain research teaches us that more

than eighty percent of what we learn

comes via our sense of vision; that’s

why students can remember things

from TV and film that they don’t retain

via lectures. In this course we will

use a variety of media – some

documentary, and some from the

entertainment world – to reach

students intellectually and

emotionally and to open up

conversations about Israel.

1. Israel’s role in the Middle East over

last 100 years

2. Israel’s role as the in-gatherer of

exiles, as a safe haven for Jews

3. Israel’s role as home to diverse

populations and cultures, and

4. Israel’s role as an exporter of

technologies that make the world a

better place

Participants will be introduced to

online media specifically for teaching

about Israel, as well as the ability to

utilize media when teaching other

topics.

Using Media to OpenDifficult Conversations

About Israel

(6th – 12th grades)

Offered as part ofJewish Learning Venture’s

Whole Community Inclusion initiative

“I was able to apply my weekly

assignments to my weekly teachings

and am able to use them to develop

my lesson plans. The class benefitted

me greatly, and I would encourage

any teacher to utilize the course as

a way to enhance their students

understanding of this subject.”

– Iris Spector

Ohev Shalom

Richboro, PA

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Course begins February 20, 2018

and will be four weeks long. All

sessions will be asynchronous. Plan

to spend two hours a week on the

course, although you may choose

any two hours that suit you.

Instructor: Mindy Gold, MAT,

Certificate in Jewish Education;

Founder and Lead Consultant at

EdtechMMG, LLC

Our digital world is evolving at an

extraordinary speed. What’s the

newest app of choice? How are

tweens and teens connecting online?

How do we keep up and support them

when things go wrong? How do we

help tweens and teens positively

harness the power of social media

to do good?

What does it mean

to approach social media use

with a Jewish values mindset?

We will explore the challenges and

opportunities of social media in a

Jewish context. By the end of the

course, you will have a core set of

resources and techniques for engaging

with and supporting tweens and teens

in the use of social media through a

Jewish lens.

Course begins February 20, 2018

and will be four weeks long. All

sessions will be asynchronous. Plan

to spend two hours a week on the

course, although you may choose

any two hours that suit you.

Instructor: Peter Eckstein, MAJED,

MAED; Director of Educational

Technologies, Gratz Advance

Using 21st century learning skills –

creativity, critical thinking, collaboration

and communication – we will infuse

fresh energy into how you approach

holiday teaching. We will explore new

and innovative ways of approaching

the Jewish year.

Knowing that Jewish students

revisit the topic over and over again,

we will discuss how different

learning styles and teaching tools

can offer new ways for your

students to experience the richness

of the holidays.

You will leave the class with resources

ready to make Purim, Pesach and

Shavuot different, engaging and

celebratory.

Social Media forTweens and Teens –Marvel or Menace?

(6th – 12th grades)

Beyond Candles andKiddush: TeachingSpring Holidays

(All grades)

Teaching Jewish Valueswith Children’s Literature

(Pre-k – 2nd grades)

Course begins February 20, 2018

and will be four weeks long. All

sessions will be asynchronous. Plan

to spend two hours a week on the

course, although you may choose

any two hours that suit you.

Instructors: Emily Aronoff Teck,

LearningMatters.com; doctoral

candidate, Gratz College and

Dr. Anita Meinbach, Director of

the Jack and Harriet Rosenfeld

Foundation Program in Jewish

Education

When we explore quality children’s

literature with our students, we invite

them to reflect on what is right and

what is just in a Jewish context. To

do this, we need to be able to share

stories in an active and engaging way

rather than allowing our students to sit

passively while we “tell them” a story.

We will consider a variety of

techniques for inspiring our students

to explore a story’s meaning and

relevance in creative and age-

appropriate ways. Together, we will

identify children’s books that teach a

wide range of Jewish values and

learn Jewish terminology and texts

associated with specific Jewish values.

At the end of this course, you will be

able to weave children’s books into

your lessons and seamlessly highlight

the Jewish wisdom, ethics, and values

embedded within them.

“I realize that as a new teacher there

are many old methodologies that have

"worked" in the past, however I

want to mold myself into a teaching

environment that is exciting and

interactive for myself and my

students. I was able to take two online

courses [that] . . . gave me so many

exciting ideas for my class! Thank you

NEXT!”

– Rivkah Wine

Temple Israel

West Bloomfield, MI

Offered in collaboration with

Course begins February 20, 2018

and will be four weeks long. All

sessions will be asynchronous. Plan

to spend two hours a week on the

course, although you may choose

any two hours that suit you.

Instructor: Mollie Sharfman, MA in

Jewish Experiential Education;

currently working with the Shalom

Hartman Institute in Jerusalem

Are your lessons feeling a bit stale?

Are you eager to shake up your

classroom?

Design Thinking is an innovative

creative process that will help you

design thoughtful lessons that are

both ripe with Jewish content and

loads of fun!

In this course, we will learn the key

components of design-thinking,

including

a) leading with empathy

b) challenging assumptions

c) making experiments and

d) sharing what you learn.

The creative process associated

with this design process sequence

will (re)invigorate your Jewish

teaching. We will design new lessons

and curricula or revamp materials you

have already created. You will be able

to apply everything you learn to your

classroom.

This course is most appropriate for education directors and teachers withseveral years of experience or somebackground in education.

Design + Thinking =Innovative LearningExperiences

(6th – 12th grades)

Creating a PositiveClassroom Culture

(All grades)

Course begins February 20, 2018

and will be four weeks long. All

sessions will be asynchronous. Plan

to spend two hours a week on the

course, although you may choose

any two hours that suit you.

Instructor: Jodi Gross, MAJEd,

MAJCS; Director of Adult Learning

and Youth Engagement. Adat

Shalom Synagogue, Farmington

Hills, MI

Participants in this course will learn

practical strategies that will help you

create a positive teaching and learning

environment. The class will focus on

how to set clear expectations; how

to create and implement a positive

behavior reinforcement plan; how

to respond to student misbehavior;

and how to handle challenging

situations.

The class is appropriate for both experienced teachers who need a littlebrush-up on their skills as well asnovice teachers.

Course begins February 20, 2018

and will be four weeks long. All

sessions will be asynchronous. Plan

to spend two hours a week on the

course, although you may choose

any two hours that suit you.

Instructor: Boaz Avraham-Katz,

MAJS; Hebrew Instructor, Elon

University; Doctoral Student,

Gratz College

Although students might have been

exposed to the Holocaust in their

secular school environment, we have

the opportunity to enhance the Jewish

viewpoint and focus on it in more

detail. In this course, you will learn

how to utilize literature in your

quest to introduce the Holocaust in

meaningful and appropriate ways.

There is an extraordinary array of

Holocaust literature that is appropriate

for children in a myriad of contexts,

including the short amounts of time

allotted in most supplementary

schools. Considering specific short

stories and books, we will explore

the guiding concepts, genres and tools

that you need in order to select

appropriate and compelling Holocaust

literature to share with your students.

Together we will identify appropriate

language and themes for different age

groups that will ultimately serve as

criteria for selecting the best books for

your class.

This course is appropriate for anyoneteaching the Holocaust to children.

Teaching HolocaustThrough Children’s

Literature

(3rd – 12th grades)

“Jewish education is ever changing

and classes like this allow people to

stay on top of the changes and grow,

not just as professionals, but as

people, by combining pedagogy with

content and practical application.”

– Joshua Ackman

Temple Shaarei Shalom

Boynton Beach, FL

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REGISTRATION AND  FEES

Tuition is $100 for a four week course.

Through the generosity of the Lorraine & Jack N. FriedmanCommission for Jewish Education of the Palm Beaches, allNEXT classes are subsidized for Jewish educators in theGreater Palm Beaches.

When you complete a course, you or your institution is eligibleto receive 100% reimbursement for the course. Friedman CJEsubsidy and reimbursement for courses is limited to 10 per semester so register early!

To learn more, contact Robyn Hurvitz, Director of ProfessionalDevelopment, r.hurvitz@cjepb.org, (561) 209-2621 or LynneLieberman, Senior Director, l.lieberman@cjepb.org, (561) 209-2606.

Registration and

more information

can be found at

www.gratz.edu/NEXT

or NEXT@gratz.edu or

(215) 635-7300 ext. 135

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Online course with rolling admission.

Ten one hour modules. The modules

can be completed at any pace.

Hebrew Through Movement, which

is both a curriculum and a technique,

is widely recognized as one of the

single best tools available to

Supplementary School teachers

who want their students to effectively

and enthusiastically learn Hebrew.

When you learn how to use Hebrew

Through Movement, you will be able

to create a more positive and joyful

Hebrew learning experience for

your students in just 15 minutes

per session.

Additionally, your students will build

enough vocabulary to comprehend

core segments of common prayers or

rituals. The curriculum is fun for both

students and teachers. Students are

engaged and enjoy learning Hebrew!

Hebrew Through Movement is an

online course offered by the Jewish

Education Center of Cleveland. By

special arrangement, NEXT is making

this innovative course available to

Philadelphia Supplementary School

teachers.

For more information about

Hebrew Through Movement visit

www.Hebrewthroughmovement.org

Hebrew ThroughMovement

(kindergarten +)

Offered in collaborationwith the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland

Auerbach Family Foundation

Through the generosity of the Lorraine & Jack N. Friedman Commission for Jewish Education of the Palm Beaches, allNEXT programs are subsidized for Jewisheducators in the Greater Palm Beaches.