Plays for all school ages in each of four subject areas: Holiday plays, the Wisdom of stories, Exploring sacred texts, and Our Jewish values.

This exceptional guide for learning and teaching about mitzvot offers overviews of 41 mitzvot in six areas: holidays, rituals, word and thought, tzedakah, gemilut chasadim, and ahavah. All-school programs for each mitzvah and more than 600 activities spanning all grade levels help you implement creative classroom techniques and enrich your students' experiences.

Sixty-four dynamic activities in four arts disciplines--music, drama, creative writing, and visual arts--weave the arts directly into the Jewish school curriculum and "open up" the big ideas of Jewish education. An extensive introduction examines the importance of the arts in Jewish life and Jewish education and explains the philosophy of this unique integrative approach. Includes four topic areas (Holidays, Torah, Mitzvot and Middot, and Jewish Life Cycle) with activities for four grade levels (K-1, 2-3, 4-6, and Family Education) and, within each grade level, one activity in each of the four arts disciplines. CONTENTS: Part I: Holidays Shabbat (Grades K-1) Chanukah (Grades 2-3) Sukkot (Grades 4-6) Pesach (Family Education) Part II: Torah Noah's Ark (Grades K-1) Three Righteous Women (Grades 2-3) Moses and the Burning Bush (Grades 4-6) Jacob and Esau (Family Education) Part III: Mitzvot and Middot Tza'ar Ba'alay Chayim: Kindness to Animals (Grades K-1) Hachnasat Orchim: Welcoming Guests (Grades 2-3) Derech Eretz: Proper Behavior (Grades 4-6) Bal Tashchit: Do Not Destroy (Family Education) Part IV: Jewish Life Cycle Baby Naming (Grades K-1) Growing Older (Grades 2-3) Bar/Bat Mitzvah (Grades 4-6) Death (Family Education) SPECIAL FEATURES: "Big Idea" and "Inspiration" sections provide the background and the rationale for each activity. Clearly stated objectives for each activity tie directly to the Big Ideas. Materials lists, step-by-step instructions, helpful hints, and suggested resources make activities easy to implement. Activities are adaptable to higher or lower grade levels, providing hundreds of creative opportunities. Ideal for average classroom teachers who think they are not artists, in addition to arts specialists

Essays and poems that offer insight into what it means to be a young Jewish woman today.