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4700 Oakton St Skokie, IL 60076 p 847.232.1520 f 847.232.1521 |
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American Montessori Society Initiate School Illinois Board of Education Registered Private School |
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An Introduction to Integrated Contextual Learning
Download Scope and Sequence: PRESCHOOL ELEMENTARY
Torah Montessori School's main goal is to help the child answer the questions: Who am I? Where am I? and What is my purpose on this earth? in the formative early years of lower elementary, before a child asks these questions in adolescence. This approach not only encourages children to form their own identity and connection to their innate Jewishness, but cultivates in them a responsibility to themselves and to the fellow people and world in which they are a part. This is carried out through five main approaches:
1. Beginning with a broad framework for the entirety of the 6,000 years of Jewish history When a child is first exposed to the "big picture" of the creation of the universe and earth, the creation of man, the Torah's story of the search for righteousness, the emergence of the Jewish people as a nation and the major promises H-shem has given to us (which have and are coming true), he/she can then connect every new concept of learning--whether it is Chumash, halacha, science or mathematics to a place within that framework. No longer does the child ask the question Why is this subject relevant to me? but rather How does this new subject fit within what I already know to be the interconneted framework of all knowledge?
2. Fostering a deep love and ability to understand Lashon Ha'Kodesh (Hebrew) Not only is Hebrew the language of the Torah and the language adopted by the modern day State of Isreal, but it is most importantly the language from which H-shem created the entire universe. Its understanding holds the key for studying Jewish texts but also for understanding the building blocks of H-shem's Creation. In contextual learning, children learn to break down Lashon Ha'Kosesh by structure and dikduk, but also by meaning in a way that allows them to develop their own questions in a multi-sensory (hearing, reading, speaking, writing, acting out) experiential context. In this way, children come to love and appreciate Hebrew as their confidence in the language grows.
3. Learning the entire storyline of the Torah and 613 mitzvos at the beginning Again, by starting with a framework for the entire non-legal (written Torah) and legal (oral Torah)aspects of the Torah heritage before they aquire the details, children are given a readable map for learning. Not only do they experience a taste of the richness of what is to come, but they also feel a sense of confidence when encountering new concepts because they already see how the concepts connect to the "big picture." This approach is than augmented by a memory system developed by Rabbi Jonathan Rietti (a Jewish Montessorian and world-famous speaker on Torah subjects) that aids the child in mentally locating perakim of Chumash or Rambam's catagory of halacha just by hearing a pussuk and its context.
4. Integrating Torah and "Secular" Subjects together in a meaningful way Children (and adults) do not see the world divided down the middle into "those things that are Torahdik" and "those things that are not!" Human beings are designed to synthesize our experiences--so should a successful education model. In the Jewish Montessori classroom, children come to understand that everything is Torah because the whole of the universe exists for the Creator's purpose. The subjects of math, geography, astronomy, biology, zoology, botany, and languages all cultivate in the child a profound excitement and awe for the vastness and complexity of our existence as well as a gratitude for the gifts we are constantly receiving from H-shem.
5. Tefillah (prayer) is "kavanas halev"--an "expression of the heart"-- and can be a powerful tool for cultivating a personal realtionship with H-shem (especially in children) In the Jewish Montessori classroom children come to davening because they want to come--not because they have to come. From the early years of preschool, children begin to understand the meaning of the tefillahs they are saying through a variety of exciting, multisensory experiences designed to aid their understanding of one of the main purposes of tefillah: to thank H-shem for always loving us and giving us another day "to become the best we can be." In lower elementary, the children study the structure, lashon and meanings of individual prayers to enhance their ability to read with fluidity and ease, while never deviating from the importance of simcha and kavanah to the prayer experience.
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