The Gan FAQs

In the 21st century, we know that Jewish learning is a holistic and integrated part of Jewish living. We know that our students have three thousand years of Jewish information at their fingertips through any of their devices. Yet, even with all this information, it is easy to feel isolated and alone. We want to focus on building community and offer Jewish learning with an emphasis on values and not just content, on community both in and out of the synagogue building. Our primary goal is for all our youth to be inspired to joyfully deepen their relationships to Judaism and the community by engaging their souls, hearts, and minds. The name of our Youth Learning and Engagement Program is Gan HaLimud, colloquially called The Gan, which means “Garden of Learning.” This term speaks to how we help our learners bloom and blossom, and it certainly connects to our Pacific Northwest landscape. Sometimes the word “HaGan” refers to the Garden of Eden. Here at Temple Beth Am, we use the term in our own distinct way—to remind ourselves we are all responsible for cultivating the garden of learning.

On Sundays, students will engage in peer-to-peer relationship building, establishing long lasting connections through intensive time, project based learning, and experiential education lead by Faculty and Madrichim. These joyful experiences will help our students strengthen their relationships to Judaism and the skills to live Jewishly. Our Midweek Learning Tracks are opportunities for students to engage in interestbased connections with others. For grades 4-6, tracks will emphasize lifecycle and b’nai mitzvah experiences through a variety of Jewish lenses. The focus of each track will be impacted by student interests. Then, as students continue through our program, Midweek classes are about shared Jewish interests, connecting with a variety of subjects, and building the bonds that last a lifetime.

Experiential Education can include center-based and project-based learning, but at its core it is a student-centered approach to learning that is based upon student’s voice and choice, and relationship building, rather than a content delivery approach to education. This creates relevance and engages students directly in deciding how and who they learn with best. Students are not broken into individual classrooms. Instead, teacher teams construct various “centers,” which help teach the same content from multiple modalities. In relationship with trusted mentors, the students pick which centers to experience, based upon what best fits their learning approach. A center-based learning, small group approach also allows students to get more one-on-one attention from both teachers and Madrichim.

Relevancy is essential to 21st century learning and is a key focus of The Gan’s curriculum. The Gan’s curriculum flips the traditional model of Jewish learning. Rather than teaching values through content (for example, learning about Joshua teaches us about courage), we will teach content through a focus on values (such as starting with an essential question like “when did you need courage” then teaching students about Joshua’s story.) Our Curriculum Team created a structure of 13 values that build on each other as students grow. The values, taught at the developmentally appropriate level, are the vehicle through which we weave and teach essential Jewish content, such as holidays, history, life cycles, prayers, and more. The Gan will also utilize project-based learning which will incorporate Jewish values and material into multi-week relevant projects, as well as social-emotional learning that focuses on the students’ growth as a person, not just the mastery of content and information.

We seek to utilize new and different tools to create a holistic and dynamic approach to learning Hebrew. All of our students have opportunities to explore the aleph bet and Hebrew words and phrases that are an important part of our life-cycle events, community, and heritage. Using a combination of learning strategies, reading, songs, storytelling, games and more, students begin to construct and practice their Hebrew vocabulary, developing meaning and understanding that they will build upon each year. PK-2 utilizes adaptations from Hebrew through Movement, while 3rd-7th uses various personalized adaptations of decoding methods we have customized at Temple Beth Am to fit our students needs.