Thanks to the ‘Living with the Times’ curriculum currently being implemented in close to thirty Chabad schools, the dvar Torah is fast becoming the ultimate highlight of Shabbos tables everywhere.
There are many elements that go into making the perfect Shabbos. There’s the davening, the menu, the niggunim, and of course, the dvar Torah. And thanks to the Living with the Times dvar Torah curriculum currently being implemented in close to thirty Chabad schools, the dvar Torah is fast becoming the ultimate highlight of Shabbos tables everywhere.
Living with the Times has created a dvar Torah curriculum that is innovative in its simplicity. The course is made up of a teacher’s guide and student book, complete with dvar Torahs adapted from Likkutei Sichos in an easily-digestible five-part format. A PowerPoint for each dvar Torah is included for teacher use, along with a related story to captivate the class, an activity to drive the message home, and more. The curriculum helps students feel empowered to give over a weekly dvar Torah they truly understand, and aren’t just reciting by rote, while teachers love the “by teachers, for teachers” design. This feature is part of what makes Living with the Times so impactful – the majority of the curriculum has been written and edited by teachers who are currently in the classroom, and therefore is uniquely attuned to the needs of teachers and students alike.
Living with the Times takes teacher feedback very seriously, which is why they’ve updated the curriculum for the new year. The number one point of feedback from educators using the course was a request for a feature to help teach the Rebbe’s sichos in an accessible manner, and the Living with the Times team was eager to accommodate. That’s why they’ve updated both volumes of the course to include a paragraph from the weekly sicha, and added a word bank to help students build their translation skills while parsing out the meanings for themselves. Furthermore, they’ve streamlined the course’s second volume (meant for higher level learners) in a way that encourages students to summarize the textual addition from each sicha in their own words for a more in-depth comprehension of the paragraph.
“Every week, after a full week of teaching, it was a pleasure to have a fully prepared Dvar Torah curriculum which is presented in such a professional way.I loved the stories for each Dvar Torah and so did my class!” says Rabbi Segall, teacher in ULY Crown Street 5th grade, who brought Living with the Times to his classroom last year.
The complete Living with the Times curriculum is available to order through their website, www.livingwiththetimes.com, for only $9.99/student book and $24.99/teacher’s guide – a price made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. Any questions regarding the curriculum or requests for samples can be addressed to the Living with the Times team at [email protected].
Reach out and join the many mosdos that teach Living with the Times today, such as:
Bader Hillel Academy
Bais Rebbe California
Bais Chaya Mushka Postville
CMCH Atlanta
Cheder Chabad Baltimore Boys
Cheder Chabad Baltimore Girls
Cheder Chabad New Haven
Cheder Chabad of Coram
Cheder Chabad of Philadelphia
Cheder Lubavitch Arizona
Cheder Menachem California
Cheder Menachem Kingston
Cheder Menachem New Jersey
Cheder at the Ohel
Darchai Menachem
Jewish Virtual Academy
Lamplighter Chabad Day School
Lubavitch Educational Center
MMSC Day School Seattle
Mazel Day School
SJA
Shluchim Online School
Tzivos Hashem Vancouver
ULY Crown Street
ULYOP
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