Recommended for: 

This site is recommended for schools who have a strong focus on the use of skills (prefixes and suffixes, shorashim, etc) in the study of Chumash for grades 1-4.

The L’havin U’lehaskil Chumash Curriculum is a skills based approach to learning Chumash with guided lesson plans and exercises.  It encompasses 25 workbooks, with detailed Teacher’s Editions for each one.  It begins with two volumes that teach foundational skills, followed by workbooks for all parshiot in Sefer Beraishit.  There is a strong emphasis on Biblical vocabulary, sequencing, shorashim, prefixes and suffixes, and a light focus on values education. Many teachers like the grammatical breakdown of Chumash text. There are aesthetic graphics for Biblical scenes and stories. 

The L’havin structure provides teachers with clear knowledge of what the students learned previously ensuring continuity throughout grade levels.  Instruction is data driven; formative and summative assessments built into the system are designed to assist teachers and administrators in evaluating each student’s knowledge, level and progress.  

It begins with two volumes that teach pre-Chumash skills, followed by workbooks from Parshat Lech-Lecha through Parshat Shemot. They are available digitally with pdf’s. The digital format is not interactive. 

Over 200 schools implement Le’having U’lehaskil. 

“L’havin U’Lehaskil is an exemplar curriculum that places independent reading of Hebrew Bible, in the original language, as its primary priority. L’havin U’Lehaskil understands that fluency in Biblical Hebrew is the means through which students will feel connected to the Biblical text and they’ve created a rigorous, comprehensive program for helping young students master fluency and comprehension.”

Ziva R. Hassenfeld, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Fellow Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education, Brandeis UniversityDevTech Research Group, Tufts University.