Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Context: What is Tu B'shvat
3. The History of the Greening of Eretz Yisrael
4. Man's Relationship to Man as Parallel to his Attitude to Trees
5. Festival Symbols
6. Lesson and Activity Ideas
7. Find those Fruits

Introduction

After several years of trial and development, the Unit for Jewish Education in the former Soviet Union [CIS] has initiated, integrated and supported a wide-ranging selection of direct teaching materials into schools, seminars and encounters.

As more education agencies go on-line and the demand for prepared modules in Jewish education increases -- particularly for the middle school range -- we have decided to make this unique project available to users in other languages in pilot form. We have begun translating sections of units -- even before the last of the Russian versions goes to press. We hope that the Russian language version will soon also be accessible to universities, colleges, ulpanot and community centers through the Internet.

We commence with the unit on Jewish Traditions, and the sections on Jewish Festivals. In addition to this, we shall soon be posting the Table of Contents for all units - Hebrew Language [Beginners, Intermediate], Jewish History [Tanach to 1870; 1870-Present Day].

Each module covers background material, teacher questions, lesson plan or activity, with adaptation for different groups and contexts. Together, each series of modules forms a hands-on workbook suitable for teachers, with basic knowledge; the focus will also supply interesting insights for intermediate classes. Some of these materials will be more familiar to Jewish educators in the West - some less so. We believe that most are transferable, providing the level of knowledge and treatment correspond, and we ask you to use the feedback questionnaire to let us know how you are using the materials.

with: The Israel Ministry for Education & Culture
and the support of: The L.A. Pincus Fund for Jewish Education in the Diaspora
CIS Syllabus Project