Fall 2025 Tanakh pd – New Dates!
This series of professional development workshops is designed for middle and high school Tanakh educators seeking to deepen their practice and expand their toolkit. Each series focuses on a different aspect of Tanakh instruction—ranging from content-specific study to pedagogical strategies—while emphasizing practical approaches for the classroom. Participants will engage with meaningful questions, thoughtful methods, and solutions to real challenges that arise in teaching Tanakh to today’s students. All sessions are grounded in the belief that Tanakh learning can be rigorous, relevant, and accessible to every learner.
Members receive 10% off. For more information about this series or your membership status/coupon code, please write to us at info@lookstein.org.
Workshop 1: Teaching Yirmiyahu – The book, the prophet, the message
Presented by Zvi Grumet
Yirmiyahu foresaw and tried to forestall the imminent destruction of the Bet Hamikdash and tried to prevent the derailing of the national project of Benei Yisrael. His book is a profound testimony of his efforts, and its study provides both serious challenges and significant opportunities. In this 3-part series, designed for 9th-12th-grade Tanakh educators, we will examine issues such as how to deal with the difficult chronology in the book, how to help students understand the book in the context of Sefer Melakhim and Divrei HaYamim, and begin to appreciate the unique presentation of the prophet’s inner life.
Dates:
Tuesday, November 4th,
Thursday, November 6th, and
Tuesday, November 11th
Time: 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM EST
Cost: $125 non-members, $112.50 members
Workshop 2: Teaching Shmuel Bet – A study in biblical royalty
Presented by Zvi Grumet
While the division of the original Book of Shmuel is artificial, Shmuel Bet nonetheless provides an in-depth look at the founder of the royal dynasty that dominates Jewish consciousness. This 3-part series, designed for 7th-12th-grade Tanakh educators, focuses on David. What was the secret to his greatness, prompting his promotion to legendary status? Into what traps did he fall—traps that potentially face every leader and nearly brought his leadership career to a premature end? What was it that saved his career, which propelled him to achieve the status of the paradigm of Biblical royalty?
Dates:
Tuesday, November 18th,
Thursday, November 20th, and
Tuesday, November 25th
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 PM EST
Cost: $125 non-members, $112.50 members
Workshop 3: Tanakh for All – Strategies for Teaching Tanakh to Struggling Students
Presented by Leah Herzog
In this 2-part workshop designed for middle school and high school Tanakh teachers, we will define what we mean when we talk about struggling students and outline the various challenges that arise when teaching them Tanakh. We will explore and suggest various strategies that can support all students in gaining the content and skills that are part and parcel of learning Tanakh, and encourage personalization and meaning-making.
Strategies will include: lesson planning, methods of differentiation and student-centered learning, ways that technology can support our students, and suggestions for formative and summative assessments.
Date: Tuesday, December 2nd, and Thursday, December 4th
Time: 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM EST
Cost: $85 non-members, $76.50 members
Workshop 4: Using Student-Centered Questions in Teaching Tanakh
Presented by Zvi Grumet
Student-centered learning shifts the paradigm from focusing on teaching to focusing on learning. In this 2-part series, designed for 7th-12th grade Tanakh educators, we look at how to use student-centered learning for studying Tanakh. You will be exposed to two different techniques that will help to shape your students into fellow researchers and explorers as they engage in substantive and rigorous text study: one technique focuses on teacher-led questioning to guide and deepen understanding, while the other emphasizes student-led exploration that encourages independent inquiry and discovery within the text.
Dates: Tuesday, December 9th and Thursday, December 11th
Time: 12:00 – 1:15 PM EST
Cost: $85 non-members, $76.50 members
Fall Tanakh PD Registration: