Every new high school teacher is confronted with many questions and challenges when preparing to teach the book of Yirmiyahu. Among the many questions are: How many chapters to teach, which ones, how should they be taught, what should be the focus, what commentaries are available, etc. The teacher is further confronted with the limited time factor, wondering whether to do a general overview of the book, or concentrate on a few representative chapters and learn them in depth.

Although there are a number of teaching guides to Yirmiyahu published in Israel, it is necessary to have a curriculum which adapts the Israeli system to American students.

This book presents a sample curriculum of teaching twelve selected chapters intensively, and four extensively. A teacher may add other chapters according to his/her discretion, or in order to adapt it to the particular curriculum of the school.

The material in this book is designed to be taught in a full year's program, with three to four teaching periods per week. The objective of teaching these particular chapters is to expose the students to different themes and events in the life and times of Yirmiyahu.

The chapters presented in this book include:

Chapters 1, 2:1-29, 2:30-3:5, 7, 8:13-9:23 (the haftarah for Tisha B'av), 16:19-17:14 (haftarah), 19 (symbolic acts), 23, 26, 27, 28 (false prophets), 31 (a favorable prophecy), 36 (the burning of the scroll).

Historical chapters - to be learned extensively: 39-42.

This book is geared to fill the first two objectives. It provides the teacher with a summary of different commentaries on each verse, from which the teacher can choose the ideas appropriate for his/her students.

The same methodology is presented throughout the course to insure consistency and mastery. It also directs the students and teachers to other texts which enrich the ideas presented.

At the end of each chapter there is a summary - a list of the major phrases and the major themes in each chapter. These highlight the course of the chapter, presenting its key ideas. The summary can be used as a guide for the teacher, or serve as a review for the students.

The third objective in teaching, giving the text life and meaning, and thus inspiring the pupils, I have left to the individual teacher. The study of the Prophets - which are basically mussar books, was meant to help the people deal with their major philosophical questions, and to raise them to a higher level. In order to do this with our students, we, as teachers, have to relate to the needs of the individual class. Being so subjective, this aspect of the teaching program was omitted from this guide.

One way to help in the incorporation of the material is to assign creative projects to the students at the end of chapters. Students can design posters, collages, games, puzzles - individually or in pairs. Other ideas: video presentations, decorative cakes, poems and songs. They can be allowed one class period to present their projects. This is a good form of review, and generates a lot of excitement in the classroom. The material should be well displayed in the classroom.

One last comment: The material in this curriculum is not meant to be exclusive! Teachers should feel free to research other commentaries and find different methods of presenting the material in class. This curriculum wishes merely to present a possible structure, and give guidance to the new teachers in particular.