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Gateways is proud to be a beneficiary
of Combined Jewish Philanthropies
and grateful to the Ruderman Family Foundation and the Slingshot Fund
for their generous support.
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Preparation Resources
- Prayers and Blessings with Visual Supports
- File Folder Activities
- D'var Torah Guides
- Visual Supports for Bar/Bat Mitzvah Skills
Prayers and Blessings with Visual Supports
Prayers with visual supports were created to help make prayers simple, accessible, and understandable for students with a variety of disabilities. In these files, each Hebrew phrase is illustrated by a simple picture symbol (we use Mayer-Johnson Boardmaker symbols). Students with disabilities can follow along with each prayer and learn to understand its meaning using symbol prayers. Assemble these prayers into a Siddur, or use them to create file folder activities. Audio files of most of the prayers and blessings are available to download (in .wav format) to help familiarize students with the sounds of the prayers and blessings, and to upload to AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) devices.
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Ma Tovu Ma Tovu with Hebrew transliteration, simplified English translation and visual supports. |
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Barchu Barchu with Hebrew transliteration, simplified English translation and visual supports. |
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Shema Shema with Hebrew transliteration, simplified English translation and visual supports. |
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Ki Mitzion Ki Mitzion with Hebrew transliteration, simplified English translation and visual supports. |
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Shema/Echad Shema/Echad with Hebrew transliteration, simplified English translation and visual supports. |
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Gadlu Gadlu with Hebrew transliteration, simplified English translation and visual supports. Click here to download Gadlu with visual supports.
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Blessing Before the Torah Reading Blessing before the Torah reading with Hebrew transliteration, simplified English translation and visual supports. |
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Blessing After the Torah Reading Blessing before the Torah reading with Hebrew transliteration, simplified English translation and visual supports. |
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V'zot HaTorah V'zot HaTorah with Hebrew transliteration, simplified English translation and visual supports. |
File folder activities can help children review ideas and help familiarize them with Jewish objects. Since they are inexpensive and relatively easy to make, you can accumulate a large stack of file folder activities in no time! The visual nature of file folder activities takes advantage of the visual strengths of children with autism and many other developmental disabilities. For help getting started, click here for the Gateways Guide to Making File Folder Activities.
Each file folder activity listed below is presented with a photograph of the activity (click to view larger images) and a kit to download the instructions and materials to make your own.
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Color Match Bar/Bat Mitzvah Student Students gain familiarity with symbols associated with a bar/bat mitzvah, like dressing in special clothing and picking a special tallit and kippa (of their favorite color). Download the kit to make your own Bar Mitzvah Student activity! Download the kit to make your own Bat Mitzvah Student activity! |
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Students gain familiarity with the concept that some bar/bat mitzvah students have the special opportunity to hold the Torah on the day they become a bar/bat mitzvah. Download the kit to make your own Holding the Torah activity! |
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Color Match Tallit Some students have trouble generalizing knowledge and may not understand that tallit come in many different styles and colors This simple matching activity helps children generalize their understanding of what a tallit is. Download the kit to make your own Color Match Tallit activity!
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Color Match Torah in Ark Students gain familiarity with the concept that the Torah and ark go together (like socks and shoes, hats and gloves, fingers and toes). Download the kit to make your own Color Match Torah in Ark activity! |
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Some students have trouble generalizing knowledge and may not understand that kippot come in many different styles and colors This simple matching activity helps children generalize their understanding of what kippot are. Download the kit to make your own Photo Match Kippot activity! |
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Photo Match Torah Some students have trouble generalizing knowledge and may not understand that one Torah can look different from another. This simple matching activity reinforces the idea that each Torah has a unique appearance and that a Torah is still a Torah whether it is dressed or open. Download the kit to make your own Photo Match Torah activity! |
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Symbol Match Blessing Before the Torah Reading The pictorial representation of the blessing before the Torah reading helps students to understand the meaning of the blessing and reinforces the students' mastery of the blessing itself. The additional sensory input of visual supports and physical activity (removing or attaching pictures) as the blessing is said/read is proven to increase brain activity and learning. Download the kit to make your own Blessing Before Torah activity! |
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Symbol Match Shema The pictorial representation of the Shema prayer helps students to understand the meaning of the prayer and reinforces the students' mastery of the prayer itself. The additional sensory input of visual supports and physical activity (removing or attaching pictures) as the prayer is said/read is proven to increase brain activity and learning. Download the kit to make your own Symbol Match Shema activity! |
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Text Match Shema This English transliteration of the Shema has been broken down into individual color coded words that are attached to a file folder. Pairing colors and a physical motion of attaching or removing the word as it is said enhances brain activity and learning. Download the kit to make your own Text Match Shema activity! |
These guides can be used to support students in writing the D'var Torah for their bar/bat mitzvah by giving them tools and guidelines to express and orgainze their thoughts.
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Multiple Choice D'var Torah Guide To help a student prepare for the D'var Torah at his/her bar/bat mitzvah, this simple multiple choice worksheet asks questions about different aspects of a child’s Judaism through visual representations. This guide will allow a family or teacher to craft a meaningful d'var Torah with a student who has difficulty expressing him/herself. Click here to view a sample D'var Torah created by a Gateways student using the Symbol D'var Torah Organizer. |
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D'var Torah Graphic Organizer Graphic organizers allow learners to visually organize known information. This graphic organizer can be used to help a bar/bat mitzvah student write a d'var Torah. It prompts the student with questions presented in logical sequence about the Torah portion itself as well as the student's understanding of the portion. Click here to view a sample D'var Torah created by a Gateways student using the D'var Torah Graphic Organizer. |
Visual Supports for Bar/Bat Mitzvah Skills
Task analysis is the process educators use to examine a large, multistep activity (like undressing and dressing the Torah) and then break down that activity into individual steps for teaching and evaluation purposes. Using a task analysis can be an effective tool for identifying which parts of a task a student has mastered or needs to learn, and for individualizing the presentation of instructions for completing a multistep task.
The visual supports presented below teach students important Bar/Bat Mitzvah skills by breaking down the multistep activities into smaller, manageable steps presented in words and pictures.
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How To Put On A Tallit The process for putting on a tallit has been examined and broken down into discrete steps. This packet can be used to teach the entire chain of steps required for completing the task (in this case, putting on a tallit), or to teach specific steps as necessary.
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How To Undress The Torah (coming soon!)
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| How To Dress The Torah (coming soon!) |
