• Wow! Where did all these materials come from?

Isn't it amazing? Chinuch.org began as a project to digitize over 15 years worth of collected materials from the Torah Umesorah Creative Learning Pavilion, which had been collecting and categorizing materials shared by thousands of educators much like you. Materials now come from principals, teachers and lay leaders from the hundreds of Torah schools across the America and around the world. You can submit your materials here submission page as well and join the network of educators spreading Torah

• Can I use the materials in the collection for whatever I want?

The materials were donated copyright free for use by other educators for non-profit classroom and school use. Homeschoolers, tutors, and other chinuch professionals are also welcome to utilize the materials in the database for chinuch purposes.

Examples of non-allowed use:

• Including a material in a publication you are selling


• Using the clip art or photographs for advertising profit-generating ventures

• May I edit and modify the materials however I want?

While the materials can and should be modified for your exact needs, it is appropriate to continue to display proper credit to the creators of the materials. Most pages have a subtle Chinuch.org byline as well as the name of the one who submitted the work at the bottom of the page. Removing the donor's name would be a disservice to the ones who worked so hard to share their hard If drastic changes are made, you might want to add "Adapted by (your name) from (original donor)."

And remember, if the sheet you use grows into something completely different, submit it to Chinuch.org! The original donor will surely be pleased to see that his/her work was put to good use!

• How can I add my work to the collection?

Hooray! This is our favorite question

• If you have an idea (i.e. a good game, management tips, etc.) or work that was created on computer, click here submission page to go to our submit page.


• If you have projects, papers, artwork, photographs, or anything that is too large to send via computer, mail it to the address below. Use this printable form to ensure that we have all the information we need from you.

Chinuch.org Submissions
959 Abbeville Drive
St. Louis, MO
63130

• If I use these materials to make a new creation, can I submit it as my own?

Please do! The original donor will most likely be honored that you got good use from her efforts. Remember to credit the original author, though. You might write "Adapted from materials from (donor name) by (your name)."

• How do I find the materials I want?

Materials on Chinuch.org are arranged so that you can easily find what you are looking for. There are 2 ways to go:


1 )  Browsing: Click on one of the subject icons on the home page or any of the Grade Level tabbed pages. The small number tells you how many items we have in that category. You can narrow down your result by using the link at the top of the Search Results Page.

2 )  Searching: At the top right corner of your screen, you will see a Search box. Type in a few words that describe what you are looking for, and then click on the "Search" button. Your results will then display on the screen. If you want to search with more details, click on the Advanced Search link on the top of that screen.

If you want search results from all of our materials, search directly from the Home Page. If you want to search within a specific age group, first click on one of the tabs at the top of the screen and then enter your search.

For example:

• To find art projects for preschool, first click on the Early Childhood tab at the top of the screen, and then type "art projects" into the search box.


• To find art projects for middle school, first click on the Middle School tab at the top of the screen and then type "art projects" into the search box.

• How should I spell transliterated words?

Do your best to spell transliterated words in a way that makes sense to you. Our search engine is designed to find words that are similarly spelled or transliterated differently. For example, typing in "Succos" will also bring up the search results for "Sukkot."

• What do I do if my search doesn't bring up results?

• First, think about other words you can use to describe what you are looking for. For example, if your search for "Latkes and other oil-rich foods" yields no results, try "Chanukah recipes."


• If you think that you are using common terms to describe what you are looking for, you can help us and others by contacting us via email. Our staff members will then look into why your search didn't work.



Of course, you will not get any search results if the item you are looking for isn't on our site. While "Gemara" is something you will find here, a search for "Best Practices for Lead Paint Removal" is not likely to return any results.

• Whoa! I got hundreds of results -- how do I narrow it down?

• In the Quick Search box, try typing in words that are more specific to what you actually need to find. Typing in "Chumash" will get you all of our Chumash materials. For fewer results, go to the Detailed Search page and specify exactly what you are looking for.


• Also, try clicking on the grade-level tabs at the top of the page before searching. This will narrow your search within the grade level you selected.

• What if I'm not looking for anything in particular?

Chinuch.org is a great place to browse through materials. If you're just trying to get an idea of what's out there, we'd suggest picking a broad category and browsing your way through it. For example:

• Look for all Chumash materials by typing "Chumash" into the Search Box on the Home Page.


• Look for all Chumash materials for elementary school, click on the Elementary tab at the top of the screen and then type "Chumash" into the search box.

• What does "downloading" mean?

Downloading simply means copying the files from our database onto your computer. Depending on the size of the file and the speed of your connection, it can take from a few seconds to several minutes to completely download a file. You will be able to download things no matter what your connection speed, but high-speed connections work best. If you are using a dial-up modem, it might take a while before your selections finish downloading.

• How can I view the material before I download it?

Each item you see will have a thumbnail (small snapshot) next to it, so that you can get an idea of what the item looks like. Clicking on that thumbnail will give you a larger Preview Screen where you can quickly look through the first 15 pages before you decide whether or not to download it.

• Help! How will I find the files after I download them?

Downloading files is much the same as stuffing papers into your file cabinet: if you label your file folders logically, you will be more likely to find them later!

When you download something, your computer will automatically ask you where you want to put your item. When in doubt, download to your Desktop, which is usually the default on your computer. Then you can move it where you want.

Tip: Don't put a file called "Shoftim Workbook" in a file called "Cholent Recipes." You'll never find it again!

• Why are there different versions of the same file available?

You can view and print PDF files on any computer that has the free Adobe Reader program installed. So no matter what sort of system or software you have, you will be able to open all of these documents. These files are usually not editable, since they are often just images of paper documents sent to us in the mail.

However, whenever possible we have included the original formats of the materials we received. If someone sent us a Dagesh file, for example, you may download the Dagesh version and edit to your heart's content (assuming you have Dagesh on your computer).

Remember, though, that sometimes the version of a program can make a difference. If someone created a document in Word 2003 and you have Works or a different version of Word, some things might not look right. You should still be able to edit the file and format it to look right in the program you opened it with, however.

• How do I know which files I can use on my computer?

If you have already installed Adobe Reader, you can already open any PDF file in the database. (You can tell what a file is by the 3 letters at the end of every file name, preceded by a period. Example: .pdf)

Otherwise, the files you can open depend on the software you have on your computer. If you have Microsoft Word on your computer, you should be able to download and open a Word document. Ditto for Dagesh, DavkaWriter, Wordperfect, etc. The types of files available will always be specified in the search results.

• Do the little 3-letter endings to the file names impact my life in any way?

Yes and no. Yes in that you need them to use the files, but no in that they needn't frighten you. They always come automatically attached to our files, and they tell you what kind of file you are looking at. Here are the main ones that you will come across in our database:

• .pdf

  -

  An Adobe Acrobat document, viewable in the free Acrobat Reader




• .jpg

  -

  Usually a photograph or a piece of colored clip art




• .gif

  -

  Usually black and white clip art, or an animated image (one that moves)




• .sas

  -

  Kai's Slide Show -- requires the free Slideshow Player to view



• .ppt  -  PowerPoint slideshow -- need the free Powerpoint Player to view, or Microsoft Powerpoint installed on your computer



• .doc

  -

  Microsoft Word document




• .dgs

  -

  You need Dagesh to open these files




• .dwd

  -

  You need DavkaWriter to open these files

• How can I edit these files?

If you have the appropriate software, you can follow the instructions for each program to edit the documents. Just open them in your program and edit as you would any other document.

• What if I don't want to print the entire document?

Open to the page you want to print, and click "Print" from your File menu at the top of the screen. When the print screen pops up, click on "current page." Your printer will also probably offer you the option of printing a specific range of pages (like pages 6-9, for example). Make sure you are looking at the actual pages of the file, and not any number which might have been typed onto the actual documents. They don't always match (for example, some people won't have listed their cover as Page 1, while your software will recognize that as the first page).