February 20 & 21
Hebrew -
The Gimel students practiced reading and writing Hebrew words with the letters Pey, Fey, and Final. Each student read individually to a teacher or madricha and also used their Hebrew reading skills to match the names of Jewish holidays written in Hebrew with pictures describing the holidays.
The Dalet Hebrew reading group students practiced reading with the Hebrew letter Samech and wrote Hebrew words with Samech to help them recall the letter and vowel sounds, and the other group is making great progress in their Mitkadem binders.
The Hey, and Vav Hebrew reading group students strengthened their Hebrew reading skills by reading sets of Hebrew word flash cards and then practiced reciting the blessing for an aliyah to the Torah and the Kiddush.
Experiential Education - no update was provided.
February 6 & 7
Hebrew -
Last week: The Gimel students reinforced their Hebrew reading skills with the letter Sin. They read Hebrew aloud as a class and then took turns reading aloud individually to the teacher and madrichim, while completing a writing sheet where they wrote out the Shema! Writing the letters helps reinforce their familiarity with letters and is preparing them for the Mitkadem program, which they will begin next year.
The Dalet, Hey, and Vav students completed different activities, depending on their Hebrew reading skills. Some students continued to learn how to read Hebrew, while focusing on the Pey and Tzadi letters. Other students worked on reading and reciting brachot, including the blessing for an Aliyah to the Torah and the Kiddush. Some of the students in our Wednesday class celebrated their completion of the Hebrew Reading Book with a “siyyum” and had a special snack. These students are now working in a prayer packet, where they earn stickers for practicing and mastering a prayer.
Experiential Education - No update provided.
January 30 & 31
Hebrew - Some Gimel and Dalet students worked on learning the Torah blessings for an Aliyah. Some students worked on the Friday night Kiddush.
Hey and Vav - Worked on Torah Blessings.
Experiential Education - no update was submitted
January 23 & 24
Midweek Hebrew -
The Gimel Students learned two more vowels that make the “OH” sound and practiced reading lines of Hebrew with words with these “OH” vowel sounds.
The Dalet, Hey, and Vav Hebrew students continue to work in their small reading groups, depending on their knowledge level. Some students are mastering reading with the Hebrew letters and vowels by reading aloud with a madricha or the teacher. Other students are applying their Hebrew knowledge to read Tefillot; this week they focused on reading the blessing for an Aliyah to the Torah and the Friday night Kiddush.
Experiential Education - No updates have been provided, please reach out to Alan Johnathan for updates.
January 16 & 17
HEBREW:
The Gimel students learned to read with the Hebrew letter Chet. They read Hebrew words with Chets in small groups. They will finish their Chet writing worksheets next week.
The Dalet, Hey, and Vav Mitkadem Group students continued working in their binders. Please ask your child what prayer they are working on! The Dalet, Hey, and Vav Hebrew Group students worked in small groups, depending on their knowledge. One group worked on mastering reading the blessing for an Aliyah to the Torah and began working on reading the Friday might Kiddush. Another group worked on distinguishing letters that look similar and different vowel sounds by completing an activity where they circled the word that was recited aloud. Other students worked in groups of 1-2 students with a madrichah in the Tiyulim Reading Book; most of these students have about 6 lessons remaining to finish the Tiyulim Reading curriculum.
In all of these classes, students had fun learning together!
EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION - No update provided. Please contact Alan Johnathan for details.
December 12 & 13 - Happy Chanukah
The Midweek Hebrew classes continued working on their Hebrew reading skills. The Gimel students learned to read with the “OO” sounding vowels and practiced reading aloud as a class. The Dalet, Hey, and Vav worked in their small groups, depending on their Hebrew level. Some students were practicing reading words with the Hebrew letter Sin, while other students were strengthening their Hebrew reading skills by reading commonly seen words and phrases in the Siddur (prayer book). A few of our students began reading the Kiddush prayer over the wine, which is recited at the beginning of Shabbat and marks the Shabbat as a holy day of rest. Students working in Mitkadem continued working in their binders, with many students working on learning the various brachot (blessings) which are recited over foods and when performing a mitzvah-such as lighting Shabbat and Chanukah candles. Afterwards, all of the students walked over to Temple Israel where we lit the Chanukah candles as a congregation and enjoyed donuts and latkes.
December 5 & 6
Hebrew -
The Gimel students completed a Hebrew word crossword puzzle, designed to reinforce Hebrew reading skills and letter writing, and practiced reading words with the Yud.
The Dalet, Hey, and Vav Mitkadem students worked in their binders, with many students working on reading Hebrew blessings, including the prayers for lighting the Chanukah candles. The Dalet, Hey, and Vav Hebrew Reading students worked in small groups learning to read with various Hebrew letters and strengthening their Hebrew reading speed.
Experiential Education - No update provided. Contact Alan Johnathan for details.
November 14 & 15
Tuesday:
Hebrew and Experiential Education -We had a slightly different format on Tuesday. First, students from all grades were grouped by Hebrew level. One group learned to read the blessings recited when lighting the Chanukah candles, and the other group (our Mitkadem students) began learning to read the Aleinu prayer in Hebrew. This group and all of the Mitkadem students will continue to work on learning the various Hebrew prayers, as part of their Midweek learning. We hope that some students may lead the Ashrei for the congregation once they master it! After Hebrew, Rabbi Kornsgold led a discussion with the students about the purpose of the pro-Israel rally, watched a video from Rabbi Wolk and Cantor Lissek at the rally, and created bracelets, where they could express their hope for peace in Israel.
Wednesday:
Hebrew -Students continued working in their Hebrew groups. Our Mitkadem students worked on the prayer that they are studying-please ask your student to share with you what they are studying in Mitkadem! You will receive your student’s progress report at the end of the semester, which will detail which prayers they are studying. Our Hebrew reading students worked in small groups. One group learned to read with the Hebrew letter Kuf and practiced reading lines of Hebrew with the Kuf. Another group worked on reading with the Hebrew letter Samech. Both groups also practiced words and phrases from the siddur (prayer book).
Experiential Education - Contact Alan Johnathan for details.
HEBREW - The midweek students are making grear progress with Hebrew!!
The Gimel (3rd grade) students were introduced to the Hebrew letters Chaf and Chaf Sofit. The students practiced Hebrew reading in small groups.
The DALET, HEY AND VAV, 4th, 5th, and 6th) students continued working in their reading groups. The Mitkadem (Hebrew Prayer Curriculum) students are learning brachot (prayers), the Friday night kiddush, the Amidah, and V’ahavta. Each student is working at their own pace while learning Hebrew vocabulary in the prayers, learning the meaning of the prayer, and reflecting on the prayer’s relevance to them. Many of our students are enthusiastically studying for their “brain checks” where they have the opportunity to show what they learned from studying the prayer. The Tiyulim (Hebrew reading) students are working in small reading groups, depending on their level. Most of these students can name the Hebrew letters but need practice reading with the letters and vowels so they are able to read at a steady pace. One group worked on reading with the Sin this week, while another group worked on reading with the Gimel. These students are making marked progress in the small group format.
November 1
Hebrew-
The Gimel (3rd grade) students completed an activity where they matched Hebrew homophones and learned to recognize that Tet and Tav and Alef and Ayin make the same sound in Hebrew. They were also introduced to the Hebrew letter “kaf” and practiced reading with the kaf in small reading groups.
The Dalet, Hey, and Vav (4th, 5th, and 6th) students continued working in their reading groups. The Mitkadem (Hebrew Prayer Curriculum) students are learning brachot (prayers), the Friday night kiddush, the Amidah, and V’ahavta. Each student is working at their own pace while learning Hebrew vocabulary in the prayers, learning the meaning of the prayer, and reflecting on the prayer’s relevance to them. The Tiyulim (Hebrew reading) students are working in small reading groups, depending on their level. Working in small groups is helping these students gain more confidence in their knowledge and Hebrew reading skills. There continues
Experiential Education - no update provided. Contact Alan Johnathan for details
October 24 & 25
HEBREW-
The Gimel (3rd grade) students learned to read with the Hebrew letter Ayin and vowels that make the “EYE” and “AY” sounds. With these additions to their knowledge, they can now reads words such as “Eh-lo-hay”, meaning our God. Students read in small groups and practiced reading lines of Hebrew aloud. The students are very supportive and encouraging with each other as evidenced when one student complimented her classmate on her Hebrew reading skills and noted how much she progress she has made this year!
The Dalet, Hey, and Vav (4th, 5th, and 6th) students continued working in their reading groups. The Mitkadem (Hebrew Prayer Curriculum) students are working on learning brachot (prayers) and the Friday night kiddush. The students are learning how most prayers begin with the blessing formula and then give us words to reflect on what we are thankful for or to perform an act or mitzvah. As they learn the Friday night kiddush, they will explore and reflect on the two events mentioned in the prayer-the creation of the world and the exodus from Egypt. The Tiyulim (Hebrew reading) students are working in small reading groups, depending on their level. Working in small groups is helping these students gain more confidence in their knowledge and Hebrew reading skills.
Experiential Education - no update provided. Contact Alan Johnathan for an update
Midweek October 17 & 18
HEBREW
Gimel:
The Gimel students learned to read with Hebrew letter Tet. The students read in small groups and completed an activity where they matched rhyming Hebrew words.
Dalet, Hey, Vav:
The Dalet, Hey, and Vav students are now divided into groups based on their Hebrew reading skills. Students who can read Hebrew well are working in the Mitkadem curriculum, where they are studying tefillot (prayers) that we recite in our services. The prayers that are being studied this year are the brachot (blessings for foods, lighting candles, and the shehecheyanu), Friday night Kiddush, the blessing for an aliyah to the Torah, Shema and V’ahavta, and Amidah. Students who working on sharpening their Hebrew reading skills for accuracy and speed are working in small groups and focusing on reading with letters and vowels that they need to master. This week, many of our students focused on reading with the Hebrew letter, Samech. There has been a positive feeling in the classes with students helping each other read Hebrew words and cheering each other on!
Experiential Education:
We had another great week in Experiential Education!
We started class reviewing Parashat Noach and how the rainbow (Keshet) is a reminder to us of God’s promise to not attempt to destroy the world again. This week in class we focused on Jewish diversity. Students were given 10 index cards and on one they wrote Jewish. On the other 9 cards, they wrote what makes them unique or is a part of them. After, each student would write how they feel about being Jewish and shared their feelings with their peers. Students then divided the cards up into very important, important, and not important and color-coded them. Students shared with the class what was important to their identity and what was similar and different from one another. We then discussed how the one thing that links us all together is our Judaism and one of our strengths as Jews is our diversity. With our diversity, we have different traditions and customs, views of halacha or Jewish law, and different experiences that make us stronger as a people.
May 9 & 10
We had another great week in Experiential Education!
After last week’s class learning about Lag B’Omer, Students got to experience a mini version in class. After a quick review of the holiday, students broke into two teams to see who could get the highest score in our archery range set up in the playground and then made s’mores around our mini bonfire in honor of Lag B’Omer.
Hebrew:
Students in the Gimel and Hey class continued to sharpen their Hebrew reading skills and increase their reading fluency of tefillot (prayers). They specifically worked on the blessing for an aliyah to the Torah and the Friday night kiddush. Some students also worked with partners and quizzed each other with flash cards of words commonly used in prayers.
Dalet – Students completed the end of year Hebrew assessments and worked to finish the current Ramah (level) they are working on in Mitkadem.
Hey – Students completed the end of year Hebrew assessments and worked to finish the current Ramah (level) they are working on in Mitkadem.
The Vav students continued working on learning tefillot as part of their end of year Etgar Challenge. Students have been working on reading the Ashrei, Aleinu, and portions of the silent Amidah. The goal is for students to increase their familiarity with these prayers and to know parts of the silent Amidah that they can read to themselves in Hebrew. Several students have completed the challenge and will be recognized on the last day of religious school.
May 2 & 3, 2023
HEBREW:
Gimel and Hey students continued developing their Hebrew reading skills and Hebrew fluency in prayers. They worked on the blessing for an Aliyah to the Torah and the Friday Night Kiddush.
Dalet and Hey students did some in class Hebrew reading assessments. These assessments are very useful and help us to see which students are where they need to be at in terms of their Hebrew reading and who needs some extra support with their Hebrew fluency.
Vav students continued their end of year challenge. Students worked on reading various prayers in Hebrew such as the Ashrei, Aleinu, and paragraphs from the silent portion of the Amidah. They also created bookmarks that will be donated to the scholars of the Shalom Park Freedom School.
April 25 & 26
Gimel students continued to work on their Hebrew reading skills. Some students worked on reading the Hebrew words of the V’ahvata prayer, while other students worked on the blessing for an aliyah to the Torah or the Friday night kiddush. By reading and re-reading these prayers, students are becoming more familiar with the Hebrew words in the prayers and increasing their fluency with the prayers we commonly use in our services and rituals.
Dalet students continued to work in their Mitkadem binders. This week we focused on reading Hebrew with greater fluency. The goal is for students to complete the current ramah (level) they are working on before the school year ends.
Hey students learned to read and chant the blessing for an aliyah to the torah. They were very excited to learn the prayer!
Vav students continued working on their end of year Hebrew prayer challenge. Students worked on reading the Ashrei and portions of the silent Amidah. They also learned the closing rituals for the Amidah.
All students learned about Yom Ha'atzmaut and played a trivia game testing their knowledge about Israel. Students on Wednesday had a chance to attend the park wide celebration on Shalom Park.
March 28 & 29
Hebrew:
Gimel - Students learned to read the Ma Nishtanah by studying and quizzing each other on flashcards with the words of the song and then reading the text. Some students also learned to read the ten plagues in Hebrew. When we return after the Pesach break, students will learn to read the V’ahavta prayer.
Hey -Students learned to read the Ma Nishanah and practiced singing the song together. They also practiced reading the V’ahavta prayer. First, they reviewed flash cards with the words of the prayer and then they read the text of the prayer.
Vav - Students created matzah covers that depicted the order of the Seder written in Hebrew and illustrations of the fourteen steps of the Seder. Hopefully, these covers will be a nice addition to your Pesach Seder!
Experiential Education:
We had another great week in Experiential Education!
This week, we had a fully immersive cooking experience for Pesach. We started class reviewing information about Pesach. After, students were given a cup of flour, a cup of water, a plate, and a fork. Students then learned that for matzoh to be kosher for Pesach, it must be prepared and cooked in less than 18 minutes. Students then started to make the dough, flatten, and poke holes in the dough as the timer began. Once students finished their preparation, we placed the dough on a cookie sheet and cooked it at the oven’s maximum temperature until the matzoh was ready or the timer almost ran out. While the matzoh was cooling, students tasted fresh charoset made of apple, pear, coconut, raisins, and grape juice. At the end of class, students ate their matzoh and discussed how it tasted, if they would have done anything differently and if they preferred our homemade matzoh or store-bought ones.
March 21 & 22, 2023
HEBREW -
Tuesday
Gimel
In preparation for Pesach, students worked in pairs and quizzed each other on flashcards containing the Hebrew words of the Ma Nishtanah-The Four Questions. Once they mastered the flashcards, they practiced reading the questions in Hebrew.
Dalet – Students continued to work o their binders. The goal is to finish the current ramah (level) they are working on by Passover.
Hey- Students continued to work o their binders. The goal is to finish the current ramah (level) they are working on by Passover.
Vav -Students worked on learning to read the Hebrew words of the Ashrei prayer. Students rotated reading the leader and congregational lines aloud.
Wednesday
Hey
In preparation for Pesach, students worked in pairs and quizzed each other on flashcards containing the Hebrew words of the Ma Nishtanah-The Four Questions. Once they mastered the flashcards, they practiced reading the questions in Hebrew. They also strengthened their Hebrew reading skills by reading aloud Hebrew word flashcards and emphasizing a few vowels that they still need to reinforce.
Vav
Vav students continued practicing reading the Ashrei. Two students chanted the leader lines for about half of the prayer. In preparation for Pesach, they reviewed prayers and songs in the Haggadah. They sang the song for the order of the seder and read the Hebrew lines for the Dayenu song. They also spent some time reading Hebrew word flashcards from prayers to maintain and sharpen their Hebrew reading skills.
Experiential Education -
We had another great week in Experiential Education!
This week we started to learn about Passover. First, students discussed what they knew about Passover before watching a short video about our next major holiday. After, students used our buzzer system to play Passover trivia.
February 28 & March 1
Experiential Education:
We had another great week in Experiential Education!
This week we made Hamantaschen in the TIRS kitchen to get ready for Purim. Students had a choice between raspberry, apricot, marshmallow, or chocolate chips for fillings, and at the end of the class got to eat their creation! It was a delicious and fun way to spend the afternoon!
Hebrew:
Tuesday:
Gimel
The Gimel students practiced their Hebrew reading skills. They rotated through stations where they read lines of Hebrew from the Ma Nishtanah, played Hebrew Connect Four, and read a page of Hebrew to Rabbi Kornsgold.
Dalet and Hey:
Students learned the Hebrew words associated with the 4 mitzvot of Purim as well as other Purim related Hebrew words.
Vav
The Vav students worked on the V’ahvta prayer in Mitkadem. They read the prayer aloud and learned about the symbols in the prayer.
Wednesday:
Gimel and Dalet:
Students learned the Hebrew words associated with the 4 mitzvot of Purim as well as other Purim related Hebrew words.
Hey
Students learned to read the V’ahvavta prayer and the Torah blessing.
Vav
Students played a Jeopardy game where they answered questions about the meaning of the Kiddush, V'ahavta, and Torah blessing and also read lines of the prayer aloud. We continued practicing the Ashrei and had two students lead prayer for the class. We also started exploring Hebrew songs and prayers from the Passover Haggadah and began with the song that is sung about the order of the Seder.
February 21 & 22
Hebrew:
Tuesday
Gimel
Students rotated through stations where they read lines of Hebrew aloud as a group, played Hebrew Connect Four with partners, and read flashcards individually to the teacher. These activities are helping the students increase their reading speed and fluency.
Dalet and Hey
This week Kitah Dalet and Hey continued to practice reading in Hebrew. We also did a fun activity creating comics stories for Purim using different materials and new words.
Vav
Students worked on the Shema and V’ahavtah prayer. They completed activities where they thought about the words of the Shema which state that God is One and what it means to love God with all your heart and all your strength. One student said that it means to follow Judaism with your entire self, both your mind and body.
Wednesday
Dalet
This week Kitah Dalet and Hey continued to practice reading in Hebrew. We also did a fun activity creating comics stories for Purim using different materials and new words.
Hey
Students worked on increasing their Hebrew reading speed by popcorn reading lines of Hebrew. Then, they worked on reading the words of the V’ahvtah prayer from the Shema.
Vav
Students are still working on recalling and developing a strong foundation in the meaning of the Friday night kiddush, the blessing for an Aliyah to the Torah, the Shema and V’ahvtah, and the Amidah. Students also worked on reading and chanting the Ashrei. One student lead the prayer for the class, and we are looking forward to hearing more students lead the prayer in the next few weeks.
February 14 & 15
Midweek Hebrew - Margaret
Tuesday
Gimel
Students rotated through Hebrew stations where they read lines of Hebrew words from the Siddur (prayer book) aloud, played a Hebrew board game, and sped read Hebrew flashcards. These activities are helping the students sharpen their Hebrew reading skills and improve their Hebrew reading speed.
Dalet and Hey
Students worked through their Mitkadem packets. Many of the students are working on learning the blessing formula and when we recite dufferent blessings (over food, holidays, shabbat,special occasions, etc..) They are also working on learning new vocabulary which will help them understand the tefilot they are learning in Shira/Tefillah.
Vav
Most students completed Ramah 6 on the blessing for an Aliyah to the Torah. In their assessments, they identified the meaning of the prayer by matching vocabulary words and reflected on the words about God choosing the Jewish people, why the prayer uses the words “gives” the Torah, and why the prayer says that God planted everlasting life within us. Their responses included that God chose the Jewish people to receive the Torah and perform mitzvot, the prayer says “gives” because we continue to receive the Torah today, and that we can have everlasting life by passing the Torah from generation to generation.
Wednesday
Gimel
Students rotated through Hebrew stations where they read lines of Hebrew words from the Siddur (prayer book) aloud, played a Hebrew board game, and sped read Hebrew flashcards. These activities are helping the students sharpen their Hebrew reading skills and improve their Hebrew reading speed.
Dalet
Students worked through their Mitkadem packets. Many of the students are working on learning the blessing formula and when we recite dufferent blessings (over food, holidays, shabbat,special occasions, etc..) They are also working on learning new vocabulary which will help them understand the tefilot they are learning in Shira/Tefillah.
Hey
Students read lines of Hebrew words from the Siddur (prayer book) aloud and then played a Hebrew board game while being pulled out individually to read three lines of Hebrew to the teacher. These activities are helping the students sharpen their Hebrew reading skills and improve their Hebrew reading speed.
Vav
As the Vav students time in traditional religious school is coming to a close, we are reviewing all of the prayers and their meanings that the students have learned in Mitkadem so that they will hopefully recall the prayer’s meaning as they are preparing for their B’nai Mitzvot and when they later attend services as Jewish adults. Students are also learning to lead the Ashrei and may have an opportunity to lead it in services, if they want. We are also spending the last 15 minutes of each class continuing our introduction to conversational Hebrew, with common phrases that the students can use if they travel to Israel with their families or teen trips or on Birthright trips, when they are older. So far, the students can introduce themselves, state where they are from, say that they are traveling somewhere, and what they might have in the backpack. This week, we started learning words for food and beverage items. It Is great to hear them speaking Hebrew.
February 7 & 8, 2023
Midweek Hebrew:
Tuesday
Gimel students are working on strengthening their Hebrew reading skills. Students rotated through three stations where they read lines of Hebrew aloud, wrote Hebrew sounds on mini white boards, and practiced speed reading with Hebrew word flashcards.
Dalet students learned the different blessings we say over food and how to read these blessings, some of them contain difficult Hebrew words. The students are doing a great job working on their decoding skills. They also used flashcards to help them learn new Hebrew words
Hey This week we continued to work on the ramot (levels) in Mitkadem. We focused on root words, pronunciation of words from Amidah, and we played with some Hebrew flashcards.
Vav students worked in their Mitkadem binders. Some students reviewed vocabulary in preparation for their assessments. Other students worked on the reflections about prayer section for the blessing for an Aliyah to the Torah where they thought about the words of the prayer which state that God chose the Jewish people from all other nations to receive the Torah.
Wednesday
Gimel students are working on strengthening their Hebrew reading skills.
Dalet students learned the different blessings we say over food and how to read these blessings, some of them contain difficult Hebrew words. The students are doing a great job working on their decoding skills. They also used flashcards to help them learn new Hebrew words
Hey students celebrated their completion of reviewing all of the Hebrew letters and vowels with a Siyyum-party. They played Hebrew hangman and Hebrew reading board games and enjoyed a little snack of cookies and popcorn.
Vav students continued their conversational Hebrew activities. They learned how to say phrases about traveling to a place and items they have in their backpack. They also had fun playing Hebrew hangman where one student challenged the class with guessing the word “guacamole” spelled with Hebrew letters.
Experiential Education
January 31 and February 1,
HEBREW
Tuesday:
Gimel
Gimel students reinforced their Hebrew reading skills by playing Hebrew word board games, writing the answers to riddles in Hebrew, and reading Hebrew word flashcards. Most of the Gimel students can decipher and sound out all of the Hebrew letters and vowels; we are now working on sharpening their skills and increasing their reading speed.
Dalet -
We practiced reading and working our vocabulary with the letter tzadi.
We talked about the upcoming holiday Tu B'shvat, and played some fun Hebrew bingo.
Hey -
We practiced reading and working our vocabulary with the letter tzadi.
We talked about the upcoming holiday Tu B'shvat, and played some fun Hebrew bingo.
Vav
Vav students worked in their Mitkadem binders. Most students are working on the blessing for an Aliyah to the Torah. They completed an activity where they attached different prefixes to the word “Torah” and saw how it changed the meaning of the word. Students also interacted as they quizzed each other on vocabulary words. By studying the vocabulary and meaning of the prayer, students are hopefully developing a more meaningful connection to the prayer – beyond knowing how to chant the prayer alone.
Wednesday
Gimel - Gimel students reinforced their Hebrew reading skills by playing Hebrew word board games, writing the answers to riddles in Hebrew, and reading Hebrew word flashcards. Most of the Gimel students can decipher and sound out all of the Hebrew letters and vowels; we are now working on sharpening their skills and increasing their reading speed.
Dalet -
Hey - Students practiced reading with the Tzadee and Final Tzadee and completed their Hebrew reading review in the Tiyulim book. They read aloud as a group and individually with our “popcorn” reading activity. We will celebrate next week with a “siyyum”- a celebration held in Judaism when you finish a book.
Vav - Students continued learning conversational Hebrew. Students can now introduce themselves and a friend in Hebrew. They also know how to say where they are from and where they might be traveling to. We also discussed how Hebrew uses different verbs for genders and singular/plural nouns and practiced reciting sentences aloud where they said they were traveling to Israel using singular and plural nouns.
EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION
We had another great week in Experiential Education!
This week in honor of Tu B’Shevat, we had a Tu B’Shevat Seder. Students tasted different fruits and some of the seven species along with practicing blessings over grape juice, the shehecheyanu after eating a fruit for the first time, and blessings said after eating a new fruit.
January 24, 2023 (Tuesday only)
Hebrew
Gimel
Gimel students completed packets where they matched Hebrew sounds to their English equivalents, identified silent letters, and matched rhyming words and synonyms to review and check their Hebrew reading skills.
Dalet - Students continue to work through their Mitkadem packets. Some students are almost finished the unit on blessings in Ramah 4. They will be studying for the assessment and taking it in the next couple of weeks. There are also some students who are still making their way through Ramah 3, where they are learning about root words in Hebrew as well as prefuxes and suffixes.
Hey -The Hey students are working hard with their Hebrew reading review. This week, they practiced reading words with the letters Gimmel and Koof. They read aloud as a group and “popcorn” read-where each student reads a word aloud. Students that are already proficient Hebrew readers continued working on learning the brachot (blessings) that are recited over various foods and composed their own personal blessing.
Vav
Vav students worked in their Mitkadem binders. Most students are now working on the blessing for an Aliyah to the Torah. Students read and chanted the Aliyah blessing aloud, learned the root word for commandment, and questioned what the prayer means when it says that God planted everlasting life in us.
Experiential Education
Students watched a video about Tu B'shvat and Honi the Circle Maker. In the video they learned it is important to take care of the earth today and plant trees today, so that their children and grandchildren will have trees in the future. Then, students brainstormed different themes and fruits associated with Tu B'shvat. Finally, the class had a blast playing Pictionary with the words they came up with. There are some great artists in the !
January 10 & 11, 2023
Experiential Education
We had another great week in Experiential Education!
This week we started to learn about different foods in Israel. We started class by reviewing where Israel is, what type of weather it has, and comparing it to life in Charlotte. Next, we discussed how the Jewish calendar lines up perfectly with harvests and seasons in Israel. Students then learned about the 7 species that grow in Israel by doing a gallery crawl around the room. Students went around the room learning about each of the 7 species, what Jewish value they represent, what they look like, and one fun fact they learned.
HEBREW
Dalet Students are working their way through the different Mitkadem levels. This week a number of students completed Ramah 3 where they worked on learning about root words, prefixes and suffixes. A few students completed ramah 4, where they were learning the blessings over food, candle lighting and different holiday blessings.
Hey students sharpened their Hebrew reading skills by reviewing the Hebrew letters and vowel flashcards and reading aloud with lines of Hebrew that emphasized reading with the Hebrew letters Samech and Sin. Some of the Hey students, who are already proficient Hebrew readers, worked in their Mitkadem binders on the unit about the blessings that are recited for eating foods and lighting candles. They also considered times when we want to pray individually or collectively as a community.
Tuesday Vav students continued working in their Mitkadem binders. Some students completed their unit on the Friday night Kiddush where they learned that the Kiddush is recited as we make Shabbat a holy time and that the prayer recalls the creation of the world and the exodus from Egypt. Other students are working on the blessings for an Aliyah to the Torah where they are reflecting on what it means that God chose the Jewish people to receive the Torah and putting the acts of the Torah service in chronological order.
Wednesday Vav students (in Margaret’s class) started a new conversational Hebrew reading curriculum which will supplement their Mitkadem activities. They learned how to introduce themselves and state where they are from in Hebrew. They enjoyed learning by reading a Hebrew play about four people that meet in the airport on their way to Israel.
December 13 & 14
Experiential Education:
This week we concluded our unit on food by making different edible Chanukah crafts! Students first made functional dreidels out of caramel cubes, Hershey kisses, frosting, and pretzels, then practiced spinning them. Next, students created a flat chanukiyah using pretzel sticks, frosting, and M&M minis and practiced lighting the candles with the frosting and M&M minis. Last, students had a competition to see who could make a standing chanukiyah using the same materials as before.
December 6 & 7
HEBREW:
Hey: - Students worked in their mitkadem binders. Then, the class engaged in some Hebrew through Movement. The students played musical chairs, but the key was their instructions were in Hebrew. Using the Hebrew rules they have been learning about root words, prefixes and suffixes, they saw the way Hebrew words are constructed and how to decode the words to find the meaning.
EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION:
We had another great week in Experiential Education! This week we reviewed what we learned so far about kashrut (Jewish dietary laws) and reviewed Chanukah by playing trivia with our buzzer system.
November 29 & 30, 2022
HEBREW:
Gimel - Gimel students practiced reading Hebrew words with the letter Samech and learned two additional vowels that make the OH sound.
Dalet -Dalet students continued working in their mitkadem binders.
Hey -Hey students reviewed all of the Hebrew letters and vowels and focused on reading Hebrew words with the letters Sin and Pey.
Vav - Vav students worked in their Mitkadem binders. Some students practiced reading and reciting the Friday night kiddush while other students took assessments on the Torah Aliyah blessing and the Amidah. The Wednesday class played a game of “Jeopardy” where they tested their knowledge about prefixes, suffixes, roots words, and the meaning of the prayers they have been studying in Mitkadem.
EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION:
This week we continued to build on students’ understanding of kashrut (Jewish dietary laws). Students were given different menus from restaurants around Charlotte and were tasked with creating a fully kosher restaurant based on the menu. The first-choice students had to make was if the restaurant would be meat or dairy. Then, they had to either remove items from the menu that were not kosher or find a replacement. For example, if you had a burger restaurant, all dairy items would have to be a pareve replacement and all pork bacon could be replaced with turkey bacon. Students worked together in small groups and shared their menus with the class after they completed their restaurant.
November 15 &16
Hebrew -
Gimel (3rd) students practiced reading with the Hebrew letters Kaf, Chaf, Chaf Sofit, and Yud. They read aloud as a group as well as individually. Student also played a game of Connect Four with Hebrew words.
Dalet (4th) students continued to work in their binders. Some students are learning which blessings to recite over different foods, while others are working on the Friday evening kiddush.
Hey (5th)students practiced reading with the Hebrew letters Sin and Pey. They read aloud as a group as well as individually. Student also had fun completing a Hebrew crossword puzzle.
Vav (6th) students continued to learn about different tefillot in their Mitkadem notebooks. Students in Ramah 5 learned how the Kiddush reminds us to rest on Shabbat because it recalls that God also rested on the seventh day of Creation and that God redeemed us from slavery in Egypt because we, as all humans, should be able to rest. Students in Ramah 6 put the events of the Torah service in chronological order and reflected on the words of the Torah blessing which state that God chose us from among other nations and planted within us everlasting life. Students reflected that we can have everlasting life by passing on the Torah from generation to generation – L’dor V’dor. Students in Ramah 9 put phrases on the Shema in order and discovered the origin of the mitzvot of wearing t’zitzit and tefillin and hanging a mezuzah, which are described in the prayer. Students in Ramah 11 worked on learning the meaning of the Amidah by studying vocabulary and recognizing how the prayer has evolved with the addition of the matriarchs.
EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION
We had another great week in Experiential Education!
This week we focused on how to look for kosher packaged food in stores. Students learn about hechshers (kosher food symbols), the process food and other products go through to be certified kosher, and where to look on packages to search for a hechsher. Students then had the opportunity to look at various products to search for hechshers in different products in the classroom. Each student was given a checklist with each product to mark if the product had a hechsher, if the ingredients were kosher, and if they felt the product was kosher. At the end of class, we reviewed each answer and discussed different reasons a product could be ruled as not kosher.
November 1 & 2,2022
Experiential Education -
We had another great week in Experiential Education!
We started class reviewing what we learned last week about what animals are kosher, what are the three breakdowns of food types in Judaism (meat, dairy, and parve), and why certain animals are not kosher. Next, we started talking about pareve foods such as fruits and vegetables. Students then learned about different insects that we check for before we eat different fruits and vegetables. In small groups, students first did a visual inspection of green onions to look for leaf miners living in the stalks. Next students learned how to wash parsley by soaking it in a dishwater solution for 15 seconds and then checking the water for bugs by using a flashlight and a white piece of paper to simulate a lightbox. Next, we did the same for broccoli. Since the vegetables were only lightly hand-washed before, students got to see thrip bugs, small plant mites, and even a vegetable fly in one group! Students then had a chance to wash strawberries, remove the leaves, and rinse them. After, we learned the bracha (blessing) ha’adama and ate the strawberries. Students then looked at a chart of bracha rishona for what blessings we do before eating certain foods. Lastly, students were given a kosher marshmallow and a Hershey’s kiss to learn how to recite shehakol.
Hebrew
Gimel
Students practiced reading with the Vav and Tet from lessons 12 and 13 in the Tiyulim curriculum. Students read aloud as a group and also read individually with a “popcorn” reading activity.
Dalet
Students worked on Hebrew vocabulary words through playing I Spy in Hebrew.
Hey
Students reviewed the Hebrew letters and vowels with flashcards and then practiced their Hebrew reading. They read with 21 of the 31 Hebrew letters and all of the Hebrew vowels. Once they are proficient with their Hebrew reading, they will resume work in the Mitkadem Hebrew prayer program.
Vav
Students finished their review of the Hebrew letters and vowels and received their Mitkadem notebooks. Mitkadem is our Hebrew prayer curriculum where students learn to read and chant prayer while also exploring and reflecting on the meaning of the prayer. Most students are beginning with Ramah (Level) 5 which highlights the Friday night Kiddush.