MIDWEEK Blog 22-23

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Gimel (3^rd 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 (4^th, 5^th, and 6^th) 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.