Last Tuesday we had quite a unique learning experience off-campus. We were fortunate to visit the studio of acclaimed artist Donald Gerola. Here’s a link to his webite, for those curious: http://www.donaldgerola.com/
Providence locals have certainly seen his sculptures around town.
It was our interdisciplinary Teva project that led us here. As the students worked on planning how to create an aesthetically pleasing structure to reuse rainwater in our garden, the class had to plan out what they think they will need to know and how they might learn it. Learning from a sculptor was on their list! Our Head of School, Adam Tilove, had recently met Gerola and helped us make contact.
As a classroom teacher, I can honestly say this was one of the most incredible field trips I have been on. Meeting a master artist, hearing his story, and walking through a studio filled with hundreds of creative masterpieces left me speechless. His response to my thank you email was simply beautiful. He wrote me that this was the only group of children to touch his soul and that we left magic behind in his studio. He also welcomed us to return in the spring.
As a result of our visit, students have new inspirations and ideas for moving forward with their project. They look forward to updating Gerola of their progress.
From the moment we disembarked the bus, we were in awe of the artistic sculptures.Wandering around, mesmerized by the unique shapes and colors, students forgot how cold it was outside.The artist explained the sculpture he was standing on weighs 1,600 pounds! We tried to figure out if it weighed more than all of us. (In fact, it does.)It was fascinating to hear the artist reflect on his artistic vision and process.Art that meets the sky.
After many months of Social Studies learning, we started and finished our fifth grade Colonial Newspaper Clippings Project. The fifth grade has split up into two groups, and each person wrote a News Article, a Letter to the Editor, and as a group we made a few Choice Articles. We typed up our own News Articles, and Letters, using what we have learned from the past few months. For two weeks the fifth grade worked hard in school and at home to complete this project. I think it was an interesting project, especially that we got to use something we learned.
As we prepare to embark on our winter vacations, I wanted to share some recent highlights in 5th grade:
Last week we met with our first grade buddies. They were such incredible role models and helped their buddies practice for the Kabbalat Shabbat service. Afterwards they read with their first grade buddies.
When Mr. Tilove announced an ice cream party for the class that brought in the greatest number of cans to donate to the kosher food pantry, fifth graders took pause. It was thrilling to witness the depth of their thinking and the kindness of their hearts as they made one beautiful comment after the next. “I don’t think this is how God intended us to give,” remarked Abby. Tomer suggested by encouraging other classes to bring in cans, we could be role models by demonstrating we’re not going to be competitive when it comes to Tzedakah. Here are some notes from a class conversation:
They thought deeply about the right way to give and what would make sense given the culture of kindness we have at JCDSRI. After our notes were shared with Mr. Tilove, he led a discussion with grades 1-5 and bravely admitted that his plan wan’t well thought out. What if he had used deign thinking? As a school community, the decision was made to have a school-wide ice cream party if we reach a collective goal of 1,000 cans. Even still, Jordan shared that there might be some who only give because of the incentive. That said, I suspect all the fifth graders will enjoy their ice cream party this afternoon. They did bring in over 140 cans!
Fifth Graders continue to be publicly recognized by their peers for demonstrating respect, kindness, responsibility, and cooperation at all-school assemblies
This week we spent some time working on our Teva project, which entails putting an old rain barrel in use in our garden while drawing attention to its environmental impact in terms of water conservation. The thinking is to paint it with a design and have the rain barrel itself be part of a sculpture. In 2015 we will visit and learn from local sculptors and artists who work with reused materials. Fifth grader presented their deigns to each other.
Yesterday a surprise guest taught the class part of a Yorkshire song. While this would not have been sung during the time period we’ve been studying in Colonial America, the connection, though loose, stems from the fact that the colonists came from England. Here’s a snippet of the fifth graders singing a very unusual kind of song for them.
http://youtu.be/0lYy6LgjqLs
If the YouTube link doesn’t work for you, try this one:
Today students handed in their Colonial America Newspaper Clippings Project. What might a person be able to learn about this time period from a collection of newspaper clippings? That was the premise for students, as they worked to create a compilation that reflected what they’ve learned about this time period in connection to the big ideas of religious freedom and creating community. Collaboration was a key part of this project! The finished collections look rather authentic. I can’t wait to read them all!
I hope everyone’s been enjoying Hannukah and bringing the light into their lives. It has become tradition in America to give and receive material gifts this time of year. Fifth graders created skits during morning meeting this week to show ways one might receive a gift s/he isn’t excited about with kindness. The message in the mirror this week is vital, and quite apropos this time of year. Happy Hannukah & Happy New Year to all!
This week has been a fantabulous week, and is getting even better. For the past couple of weeks our class has been preparing for the JCDS annual Kabbalat Shabbat that will be happening tonight. Most of us have even memorized the songs we are singing. On Wednesday we finished the beautiful, heartwarming, and sad story, The Tiger Rising by Kate Dicamillo. As we read this book my heart overflowed with so many different emotions. Love, sadness, gratitude, happiness, excitement, wonder, and most of all creativity.
We have now started our new book Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. Our class has also recently started algebra!!! To be honest I was completely freaked out and thought that algebra would be super hard. It turns out that it is a lot easier than I expected. It’s actually rather fun!
We have all been working crazy hard on our Colonial American Newspaper Clipping Project for the past few weeks. It is due today, Friday December 19. We all can’t wait to see how we do. Anyways both groups will probably do very well. This week was amazing!
Note: Eliora began writing this last week (about last week) and finished writing it this week (about this week).
This week has been full of learning. In social studies we have been focusing on the history of the Middle Colonies. On Wednesday we read a document, an old document, a primary source that William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, wrote in 1682. Unfortunately we did not get the real document, only copies, but it was still cool to see what he wrote. He wrote about how King Charles the Second gave him a piece of land which William Penn decided to call Pennsylvania, meaning ‘Penn’s Woods’. William wrote: “I the said William Penn, have declared, granted, and conformed…these liberties, franchises, and properties, to be held enjoyed, and kept by the freemen, planters, and inhabitants of the said province of Pennsylvania forever.” He meant that this place would be kept free and enjoyed forever. This was a big thing to say for that time.
To me it was interesting to see how William Penn and Roger Williams were the same. They were both founders of a state and both had big ideas about freedom. They also both had ‘William’ in their names. I think that this is one of the most interesting things that the fifth grade has learned so far in social studies.
Out of the classroom learning expeditions should enhance and deepen the learning that is taking place in the classroom. Last month, in connection with our studies of Colonial America, fifth graders visited Touro Synagogue. Because the students have been learning about this time period this semester, this expedition served as a platform for them to synthesize and deepen the ideas they’ve been thinking about and wrestling with.
At first glance, it is clear this synagogue sticks out. How so? Why?
Feeling truly free in Rhode Island, Jews proudly built their synagogue facing east, toward Jerusalem, at an angle with the street it’s on, different from any ordinary building.
Fifth graders were familiar with the principles on which Roger Williams founded Rhode Island: freedom for all and separation of church and state.
Students take pride in the fact that Rhode Island was the first colony to welcome everybody, while realizing the Narragansett Indians were displaced after the colonists arrived.
Students took notes about what they found interesting and what they wanted to know more about. They were amazed at all the connections they could make from Isobel in the novel they’d read to the journey of other Jews escaping from the Inquisition who made it to Rhode Island.
We were awed by the original Torah they used, made from deerskin.
We learned about the architecture, the founding members of this historic synagogue, and the pride of Newport over the ideal of religious freedom. Sadly, Newport played a major role in the slave trade, an ugly reality of our country’s history.
Fifth graders marveled over the perfect symmetry in the architecture. They were also proud of how impressed the tour guide was with all their background information on this time period.
George Washington once visited this synagogue and wrote a letter to the community promising they would always be free and safe.
Afterwards, students learned more about this community at the interactive visitor’s center.
On our walk back from Touro to the bus, we spotted this gorgeous public lawn and knew it would be the perfect place to enjoy our lunches on the crisp fall day. The Redwood Library and Athenaeum is a private subscription library. Founded in 1747, it is the oldest community library still occupying its original building in the United States.
This was one of those moments when we all appreciated the freedom we have to enjoy a spontaneous moment.
And since we were missing the official “lunch and recess time” back at school, it only made sense for some play time to follow the meal! What a beautiful setting to have recess!
It was a day of great learning, bonding, and enjoyment.
We are busy reading, talking, playing and learning in Hebrew.
Art and Lashon project: There are two goals for the project. linguistically (ways to describe oneself) and artistically (ways to draw oneself based on an Israeli artist Hanoch Pivan. In Lashon we are learning poems written by the Israeli author Yehuda Atlas. You can hear one of the poems in the link הילד הזה הוא אני . The students wrote about ‘אני’ (me) and draw themselves.
The group EinShem: We finished our reading from the story Boy’s Prayer. We have started our new workbook חברים בעברית Chaverim B’Ivrit. The group of verbs we are studying are in binyan pi’el (מדבר – talk, מספר – tell, משחק – play)
The group Hafalafelim: We continued with the topic “direct object” in Hebrew and learned how the personal singular pronouns can function as the object of the verb. We need a lot of practice. We also learned the infinitive form of verbs in binyan pa’al (כותב – לכתוב) and practice the use of them in sentences.
Native Hebrew speakers: We continued our work on the structure of the Hebrew sentences. In the book ‘מילה טובה’ the students practiced comprehensive reading.
November in fifth grade has felt full. The good kind of full. If you stop by our classroom at any given time, you’ll see students deep in thought, wrestling with big ideas connected to freedom or responsibility. You might hear students engaged in a discussion about tolerance or individuality. They might be reading and interacting with ideas in a text, or they might be solving complex word problems with a partner. They might be doing peer or group critique, trying hard to complete their personal narratives. After our sojourn into the woods, we seem to have become immersed in our unit studies. Fifth graders have worked hard to create work that helps make sense of what we’re learning. I learn so much about my students and their thinking from their work! It also seems this deep level of productivity has left my camera devoid of captivating photos of the children at work. I will, however, share some of their thoughtful work:
Groups presented research about Colonial AmericaStudents depict the 1st boatload of Jewish immigrants to New Amsterdam in 1654
Some wrote letters to the Dutch West India Company, while most chose to create comics
If you had a business during Colonial times, what would it have been, why, and where? Students created sign boards for their businesses
You might be wondering how we have time to do so much, especially given our dual curriculum. Fifth graders have noted lately how many more assignments they seem to have. From end of book projects to unit tests to creative artistic work, figuring out how to “do it all” has been a challenge indeed.
Time management, in fact, has been an important topic of conversation (and will continue to be a big focus) in fifth grade. In class, students have been reflecting on what they have learned about managing their time. There are an increasing number of long-term assignments in fifth grade. Next year, when students are at middle school they will be expected to manage their time well.
Fifth graders: Could you post a comment about one strategy that has helped you with time management? Perhaps you want to share a challenge or a lesson you’ve recently learned (like: don’t wait until the night before it’s due to start it).
Parents & Grandparents: Could you post a comment with sage advice for these fifth graders? Share how time management is a pertinent “real-world” skill.
School-wide, we’ve been focusing on gratitude. I would be personally grateful to those who make a comment that might enhance the depth of our thinking about time management. All comments are welcome and encouraged!
This week’s mirror message
One helpful time-saving tool is to type faster. Here is a link to a fun and helpful keyboarding activity. I highly recommend fifth graders spend 30 minutes a week practicing: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3c6tfr Note to Parents: Many of you asked about this at our recent parent-teacher conferences
This week we finished our first class novel, Out of Many Waters. I found the ending to be both sad and happy at the same time. At the end, Isobel, the main character, does not get to see her sister again. Isobel and her sister, Maria, had made a plan to go on different ships to escape the Inquisition. At the end, Isobel stays with the family she found on the ship. She does not go to Amsterdam, where she hoped to see her sister. I think if Isobel were to go to Amsterdam without the new family, it won’t be really good because she grew to be close to them. I wonder what Maria did after she found out that Isobel didn’t come to Amsterdam. I’m now reading One Foot Ashore, the companion book, that tells Maria’s story.
That was the first time I read a novel in English in class (because I am visiting America for half a year, and then I am going back to Israel).
