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Class of 2020 (4th grade)

An Egg-cellent Egg-spiriment

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After extensive focus on the anatomy of teeth, we concluded our All About Me Unit, with the our first experiment of the year.

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Students wondered what would happen to  the white egg if it was soaked in Coke. They wondered what might happen if they soaked a white egg in water.  Many of their predictions were very creative. “I predict that the egg will explode!” or “I predict that the egg will get mushy,” or “The egg will get spotted.”  There is nothing better than hearing a gasp of amazement from a first grader. They were all surprised to see the dark brown egg emerge from the caramel colored soda.

“What happened to the egg in water?” “I bet it got bigger!”

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Here is our Israel emissary, Gilor showing the students how to spell the Hebrew word for egg.

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First grade showing pride in their work!

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Inspired Performances by First Grade!

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After watching an inspiring clip of Blue Man Group performing using PVC pipe, first grade students were given the chance to create their own performances using a cardboard tube.

The rules were:

  1. We will work in pairs.
  2. We can’t practice beforehand, only discuss with our partner what we’d like to do.
  3. Once we are in front of the class, we are the performers and the other students are the audience!

This project allowed students to use some of the musical terms and rhythms mentioned in class in an effective way.  It also taught us how to convey our musical ideas with words. After the performances, the performers and audience members reflected on their triumphs and successes, and how we might approach an activity like this in the future.

Fun Friday in Math

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“Can I work on my Math Board Game during quiet time?”

“When can I make a Math Machine?”

“Can I make more math cards?”

 

This is just a sampling of questions that are asked during the week in anticipation for Fun Friday in Math. Students work at their own pace to create a math board game or pack of cards based on math skills of the week. Each game must be given a name, and a written  set of directions. Students are discovering that writing directions is not as easy as it seems to be! Each game will be laminated so they will be sturdy enough to be played with over and over again in class and at home. Hmm…imagine a homework assignment to play the game with their parents or siblings. Now that is what I would call Homefun instead of Homework!

Our next Fun Friday project will be to create their own Math Machines out of gallon sized milk cartons brought from home. The beauty of this activity is that once made, students can add new cards based on the skills introduced each week.

What a fun way to show what each student has learned in math!Math machine

Dem Bones Dem Bones…………

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The best part about teaching both Judaic Studies and General Studies is that I can connect two of my favorite units into one: Sukkot and the human skeleton. There are many ways to teach about the  Lulav and the Etrog. The most popular school of thought is by waving the Lulav and Etrog in all directions, we are reminded that God is everywhere. Another interpretation is through relating each part of the Lulav and Etrog to different parts of our bodies. The Hadas (myrtle) leaves are shaped like an eye. The Arava (willow) leaves are shaped like lips. The Etrog reminds us of our heart. Finally, the Lulav reminds us of our spine (we stand straight and tall, proud to be Jews.) There’s the connection to the human skeleton!

In Science,we examined X-rays of the skeleton, and put the X-rays together to form a complete skeleton (we named it Adam). We wondered what was opaque or translucent, then watched a little video of a song about how our bones fit together.IMG_6609

Then we traced the outlines of our bodies on huge pieces of paper. Armed with a magic marker and a black and white copy of a labeled skeleton, students took over the first grade hallway and drew themselves as skeletons. One student asked if his phalanges (fingers) could hold his favorite baseball card!

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Sukkoth in 1st grade

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Sukkot play

Reader’s Theatre puppet shows are taken very seriously in First Grade. It is a wonderful way to assess many skills such as reading, writing, communication and most importantly, how students work together as a group! In the beginning of the year, it is important to scaffold the plays according to the abilities of the class.  Our first puppet show was based loosely on a book called Bubbe Isabella And The Sukkot Cake written by Kelly Terwilliger. First, students listened to the story, then, as a group, re-told the story collaboratively in their own words. Then, they re-told the story again but changed it by adding their own animal characters.  This is a wonderful story because it is based on repetitive phrases which build upon each other. The format lent itself beautifully to create script which accommodated 14 first grader parts perfectly!

We invited our Fifth Grade buddies and the Fourth grade to be our first audience ( First grade have so many siblings in Fourth Grade!). After the performance, we celebrated Kabbalat Shabbat, ate Challah and drank grape juice. The kids sat together and read from our extensive library. The atmosphere in the room was magical. There is nothing better than observing our older students totally engrossed in reading to our younger students.

As the year progresses, the students will take on more complicated speaking parts and write their own scripts. The culmination of our work on Reader’s Theatre puppet shows will be based on Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina in Hebrew. It will be a collaborative production with our wonderful Art teacher, Jennifer Antes.

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First Grade Shofar Blowers

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We rang in the New Year to the blast of a Shofar. For some of our students, it was their first time!

We counted pomegranate seeds! The final amount was 703 exactly. (I say exactly because we even counted the stray seeds that found their way to the floor.)

Each student was given a segment of the pomegranate to count, then had to record the data. It was hard work to add up all the data, but it was worth it.   The pomegranate symbolically represents the 613 Mitzvot (good deeds) that we are expected to fulfill. There is actually research that supports this theory. 

 http://parsha.blogspot.com/2007/09/613-seeds-in-pomegranate.html

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We measured ourselves. It will be interesting to see how tall they will be at the end of the year.

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We are learning our first song for the Zimriyah which happens to be about wishing our loved ones Shana Tova! (Happy New Year!)

What a wonderful way to begin the New year!

Jonah Is Really A First Grader

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The story of Jonah and the whale is traditionally read during the afternoon service  of  Yom Kippur. The choices Jonah made remind me of many age-developmental traits of a first grader. What a wonderful story full of imagery and important messages!

Our story begins with Jonah running in the opposite direction when God asked him to deliver a message of dire consequences to the people of Nineveh. Jonah buys a ticket to sail away, far from his responsibilities. Perhaps Jonah felt that the task was too hard for him? Sometimes, it is hard to follow directions, especially when you are not sure that you will be successful.

Then, God sends an enormous storm to rage against the boat. The captain finds Jonah asleep and shakes him awake. Ever try to wake an exhausted first grader? – not an easy task! Jonah tells the sailors to throw him overboard because he is the cause of the storm. The sailors are appalled but do as he says.

The sea instantly becomes calm again. God sends a whale to swallow our friend Jonah. Jonah is in the whale for 3 days. Jonah understands the error of his ways, prays and promises to do his job. Jonah is spit out onto the shore near the town of Nineveh.

God reminds Jonah of his responsibilities and this time, Jonah chooses to do as he is told. In the town, he delivers his message and is shocked and annoyed that, since the king and the townspeople are truly sorry for their behavior, God forgives them. Jonah walks away furious and sits on a bench outside of the city. Perhaps Jonah is thinking, “It is not fair! Why did I get punished for 3 days, and they didn’t get punished at all!”

God grows a vine which provides shade for Jonah. His rage slowly disappears, as he is happy to be out of the hot sun. The next day, God sends a worm to eat the vine. Jonah is miserably hot again. He is on full sensory overload.

God points out that Jonah seems to be more upset about the loss of his shade than the destruction of an entire town of people. God reminds Jonah that the people of Nineveh “didn’t know their right from their left” and were truly sorry by showing their repentance through their actions.

We call this T’shuvah in Judaism. Teshuvah is what we do to “fix our mistakes.” Yom Kippur is about second chances, asking for forgiveness and meaning it. Everyone makes mistakes, just like Jonah and the people of Nineveh. God gave them another chance to try again to make good choices. Being a first grader can sometimes be hard, but these social and emotional developments are part of the whole wonderful package that are our six and seven year old children.

Here’s to second chances, beginning the New Year with a clean slate and joy in our hearts.

גמר חתימה טובה

(May you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for Good)

The First Six Weeks of School

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What an exciting time of year it is, especially for first graders!
This is the year students will learn how to read and write. An unbelievable milestone for students which marks the first step to mastering the important skill of  independent learning. To become an independent learner, the first six weeks of school are a crucial time to set a solid foundation of a safe, warm and welcoming  environment.  We have begun to work together to establish classroom procedures and to collaborate as a classroom community and in small learning groups.
Each student had the opportunity to  present his or her personalized puzzle pieces to the group. It was wonderful to hear of everyone’s favorite summer activities. We are blessed with four new students this year, so it was especially exciting to learn about their interests and begin to get to know each other.
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While our main focus over the next month and half is on classroom procedures, academics are slowly incorporated into our day’s routine. For example, I am a firm believer in kinetic learning. What better way to review counting to one hundred by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s and 10’s while exercising our bodies and our minds? We had so much fun taking a movement break while doing math!

First Week of Gardening

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Yes, it is one of the hottest days of the year. Yes, air conditioning is our best friend. But the students are begging to do gardening. Today was our first day in the garden. Due to the weather, we only were able to go out for 10 minutes at the most. Those ten minutes were amazing, though! The students in second and fourth grades went right to work in the early morning, weeding and watering. We identified edible plants, found baby peppers growing, noticed some spiders, and ate some new vegetables. The wax beans were a hit! The fourth graders were eager and excited to try the new vegetable. Everyone who tried it enjoyed it and wanted to eat more. The fourth graders brainstormed ideas for the garden this year, like utilizing every space in the garden for more plants. It has inspired me to research hanging gardens for the fence. Lastly, first grade learned about gardens from a picture book featuring the famous Winnie the Pooh and his friend Rabbit. They learned that gardening takes patience and hard work. Gardening is obviously a special activity that the students love, and I am proud and excited to lead them in their gardening adventures this year.

Summer Reading Lists for Students Entering Grades 1-5. K.White, librarian

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THE JCDSRI SUMMER READING PROGRAM     Link to all Reading Lists: 

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs182/1101781664576/archive/1121355100244.html

Dear JCDS Families,

reading-clipart_jpgWelcome to our summer celebration of books, the JCDSRI Summer Reading Program! The intent of our summer reading program is to promote reading skills. Research studies have demonstrated that students who participate in a summer reading program are more likely to read at their grade level or above than nonparticipating students and those reading above grade level are more likely to retain those skills into the next school year. (Evaluation and Training Institute). While an increase in reading promotes reading abilities and other skills, we want our students to experience the joys that reading brings through marvelous characters and adventures. Books introduce us to friends we will have for life. Reading is FUN!

We are asking students to read at least five books from our booklists. Hopefully, they will read many books.

Each student entering grades 1-5 receives a summer reading program folder containing a JCDSRI summer booklist of various levels and interests complied by Karolyn White, librarian.

The lists are sent to the following public libraries: Rochambeau, Cranston, East Providence, East Greenwich, Johnston, Lincoln, Pawtucket and the following bookstores: Books on the Square and Barnes and Noble in Warwick.

For 22 years, the summer reading program has been coordinated by Karolyn White, librarian. kwhite@jcdsri.com

 reading_tent_colorWe wish you a happy, healthy summer and wonderful reading adventures!