Class Blogs

Human Hanukkiyah and Dreidls

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As a way of combining Hanukkah fun and the social curriculum, the 4th graders were asked to sculpt themselves into a human Hanukkiyah (the special 9 branched menorah used for Hanukkah)and then, in two groups, into dreidls (spinning tops used to play a Hanukkah game).  However, the challenge was to do this without any verbal or written language.  They needed to work cooperatively without talking and only using hand signals.  When they first sculpted themselves into the Hanukkiyah, one student was the definite leader who used his vision to make it work.  While it was accomplished within the time limit, the other students did not feel that they truly contributed in ways that worked for them.  When they were broken up into two groups to make the dreidl, each group took the time to work more cooperatively, and there was not the same sense of one person taking the authority upon him or herself. At the same time, it was a ‘messier’ process that required more time.

Besides being a fun activity, the students were able to learn a number of different skills and lessons:  efficiency vs. inclusivity of ideas, communicating ideas through non-verbal means, and different ways of working in a group.  Below are the pictures of them being a Hanukkiyah and the two dreidls.image

 

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Gobble Gobble – Thanksgiving in 1st grade!

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Students enjoyed thinking and writing their own endings for The Great Turkey Race by Steve Metzger.  

“Nice job!” “That was great!” were just a couple of the First Grader compliments showing Kavod (respect) for the actors after the performance.

The cherry on the top of this fabulous week was the skits about the Wampanoag villages and Plymouth Plantation that our students performed for each other. This was our first attempt to create a Flat Stanley-inspired world where the characters are all flat and reinforced with paper clips. The characters are moved around using magnets hidden underneath  the stage. Soon we will be creating a city using this same technique. Students will think about what makes a city successful and who lives in a city. We will invite Flat Stanley and Flat Stella to enjoy a city created just for them.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Acorn Obsession

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imageThis fall, oak trees produced a bumper crop of acorns. So, the Kindergarten class went on an acorn hunt. Along the way, the children looked, played and discovered. They filled bags with acorn discoveries. Each time a child found an interesting acorn he or she came running over to exclaim, “look at this one!” in delight. The children also wondered, “Why are the acorns dropping?” and “Why are acorns under trees that are not oak trees?”

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After our class collected acorns, we shelled and ground the nuts. Then we leached out the tannins. Our class dried the flour and baked acorn muffins. The resulting dark brown muffins were a tasty nutty-crunchy snack. Squirrels and blue jays eat acorns. Some acorns grow into mighty trees. Who knew our class could do so much with acorns? In the process, we were reminded that the simplest things may provide us with the greatest pleasures and treasures.

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Mini Maker Faire

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The Mini Maker Faire at BarnesIMG_5991 and Noble this past weekend was a success! Students in grades K-5 all had their hands on Einstein’s Wave Machine in some way. In addition to this time machine, we showcased the fourth and fifth graders’ shoe prototypes. People who stopped by our table were fascinated by what JCDSRI is up to in the design lab. 

In order to make the time machine, we started by studying Einstein’s theory of time travel. Einstein thought time was an illusion, and that it depends on the speed you are traveling through space: “Einstein’s theory of special relativity says that time slows down or speeds up depending on how fast you move relative to something else. Approaching the speed of light, a person inside a spaceship would age much slower than his twin at home.” (Howell, 2013)

Children in grades K-5 partook in the effort to make a time machine. “Well, actually… no one has ever traveled faster than the speed of light!” multiple students pointed out. Instead, we used the design process to answer the question: How might we build a time machine that connects our knowledge of the design process with Einstein’s theory of time travel?

Students built a prototype that was exactly ¼ of the actual size of the wave machine. Prototyping is an imperative (and our favorite) phase of the design process. Next, students transferred everything from the prototype to the large cardboard, measured, cut, and painted. Then, we added 3D features, a pendulum, and lights. This project was also eco-friendly, in that we used solar power for the lights along with battery power and circuitry. This allowed students to connect science concepts, theoretical reasoning, circuitry, mathematics, art, and design concepts while solving the design challenge.

Congratulations to JCDSRI for being the only elementary school invited to the Mini Maker Faire of 2015! Be on the lookout for the time machine in the future, because Mr. Tilove has a master plan.

 

The Blessing of a Scratchy Voice

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Thursday morning is my favorite time of the week.  It is always such a pleasure to see my former first grade students join us for T’fillot.

Last week was especially wonderful. Unfortunately, the curse of a teacher is the occasional loss of her voice. Students confidently took on the responsibility of leading the prayers without any help from their scratchy-voiced teacher. I was kvelling!

With extra time remaining for the period, I shared that my daughter will finish her service in the Israeli Army. The 2nd grade often asks about my daughter since meeting her last year during a furlough. This sparked an incredible conversation about our connections to Israel. One thing led to another and we were unfurling my enormous Israeli flag. Twenty six sets of hands held on to the edge of the flag. We sang the Israeli national anthem, the Hatikvah. It was a truly magical moment which I was able to capture! Have I mentioned lately how proud I am to be a teacher in this school? So proud!

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Enjoy!

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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Special Guest: Yoga Instructor

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A couple of weeks ago, the third and second grade had the privilege of having a yoga instructor, Nikolai Blinow, come teach them some breathing techniques and partner yoga poses. She is the creator of OMpowerment yoga, which is dedicated to empower students mentally, physically, and emotionally.

First, we started with “bear breaths” or big, deep breaths to calm us down. After the class, many of the third graders remarked that this exercise helped them to calm their overactive bodies. Another said that she felt just like she was a bear preparing to hibernate!

Then the third grade partnered with second graders to do some challenging partner poses, like tree pose and child’s pose. The third graders were excellent big buddies and helped the younger students hold these poses with one leg or even with both feet in the air! After our yoga session, third graders drew body maps to illustrate how the yoga made us feel. Most wrote about how it made them happy, energized, peaceful or tired. They used symbols and/or colors to represent these feelings. Now we do yoga poses in the classroom when we need a wiggle break, to focus, or to calm down. We look forward to showing our yoga moves to our PreK buddies soon!

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.