Class Blogs – Page 34 – Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island

Inspired by our Visit with a Master Artist

January 16, 2015 by Naomi Stein

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 art. — 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. (It does.) — 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 vision and process. — It was fascinating to hear the artist reflect on his artistic vision and process.

We Are All Alike . . . We Are All Different . . . We Are a Kehillah!

January 14, 2015 by akatzman

Our dramatic play area has been transformed again; we have created a doctor’s office!

After reflecting on our personal experiences in medical offices and hospitals, we decided to fill our space with stethoscopes, eye-droppers, gloves, x-ray films and other medical instruments.

We also gathered dozens of books related to the subject and delved right into learning about the wonders of the human body. Martha, the organ woman . . .

and George, the skeleton man, helped us with our discoveries.

During our play and subsequent conversations, we have observed that while everyone’s body in our kehillah is different in some way (different color eyes, hair, height, weight, etc.), our bodies are also very similar (for example, we all have a skeleton, organs, limbs and ears, noses and fingers).

In fact, we decided that how our bodies worked was more interesting than what our bodies or skin looked like!

We followed up these discoveries by reading We Are All Alike . . . We Are All Different, a book by Cheltenham Elementary Kindergartners. Inspired by this story about the importance of diversity and of tolerance, we have written our own descriptions reinforcing multicultural appreciation and anti-bias learning. We invite you to read our words and see our illustrations displayed on the big bulletin board in our school lobby! Below are some examples of our work:

We are all alike. We all have bodies.

We are all different.

Some of us are tall.

Some of us are short.

Some of us are girls.

Some of us are boys.

Some people walk using their legs.

Some people use wheelchairs.

(This person uses a wheelchair to get around.)

We are all alike. We are all people.

We are all different. We do not look the same.

We have different color eyes.

We have different color hair.

Some people have short hair.

Some people have no hair.

Some people wear glasses.

(This is Kiara. Her skin was like butterscotch. She has no hair.)

We have different color skin.

Some of us have darker skin.

Some of us have lighter skin.

(This person has red hair. She has lighter skin. It’s color of a peach. She is smiling. She has a beautiful smile.)

We are alike. We are all Jews.

We are different.

Some of us light candles and eat challah on Shabbat.

Some of us have a family movie night on Shabbat.

Some of us go to shul on Shabbat.

Some of us go to the playground on Shabbat.

(This family has family movie night on Shabbat.)

My bucket is full!

January 11, 2015 by Sarah Shay-Davidson

Last week was our first full week back at school and what a busy week it was!

We read a marvelous book, How Full is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Mary Rectmeyer together.

This is a book that is appropriate for students from Kindergarten-Grade 2. This book explains that we all have invisible buckets of water over our heads. The negative actions of others toward us can empty the buckets, and our own meanness toward them can deplete their vessels, too. Positive actions reverse the process. Felix refuses to allow his sister to play blocks with him. When she angrily kicks over his tower, his grandfather explains that Felix dipped from his sister’s container. The next morning Felix actually sees a bucket floating over his own head, and during the course of the day, as he is alternately bullied and praised, he realizes what causes it to be empty or full.

This was a perfect book to read to our class and the kids quickly began to think about how we can use this in our classroom.

Ideas ranged from actual individual buckets to a class bucket. Stay tuned to how we continue to talk about being aware of our buckets.

My bucket was almost completely full when we were joined by 2nd Grade for our weekly Tfillot on Thursday morning. There is nothing sweeter then hearing all of their voices harmonizing together as they sing, Ma Tovu. (one of the morning prayers that declares how happy we are to be in God’s house)

At the end of the week, students were challenged to think of at least one thing that filled their buckets this week. What a wonderful way to wrap up the week and welcome Shabbat and the weekend.

Three-Dimentional Shapes!

“How many vertices are there in a rectangular prism?”

Answer:

There are 8 vertices in a rectangular prism.

(in case you need to be reminded…A vertex is where the edges of a shape meet. In other words, the corners of the shape)

Students learned new geometry vocabulary this week and truly enjoyed creating their own three- dimensional shapes out of cranberries and toothpicks.

Armed with their own small box of cranberries, they munched as they worked hard on their shapes of choice.

Check out the results of their work.

Sneak peak for next week!

This week we are learning about Martin Luther King Jr in honor of his birthday.

In Math, students will learn how to use Ordinal Numbers (first = 1st, second = 2nd up to tenth = 10th)
and Positional Words. (also known has prepositional words such as next to, on top of, between, to the left and right of…)

The homework this week will reflect this learning!

1st Grade Reminders!

I am convinced that there is a Kippah monster living in our classroom munching shamelessly on our Kippot. (by the way, that same monster lives in my dryer and gorges on my socks as well which is how I explain all of the single socks in my drawer.)

Please send in extra Kippot!!!

Hot Lunch Announcement

Please review with your kids the day they have hot lunch. Some kids are either totally shocked to find out they have hot lunch or kids come up to ask if they have hot lunch when they do not. It is very disappointing for the kiddos when they do not (although they have food in their lunch boxes).

Shavouah tov!

Have a great week everyone!

Immigration and Family History

January 2, 2015 by Naomi Stein

As you know, we have been learning a lot about the story of immigration. Specifically we have looked at why Jews left many places in Europe, we have discussed the different reasons people immigrate, and we have learned about the statue of liberty and Ellis Island. Also, students have been learning all about their own family histories. I can’t wait to see their projects after vacation!

This past week, students created skits to tell the story of how the statue of liberty came to America. I did have video feed, but youtube seems to be unhappy with me right now. I’ll post later.

Also, we were lucky to have Yasha’s mom come and talk to us about her immigration experience.

If you are looking for an enrichment activity to do with your kids at home, take a virtual tour of Ellis Island, meet modern immigrants and look at some immigration data at scholastic website at http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/ .

We also had a super exciting Friday. We had a visit from our first grandparent guest reader!

Then we made thunder cake, a recipe from Patricia Polacco’s book “Thundercake”. We think it turned our pretty great. Thanks to Val for helping with the baking!

News From the Gym….

December 26, 2014 by ssugermen

Here’s what has been happening with the Pre-K in the Gym….

Students:

continued to learn to share and respect the equipment and each other while playing together during “free play”

enjoyed listening and dancing to music while shaking pom poms enjoyed keeping time using colored lummi sticks and student made drums to bang on (They used whatever balls were out and placed them in donuts to keep they from rolling.) Very creative!

learned the game called “4 corners” (A Mrs. Sugerman made up activity.)

kicked balls as if they were playing soccer during an activity called donut bowling and also soccer bowling (Another Mrs. Sugerman made up activity.)

started to learn about dribbling a basketball with actual basketballs
Be sure to ask them about their time in the Gym!

Here’s what has been happening with the Kindergarten and First Grade in the Gym….

For November and December our main focus was on soccer and basketball.

Students continued to participate in skill building activities for soccer such as:

dribble and kick
kick and chase
lifting the ball when trying to score
kicking at rubber penguins and pins
5 on 5 shooting on goalies (Each student had a chance to be the goalie and kicker.)
Played a modified game of soccer (One team wore yellow pinnies. It was quite exciting!)

Students participated in skill building activities for basketball such as:

dribbling…with eyes closed and while moving forward and backward
shooting…with their choice of soft foam balls or real basketballs
passing…practiced bounce passes
Students had plenty of time to work on their skills and get one on one help if needed.

We will continue skills building in basketball when we return in January.

Besides soccer and basketball we also played fruit basket and 4 corners for Hannukah.

Here’s what has been happening with Grades 2-5 in the Gym….

For November and December our main focus was on soccer and basketball.

Students continued to participate in skill building activities for soccer such as:

when to pass and when to shoot
when to stop a ball and when to kick it immediately
how to make effective passes
what to do when you accept a pass but you are turned the wrong way
what to do in certain game situations…these occur during our modified games when I will stop the game for important teaching moments

Students participated in skill building activities for basketball such as:

dribbling relays…weaving between cones while dribbling and down court dribble and shoot
shooting relays…21, 5-3-1, around the world Mrs. Sugerman style, dice basketball and more ( made up activities.)
passing with partners and Mrs. Sugerman…bounce pass, chest pass, baseball pass
running backwards to play defense

Several students in 4^th and 5^th chose to play in a modified game right before vacation.

Hanukkah Science and History, Dreidels and Buddies!

December 23, 2014 by Sarah Shay-Davidson

Chag Samach First Grade!

The best part of my job is the cross-curricular freedom I have to integrate the Chagim (The Jewish holidays)into the science curriculum. Hanukkah was not spared and we had a science lesson based on light and fire. We watched the following video then we went outside and tested two of the experiments from the video.

Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEF-oX2xpXE

* I did not show all of the video as we would have run out of time, so feel free to do some cool Hanukkah Science at home.

Here we are using a model moon and a lamp and observed the moon’s shadow as it moved around the sun. We even re-created a lunar eclipse!

Our Buddies came to visit!

In Ivrit (Hebrew), students listened to the Hanukkah story then worked together to sequence the story through pictures, solved Hebrew Hanukkah riddles and played with Sivivonim (Dreidels).

And finally, Ella and her dad just sent me this amazing discovery in Israel of a tiny Menorah found on a glass fragment that I just had to share with all of you. A Perfect way to end the festival of lights this year.

Thanks so much Ella and Adam!

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Antiquities-Authority-finds-1600-year-old-glass-bracelet-with-menorah-inscription-385497

Enjoy the vacation and can’t wait to see all of you when we return!

First grade visits the RISD Nature Lab!

December 23, 2014 by Sarah Shay-Davidson

To wrap up our Teeth unit, The First Grade visited The Edna W. Lawrence Nature Lab at RISD. Where else can one find a Black Bear, a Puffer Fish, the skull of of a Tamarin Monkey (which is really rare), a gigantic honey comb and dried pomegranates?

The cherry on the top? Students were able to hold and touch (almost all) every specimen in the lab.

The day before our visit I showed them this introductory video:

https://blog.etsy.com/en/2009/theres-no-place-like-here-edna-w-lawrence-nature-lab-at-the/

Together, we brainstormed all our questions and reviewed what we had learned about animal teeth and Human teeth. We were ready!

And so, on the rainiest day of the year, armed with the students sketchbooks from Art class, we arrived at the lab soaked to the bone and full of excitement. We were greeted by Melita Morales who serves as the Lab’s STEAM Engagement Coordinator and our very own JCDSRI parent Rachel Atlas. (Rachel is one of the Assistant Curators of the lab.) Together they gave us a wonderful introduction, answered all of the children’s questions and time to explore, draw and write in this amazing place. It was a wonderful way to conclude our unit.

Here is the contact information if you are interested in visiting.

The Edna Lawrence Nature Lab
Rhode Island School of Design
2 College Street
Providence, RI 02903

Located at: 13 Waterman Street, Providence, RI

Phone: 401-454-6451

Enjoy the photos.

Jordan’s Post about the Colonial America Newspaper Clippings Project

December 19, 2014 by Naomi Stein

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.

Creative Thinking in Fifth

December 19, 2014 by Naomi Stein

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:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz2-CrUPrGPLVGxYTlJrN2w1cWFkY1k0WjFoc0Ntby1ZRUMw/view?usp=sharing

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!

Eliora’s Take on 2 Weeks

December 19, 2014 by Naomi Stein

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).