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Class of 2017 (5th Grade)

Welcome to the Shark Tank

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For students in grades 3-5, the design lab has been transformed into a Shark Tank. The TV show Shark Tank, regularly aired on ABC, inspired me to challenge students to create something worth selling and that would convince sharks to invest in. While many students created prototypes, others, like Ezra, were billionaire investors (aka “sharks”). Ezra took it upon himself to interview the designers in his class in order to get an idea of their products, past sales, current locations, offers, and valuations prior to their pitches.

The following video is brought to you by students in the fourth and fifth grade. Cooper is pitching his product, Your Home Security. Welcome to the Shark Tank!

The Mitzvah of Consolation

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While I was out of school to take care of my Dad and then, to sit shiva (the seven day Jewish mourning period after a funeral), the students continued their academic learning. But they also participated in the very important Mitzvah of comforting a mourner. With teacher support, they talked about grief and loss and then used some time to write cards of consolation and support. When I returned to RI to sit for the last couple of days, many of the students came to my house to offer their condolences. Waiting on my desk in school was a stack of beautifully hand-designed and written cards that encouraged me to be strong and to look for the rainbows after the rain. I cannot begin to express the deep sense of gratitude and consolation that I derived from these gestures. They were incredibly meaningful and touching and underscored that the values that we are trying to impart through our curriculum and culture at JCDSRI are truly understood and being incorporated into the identities of our students.

imageThis has been a difficult time for me but knowing that our students are truly living by the values which we are teaching has brought me much comfort and has filled me with a deep sense of gratitude and blessing that I am a part of this community. Thank you.

Full STEAM Ahead

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On Friday, March 4th, the fourth grade class visited the studio of Rhode Island based artist Donald Gerola. His sculptures can be seen in various locations around Providence and around the world! We were given the unique opportunity to see where he creates and learn more about his style. We explored his amazing steel sculptures (some of which are over 30 feet tall!!), his prototypes, and paintings made with mixtures of sand, pigment, and natural materials. It was affirming to see that “real artists” use some of the same strategies we use when creating. Just like us, Mr. Gerola makes models and plans for his work, shares his ideas with other people, and works in collaboration with others to bring his ideas to life.

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It was such a privilege to spend the morning with Donald, and we are so grateful that he opened his studio to us!

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To be wrong is the right way…

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Common belief is that if you are wrong or didn’t get the right answer, you can not learn anything. This myth causes our kids to develop a fear of failing, fear of saying the wrong answer, fear of not being right – they often don’t see that making mistakes helps you find the way to be right, and, most importantly, that there is NO learning without making mistakes. That was the lesson my students learned this week. I introduced them to Albert Einstein’s story: when he was a child, his teachers told him, ” No flower will grow from this field.” Can you imagine what would have happened if had listened to them and stopped trying to make “mistakes?” It could have been a great loss for humankind.

They will not learn from you, if…

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People might think that teaching is easy; after all what do we need to do? “Just come ready with the lesson plan and teach the kids because we are here to teach and the kids are in the class to learn. At the end of the lesson, just ask, ‘questions anyone?’ and you’re done.” Right??? Wrong!

We, as Educators, have to observe and look deep in to our kids eyes, look in to their souls to see how we can make our time with them valuable and meaningful by showing them that we really care for them and about their interests. I am not here just to give them the curriculum; instead, I pay attention to how they feel and what they care about.  I was listening to a speech by a person who has been working for the past 40 years as a teacher, and she said something that really resonated for me: “Students can NOT learn from you if they don’t like you.”  That is totally true! So before the lesson starts, I always ask my students, “How do you feel today?” They know I mean it, and they know I care, and that relationship is the key to their learning.

Hard At Work Proving that Gossip is Wrong

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Over the last few months, the 4th graders have studied a number of texts from the Jewish tradition that look at gossipimage and define the different categories of speech that can be considered to be gossip.  The rabbis were adamant that all types of gossip, even if the information shared can be viewed as being neutral speech, are wrong and can be hurtful and even dangerous.  The students have worked in groups to grapple with the texts, understand them, and then apply them to their own situations.  The culminating project, which they are just coimagempleting, will result in three filmed vignettes that are ‘Public Service Announcements’ to teach why gossip is wrong and should be avoided.  Each group has been tasked to develop their own commercial within which one of the texts that they studied is quoted.  These pictures are representative of how diligently they have been working on the scripts.  Once you see the completed projects, I think you will all agree that they are of a much higher quality and contain more substance than most of the Super Bowl commercials that we recently watched!  Stay tuned.

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A Whale of a Time

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Fourth Graders just completed an in depth study on whales! Students learned a bit about several species of whales, and then each of them chose one to research and present to IMG_3642their peers and families. Using online and print sources, these students became experts on their chosen whales!

To really bring our study to life, we decided to create scale models of these creatures and hang them in our classroom. After measuring out the true length of each whale, students used division to create a scale by which they would design and create their models. Their research helped them decide which features to highlight and include as they created their pieces in art class.

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Their whales will hang in our classroom for the next several weeks as we begin thinking about why so many whales are now endangered. This question has led us to a study of the history of whaling in New England, and we are continuing to learn under the shadows of these majestic mammals.

Invent ourselves every time

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Part of my job as Lashon teacher is to teach my kids the holiday songs; it’s a good way to do something fresh and unusual, and also music is the easiest way to connect everybody. Come on, who doesn’t love music, right??

So this week we are practicing on Tu b’eshvat – but this time I wanted to do something even more fun than just sing it, soooooo I acted like a conductor in a concert – and they loved it. They even asked me if they could take their turn and be the conductors – and so they did. I have to admit it is so much fun to learn a song that way. See you for our next “concert!”

Buddies Celebrate Hanukkah Together

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The Friday before Hanukkah, the Kindergarten class took a field trip to the Olive Oil store and learned about all the different types of olive oil as a way of preparing for the holiday. With the samples that they were given, they, along with their 4th grade buddies, then conducted an experiment. Which type of oil would burn the cleanest and the longest? Before the experiment, the 4th graders studied a text from the Talmud within which two rabbis discussed the best oil to use for the Hanukkiyah. One said olive oil because it burned clearer, while the second stated that he used poppy seed oil because it burned longer. The decision was that it was more important to have the flame be clearer, so the second rabbi switched to using olive oil. We then discussed why that would be a more important value in terms of the need to advertise the miracle.

On Wednesday morning, we gathered in the kindergarten class and, using small glass bowls, we lit the wicks that were soaking in different types of oil. We tested canola, sesame, vegetable, really good EVOO and regular EVOO as well as herb-infused EVOO’s like olive oil with garlic, lemon, or cayenne. The students made predictions as to which would burn longer or with less smoke. The chart below indicates their predictions. We discovered that the olive oil and the sesame oil both burned the best: not much smoke and lasting longer than the canola and vegetable oils. It did not seem to matter if the oil was infused with different herbs or not. The students loved doing the experiment and, as it turns out, their predictions did not match the results.

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On Friday, we came together again to sing to the seniors who were celebrating Hanukkah with a lunch party sponsored by the Kosher Meal Site of R.I. Our students sang songs and helped to bring holiday joy to the attendees of the lunch. One senior remarked to me, “Thank you so much, this made my day!”

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