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In: Chinuch Tips, Lesson Plans, Teaching Chumash

Intro: The students were able to find the words on the second page of the worksheets but weren’t able to do the matching. So it was back to the drawing board for another way of teaching it so it sticks. I asked the students questions from each line. “What word in line 1 tells us that Hashem made the world with his words?” שאמר This specific reading of the text led to some very interesting questions that showed a deep comprehension. Why does it need to repeat the word מלך so many times? (we discussed themes in poetry.  I have a son in the class so I know thatRead More →

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Intro: Give out these worksheets as a conclusion to ברוך שאמר – Chumash:   New Unit: Yaakov earning his own sheep by outsmarting  Lavan Pre Perek Prep: Part 1 – without the binder for help Part 2 – with the binder for help Differentiation: Enrichment – kids who finish all words hang up cards Remediation – Kids who don’t know Part 1 words look up in binder Other Remediation – Only do half of the words in Part 2, if they look familiar Other Prep: The rest of this perek is dependant on understanding what are the goats and sheep referring to. We will  color andRead More →

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In: gedolim, Lesson Plans, Teaching Chumash

It will be a busy day Intro: let the kids know the modified schedule. Tefillah: We went straight into davening Chumash:  Review:  Shorashim – kids act out shorashim Game – Prep: Filled a bag with yellow, orange and green papers. Put kids in two lines in front of the felt boards for two teams Round 1: Each kid put their hand in a bag and picked out a colored paper. They had to choose a flashcard from the felt board and translate. They had to identify the names (in orange). For the Imahos, they had to list their sons. For the Shevatim, they had to list theRead More →

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Tefillah: We reviewed the  idea that ה’  gives us  eternal עולם הבא for the smallest Mitzva. I asked the students what was their easiest Mitzvah. One said tzitzis, another shouted out “I love You, Hashem” etc. Today, we spoke about all the praises we give ה’ at the end of ברוך שאמר. This is based on an idea I found on a great website Praying With Fire – http://www.prayingwithfire.org/images/Newsletter52.pdf . Activity:  Ask each student how he would describe his grandmother in 1 word. Get a big list Asked would this word be enough to praise her if she was being praised at a dinner? How would you describeRead More →

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Tefillah: Reviewed the  idea from ברוך שאמר  that ה’s does miracles   every day. This was a theme we really delved into with אדון עולם. Every day, before Tefilla, I asked each child to write one thing that was incredible that ה’  until we came up with 100 things. I think asking a similar question again will be over kill. Today we are focusing on ברוך שכר טוב ליראיו based on an idea I found on a great website Praying With Fire – http://www.prayingwithfire.org/images/Newsletter50.pdf. Activity:  Ask each student to list a favorite thing and rate it on the scale of 1-10 Close your eyes and imagine thatRead More →

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In: Chinuch Tips, Teaching Chumash, Theory

Before a new unit (1/2 perek – whole perek) a) the students try to translate every word/root/prefix/suffix on the PPP (pre-Perek-Prep) as they can.     I divide each section into 2-3 levels so the students can always feel mastery over a section. This mastery gives them confidence as well something for which to strive.  Pre Perek Prep for פרק ל. b) they look up the rest on the reference sheets in the front of their binder.  Vayeitzei Shorashim List  Vayeitzei Noun Word List Binyanim charts c) the students put flashcards for each word on large felt pieces. Orange is for verbs Yellow is for common nouns and adjectives.Read More →

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In: Chinuch Tips, Teaching Chumash, Theory

I spent some time teaching students who insisted they couldn’t translate a pasuk. I tried to create a systematic way of reaching them. Here are my ideas Rationale for system – The best learning comes through authentic involvement in the process. The process is modeled after being an apprentice rather than a student. An apprentice is involved to the best of his ability, while a student is perceived as an empty vessel to be filled by the teacher. To be authentically involved, the student must be provided with scaffolds so that they can act like the experts and can learn gradually how to be an expert. TranslatedRead More →