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In: Chinuch Tips, Theory

The Problem – we are all ignorant How many times have you read a Jewish periodical that bemoans how little our students know  about the fundamentals of our faith? These articles will extol the virtues of kiruv programs that teach these ideals to our students in a workshop or two. They quote students who were astounded. “How come I never learned this before?,” the students ask. This problem has been on my mind for quite some time. When I started to teach 3rd grade, I decided to try teaching the basics of our faith on a 9 year old level. I began devoting 5-10 minutesRead More →

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In: Lesson Plans, Teaching Chumash

Today, I finished my 8th class in Introduction to Independent Torah Learning that was a blended learning course with both a live and online component.  Here are some of my reflections about my first go at this kind of course design. Background:  Separating the gap between the Can’s and the Cannot’s in Torah Learning I began teaching Chumash in 2001. Every year, there were two kinds of students in a class – those who could translate pesukim independently and those who could not. The more I taught, the more these distinctions became clear. I began to wonder how to give students who could not translate independentlyRead More →

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In: Chinuch Tips, Downloads

[purchase_link id=”480″ text=”Add to Cart” style=”button” color=”blue”] Learning to read Rashi script was a highlight for many of my students this year. We took a full body approach to learning the new font. While moving, jumping and acting, my students learned their  letters with a lot of joy. Here is the teacher’s workbook. It has some tips about how to make the more confusing letters become very recognizable. The best idea was the rashi letter simon says. Read on to find out more. Rashi Workbook Teacher Edition 2012 Here is the student workbook Rashi Workbook 2012 Happy LearningRead More →

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In: Lesson Plans, Teaching Chumash

Here is Part 2 of Introduction to Independent Torah Learning.  If you would like to view all the resources available with this course – please email me. Part 1: the building blocks of the Chumash text: Nouns! Verbs!  – This video will be posted for a limited time. The free version  http://youtu.be/B7jifNz15EA will be posted soon instead Practicing it with the text!   http://youtu.be/iQzOsbk7czA Analyzing the Pesukim  Read More →

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In: Lesson Plans, Teaching Chumash

Have you wanted to learn how to learn Chumash but never had a chance to learn how.  I am offering a course online doing just that.  Here are the videos. Email me if you want to be registered for the class with all the resources. Class 1 Part 1:   What are the 5 books of the Torah? How do I find my place in the text? What are legitimate ways of interpreting the Chumash? Class 1 Part 2: The First 2000 years: From Adam to AvramRead More →

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In: Teaching Chumash, Theory

Today was one of those days that teachers dream about. A chance to see all my efforts over the year come full circle. Here is how it happened. We only had three pesukim left to learn in Parshas Vayeitzei. I had the class read the pasukim aloud without teaching them at all. Of course, as we were reading about Yaakov meeting up with the melachim, the class exploded with questions. Was Yaakov in Eretz Yisrael? How could the melachim of Eretz Yisrael come to greet him as Rashi says? Which malachim did he send to Har Seir? Surely not the melachim of Eretz Yisrael. InRead 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 →

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In: Theory

I used to teach in High School. It was very rewarding, but at times I felt like pulling out my hair. I couldn’t get some kids to remember assignments, translate basic pesukim or recall the story accurately no matter how many times we reviewed. I couldn’t figure out where the problem was and how to correct it. Last night I saw this video – http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=9 A Private Universe produced by the Annenberg Foundation that made me think about that experience and how what we teach when really impacts kids’ lives. The video is 20 minutes long and traces how both Harvard graduates and high school students hadRead More →

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In: Chinuch Tips, Theory

Learning happens when kids are invested in what they are doing. This works best if they buy into the process and know why they are doing what they are doing. Over the years, I have developed questionnaires to help the students figure out what they need to best learn and why we are doing what we are doing. This tool promotes a better classroom climate and learning. Research says that students who set personal goals for learning learn more effectively (Marzano). I have combined this goal setting with getting feedback to help improve my teaching and student learningI have used this technique in my highRead More →