Mishkan pop-up model

This was a very cool Parsha lesson for any parsha having to do with the mishkan. All it takes is 3 8 x14 pieces of paper, some colored pencils, glue, and scissors.  I like projects that won't increase tuition costs.


Figure out if you want this to be a fine-motor skill building exercise. if yes, just hand out the 3 sheets and have the students cut. If not, cut out the shapes because kids with weak fine motor skills can slow things down a lot for this project.

PDF - Complete Instructions and Mishkan Model Using 3 sheets of legal size paper, a pair of scissors, and a bit of glue anyone can  create a scale model of the mishkan. The complete instructions are on  page 1 & 2 of the PDF

Step 1: Print off the first two pages double sided on legal paper & the second two pages each on its own legal paper.

Step 2: Color both sides of the pages according to the instructions. The parts that are labeled blue, red, purple, and gold are for the fabric made of 6 threads of red, 6 threads of blue, 6 threads of purple and 1 thread of gold.

Step 3: Cut out on the black lines,  and follow the directions for folding
 

Step 4: Glue 
   

Step 5: Sharpen creases and bend down the curtains.

Step 6: Add the three layers of the mishkan

To store: Put the three covering underneath the base, flatten the curtains and vessels and fold down flat

do it yourself nekudos putter inner. Great online resource

So, now that I am teaching elementary school, I have noticed how many texts for young kids don't include nekudos. It really helps with comprehension but it is a pain to type out all the nekudos. I just found this resource that has saved me SO much time. Nakdan allows you to paste a short amount of text and it adds nekudos for you automatically.

Erev Shabbos Shmini recap

Today was a fun day.

Tefilla - we talked about how it is pretty cool that Hashem cares about each of us individually after all - we wouldn't care about each fly in our room and we should be equally as important. We also talked about how wonderous it is that we get rewarded for each deed we do.

We learned 4 Mishnayos from Perek 1 of Pirkei Avos and did paper folding projects to illustrate them. They are included here. I'll try to post pictures of them soon. I am sending the kids home with a translated perek to learn over Shabbos

I also love Parshas Shmini. We used the parsha sheets from Rabbi Mendel Balsam from Yeshiva of Spring Valley and the word finds from Rabbi Benyomi Hoffman. He also has soduku puzzles for each parsha
I printed coloring sheets by printing 4 pages on 1 sheet. It was a helpful reference when describing the animals and they understood that bats were halachically birds, not mammals from the picture.

Another nice alternative from chinuch.org are sheets from Rochel Possick.

To prepare: Aside from reading the pesukim (can't beat that) with Rashi, I used the Little Medrash Says on Vayikra to get a good sense of what is in the parsha. It is pretty comprehensive and includes topics from the pshat that were ignored by most other children's parsha material - such as בקרבי אקדש, or וידם אהרן.

Best question of the day: If the Mishna in Avos says that the world stands on Torah, Avodah & Gemilas Chasadim, and the gemara says that the Avodah only began on 1 Nissan 2449, how is it possible the world kept on existing.  Answer  (R. Yehoshua ben Levi): The 26 repetitions [of "Ki l'Olam Chasdo"] in Hodu correspond to the 26 generations from creation until Matan Torah - during that time Hashem's Chesed fed the world 

April 19 recap

I know I won't have time to keep this daily blogging up but a few more posts won't kill me.


A. Tefillah time - Reviewed yesterdays ideas. ברוך שאמר.  I had the class try to figure out what was similar about the words אומר, עושה, מרחם etc. Once they got they were הווה words, we had a conversation about ה's ongoing presence, the מכות, Rav Chanina Ben Dosa lighting vinegar instead of oil.

B. Chumash: פרק ל: ד-ט. These were much easier pesukim. No deep questions. I had students read it without any preteaching since the kids knew at least 94% of the words and grammar rules as tested before on the Pre Perek Prep for פרק ל. I did pre-teach the Shoresh ד.ו.ן I drew a judge on the board and asked them what a בית דין is and what a דיין is.

Post learning - we discussed  how נפתולי אלקים are  tefilla. We reviewed how powerful לאה's tefillos were. with the proof being she got the Leviim, Kings, Kohanim and Talmidei Chachamim (this concept REALLY impresses third graders because kohanim in the beis Hamikdash are just so cool! ) and filled out our linear translation


Questions from the class: 
What is the difference between an אמה  as רחל calls בלהה and a שפחה as the Torah calls her?
Why does it say ותהר but then quantifies that בלהה was the one giving birth?
Why does it say with בלהה, and זלפה a 2nd son without mentioning there was a first and later with לאה that it was a 5th & 6th son but not a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th son?
Why is בלהה written with a B and a V sound?

C. Ivrit - More journal writing. 

I reviewed the concept of אני אוהבת לכתוב  (Makor, transitive for regular verbs & III-ה

עבר  for all singular verbs
עבר for all singular verbs with a II-י or a II-ו (such as ב.ו.א or ש.י.ם).


All the rules were written on the board. A sample שרש was written in blue and the conjugations were written in red to make it easy to use as a reference for the writing. I used a separate black board to list their requested words. No one wrote about vomit today. Baruch Hashem!


They had to write 4 sentences minimum because we only had 5 minutes

1. what a boy did
2. what a girl did
3. a sentence using verbs with II-י or II-ו
4. What they see that they enjoy doing

Their picture prompt was

D. Limudei Kodesh. 
We read about Rabbi Akiva's leaving for Yeshiva, his return and subsequent immediate leav taking. The kids found this part of the story very moving. Rabbi Akiva Story

E. Gedolim - Rav Chaim Brisker - I started off by drawing my very crude European map and showing where Lithuania was. I explained how the period from post-Civil War to World War I was a time of big changes. I didn't mention the industrial revolution because it wasn't important today but I did explain the rise of nationalism and the interest in the common man on a third grade level. (Nationalism: Imagine if every street thought they were the best - I say Go Oakdale - B.G. says "Go Commonwealth" etc. Now imagine that we have airplanes and machine guns. Now imagine that we need to prove we are the best and get really insulted when you say you're better. Now imagine that different streets gang up with each other to stockpile weapons to fight the other streets. What is going to happen?   Csars vs. Communists: Imagine if on your street there was a family who could walk into your kitchen any time and take your stuff, what would you feel? How would you fight this (1st. convince others its not fair, discuss it and then 2. fight) Then we spoke about why a dormitory yeshiva was a new idea. We also talked about how scientist classify information so they can communicate and research (talking about a mammal vs. a reptile is more useful than just talking about animals) and how the Brisker Method of classifying halachos could have the same results.


Homework was just reading and translating. 

Biographies - Teaching History to Third Graders

 I hope to write a complete, well documented post about how and why I present the biography of a great Torah leader to the class. Until I have the chance to research and write the post, I'd like to mention how transformative teaching about gedolim to young children can be.

Every week, we read a biography of a gadol that I have written and edited. Most of the information, I am sad to say, is from wikipedia or other online sources but you use the tools you have to do what you can.

Gedolim time provides an opportunity to teach character building in a holistic way. I pick stories for their moral value. I knew that. It gives students a sense of their heritage. I expected that. But there is another side benefit. It has given me an opportunity to  present important events in Jewish history to my students in an non threatening way. For third graders, Jewish history skips from  the destruction of the Second Bais HaMikdash to the Holocaust. Teaching them about Rashi, the Ramban, up until Rav Moshe, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel has allowed me to introduce them to the time period of the Crusades, Communists, and even debilitating illness in a way that young kids can absorb without being overwhelmed. How do you explain the massacres of the Crusades? or the pogroms in Russia? But they can learn about how Rashi reacted to the Crusades, how the Ramban reacted to fleeing from his debates, etc.

Each week, I distribute a new gadol. The students put the new biography in their binder in the right chronological order. This helps them understand who lived before whom and what major events were happening in different locations. I draw a map on the board of Europe, Asia, and North Africa.

The kids love this story time and they now know a lot more about their heritage, geography, and Jewish history  than they realize

Biography of Rav Chaim Brisker - Rav Chaim Soloveitchik

Rav Chaim Soloveitchik

(1853-July 30, 1918)

PDF of biography

Rav Chaim Soloveitchik was born in Volozhin to his father Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, the Beis HaLevi, who taught in the famous Volozhin Yeshiva. When he was a few years old, his fathhr became Rav in Slutzk. Rav Chaim quickly became known for his brilliance and remarkable understanding.

When Rav Chaim was 20, he married Lipsha, the daughter of Rav Raphael Shapiro, and the granddaughter of the Netziv who was the Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin. After Reb Raphael moved to become a Rav, Rav Chaim became a Rosh Yeshiva with the Netziv in the yeshiva.

Rav Chaim began to teach gemara using a new method known as the Brisker Method of learning. Every halacha is analyzed and classified like a scientist. This helps talmidei chachamim understand the gemara and halacha better. This method of learning is now used in all modern yeshivos. Rav Chaim created a new vocabulary so that everyone could understand the gemara better.

In 1892, the Czar forced the Volozhin yeshiva to close. Rav Chaim moved to Brisk where his father was the Rav. When his father died,  he became the Rav.  For this reason, he is known as Rav Chaim Brisker.

Rav Chaim wrote a very important  sefer called Chiddushei Rabbeinu Chaim on the Rambam. His shiurim were recorded by his talmidim in notes called "Rav Chaim's stencils.” Much of his Torah has also been passed down by his talmidim.  He had six main students; his sons Rav Moshe Soloveitchik (who moved to America),  Rav Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik (also known as Rav Velvel or the Brisker Rav who moved to Yerushalayim), Rav Baruch Ber Lebowitz, Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, Rav Elchonon Wasserman hy”d, and Rav Shimon Shkop. The talmidim of these 6 students have led the Torah world.

Only Emes

Rav Chaim did not write down his chiddushei Torahh imself. His sons or a shochet in Brisk, Reb Noach, would do so. One Shabbos on Erev Chanuka, Reb Noach was called to the house to record the chiddushim. Rav Chaim spoke for several hours while Rav Chaim wrote 12 full pages. Suddenly, Rav Chaim took the pages and tore them beyond recognition because he said there was a mistake in his ideas. His Torah could only be the truth.

Only Torah

During World War I, Rav Chaim Brisker and familywere forced to flee to Minsk. A Rav went to visit him. The house was in complete disarray. 5 children were sleeping on a board. There was little food. Rav Chaim was resting in a chair. Rav Chaim’s son, Rav Velvel and his son-in-law were trying to clarify the Torah they had just learned from Rav Chaim. Rav Chaim awoke and started to correct the complicated topic he had just taught. Only then did he acknowledge the Rav’s visit. Rav Chaim was able to ignore everything else that was going on because of his quest for the Torah.

This Rav also mentioned how Rav Chaim had many locks on his doors when in Minsk. The reason was that city had many cruel Jews who were trying to take Jewish children away from Torah and did not do chesed  for the poor properly. He locked the door many times so he would not learn from them. Once, they sent him special flour so he wouldn’t get sick. He returned the flour to be given to others who were poorer and in greater need.  

Rav HaChesed

Rav Chaim Brisker changed Torah learning all over the world. Yet, at the time he was niftar, this was not what was remembered the most. What everyone remembered was his chesed. On his matzeiva was written the description “Rav HaChesed”

Rav Chaim’s house was open to all. In Rav Chaim’s living room, beggars would put notices up on the wall. They would sleep on his couches. He would always be careful not to disturb them. Sometimes, his wife or children would walk into the bedroom and find that Rav Chaim had invited some poor people to sleep there and noone in the family had beds.

There was a huge fire in the town and many homes were destroyed. Rav Chaim devoted himself to helping the penniless survivors. Rav Chaim insisted in sleeping in the hallway of the shul. He asked how he could sleep in his bed if there were so many who didn’t even have a roof over their heads.

Rav Chaim was once having an important meeting with the Bais Din in Brisk. A pauper came into the room, ate Rav Chaim’s lunch and fell asleep on his couch. Rav Chaim warned everyone there not to disturb the poor man.

Mothers would leave their babies on his doorstep if they were unable to take care of them or the babies were too sick. Rav Chaim hired women to feed the babies and cared for them in his home.

The people of town paid Rav Chaim to be their Rav. However, whenever he got a pay check, he immediately gave it away to tzeddaka. They had to give the money to his wife to insure that they would have food.

Rav Chaim had a rule. Anyone could ask for something and the family would need to give it without a complaint. Once someone asked Rav Velvel for his pen. Rav Velvel was in the middle of writing some of the chidushei Torah of Rav Chaim. Rav Velvel asked him to wait a minute. Rav Chaim got very upset and said “what is going on here that we don't lend our pens..." (Holchei Nesivos - Middos Tovos)

Rav Chaim changed the world of Torah. We are all talmidim of his because of the Brisker method, the yeshivos that were founded by his talmidim and from learning about his chesed.

Teaching shorashim: Before a unit

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. When the whole class has these mastered, they get put away.
Green- hard words or new words.

As we learn the pesukim, the students put the cards in the pesukim up on top.

These cards can be used for review games of all kinds

We are now ready to get to the fun part - exploring, debating and discussing the text

Teaching shorashim: Why bother?

So many people come to my blog after googling "teaching shorashim." Obviously this is a topic of great interest.

Knowing hebrew roots (shorashim) is the foundation for being interested in learning independently.   In other words, the more basic hebrew vocabulary a student knows, the more likely he is to experiment and try to learn more pesukim on his own.  According to Jeanne Gunther, Students learn independently when they can understand 94% of the text. Instruction takes place when they understand 90-94% of the text. Frustration comes when they know less than 90% of the text. The goal is to have the students at the 90-94% before they open the chumash and become frustrated.

I have taught high school and some students didn't know basic shorashim or common nouns. How could they hope to learn on their intellectual level when they are so hampered by their inadequate vocabulary knowledge?

I began teaching third grade with a desire to help the high school students who gave up before entering my class.  In the early elementary grades, learning is exciting and so much can be taught in this short window of time.

My system for teaching shorashim is based on the fact that
 b) there are  different modalities of learning 
c) keeping it fun keeps students motivated
d) pre-learning vocabulary gives students a sense of accomplishment and control
e) It is important for students to have the resources so they can learn independently if they choose.
f) Students haven't learned enough to differentiate between "common" vocabulary words and "rare" vocabulary words. If the words are taught in a memorable way, some students will remember most of them forever. All students will remember a lot of them forever especially if there is adequate review.
g) Every student should be in the 90-94% window before we learn a pasuk.

April 18 recap

A. Tefillah time - the class tried to move the water bottle today by saying "Move!" no luck. I asked them to think of how I can change the world using just my words - one student figured out the riddle. We did Think, Pair, Share to think of positive things we can say to others to change the world.

B. Chumash:


Acting out the shorashim was a huge hit.

 Future note: the students will be MIMES (no sound) and must remain seated to qualify. After the first round of teaching, we did a rapid fire round of MIME shorashim.  The students filled out their linear translation independently or with me depending on skill level.

Some awesome questions (from third graders!) (Yes, I did have a timer on because otherwise the kids see it as a free for all and less inquisitive kids know there is an end to this time: 1) if Sefer Bereishis is supposed to teach us how to act based on  the Avos, how come it would say that Rochel was jealous?

Important Concepts: I introduced a very important concept - that of הוי דן את כל האדם לכף זכות. The halacha is that is obligatory to judge a tzaddik even in the face of very negative evidence, it is a good thing (but not obligatory) to judge a beinoni (average) person meritoriously, and a known sinner can be judged by appearances. The Avos are the ultimate in tzaddikim so it is obligatory for us to understand how it is possible for a great person to do something when it appears superficially to be wrong. Jealousy - קנאת סופרים תרבה חכמה. Rashi 30:1

C. Ivrit - The journal writing was great. Some students wrote a whole dialogue.


Future note: Have the sheet projected on the board so that I can show each step of the directions.   I also used an Ipod App that allowed me to type in a word in english and it would Translate it on the spot for the students. Saves time and is fun.

D. Limudei Kodesh. 
 We only had time to read about Rabbi Akiva's initial learning and then his leaving for yeshiva. I read the story and acted out or gave alternate hebrew definitions for the harder words. I translated a few words to speed things up.


Follow up exercise to test reading comprehension of the story: Draw a picture of Rabbi Akiva learning when he first started to learn in a school and then when he was in yeshiva. The students wrote sentences about what they know how to do to contrast with what R' Akiva doesn't know what to do.

Homework: Review for פרק ל:א-ג

Updates from the Classroom: April 17 recap and 4/18 lesson plans

I have so many ideas I'd love to write about but 1. I don't have time, 2. it would be a waste of other peoples time. So here is a short post of what I may be doing tomorrow in school.

A. Tefillah time - After brachos, we do an activity to make few words in tefilla come alive. We just began ברוך שאמר.


Today: I asked the class today to try to move a pencil by looking at it. Then, the class said, "Move!" but the pencil didn't move.  how amazing it is that Hashem said and the world came from nothing into something.
Tomorrow: I will ask the class to think of a time when a few words  created or destroyed something

B. Chumash:


Today we did Post Perek Play - a game on shorashim. I showed a שרש and one student from each team  ran up to the board and wrote down its translation. The team of whoever wrote it first got the point. We also did  a Pre Perek Prep for פרק ל The kids had the word lists for the upcoming perek and had to fill out the basic words first, get them checked and then could use their reference lists Vayeitzei Shorashim List  Vayeitzei Noun Word List to fill out all the hard words. Lowest score on level 1 words 27/30! I have to review prefixes though - Students didn't know the difference between בְּ and בַּ

 Tomorrow: פרק ל פסוקים א-ג. (I'll be lucky to complete the  first two pesukim before being deluged with questions.). These pesukim are VERY interesting.  I need to do the heavy lifting of teaching the translation before the students actually understand the pesukim. Otherwise, they will be too excited to learn to translate the pesukim independently.

1.  Give out blank lined paper to each student for notes and questions. 
2.  pre teach  the shorashim  , שרשים   קנא, בנה, מנע, מות, הבה  and בטן ברכיים by acting out these words (gross motor skills) 
3.  Have students look for challenging words in the pesukim.  
4.  Write all words asked on the board with translations. 
5.  Ask the students to try to read the pasuk independently or with a partner and tell their partner what they think ishappening. Have them write any questions on the paper. 
6. answer questions in 5 minute increments using timer to keep on track. Intersperse rest of lesson with skill work and questions
7. Call on volunteers to read. Have  students continue to jot down thoughts on notes. 
8. teacher read pesukim 
9. class read pesukim 
10. Fill in the linear translation as a review and to incorporate fine motor skills into lesson.

Questions to explore based on classes interest:

1. How could Rochel be jealous? 
2. When can jealousy be good or bad?
3.  How do Chazal look at this jealousy?
4.  Why did Rochel say she would die?
5.  Why did Yaakov get angry? 
6. Why did he answer her this way? 
7. How do Chazal view this anger? 
8. Why did Rochel give Yaakov Bilhah as a wife?

C. Ivrit: I learned from the second grade secular studies teacher, Ms. Leo, who is getting a masters in literacy, how important it is to journal. The students use all their skills talking, writing, listening and speaking when a journaling lesson is done correctly.  The students get a 5 minute pre lesson on grammar or vocabulary. We practice the skill by having conversations. Then they must  incorporate the lesson into their 15 minutes of journal writing. There is a prompt to start them off but the rest is up to their creativity.

Today, I had the class in their editor-in-chief mode. I gave out some sentences the students had written yesterday to correct. We were working on writing first person sentences in past tense - עבר, אני. We start our עברית עבר lessons by taking a shoresh, conjugating it in past tense while clapping the syllables. The rhythm helps the students self correct their own work.

Tomorrow, we will be writing using second person past tense. Here is the picture prompt. There is a full page of lines to finish the story for the more advanced students.

D. Limudei Kodesh. 
Yesterday, we had a great cooperative learning lesson on the Omer using the Jigsaw method. The class was split into groups of three. They read the story as a group with each student taking one paragraph. Then, they illustrated the comics based on the story. They answered one section of the questions. Then they joined with students from other groups to complete the answers to the other questions.  Omer Story



Today we learned about R' Akiva.  I wrote a story about Rochel and R' Akiva in hebrew based on a similar story found on chinuch.org. I typed up the story and added some details. The students all know that  R' Akivas students die so it is meaningless to them. Hopefully, becoming attached to R' Akiva as a man who worked so hard to become a teacher will make the story fresh.We read a bit of the story and discussed it in hebrew using basic question prompts.

Tomorrow Continue with the part of the story where R' Akiva leaves to learn Torah, his return, his leaving again.

Rabbi Akiva Story


End of Day: Write Homework in Yoman. RT (Read & Translate) פרק ל: א-ג R (Read only) ד-י. Written homework TBD tomorrow.


On tap for Thursday: Tefillah, Chumash, Gadol of the week biography . . . I'm thinking about writing about the Vilna Gaon and the Baal Shem Tov next week. We pretty much did the early 20th century in the different cultures, It's time to rewind to pre American Revolution times.  Plus, some Pirkei Avos. Hopefully some Ivrit journaling if there is time.

Friday: Tefillah, Chumash & Parsha time

September 11, 2001 - The end of a year - the beginning of a decade

We all remember September 11 and where we were when the world we knew was shattered.

I remember September 11 as the bookend of a terrible year. A year earlier, on September 28, 2000, I was on a number 2 bus going to my job in the Old City when Israeli soldiers boarded. They shouted at us to quickly get off the bus for our own safety. Ariel Sharon had visited the Temple Mount and the second Intifada started. There were raised voices and pushing as I walked to work under the watchful eyes of armed soldiers. Outside my office, I could hear clashes between soldiers and rioters. My sense of security had been shattered. For the next few months, my commute to work became tense as stones would rain down on the bus as we passed through hostile neighborhoods.

That was just the beginning. Soon after, there was the lynching in Ramallah and nightly shootings into random apartments in Gilo. There was a bus bombing in Machane Yehuda. I don't know why, but in my mind, I can hear the explosion and then the immediate sound of sirens racing through the city.

In November 2000, we had to return to the States for personal reasons hoping we could return soon. The bombings in Israel never stopped. They bombed malls, buses and discos hoping to hurt as many innocents as they could. Who can forget the images of the chidlren who lost limbs in the Kfar Darom school bus attack, the teenagers who were maimed and murdered in the Dolphinarium discotheque, or the young lives snuffed out shopping in a Mall?

On August 9, 2001, the terrorists detonated a bomb in Sbarro's pizza during the lunchtime rush. A family with 5 of their children had come that day to escape from the frequent shootings in the North. Only 2 of their daughters survived the day with injuries. The three older brothers who did not join the family outing were left to identify the bodies of their parents and their three siblings who were killed. One hundred and twenty people were injured and 15 were killed for the crime of going to eat pizza.

My husband and I moved into an apartment in Washington Heights in the middle of August. I was somewhat relieved as every few weeks we heard about another horrific attack on women and children who were going about their daily lives.

Yet, terror did not stop at Israel's borders just because I had wished it to be so. It visited the United States with a viciousness and inhumanity we had come to know over the previous year. This time, 3000 fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, sisters and brothers were killed and a country was shattered.

That event changed us all, but it did not change them. Ten years later, the disregard for human life has not ceased. This disregard does not read maps and does not respect borders. It bows to no politician and does not listen to reason. It is evil.

In the last ten years, our world has tried to deny the existence of evil giving reasons and rationale for its existence. But having witnessed the evil, and having seen the faces of the victims I know one thing. This evil cannot be explained, and it cannot be placated. It must be recognized as such. It must be fought and protested. Because, if we allow evil to take root in one place, it won't be satisfied. It will merely spread its tentacles into our lives wherever we may be.