SHARING CLASSROOM SPACE

At our last faculty meeting of the school year, we were invited to discuss concerns about our classes. One elementary grade teacher expressed the concern that her Sunday School students never quite felt comfortable in the classroom which they shared with a weekday Early Childhood Center class. The Sunday School students needed frequent reminders not to touch the early childhood toys, equipment, and displays which filled the room. There was little space to display student work or visual materials related to the Sunday School program. As Jewish educators, many of us have similar concerns about the effective use of shared space. Budget and building constraints often make it necessary for several classes or programs to share a room. How can one educational space serve the needs of multiple users? I suggest two words to address this situation - "Store" and "Speak." For those using the room only a few hours a week, smart storage of resources and equipment ensures speedy set-up; an age- appropriate learning environment; and quick clean-up.Inexpensive, readily available storage and organizing tools include:Storage bins on wheels to hold books, school supplies, and craft materialsA wheeled set of storage drawers or a small filing cabinet for lesson packets , student work folders, flash cards, administrative formsA plastic milk crate for games and toysProject display boards for portable displays of themed materials and student work, and as a platform for learning games With a storage plan in mind, Speak to the teachers whose space you share. Address questions such as: How can the space be shared to provide each teacher's students with a welcoming environment and a quality learning experience?Where can storage units be placed so as to be unobtrusive and secure?Are there games, toys, books, etc. which may be shared?How can chalkboard, bulletin board and wall space be fairly divided? Arrange to maintain communication throughout the year so that shared space concerns may be quickly resolved. Also - Speak with your students at the beginning of the school year about sharing the space. Together, develop a set of rules for using the classroom respectfully and constructively. Post these rules and refer to them when necessary.If the room is filled with little kid toys which are "off limits" to your students, encourage your students to suggest toys and games which they'd like for their own use before class begins or when assignments have been completed. If possible, gather some of the suggested items and have them on hand. Students might even be willing to contribute some of their own.One source for learning games and toys with a Judaic theme is www.mahirjudaica.com Your comments are welcome. Please tell us your ideas about sharing classroom space.

REACHING KITAH GIMEL: LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE

A few days ago, Kitah Gimel students officially "graduated" from Religious School/Hebrew School. They now move on to B'nai Mitzvah preparation, a post B'nai Mitzvah program, and Confirmation. Our last few school weeks exemplified the experiential approach to Jewish education which has shaped our learning this year. As intensively as possible, I provided authentic, hands-on experiences, as well as background information for prayer study and Holiday celebrations. At our Pesach seder, for example, students could touch, taste, and smell the symbolic foods, while hearing and reciting the Four Questions, various Blessings, and key elements of the Haggadah narrative. For Yom HaShoah, students reviewed the horrific events of the Holocaust through a packet of texts and illustrations which I'd assembled. Students then participated in an activity called "Parparim" ("Butterflies"). This activity was developed by Jewish National Fund www.jnf.org and the Houston Holocaust Museum. www.hmh.org "Parparim" blends art, poetry, and science to enable students to respond physically and emotionally to the enormous tragedy of the Holocaust. A week after our somber observance of Yom HaShoah, students were welcomed to "Beit Cafe Gimel". Israeli music, Israeli food, and Israeli street signs created the atmosphere of an Israeli sidewalk cafe in our classroom - in joyful celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut. For additional details of the activities done in each Kitah Gimel session throughout the school year, please visit my weekly posts in the Hebrew School section of the religious school blog for my synagogue www.call-me-doll.blogspot.com Looking back on the school year, did I "reach" Kitah Gimel? I hope I gave them some of the knowledge and experience needed for personal and communal participation in Jewish life. There is no end-of-year assessment that will tell absolutely how committed Kitah Gimel students will be to lifelong Jewish learning as they mature and form their own families. In fact, I'll never actually know whether I reached Kitah Gimel, but I do know that they reached me. I'll build on what I learned from them and with them to prepare for the new Kitah Gimel students who will fill my classroom next fall.

Reaching Kitah Gimel: Personalizing Prayer

During a recent class, my Kitah Gimel students received a gift from the religious school, a gift that would have been unthinkable, even shocking, decades ago when I was in the 6th grade of a classical Reform "Sunday School." Each Kitah Gimel student received a copy of the Journal Edition of the Reform siddur, Mishkan T'filah. The Journal Edition differs from the regular edition of Mishkan T'filah. Both siddurim have the traditional liturgy and English translation and transliteration on the right hand side of the page. However, in the Journal Edition, the left hand side of the page is blank or presents a few guiding questions. Mishkan T'filah: The Journal Edition is meant to be used throughout one's life as a source of prayers and a repository of personal responses to those prayers, over time. In the introduction to Mishkan T'filah: The Journal Edition, we're told to "record" our thoughts, "when participating in a service," and to "share" our "voices...during the service." The Reform prayerbook in use when I was 12 years old was a small, somber tome called The Union Prayerbook. The Union Prayerbook opened from the left. In its 385 pages of dense print (Hebrew, English, but no transliteration), The Union Prayerbook was absolutely not conducive to recording one's personal responses to the prayers. The English was of the stiff "Biblical" variety - lots of thees, thous, and thines. Adonai was "Lord," "Father," and "King." In the back of The Union Prayerbook was a list of Torah Portions entitled, "Scriptural Readings for the Sabbath." I remember sitting on Friday night for what seemed like hours, fiddling with the thin red ribbon bookmark attached to The Union Prayerbook. I have no recollection at all of hearing a Torah Portion read! Regarding my personal response to the prayer service of my youth, words like, "tedious," "remote," "inaccessable," and "lengthy" come to mind. Kitah Gimel 5772 is fortunate. These students have the opportunity of a lifetime to personalize their T'filah experience. I intend to join them. It's never too late for Jewish learning. The religious school has ordered a copy of Mishkan T'filah: the Journal Edition for me, too. If I need help with my Journal entries, I can go to www.myMTJ.org. Unthinkable!

Reaching Kitah Gimel: A Seder to Remember

Inspired by a Torah Aura Productions webinar* on experiential Jewish education, I prepared a "condensed" Seder** for Kitah Gimel. In our 60 minutes together, students blessed, told, sang, questioned, answered, dipped, and ate. Desks pushed end to end and covered with white cloths formed the Seder table - the children's table , to be exact! At one end of the table, a student declared that he wouldn't sit next to girls because "girls have cooties." At the other end, a twosome's "relationship" blossomed like a spring daffodil amidst the matza crumbs! Students were proud to sing the Ma Nishtanah for our Director of Lifelong Learning who stopped by to wish everyone "Chag Pesach Sameach." (The Director then invited Kitah Gimel to lead the Ma Nishtanah at Hebrew School T'filah.) Students vied to hold up the yuckiest Plague finger puppets and boasted of how much Maror they could put on their Hillel Sandwiches. In short, at our classroom Seder, the students were like a boisterous group of 12 year old cousins creating Pesach memories and even learning a bit. That's what experiential Jewish education is about - opportunities to learn and grow through authentic Jewish activities in a welcoming Jewish environment; a chance to create Jewish memories which will endure and shape future engagement in Jewish life long after students have left Kitah Gimel on their individual Jewish Journeys. *For information on Torah Aura Productions webinars and their wealth of innovative Jewish educational resources for teaching and learning, go to www.torahaura.com **Visit my synagogue's Religious School blog for a more detailed account of the Kitah Gimel Seder www.call-me-doll.blogspot.com

Reaching Kitah Gimel: The Synagogue as a Teaching Tool and a Learning Opportunity - Part 3

Here are more ideas for using your synagogue as a teaching tool and a learning opportunity:Point out photo displays of past Rabbis, Cantors, and lay leaders. If possible, invite one of the individuals pictured to speak to your class about his or her role in the life of the synagogue.Similarly, if there is a photo display of past Confirmation classes, invite a Confirmand from ten or twenty years ago to share their religious school experiences with your class.If your synagogue has an Archive Committee, ask a member of that committee to show and explain artifacts from the synagogue's past. Our synagogue has a display case in the lobby where a variety of archival exhibits are presented throughout the year. Encourage students to examine these exhibits and pose questions for the Archive Committee to answer. A local Jewish Historical Society representative might also be a resource for synagogue history.Have students envision themselves as members of the synagogue Membership Committee. Their task is to view the appearance of the synagogue (inside and out) through the eyes of a potential or new member. In this role, students might evaluate the synagogue's grounds, lobby/foyer, Sanctuary, social hall, lounges, Chapel, office, education wing, and other spaces. What impression does the synagogue make on new members of various ages - young children, older children, young adults, adults, seniors? What improvements/changes do students suggest? As a follow-up, students might actually present and discuss their suggestions with the Membership Committee or to the Synagogue Board.Our synagogue has an electronic bulletin board in the lobby that tells about the history of the synagogue, the mission statement, activities, and other information. If your synagogue has such a display, ask students to watch all of the information presented. What overall message is communicated? What additions or revisions would students suggest to better acquaint members, potential members and guests with the synagogue?Have a brainstorming session where students think of ways that they might actually contribute their skills to the synagogue. Some possibilities might include being prayer leaders, assisting with the synagogue garden, welcoming and guiding new families with children through the synagogue and the education wing, putting up bulletin board displays. There's still time left in the school year for your students not only to learn in the synagogue, but to learn from it!