Pesach Pillows

In Lashon, we are continuing to prepare for the model seder on April 5- we hope parents and families can join us!
Students are making pillows so that they will be able to fulfill the obligation to recline. They are all Pesach themed, but each is unique, and highlights our students' creativity.

By Naming Something, We Define It

In Humash, we have been studying Moshe's questions to God, right after he has discovered that he is supposed to be the savior of Bnei Yisrael. In his second question, Moshe asks God, "What is your name" and God responds that God's name is אהיה אשר אהיה- I am what I am (whatever that means!). We started talking about how naming something defines that thing and helps us understand what that thing is, and I posed the question- can we ever truly understand or know God?

MLA Heading for Creative Story

Student's Name

Mrs. Woods

ELA: Creative Story

April 3, 2012

Title

Summer Parshah Teaching Assignment

Students were assigned the following, and will be responsible for TEACHING one parashah to the rest of the class. I can't wait to hear their Torah!

Leah: Shlach Lecha (due on April 4)
Josh B: Korach (due April 18)
Emma: Chukat (due April 25)
Maya: Balak (due May 2)
Yoni: Pinchas (due May 9)
Alec: Dvarim (due May 16)
Josh P: VaEtchanan (due May 23)

Summer Parshiyot- Long Term Assignment

In order to complete our Torah, we need to do some extra work to learn about the summer parshiyot. For this assignment, YOU will be the teacher and YOU will share your knowledge about your parashah.

Instructions:

Each student will be assigned one parashah.

For your parashah, you must:

1. Look up the ספר, פרק, פסוק and write out this information, the פרשה and the 1st פסוק.

2. Read the summary of your parashah- using either www.g-dcast.com, Sedra Scenes, or the Brick Testament.

3. Summarize the main points in 3-4 sentences. (This will be the summary that your classmates will write on their template)

4. Come up with a commentary question about your parashah that your classmates will answer for their own commentaries.

**This information must be handed in ONE WEEK before your parashah

and this assignment will be GRADED**

-You will be writing your information on the Torah Project Summer Parshiyot- Fill-In Sheet. Please write legibly and clearly, since this will be shared with all of your classmates. You may type this assignment.

Name: ____________________________________________

פרשה: ____________________________________________

GRADING RUBRIC: TP SUMMER PARSHIYOT

	4	3	2	0-1
ספר, פרק, , פרשה, פסוק and the 1st פסוק	All of the information you provided was correct	One piece of information was incorrect	Two pieces of information were incorrect	Three or more pieces of information were incorrect
Summary	Your summary was clear, concise, correct and complete	Your summary met 3 of the 4 requirements	Your summary met 2 of the 4 requirements	Your summary met 0 or 1 of the 4 requirements
Commentary Question	Your question was open-ended, thoughtful, connected to the parashah, and allowed for a personal example	Your commentary met 3 of the 4 requirements	Your commentary met 2 of the 4 requirements	Your commentary met 0 or 1 of the 4 requirements
Legible	Your work was legible and was easy for your classmates to read			Your work was not legible and was difficult for your classmates to read
Handed in on Time	Your work was handed in on time			Your work was NOT handed in on time

TOTAL= ____________________/ 20

Summer Parshiyot for Torah project

Students should be working on copying these 4 summer parshiyot on to templates. Their work is due on Friday, March 30.

פרשה: עֵקֶב ספר: דברים פרק: ז פסוק: יב

וְהָיָה ׀ עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם וַֽעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְשָׁמַר֩ ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ לְךָ֗ אֶֽת־הַבְּרִית֙ וְאֶת־הַחֶ֔סֶד אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לַֽאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ:

Summary: Moshe tells Bnei Yisrael (BN”Y) that if they obey God’s laws, they will be rewarded and if they disobey the laws, they will be punished. Moshe reminds BN”Y about the times when they have missed the mark, for example, with the Golden Calf, and warns them not to do it again. This parashah contains the 2nd paragraph of the Shma.

Commentary: God and Moshe have to keep reminding BN”Y not to do wrong. I think it is so easy to do the wrong thing because... One thing that I do to remind myself to do the right thing is...

פרשה: ראה ספר: דברים פרק: יא פסוק: כו רְאֵ֗ה אָֽנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם בְּרָכָ֖ה וּקְלָלָֽה:

Summary: Moshe tells BN”Y that they should choose to follow God’s laws and they will be rewarded. Moshe tells BN”Y that they should not follow other gods, he reviews which animals are kosher and which are unkosher, and he tells them about the laws of Hebrew slaves. Moshe also tells BN”Y about the three pilgrimage holidays, Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot

Commentary: Moshe tells that people that they should be “seen” by God three times a year, at the three holidays. I think that I am “seen” by God at this time: This moment is meaningful to me because...

רשה: שופטים ספר:דברים פרק: טז פסוק: יח שֹֽׁפְטִ֣ים וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗ים תִּֽתֶּן־לְךָ֙ בְּכָל־שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ לִשְׁבָטֶ֑יךָ וְשָֽׁפְט֥וּ אֶת־הָעָ֖ם מִשְׁפַּט־צֶֽדֶק:

Summary: Moshe tells BN”Y that they should have fair laws and judges, and that they should “pursue justice.” God tells Moshe the laws about when BN”Y will want a king and how to choose one (in the future). The laws of the city of refuge are explained: if someone kills another by accident, they can run away to the city of refuge and they will not punished. When going in to battle, anyone who just got married, built a house or is scared does not have to go.

Commentary: A midrash teaches that we have to work for justice, and we have do to that in a just way- this means that the ends do NOT justify the means. I think it is important to work for justice in a just way because... The lesson I learn from this is...

פרשה: כי תצא ספר: דברים פרק: כא פסוק: י כִּֽי־תֵצֵ֥א לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה עַל־אֹֽיְבֶ֑יךָ וּנְתָנ֞וֹ ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ בְּיָדֶ֖ךָ וְשָׁבִ֥יתָ שִׁבְיֽוֹ:

Summary: Moshe tells BN”Y more laws: a child who disobeys his parents is put to death, you have to take care of your friend’s lost property, and when taking the eggs from a nest, you have to shoo the mother bird away first. The laws of divorce are explained. Moshe tells BN”Y to remember what Amalek did to them as they left Egypt and never to forget.

Commentary: The command to remember Amalek is that we must always remember the evil that was done to us. I think it is important to remember what has been done to our people because... The lesson I learn from this is...

At the Burning Bush

5th Graders also presented their plays- that they wrote- about the moment that Moshe met God for the first time at the burning bush. They had to empathize with Moshe and add in the emotions in to the scene. How was Moshe feeling when he first saw God- confused? excited? How did he feel about getting the huge job of saving Bnei Yisrael? And how does he feel now that he know he is Jewish?

Moshe Recommendations

5th graders have been learning so much in Humash!
This week, we were treated to a song (by Leah), 2 plays (by Emma and Maya), 2 videos (by Josh Bermel and Yoni), and one comic strip (by Alec), that all explained why Moshe should be the leader of Bnei Yisrael. They recommended him based on 2 strengths of his character, and also explained two of his weaknesses. All of this was backed up by text to support their ideas. Kol Hakavod!

Upcoming Due Dates (To Print out & Keep on your Home Calendar/Fridge)

Math Test- Tuesday, 3/27 (Students have study guides)
Science Test- Thursday, 3/29 (Study guides will go home on Monday)
Four Summer Parashiyot for Torah Project- Friday, 3/30
Reader's Letter- Monday, 4/2
Creative Story final draft- Tuesday, 4/3
Humash Quiz- Wednesday, 4/4
DOL Quiz on weeks 16-20- Thursday, 4/5

Battle of Lexington and Concord

After watching an informative video about the Battle of Lexington and Concord, we tried to figure out which of the many groups in the colonies was actually involved in the battle.   Trying to puzzle what differences, if any, there were between the Loyalists, Colonists, Patriots, Lobsterbacks, Redcoats, British, English, and Minuteman, allowed the students dig a little deeper into the forces at work during the Revolutionary War.
- Mr. Lobovits

Chasing Vermeer

By paying close attention to the details in Chasing Vermeer and organizing the information they uncovered,  the fifth graders were able to try and decode the message hidden in the book by the author.  Although not everyone has finished finding and decoding the message, everybody had the opportunity to use their critical thinking skills and hypothesize how the message was hidden and what they could do to uncover and decode it.-Mr. Lobovits

Energy Experiments

Our young scientists were inquisitive and methodical yesterday when they launched their own energy experiments, using the six stations.  One group wondered if the energy from live wire could move a ball of paper.  Another group wanted to find out how close an activated battery needs to be to a compass to affect it.  For their prediction, they said, "Mrs. Woods, we may need to go outside for this!"  They were shocked to discover the effect on the compass happens as close as 3 inches!
They will have another opportunity to explore their own energy questions by creating experiments next week.

Garden Time

On Tuesday Fifth graders planted sugar snap peas.  Before going outside they had to figure out, based on the directions, how many rows would fit.  Each student first mapped out what the plot would look like, using a set scale.  Our hope is to have enouhg sugar snap peas for hot lunch.

Math- percents

Students have been working on converting decimals and fractions to percents in "real-world" problems, such as interest and sales.  There will be a test early next week.  Every student was given a study guide with many problems to practice as preparation.

New Math Unit launched

Geometry math tests will go home on Monday.  Our new is unit is on percentages.  We launched this unit with a tea tasting, naturally.  After all the talk about tea in our American Revolution unit, we thought it was time to taste some.  We examined a poem (a primary source) about the tea tax while we tasted.  Everyone voted for a favorite tea.  Then students had to learn how to find out the percentage of students who chose each tea.  On Monday they will learn how to graph their data in Excel.

American Revolution

What fascinating discussions fifth graders have been having about which side to be on and why.  We've been practicing perspective taking.  The class was observed by 14 educators (DeLeT mentors mostly) so that we could learn more about how to listen to learners share their thinking.  Yoni wrote, "The loyalists had valid points."  Josh B. wrote, "It made me think the British weren't so bad."

Story Draft due Monday

Writers must hand in their first drafts on Monday, March 19th.  Those who have been managing their time working on their stories at home over the past month aren't feeling a sense of panic over the upcoming due date.  Rubrics were handed to students as well as emailed to them.

Humash Assignment

Moshe's Recommendation Due Thursday March 22
Be prepared to present your work- can't wait to hear those songs, see those videos and read those letters!

Writing Dialogue in Creative Stories

The fifth graders tackled all manner of questions regarding dialogue in their writing class on Tuesday, and after looking over Chasing Vermeer, their book from Reading, they uncovered several of the grammatical rules for writing proper dialogue.  They began to incorporate these grammatical rules into their creative writing pieces, and finished up class by showing one example of dialogue in their stories that followed all of the rules.
-Mr. Lobovits

Reading Detectives

In Reading, the fifth graders have been excited detectives as they attempt to discover the hidden message in the artwork of Chasing Vermeer.  As they continue to read about the adventures of Calder and Petra, the two main characters, they are poring over the images in the book and finding pentominoes and even frogs.  Only time will tell if they can discover and decode the message through careful analysis and attention to detail.
-Mr. Lobovits

Gotta Have Sole

5th Graders have begun researching their tzedakah project, which is to help out Gotta Have Sole, the tzedakah foundation created by former JCDS student, Nicholas Lowinger. More information will be forthcoming, but please consider buying a new pair of shoes to donate to someone in need.
Thanks!