Monthly Archives: November 2017

Me to WE in SS

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As a teacher, there is nothing better than that amazing feeling after class when you know your kids rocked it. Today was one of those days!

As your child may have told you, we are in the beginning stages of our chicken mummification project. The kids spent the last week working in partnerships to write up plans for mummifying chickens. They relied heavily on the internet (using Google search strategies) to help them create a list of specific materials and procedures they would follow. The groups quickly realized that they were finding conflicting information and they were not quite sure which option would work best. At this point we took a field trip down to Adon Kaufman’s classroom. Here we examined mummified chickens created by students from the past two years. The kids started asking Adon Kaufman amazing questions, their wonders were incredible. It was then that Adon Kaufman and I looked at each other and knew exactly what we had to do. Me to We…The kids had to have the opportunity to talk to the 7th graders about their experience with this project!

This morning 28 fifth and sixth graders partnered up with 17 seventh graders to do just this! The 7th graders were eager to share their learning experience from last year and loved leading the 5th and 6th graders. The fifth and sixth graders could not have been more grateful for the experience and asked if they could also get feedback from the 8th graders who were the first to complete this project. It was amazing to see how receptive the 5th and 6th graders were to the feedback from their older classmates, it was a true sign of all involved using empathy.  

After the 7th graders left I asked the 5/6 class to share some feedback with me. Here is what they had to say:

“It was great to hear from our friends and not just listen to a website.”

“It was great feedback. It was a primary source that we could trust.”

“I loved having the peer review, it was nice to have another set of eyes, especially from someone who has done this before.”

“The feedback was kind, specific and helpful, just like we’ve talked about.”

26/28 Students said that it was more helpful to have a primary source that they knew and trusted rather than a website.

28/28 Found class today to be helpful 

I am even more excited about this project than I ever thought I could be! Thank you to the 7th graders for providing super helpful feedforward and Adon Kaufman for sharing your time and experience! The kids will begin blogging about their process soon, stay tuned!

 

 

Home Reading Logs

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Good morning! As discussed at conferences, the best way to become a stronger reader is simply to read! At school, we focus on comprehension skills and strategies to enhance our reading abilities. We write reader’s responses, stop and jot, turn and talk and pull apart stories through discussion and conferring. At home, I want your kiddos to pick a book that they love and just read! Of course you can ask them questions about what they are reading, or even read a book with them, but at home, I just ask your child to read–no reader’s response necessary. Although there may be additional ELA homework some nights, the expectation for your child is to read 3-4 times per week for at least 20 minutes and log it on his/her reading log. The log is electronic (shared today in Google Classroom) and will be checked on Monday mornings. If your child prefers a paper copy, that is fine too. Or, they can log in the morning when they arrive to school! Happy reading!No automatic alt text available.

 

 

Special Friend Day #ilovemjds

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This morning was yet another reminder of why #ilovemjds! It melted my heart to see the upper school students excited about sharing their second home, MJDS, with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents and family friends. The morning activities highlighted our efforts to move from me to we, as we joined together as an entire upper school and shared a delicious breakfast. The theme continued with the addition of empathy and Tikkun Olam as we prepared sandwiches and snacks for those less fortunate. Our strong Jewish identities shined bright as we said blessings and shared warm challah and sweet grape juice with our loved ones during Kabblat Shabbat. The best part of the morning was not the smiles of the kvelling special friends but rather watching our upper school students beam with pride as they shared their learning environment with those they love the most. I am thankful each and everyday to work in such a menschy place, and especially today, I was reminded of why #ilovemjds. 

Why do you love MJDS? Please share in the comments!

Have a wonderful, restful weekend. Shabbat Shalom. 

(More pictures will be included in MJDS weekly publications)

 

Me to We in ELA

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Earlier this week we were invited to the 2nd grade publishing party. Just like 5th grade, 2nd grade (and the entire school) is working on learning the writing process and all that it entails. Attending the party was a wonderful opportunity for the 5th graders to see how writing skills develop over time. Each second grader shared his/her writing and asked the 5th graders for feedforward. I was impressed by the 5th grade’s ability to offer kind, specific and helpful feedforward. This is an important skill we have been working on in each of our classes. Even more impressive was the 5th grade’s attitude as we left the room. Everyone agreed that the 2nd grade writing was wonderful and they wondered (another core value!) how they could improve their own writing! The entire experience was the perfect opportunity to practice our rally cry for the year, moving from me to we. 

Fifth grade is diligently working on their first writing pieces of the year. Most students are almost done editing and revising while a few are ready to publish. Stay tuned for finished work in the next few weeks.

 

 

 

Art Museum Trip 11/15

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Today we took our first trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum. We had wonderful docents named Rose and Gary who shared a lot of their knowledge with us. The theme for today’s trip was antiquities to modernism. Through our tour we learned about different elements of art and a lot about history! We also asked the kids to look around for inspiration for their Junior Docent graduation which will take place on March 20th at 3:30PM at the Milwaukee Art Museum. 

When we returned to school I asked the class to blog about their experience at the museum today. Check your child’s blog where he/she answered the following:

–Share 3 things you learned today

–Share 2 wonders 

–Share one piece that you were most excited about to possibly use for Junior docent 

Story Elements —-> Fiction

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Today we continued learning about fiction text. We refreshed our schema by discussing the different story elements present in all fictional writing. The kids listened to the short story, Dont be an Uncle Max, one of the wonderful titles in our mentor text, Birthday Surprises. This entertaining story provided us the opportunity to practice pulling apart a story, focusing on story elements. Later we will dig deeper into each element; In particular, the different types of conflict that arise in fiction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talking to your child about what we are reading in class is a wonderful way to learn more about your child as a reader. Don’t forget that my expectation is that 5th graders are reading at home at least 3-4 times a week for at least 15 minutes. They do not need to write a readers response, but they should be logging their reading. In addition, having the opportunity to discuss what you’ve read is a wonderful opportunity to grow as a reader. I encourage you to read a book with your child or ask your child about what he/she is reading. Thank you for your continued support at home!

ELA in the Maker Space!

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One of my favorite things about MJDS is the flexibility of our spaces and the ability to offer interdisciplinary opportunities to our students.

Next week the entire upper school will take a field trip to the movie theater to see the film Wonder. Wonder is absolutely my favorite book to share with students. In fact, I have used it as a read aloud in my classroom for the past five years. It is a beautiful story about a young boy, Auggie, who was born with facial deformities. The book is told from multiple perspectives and shares the struggles Auggie and his friends face as they enter middle school, each with their own unique challenges. I  have yet to make it through the book without shedding tears!

The overall theme or takeaway from the book is to always choose kindness. This theme connects directly to our core value of empathy and is something we address daily at MJDS. In fact, you will often hear our upper school students reminding each other to choose kind.

We wanted to find a way to connect this theme of kindness or empathy to another core value- Tikkun Olam. Today 5th and 6th graders started the first step of a kindness project in the maker space. Along side our skilled 8th grade makers, the kids started putting together pieces of reclaimed wood that will be turned into beautiful kindness reminders. Each student will cut, drill and stain their wood to create a canvas for a precept, or quote, that encourages and reminds others to choose kind. These kindness plaques will be donated to inner city schools in Milwaukee as a reminder to always choose kind.

Stay tuned for photos of finished products!

 

 

Up Next: Fiction

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We are kicking off quarter two by jumping into our fiction unit in Reader’s Workshop. Fiction writers are storytellers who transport us to imaginary places, entertain, demonstrate a moral, inspire imagination, reveal aspects of life and various cultures, and give us a glimpse into human nature.  We will be using mentor texts to study realistic, fantasy, and traditional fiction. 

Image result for the raft

Today we focused on recognizing different text structures within a fiction text. We started with the most common structure, chronological order. Through our mentor text, The Raft, we identified phrases that gave us clues that time was passing. We stopped and jotted to document the clues throughout the story. We discussed that good readers pay attention to overall structure and how scene changes signal chronological movement. I encouraged the kids to practice this strategy in their own reading as a form of readers response. Later, we will make the connection in our writing and try to remember to include temporal words or phrases to show passing time. 

 

Thank you and a few Reminders!

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It was a pleasure meeting with all of you earlier this week. Your children have already shown a tremendous amount of growth both academically and emotionally this year; I am looking forward to watching and sharing their continued growth.  On that note, please take a few minutes to fill out the MJDS conference survey. By providing authentic and actionable feedback, we will be able to continue improving our school. 

Today is our first 2pm dismissal! Please let me know if there are any changes to regular routine due to  early release. 

In honor of Veterans Day,  kids can wear a hat in school all day,  Monday, November 13,  if they bring $1.  All of the money we collect will go to Camp Hometown Heroes. Camp Hometown Heroes is a military charity organization that honors our fallen Military Heroes by embracing the children they left behind.

Shabbat Shalom,

Gev. Kimmel 

 

 

Diving into Ancient Egypt

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Good morning! Last week we dove head first into our study of Ancient Egypt. The kids were excited to see 20+ books in the classroom all about Egyptian Gods, pyramids and mummies! We spent a class period examining each book closely, documenting what we thought we knew, what we learned and our new wonders. We started a driving question board with all of our amazing wonders. Check out how many questions they came up with in just one class period! These wonders, or questions that your children asked, will be the driving force of our entire unit. The questions will eventually be sorted and we may need another board! 

Many of our questions were centered around the process of mummification. Ask your child about the activity he/she completed in class today to learn more about the fascinating symbolism and history of mummification. Hint!

Stay tuned for more Ancient Egypt Updates!