Today, students started their fiction unit in readers workshop. We started off with a book walk and looked at a variety of texts we would be reading. Next, students had a fiction brain dumped and discussed everything they already knew about fiction. They were very excited that one of our focuses will be mythology.
This year, Jewish Studies and Reading are trying some new things. One of those things is connecting our fiction unit to Jewish Studies. In reading, students will read a variety of Jewish folktales. In Jewish studies, students will learn all about midrashes. Students will be able to explain the difference between a folktale and midrash. Check out the I can statements for reading and Jewish studies.
| I can… Fiction |
| describe the moral or lesson in a story and support with evidence |
| make predictions about text to help me gain a deeper understanding |
| identify main character attributes, traits, motivation and feelings to deepen my understanding. |
| describe what the mythology story is explaining. |
| describe the elements of fiction in stories |
| identify narrative perspective within a text. |
| I can explain the difference between a midrash and a folktale |
|
I can… Jewish studies |
| use Sefaria to read through and navigate the Torah |
| make predictions about text to help me gain a deeper understanding |
| identify main character attributes, traits, motivation and feelings to deepen my understanding (middot) |
| describe what the midrash is explaining about the Torah |
| write my own midrash based on a text from the Torah |
| I can explain the difference between a midrash and a folk tale |
| Take notes in my Jewish Studies notes doc |
There are so many connections between these two types of text and helping students recognize the similarities/differences will lead to deeper and more meaningful learning.