Last week in Social Studies we began finalizing our group plans for our chicken project. Each student first made their own individual plan, then combined their plan with a partners, and are now combining their partner plans in their groups. This process allows each of the students to not only work through their process of researching, summarizing, and developing a procedure, but also to get peer feedback.

The kids really dove into their planning, and are excited (albeit nervous!) to start handling the chickens. We will finish up our group plans this week after conferences are over, and begin mummifying on Monday.

Gev. Noorlander

Hello all!

Welcome back to our regular school schedule! As we readjust to our schedule, we are diving right back into our chicken planning! This week we have revisited our chicken plans, to make sure we have all of the information we need before we get materials.

As we take a few steps back to refocus on our research, our focus has been on the importance of making sure our foundation is right before moving forward. This has been great for understanding how to slow down, and completely grasp what you are researching before documenting it.

I love getting to see the kids really click with the material and understand why having this base is so important. I can not wait to start really getting into the chicken mummifying process!

It is going to be gross, and awesome. I promise to post pictures 🙂

Shabbat Shalom,

Gev. Noorlander

In Social Studies, we have started summarizing our research. We have been using the Somebody Wanted But So Then method, which students are familiar with from ELA. In class we practiced this method in a personal and social studies example.

For a Social Studies example, we used a prompt from our mummies research.

Prompt: You want to find out what happens to the body when it is mummified.

Students at this point had already researched to find out that the body is completely dried out with salt during the mummification process.

Somebody: Egyptians

Wanted: To preserve a body

But: They knew bodies rot when they are buried

So: They filled the body with salt

Then: The body completely dried out to become a mummy!

This is just one way to summarize research, but thus far has been a great structure for the students to break down their research information.

Feel free to reach out with any questions!

Shabbat Shalom,

Gev. Noorlander

Hello everyone!

This and last week in social studies we have been developing our research and summarizing skills! These are critical social studies skills, and will be of great use as we dive into our chicken mummifying projects! We have been using our google search operators to find information on how Ancient Egyptians mummified people. As we dug deeper into our research, we found that a lot of the results gave us a massive amount of information. This led to the question: What do we really need?

As we thought out what we really need for our research, we realized we needed to summarize our work! Following the somebody wanted but so then format that students have learned in ELA, we have begun identifying important information and putting it into our summary format. This has been a great exercise in understanding what to look for when we research.

Moving into next week, we will be beginning to make connections to chicken mummification, and developing our plans for mummifying. I am so excited to get our hands dirty!

As a general heads up, I will not be here next Friday, October 25th. Adon Kaufman will be in class that day.

Gev. Noorlander

5th and 6th grade families,

Today we walked down to Klode park for Tashlich, and I was blown away! I had never participated in Tashlich before, and what a wonderful ceremony it was. The kids really leaned into using this time to reflect and grow for the new year. After we got back from Klode, we had Social Studies class. However, today it was a little out of the ordinary. All of 6th grade were being mensches and helping our senior kindergarten get settled back into their class for the first half of Social Studies. So, the 5th graders and myself took this time to reflect on our morning, and dive into how this experience made us feel. The introspection and reflection I saw on our little carpet circle this morning was amazing! Once 6th grade joined us, we read a book called Hiawatha and the Peacemaker. This book talks all about forgiveness and moving forward, as so many students reflected on doing during Tashlich. It was an incredible way to wrap up our eventful morning, and I am so lucky to get to experience it all with your children.

Shabbat Shalom,

Gev. Noorlander

Dear 5th and 6th grade families,

WOW! I am so impressed with the work your students have been doing in Social Studies. This week we have been developing  timelines of our lives. Today, we did a gallery walk to look at each other’s work. It was so interesting to get a peek into each of your children’s lives. Students used skills of scale and chronological order to create their timelines, which we have focused on the past two weeks. It is amazing to see the kids really own their learning and dive into developing these skill sets!

After our gallery walk, some students shared what inspired them about others work. It was absolutely outstanding to hear the kind words your students said to each other.  We also reflected on our timelines, and the process of creating them today. Those reflections can be seen on your student’s blog!

I have seen an incredible amount of commitment and excitement to these timelines, and I can not wait to see how that translates into our upcoming units!

After the long weekend, we are starting our Ancient Egypt unit! Be prepared for lots of mummy discussions coming your way. 🙂

Shabbat Shalom,

Gev. Noorlander

1. Students should dress in comfortable clothing and must wear sneakers. No sandals are permitted for this trip. Dress for the weather. Unless there are thunderstorms we will be going.
2. Please send a bag lunch and a water bottle for the day. Lunches should follow MJDS policy and should not include meat or shellfish.
3. Send bug spray and sun screen. Students should have it on when they leave and can re apply as needed.

What an amazing week in Social Studies! We began working on learning how to use Cornell Notes on Monday, but things did not go as expected. I quickly realized we needed to slow down, and really take our time in understanding this new skill! Your kids were incredible. Not only were they understanding of our lesson adjustment, but they really dug into how to take Cornell notes. They asked thoughtful questions, and shared willingly with their classmates. Taking the time to stop, slow down, and reflect is something that will happen often in upper school, and it is wonderful to see the students really embrace the process. This year is off to an amazing start, and I can not wait to see what other outstanding things your kids do in Social Studies this year!

Next week I will introduce a timeline project, where students will be building a timeline of their lives! You may be digging through some sweet memories with your kids during this process. 🙂

A reminder that next Thursday, the 5th and 6th grade will be taking a trip to Lake Geneva to go zip lining together!

Excitedly,

Gev. Noorlander

I am so excited to start a new school year! Welcome back to a sure to be amazing year at MJDS. I have had the opportunity to meet each of your children already, and I am ecstatic to learn and grow with them as this year develops.

Our first few days have been great for getting to know each other, and building a really positive foundation for our year. Our first 5th and 6th grade Social Studies class is tomorrow.

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Hello all!

Today 5th and 6th grade had their final assessment in Social Studies. Their grades have been posted in google classroom. If you have questions about them, feel free to reach out!

Tomorrow is Mitzvah Day! Please remember to have your child bring a bag lunch and something to drink, as we will not be at school during lunch time.

Next Monday is Field Day AND our ETC showcase. Your children at this point should be done with their projects, and practicing their presentations.

There is no hot lunch next week, and students will need a bag lunch every day (except Thursday, as it is a half day!)

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out.

Gev. Noorlander