Judaic Studies by Design
Thoughts and Posts
Please don’t copy and paste the whole רמב"ן….
….unless that’s your learning goal and your students are capable and ready for that.
How do we equip our students to learn through a more involved פירוש, like a רמב"ן? How do we sufficiently prepare students to learn מפרשים in a developmentally appropriate way?
Start by asking yourself, ‘What is the goal?’
Is my goal to teach the content (question and answer) of the רמב"ן or the skill of learning through a רמב"ן?
If it is the former then teach the רמב"ן’s question and answer. No need to copy and paste the רמב"ן for students to learn through if they are not equipped to do so. Teaching material that students have not been prepared for leads to shutdown, anxiety, and feelings of failure.
If it is the latter then you need to ensure that you make the acquisition of this skill appropriate and accessible. That means being strategic and discriminant about which רמב"ןs you choose and which aspects of the רמב"ן you teach.
For example:
1. Introduce learning through a רמב"ן by finding a רמב"ן that encapsulates his classic structure and methodology
2. Explain that many רמב"ןs follow the same pattern. Point out the main characteristics of the רמב"ן’s structure and how you can find each one:
- The רמב"ן often starts by quoting a פשט approach (typically רש"י or א"ע)
- He then poses questions against the פשט approach
- Then he raises additional questions that lead to his next step
- After that he offers his opinion
- Lastly he writes his conclusion (The conclusion may be additional points he wants to make, examples of this pattern across the תורה, or supporting examples or proofs of his opinion)
3. Point out ‘Rambanisms’ or function words (classic language used by the רמב"ן that indicates what step he is doing next (as listed above). For example "הנכון בעיני" indicates that the רמב"ן is about to provide his own opinion)
4. Find another classic רמב"ן that follows the typical structure. Have students apply the structure that you just taught them and identify what each paragraph is going to do.
5. When it is time to learn the רמב"ן don’t copy and paste the whole Ramban, instead provide them with the lines that match your goals (ie- identifying the רמבן’s question, identifying his arguments against the פשט approach, identifying his reasons for providing a different answer, familiarizing students with ‘Rambanisms’ or function words, etc).
Teaching this way, gives the students a more manageable (and therefore more successful) path to making sense of a רמב"ן before they even start learning it. It empowers them with the tools to navigate through this complex skill in a way that is both developmentally and pedagogically sensible and appropriate.
Let's talk teaching Rashi skills-
How many of us have been told by a student "I'm really bad at Rashi" or "I hate when the teacher makes us do Rashi".
This is what happens when a student is asked to learn or perform a skill that they are not yet ready or prepared sufficiently for.
It is important that when choosing Rashis to teach, that we are discriminant and strategic. Start by asking "what is the goal for teaching this Rashi?"
Is the goal to practice:
- Reading Rashi
- Summarizing or rephrasing a learned Rashi
- Independently translating an unseen Rashi
- Independently identifying Rashi's question
- Identifying the typology of Rashi's question
- Understanding Rashi's choice of proof text
- gaining proficiency with "Rashisms" - common Rashi language
If the goal is to have your students practice learning an unseen Rashi, ensure that its length matches the grade level and made up of words (all or most) that the students are familiar with.
If your goal is to practice identifying Rashi's question, make sure it is a Rashi that easily lends itself to identifying Rashi's question for that grade level.
While this seems obvious, how many students are struggling because they are being asked to answer the above questions for famous Rashis or Rashis with ידיעות כלליות that we want our students to know but are too sophisticated for their level of development?
Clarification: We should teach students famous Rashis or those with ידיעות כלליות as long as we are not asking them to perform skills on those Rashis that they are not yet ready for.
When should a Hebrew content standard (ex.- identifying זמן) be included in a חומש scope and sequence versus חומש "tapping into" a content standard taught in עברית?
I believe the distinguishing factor is the frequency and primacy of that standard in achieving the learning outcome. If a particular content standard is a component skill and essential to being able to perform the composite skill then it should be included in the חומש scope and sequence.
On the other hand, if the content standard is tangential or non-essential to performing the skill, then it is sufficient for one subject to 'tap into' and 'borrow' from another.
Humor, not sarcasm.
Humor can be an effective access route to engagement, motivation, and retention. Sarcasm can shut that all down. Research shows that HUMOR has an incredible ability to engage an otherwise disinterested student. It can alleviate anxiety and stress while cultivating an enjoyable and positive milieu. It can unite a class, giving them common ground to connect with. Research also shows that SARCASM can disengage an otherwise motivated student. It can cause a student to experience self-doubt, isolation, and embarrassment. Sarcasm has the potential to polarize a class breeding discomfort, resentment, and offense amongst its members. When working with students, we as educators must think about more than just content. When working with students, it’s not the intention but the outcome that matters. When working with students we must remember that humor is about the student; sarcasm is often about everyone else.
Not sure what A Teacher Curriculum Guide is?
It is a concise and user-friendly document, derived from the scope and sequence that drives classroom instruction while giving teachers the support they desperately want.
A TCG details for the teacher WHAT standards should be taught in each UNIT while still allowing for teachers to decide HOW the standards should be taught.
These guides ensure that each teacher (veteran, novice, or substitute) maintains curriculum standardization and that the learning continuum remains intact and uninterrupted.
These guides can also be used to better inform supervisors of scheduled learning expectations and/or help direct lesson-planning meetings between supervisors and teachers.
Feel free to be in touch if you would like to learn more about Teacher Curriculum Guides and how they can serve your school.
Sick of repeating yourself?
Well, don't stop! Research shows that frequent repetition is one of the 2 ways that our brain absorbs, retains, and stores memory.
A Football move in the classroom?!
I was trying to explain to a teacher why running into class a few minutes late and immediately assigning chavrutah time might be contributing to his struggles with classroom management and resulting in students being off task, chatting with their friends, standing on the wrong side of the room, or staring into space. I guess I wasn’t doing a good enough job explaining because he was still having trouble seeing the connection between a well-managed class and student performance. At this point, I stopped, changed gears, and used his love of football to help explain. In recent years the NFL has been trying to simplify its catch rules and establish the rules of a 'football move'. In order for something to be considered a catch, the player must establish control of the ball. This means the player must secure the ball before hitting the ground and have 2 feet inbounds (or another body part) on the ground. Once those two conditions are met, the player must then make a 'football move’, an act considered common to the game. The point of this is that a player must control the ball long enough to clearly establish himself as a runner.I explained it is no different for a teacher trying to establish control of his or her classroom. The teacher must first establish themselves as a teacher and secure the classroom environment and then perform a common ‘teaching move’. The teacher must first introduce a well-planned lesson, delineate clear expectations, and answer questions the students might have. Then and only then can students be tasked with independently exploring the content standards for the lesson successfully.
Enjoy the new season!
Performing Beyond Content Standards
21st-century learning no longer refers to integrated technology skills. It now refers to SEL, critical thinking, creative and divergent thinking, and collaboration alongside media literacy. While many of us are aware and fully agree with this advancement, how many of us are adequately planning for and tracking these skills? How many of us have adjusted our scope and sequences or curriculum maps to include these essential skills? If we want our students to perform beyond a list of content standards, so must our curriculum.
After speaking with 2 incredibly dedicated professionals who are working to strengthen Jewish education and this caption popping up in my feed this morning, I decided to post this thought.
Imagine the following scenario.
A teacher announces to the class that they are going to learn how to write a 5-paragraph essay. The teacher brings in an expert to do a 5-paragraph essay workshop with the class. After it is over the speaker answers questions, gives the students his/her email address, and wishes them the best of luck. That is the last time the students are given the time and space to learn how to write a 5-paragraph essay.
As educators, we know this is not an effective way to learn and we would never teach like this. Yet, this is what often happens with staff professional development. An expert speaker comes and introduces some innovative approach to reaching our students. The speaker is knowledgeable, dynamic, and personable. After working with the teachers for two hours, the speaker answers their questions, gives them his/her email address, and wishes them the best of luck. That is the last time the staff is given the time and space to learn how to practice and implement what they just learned.
As a Jewish community, we have incredible resources #Jewish Education Innovation Challenge, #Prizmah, #Hidden Sparks, #The Jewish Education Project, #TalentEducators and more, that are working hard to strengthen Jewish education, but are we giving teachers sufficient time and support to practice and implement them? Acknowledging all the restraints that we are working with (mostly time and money), how can we do better?
What is the difference between a challenging thought question and an essential question? Do I really need both?
Here are 2 examples of thought questions vs. essential questions:
1- חומש (תולדות כה)
TQ- Bring textual support illustrating whether or not יעקב had a right to the בכורה
EQ- How would my life today be different had יעקב never traded for the בכורה?
2- משנה (ברכות א:א-ב)
TQ-Why does the first משנה start by asking when we recite קריאת שמע before establishing the mitzvah itself first?
EQ- How does starting my day with קבלת עול מלכות שמים frame my mindset for the rest of the day?
A thought question engages higher-order thinking skills with an absolute number of correct answers. An essential question, while engaging higher-order thinking skills, is an open-ended question that will often help shape a student’s schema and perspective. An essential question often relates the information back to the student helping to optimize resonance (buy-in), retention, and impact.
The question is not do I need both, rather, what is your goal and what are you hoping to accomplish?
We as Jewish educators have very strong Jewish beliefs. Many of them are delineated in our school's mission statement, but are they in our school's curriculum? How can we ensure that our essential cornerstone beliefs are reaching the students?
How do you know if your school's curriculum map successfully identifies and sequences your students' learning experience?
Pick a specific complex skill (i.e.- TLW independently translate and complete comprehension questions for an above-average unseen פסוק).
Can you track this skill linearly from introduction (2nd grade) to mastery (8th grade)? Are the individual 'learning blocks' connecting introduction to mastery aligned with the previous learning blocks so that the students are continuously building on their previous learning without having to make big leaps or jumps that can cause students to feel overwhelmed or checked out?
(While there are other criteria for a sound curriculum map, this area seems to pose the greatest challenge to many schools.)
This is why I love what I do!
It is beyond inspiring and fulfilling discussing educational ideas and practices with fellow passionate educators who sincerely care about furthering their students’ learning, values and whole well-being.
Thank you Prizmah and the Judaic Administration Cohort for the incredible opportunity!