Sunday, May 31, 2015

Last post from Keren

Dear Rebecca and Missy
Thank you very much for the fun PDU
I enjoyed all the fun assessments,
specially the 10 items in a bag, 5 photo story and creativity with Hieroglyphics
I wanted to share with you that at the last week of school I used the fun idea of the 5 photo story with my 3rd grade class that implement that idea about their favorite story from their Hebrew study book called"Chaverim B'Ivrit . I would   
definitely  will use those fun creative assessment in the future
Todda Rabba,
Have a relaxing and joyful summer
Keren

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Reflection

Dear Missy and Rebecca,

Throughout all my years as a teacher, I always tried to come up with exciting new activities and lesson plans to share with my classes. Kids love doing new things and so do I. The assignments we've done this year have challenged me and helped me to think out if the box more easily. Thank you so much for the wonderful experience! I've learned many things that I will definitely implement in my classes in the future.

Have a great summer,

Mira

Monday, May 18, 2015

Reflection

This has been one of the most useful and fun PD experiences I've had. I feel like I often "didn't get it," when it came to our assignments, but the exercises gave me permission to take the time to try different approaches and, frankly, be willing to fail -- then try something else. The freedom to spend the time to look for inspiration was liberating. Before this PD, I was usually looking for solutions that would work and would be the most economical in time and money. Now, I feel freer to explore new techniques and apps. I still have to remind myself to look for inspirations; Pinterest has become my first go-to source. (Shout out to Becca G. for the cute pins she has sent me; I know I'll make use of them somehow.) I'm glad I work in an environment that is willing to let me take the time to explore creativity. Maybe it helps that Stacy is doing the same PD.

Take Away by Stacy

I have quite a few take away's from this PD strand but two specifically stand out. The first is the bonding time. I have to say I enjoyed getting together to share our "creations" and I also enjoyed the brainstorming that took place with my teammate, Lisa, as we chatted about our posts. I guess this falls into the professional category but the professional was made personal through the bonding. The other take away is that it reinforced the thought that everyone has creativity within them. This really is true and I loved being reminded of this. Specifically, I've incorporated SCAMPER into my class lessons and I have also used some of the creative activities we did during our first meeting when planning some baby showers this year. Thanks for stretching our minds and sharing your knowledge with us all!

Friday, May 15, 2015

YESSS!!! (with obligatory fist pump)

Thank you all for trusting us with this month's most unusual request. There are many ways to force your brain to think differently. All the exercises we have completed are for that purpose. But...interpreting hieroglyphs and applying them is another realm altogether. Fortunately, no one balked, and each of you used the opportunity to see where it would lead. The responses are fabulous as we knew they would be and give you a taste of the possibilities. Thank you for sharing the struggles AND the successes. This is how our students feel every day.  We are looking forward to reading your final submissions.

Creativity with Hieroglyphics

My problem was with creating labels to seal the boxes containing our library volunteer appreciation gifts. I wanted something cute, but practical. Something that wouldn't require a lot of work with a glue stick to affix the label to the box.

That required me to use adhesive labels that I already had. I tried to work with my standard Avery labels, but felt constrained by the sizes. I actually fiddled around with this for a couple of days.

Then, I watched Missy's video -- again. Honestly, I just didn't get it the first time I watched. Missy actually had to explain it to me again in a phone conversation.

I followed the technique of reading the characters to myself. My mind did wander; I actually started thinking about the Ancient Egyptians. I thought about how complicated their hieroglyphic characters were, how they were willing to spend that time and use large spaces to communicate.

Then I thought big -- big label, that is.

Why not use the labels for the bookplates in library book donations? They are considerably larger, with an adhesive back.


I found a cute cartoon in Creative Commons, added a few lines of text and voila! Problem solved.


Thursday, May 14, 2015

Solving Problems with Creativity by Stacy

One area that we have been struggling with this year (which is not technology related) is to create eye-catching, kid friendly displays within the media center but that don't "junk it up", upset the aesthetics of the room when it is used for events that are not library-related, and yet are practical for the space. This has been a challenge. One reason we are interested in this is because at the beginning of the year, we had a skype session with a lady who does amazing, inspiring library displays that are just fabulous. Her  name is Toni Vahlsing.  Anyway, Lisa P. has worked hard this year to create some library displays that are eye-catching but not necessarily disruptive to the space. She has found much of her inspiration on Pinterest. Regardless, I have decided to make this my issue for this particular assignment to see where it takes me. Here's what I discovered:

I was drawn to a series of different words, such as spoon, flying, birds, owl, sifting, leg, ants, boat ride, flight, faucet, and praying based on my interpretation of the symbols. In choosing to interpret these words based on my library display conundrum, here is the "story" that I have come up with:

A strong library display is something that takes flight or literally reaches above the furniture to stand out and not overwhelm what is already in place. Bringing in props that tie into the books that we would like to highlight is a creative way to catch a potential readers attention and would encourage conversation about the books. An example of this would be to bring in a giant spoon from Hobby Lobby to highlight the book Spoon by Amy Krause Rosenthal. Showcase an ant farm to highlight the book Are You an Ant? by Judy Allen. A stuffed bear would be cute to show off Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman. Sifting through the shelves is  a good way to identify lesser known books that are hidden gems. I actually just replaced my kitchen faucet so I could bring in the old to go with Faucet Fish by Fay Robinson. Wouldn't that be an eye catching display? The symbol of a leg made me think of the sneaker exhibit that will be debuting at the High Museum next summer. Wouldn't it be cool to do our own sneaker exhibit here in the library to coincide with the High exhibit? Last but not least, I saw the word "praying" within the symbols. To me, I think of judaics and how hard we have worked this year to connect with the judaics department to ensure our resources are being taken advantage of because we do have such strong judaic resources! Creating a judaics-centered library exhibit with articles that represent praying would be so unique.

I am pleased with the way that this exercise has forced me to think creatively in ways I definitely would not have otherwise. It was not until I set down to type this that I realized the value. Thank you for stretching my mind!

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Teaching Hebrew numbers 1- 10 With hieroglyphics.


I choose 10 hieroglyphics for each number from 1 to 10-
 1= Bird 
2=Egyptian 
3= Crown
 4=Star 
5=Bowl 
6=Flag 
7=Cobra 
8=Snake 
9=Shield 
10= Owl 
The student will get cards with each symbol and the match number, I will have cards with 2 sides - one side will show the symbol and the other side will show the number.
For Example: teacher show Crown students say "Shalosh"=3 (Three in Hebrew)etc...

The other option for another fun lesson can be addition up to 10.
The student need to write or draw which numbers or symbols that they adding equal to 10= Owl.

For Example: Star + Flag = Owl (4+6=10)etc...

Friday, May 1, 2015

Teaching Hebrew Preposition Through Hieroglyphics


Hebrew Preposition :

Each kid will get on page of hieroglyphics. They will have one minute to look at the hieroglyphics.

Then I will randomly ask what they saw.

I will teach the Hebrew words listed below.

1. Above

2. under /below

3. Between

After the directions are given, the students will be in pairs.

 Each Pair will get one set of hieroglyphics.

 

 Who am I?

I stand between A and B

Above me is C

Under me is D

Who am I?

A,B,C,& D will be the picture that they see (The Hieroglyphics)

 

They will play the game with their partner for 1- 2 minutes.  They will then rotate to another partner.

  The students need to be open to the idea that not everyone sees thing the same way.

Enjoy your Summer everyone!!!

Monday, April 27, 2015

As I was watching the video, the first thing I thought of was a creative way to teach colors to children, because they always seem to struggle remembering the names. Many colors in the Hebrew language have two distinct vowel noises in them, the Ah sound in the beginning followed by an O sound near the end, usually under the third letter. To symbolize this vowel pattern, I chose the symbol of an owl. Whenever this owl is seen, the letters that go with it will have an Ah sound followed by an O sound. What the owl symbolizes never changes; what does change are the symbols that accompany the owl. For example, the letter Alef is represented by a star, the letter Daled is represented by a shield, and final Mem is represented by a cobra. I gave the kids a list of what letter each symbol represents, and then gave them another page with rows of different symbols. Each row represented a different color, and it was up to the kids to figure out which letters were hidden behind each symbol. This activity not only forced me and my children to think outside the box, it also helped me realize how many different ways there are to teach many simple concepts. 


Wednesday, March 4, 2015

"What's in a word..."

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-ZSDG58hP7gYj_qkulss8Vub3ltIoZDYTIfEbwFV8gY/edit?usp=sharing

One-Word: Kangaroo


Better late than never, I guess ...

My word was "kangaroo."



My first thought was the animal, which we commonly know, but still seems exotic to me. It has become the symbol of its native Australia, literally a world away from where I live. I have seen them in zoos, but I've never seen one bounding full-speed with those extraordinary legs and tail.

Kangaroo on the run. Photo by Chris Samuel, Flickr.com


The next entry was "kangaroo court," which means a proceeding that perverts legal rights and makes a miscarriage of justice. I wondered how an animal as cute as a kangaroo had its name attached to such an unpleasant thing.

Phpttt! to your Kangaroo Court! Photo by Gopal Vijayaraghavan, Flickr.com

Lastly, (and this will give away my age) I loved Captain Kangaroo, who was essentially my preschool teacher. I watched the Captain every morning, along with Mr. Moose, who always dropped ping-pong balls on the Captain and Mr. Greenjeans, who always brought animals. I still love to watch animal videos.

Mr. Greenjeans, Capt. Kangaroo and bunny friends. Photo by CBS, Flickr.com



Monday, February 2, 2015

Modeh 
To give Thanks .I did the same drill instead of  dictionary I took "Psalm" and this is the word that my finger toughed.
This word means a lot to me .I  am grateful for what I have  and I thank God ,and  my family ,my friend ... For been there for me and with me . We say Modeh Ani , when we wake up in the morning, and we can also connect the Tree of Thanks with Tu B’Shvat, the new year for trees, and the Tu B’Shvat tradition of eating Shivat Haminim, the seven species.
Here is an app "I thank you"





Personnel

I open the "Merriam Webster Dictionary" and my eyes was looking directly on the top left page (#546) I read the word- "Personnel" and before I continued to read I  was thinking of the words person and personal, when I continued to read the meaning its says "a body of persons employed".
I went to my computer and I write on Google Personnel. This is what I found-1. the people who work for a particular company or organization.
2. a department within a company or organization that deals with the people who work for it.

Origin
  1. early 19th century: from French (adjective used as a noun), contrasted with matériel ‘equipment or materials used in an organization or undertaking.’
what a coincidence "I am a Hebrew teacher at the Davis Academy I am part of Davis Personnel".


Fulfill

The word that I randomly landed on is fulfill.  Fulfill essentially means to succeed in achieving.  You will first notice my image below.  (Excuse the drawing, which I feel I must translate.)  The drawing is of a girl who finally gets her hands on a piece of chocolate.  She has fulfilled that craving.  I, of course, would know nothing about that.

Next, you will find my audio version of a certain fulfillment.  Let's just say TGIF:

http://www.screenchomp.com/t/S7sC5dXWF

Last, is my written component to fulfill.  No pun intended!

To fulfill is to complete an act satisfactorily.  When I think of this, I think of a bucket list.  How many of you have a bucket list?  I used to not believe in such a thing but lately, I've been rethinking this.  I'm not exactly sure why but I suppose I've been wanting to achieve certain tasks that don't have such finite deadlines, which makes me think of the term bucket list.  I don't have a formal bucket list yet but I am starting to think about what I would put on it if I had said bucket list...which I don't.  See, I clearly have an issue with the idea of having a bucket list.  Yet, I am admitting that one strategy for achieving fulfillment is to make a list of specific goals.  To fulfill can be left to interpretation as it can mean so many different things to different people, which is the magic of the word.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

One Word: Hope

The random word that I landed on in the dictionary was the word "Hope." Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. For my visual response, I chose a picture that represents hope. The woman in the picture below is staring into the sunset with her hands up in the air, and I can almost hear her saying that she is ready for anything life has to throw at her. 


Picture credit: http://lizwelliver.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/conquer-the-day.jpg 

For my auditory response, I chose Hatikvah, which in Hebrew means hope. Hatikvah has been the song Jewish people have sang for over 2000 years. It represents our desire to be free people and have peace in our homeland. The lyrics, which can be seen below, further explain how Hatikvah is a song of hope. 

Hatikvah Lyrics

As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart,
With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion,
Then our hope - the two-thousand-year-old hope - will not be lost:
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

In my opinion, hope is one of the best feelings in the world. It's what drives us to keep living, knowing that there is always something good to look forward to. Hope can be something as small as wishing that there will be no traffic in the morning on the way to school, or it can be something as big as waiting to hear that there is finally peace in the Middle East. No matter what form hope takes, it always gives people the same feeling inside of warmth and happiness. Hope is a beautiful word and I am lucky that I landed on it.















Monday, January 5, 2015

5-Picture Story

My story is about my 2013 vacation.


https://www.haikudeck.com/my-2013-magical-mystery-tour-uncategorized-presentation-lQAI5aObvR


I'll admit it: I've screwed up! I used Creative Commons images from flickr.com, but neglected to cite the original source. When I went back to get the sources, I couldn't find the same images (????). At least, not in time to make this post by the end of the day.


Since starting this PD, I've been more open to spending the time and energy to explore different activities. I've spent more time on Pinterest looking at other people's creative ideas and figuring out how to adapt them to my purpose. The Chanukiah display in the media center is an example of that. I've also started to crochet -- something I thought was cool, but had never taken the time to learn. Most importantly, I've had fun with it!



My 5 Photo Story-
I wanted to make a tribute to this girl MAFALDA who just turned 50 years old. I had the honor and pleasure to read every week her comics strips. 
Thanks Quino for your creativity.


 https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1B6o6h1B9Sn-E_u6xkCCraNRmH4458JiXncep412Exjk/edit?usp=sharing

5 photo story

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1eaEtA0k7fi-7lk_wFv5PgSK1J5ktwG71TClA07qgyBw/edit?usp=sharing

5 pictures

Here is the link from Google presentation- My Story
this is my trip to Miami this winter break 2015

Friday, January 2, 2015

5 Photo Story

5 Photo Story

Here is the link to my Google presentation. I did my five photo story about a dream I recently had!