Technology Ideas for a Bible Unit

Studying the Tanakh is an integral part of the curriculum at Kehillath Israel Religious School. In the 4th and 5th grade class, which I teach, the students study the books of Judges and Samuel. While these are interesting books with multi-dimenstional characters and exciting events, there are some challenges to studying them. Most fundamentally, it is difficult for students to imagine living in a world so different from our own. This extends beyond imagining a world with no computers or cars--the students must put themselves in the minds of characters whose worldview, thought processes, goals, and priorities differ vastly from our own. It is for this reason that I developed an introductory unit for Bible study, which can be adapted and used for almost any age group. 

The unit centers around a WebQuest I created called "Discovering the World of the Bible." Its goal is to introduce the students to the ancient world in which our ancestors lived through the study of artifacts from that time period. The students' task is to create a museum exhibit featuring five artifacts from ancient times that they find compelling.  

The WebQuest incorporates the following technologies:

• It is built on a Wikispace platform
• Tellagami is used to introduce the project
• Websites such as that of the Jewish Museum in New York are the main resources the students use to find artifacts
• The students have a variety of options for presenting their final exhibits: Book Creator, Explain Everything, Tellagami, and Popplet. All of these apps can be accessed via the iPad.

The unit is designed to take several class periods. The exact amount of time will likely depend on the students' familiarity with the various technologies that are involved. Before each step, I will need to model the use of various technologies and allow the students ample time to practice with them. The most fundamental skills the students will need in order to complete the project successfully are as follows:

• searching and browsing on the Internet
• saving images to Camera Roll
• recording and playing back voice and other audio
• other app-specific skills

I am very excited about using this WebQuest with my class. I hope that it will be both engaging and educational for them. Please try it out and let me know what you think!

Sample lesson plan for the beginning of the unit:

Context:

This lesson is designed to take 1-2 class periods. It is the first in a 5-10 class series, of which the ultimate goal is to complete the webquest “Discovering the World of the Bible.” Ideally, it would be done at the beginning of the school year, in order to engage and ground students in the historical context of the biblical stories they will study.

Objective:

SWBAT articulate goals of webquest “Discovering the World of the Bible”

SWBAT collect information about historical artifacts for their presentation

Introduction to New Material/I Do:

Teacher	Student
Ask: What do you already know about the world of the Bible? Teacher records answers as students share them.	Students share answers in whole-group discussion.
Distribute iPads and direct students to http://cjpttfipad.wikispaces.com/Discovering+the+World+of+the+Bible	Watch “Introduction” Tellagami video Read “Task” and “Process” sections
Lead discussion	Explain in their own words the goals of the webquest

Guided Practice/Activity/We Do:

Teacher	Student
Direct students to visit “Resources” section to explore various websites containing information about different ancient artifacts. Instruct them to complete “Artifact Graphic Organizer,” found in the same section. Keep time, circulate, and give feedback to students.	Explore websites provided in “Resources” section. Complete “Artifact Graphic Organizer” on 5 artifacts of their choice. These will become the artifacts about which they will create a “museum exhibit.”

Independent Practice/You Do/Assessment/Closure:

Teacher	Student
Ask students to share out what they have found and lead discussion.	Share out the different artifacts that they have chosen for their “museum exhibits.”

The Family Tree of Abraham and His Future Family

The 4th graders are off and running, actually walking, in their search for the familial relationships found in Bereshit, the Book of Genesis.  Students have been divided into teams of four or five members to work collaboratively.  Each team will design, develop and produce a Family Tree of Abraham and His Future Family including the generations of Abram and Sarai through Jacob and Esau.  Some teams are finding a good balance of individual contributions and shared responsibility.  Some teams are struggling to develop a strong collaborative work style, learning to support each other in their individual strengths and personal challenges.  It is hard to always be patient!

In the next implementation of this unit, I will devote more time up front walking the students through the development of the Glossary.  The class will be guided through the Introduction, the Task and the first few searches in the Process.  Once I am confident that they grasp the concept of academic teamwork and how to navigate the various components of the WebQuest, they will be better equipped to succeed in their teams. As I reflect on the progress of each team and individual over the entire project, I expect more tweaks or larger changes will become evident.

Feel free to check out this WebQuest at The Family Tree of Abraham and His Future Family.

Abraham's Family Tree Unit

4th Grade ~ Temple Isaiah

Over the year, 4th grade students will be exploring key texts of Bereshit from Abraham through Joseph. After the introduction and some scaffolding, students will be using a WebQuest to create Abraham’s Family Tree (from Terach through Jacob’s and Esau’s children). The Family Tree will require students to identify some middot/Jewish virtues from a partial list and explain how each middah connects to an individual and what source text student is using to support.

The whole exploration will be facilitated through a wiki (not yet created) and involve extensive use of project-based learning. The following is just the intro unit.

September 29 Genealogy – What is it?

Computer etiquette:
treating them with care; logging on; gmail a/c’s; saving & shutting down

Computer search and google doc definitions:
create your team definition of genealogy and begin building a Team Glossary – explore and add the following definitions:
ancestor, descendant, sibling, cousins, begot, family tree

Format and save file in the cloud:
identifying docs with file name & team member names

October 2 Finding Torah

How to navigate the Hebrew Bible:
3 sections: T, N, K: focus on T [Torah] ~ create list of a.k.a’s: chumash, 5 Books of Moses, 5 Books of Torah, Pentateuch, The Law,
List books in order in English: Gen, Ex, Lev, Num. Deut: English meanings (beginning; we’re out of here! laws; census, second law)
List books in order in Hebrew: Bereshit, Shemot, Vayikra, BeMidbar, D’varim ~ Hebrew meanings
Add all to their google doc Glossary


October 6 Invitation to Grade 4 Wiki

Review logging on, etc.
Explain the WebQuest idea: will complete project with team members – team to decide how to divide up work, discovering and using individual gifts, understand what project is, how project will be evaluated, resolving differences appropriately, collaboration, communication, where responsibility for learning lies; tools available for research, group work and presentations
Begin WebQuest!


October 9 Continue on WebQuest! The Family Tree of Abraham and His Future Family

October 13 - No School

October 16 Constructive criticism:
its purpose, how to offer it
Review other teams work
Class discussion on work

October 20 Consider classmates comments and decide whether or not to incorporate into project

Reminder that next Sunday will be a program with parents and students will share their family trees of Abraham and Future Family

October 23
Finish up loose ends
Last minute ideas on how to share work with all parents and rest of class

October 27 4th Gr. Family Program
Short story about where you come from; integrate Torah blessing into story (what kids have been doing in class)
Introducing the genealogy
Jewish Genealogy Expert & Clergy ~ brief introduction to what we can learn from genealogist and Clergy to specifically interact with students about what they learned from exploring Abraham’s Family Tree and how to take it further
Set up we are all responsible for one another and l’dor v’dor; bring cutting/peeling tools and veggie, cutting board and 1 recipe typed – collect and “publish” later
Stone Soup activity with soup being delivered to Bristol Lodge after program

Creating a Webquest for a 5th grade classroom

I have created a 5th grade web quest for the students to use when learning about the V'ahavta prayer. In this web quest, the students will learn about one of the 3 signs or symbols that is referred to in this prayer. I would like them to understand what the symbol is, what line in the prayer refers to that symbol and think about why that symbol is mentioned in this prayer.

This lesson plan will be one of many used to teach about the prayer. The will be learning about vocabulary, grammar and the meaning of this prayer. This lesson will be one of the stations in which they learn more about the meaning of the prayer. The class of 16 students will be divided into 4 groups. One group of 4 will be at this station for 30 minutes before switching with another

group. At the following class, the 2 other groups will have a chance to access this station. Each group will be assigned one of the 3 symbols to research. When they get to the laptop, the laptop will be set to the webquest page. They will need to read articles, watch videos, and fill in a worksheet. When they have completed these activities, they will be ready to create a poster with an image of their symbol and some facts about it as well.


I have used weblinks in this webquest which link to various articles. I have also used multi media pulled from YouTube so that each group has a video to watch. In addition, I linked the worksheet right to the page so that the students can work on it right at the laptop. Finally, I used a Voki to assign the students their presentation portion of the project. I also downloaded a rubistar rubric to the site so that the students know what they will be evaluated on.


I used this webquest with my daughter, but will not be able to truly evaluate it until fall of 2013 when 5th grade will use this in their classrooms.

Reflections on TTF at 6/28/13

• I believe that much of the technology that we (CJPTTF fellows) have been exploring over the past few months will allow for deeper content exploration for more learners within the classroom. Technology provides great tools for project-based learning by providing portals into resources online not easily accessible offline and also expands the possibilities for creative student-directed exploration. I have learned about many tools that will assist and support students who need to move faster, those who need to move either more slowly or those moving in different directions or those taking alternate routes to the same destination. Using wikis and webquests, google docs and other tools along with appropriate scaffolding provides a safe way for shifting greater responsibility for learning into the hands of the students.

• I have already begun integrating a little technology into my fourth grade class this spring. In a lesson reviewing the Ten Commandments, I located a YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoXyk5AFAvs with kids doing a “rap boogie” (my definition!) of the Ten Commandments. Before giving my students the assignment to dramatize the meaning of a Commandment of their choosing, I shared this video. By the end of the short video, most students were already doing their own interpretive dance and rap. They also volunteered where the commandments were slightly different from what we had studied (i.e. resting on Sunday). I then handed groups a video camera to record their Command(ment) Performance. We did not have time to view the videos during that class so I created a Ten Commandment video loop for the next class and left it running as they arrived. They loved it and they demonstrated what they had learned.

• This positive experience linked with the work we did in and out of these seminars, has set me off on another adventure of creating a wiki and webquest for the first half of the coming year. I already have the complete buy in of the grade coordinator and director of congregational learning in re-creating the Judaic curriculum for the coming year using whatever technology/creative tools I can. At a minimum, the months (about 4) devoted to exploring Bereshit will be learning constructed through a grade wiki and using many different internet/digital tools. In addition, the website I created this past spring for the entire 6th grade as a home base for creating a siddur, will become a wiki so that students can be their own editors in the same process of creating a siddur. The wiki will also connect students to diigolet to find useful information in building their understanding of prayers and the construct of a Shabbat shacharit service. The siddur they create serves as the liturgy for a 6th grade family service near the end of the school year which the students lead from beginning to end including chanting from Torah. Students will be able to access trope, prayer and their individual verse melodies directly from this wiki as they prepare for this service.