Shalom Shiraniks!
This was our first weekday session, and we started off with a great cooking session with Karen, who taught us how to make deeeeeeelicious honeycake for Rosh Hashanah.
While the honeycake was baking, almost all of the 5th and 6th graders joined in a rowdy Gaga game in our brand new (albeit dusty) Gaga pit.
After Gaga and tefillah with Rabbi Greninger, we learned about the upcoming High Holy Days the students worked on their own "notes" for the symphony quilt. After that, Erin brought out her bodhran (Irish drum) for the drum circle, where we made our own music for the first time. All in all, it was a great day!
Welcome back to JQuest,! We have an exciting year ahead of us in Shira, and I am so very glad that you are all in my class! It was wonderful seeing so many new faces in our classroom this year, and welcoming back all of you who are returning 6th graders. We kicked off the year with a family pancake breakfast, where we all schmoozed and noshed before heading to class. (Parents, we hope you enjoyed your "Mussar and Middot" lesson with Rabbi Greninger!)
Our family tefillah in the sanctuary was jam-packed and filled with music! What a great way to start the year!
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
In class, we got to know each other a bit by playing a "Treasure Hunt" game, in which the students asked each other questions about their musical interests, hobbies, and Jewish experiences. It was fun to see how many of us played the same instrument or had the same favorite musical artist or song. (Hamilton is clearly a big hit this year!)
FINDING OUR RHYTHM
Shira held our first "drum circle" activity, using our own bodies as percussion instruments. (It's amazing how many ways you can make noise with your hands, feet, tummy or legs!) When we return for our weekday sessions, we will explore the various percussion instruments in our classroom, and the students will have the opportunity to learn how to use the djembe, dubek and tambourine. I even learned that I have a couple of real drummers in class who will certainly be able to help the rest of us with our rhythm!
WHAT'S MY NOTE?
We also began our Symphony Quilt project by asking ourselves, "What's My Note?" You see, each of us has our own "note," a unique way that we are. That "note" affects how we interact with others, and how we see the world. When we explore what makes us who we are, we can better get along with others who are different than us. In order to create a safe, cooperative classroom environment, we will be exploring how each of us can contribute to the class in a positive, productive way.
Today, we laid the groundwork for what will become a paper "quilt" that represents each of the students in the class by filling out a questionnaire about ourselves. In our introductory activity, we broke down NOTE into an acronym that stands for:
NATURE (What is your personality? What are your character traits)
OVATION (What have you done that deserves a standing ovation? What are your accomplishments?)
TALENT (What are you good at?)
EXPRESSION (How do you express your Jewishness? Through music? Food? Traditions?)
On Tuesday and Wednesday, each of the students will use their questionnaire to create a quilt square depicting their individual NOTE.
A PREVIEW OF WHAT'S TO COME...
Unfortunately, the TV connection wasn't working for us today, so I didn't have a chance to show everyone the previous Shira Music Videos. Therefore, I've added them here. We only do these music videos every other year, and they are a lot of fun! The Shiraniks will pick a song, write the lyrics, sing, act and produce the video. Look for more information on the videos in the spring, when we begin production.
2016
2014
Thanks to all the parents who shared our experiences today, and thanks to our wonderful TA's! I know it's going to be an awesome year!! Shiraniks, I'll see you all on Tuesday and Wednesday, when we will work on our NOTEs for the Symphony Quilt, cook some honey cake and learn some High Holiday music! Shavua Tov!
For the last couple of weeks, Rabbi Greninger has been working with the 3rd-5th graders to come up with movements for the V'Ahavta prayer. Each week, the Tuesday and Wednesday classes have created hand gestures to go with each of the verses in the prayer, in order that we can better understand the real meaning of the text we are chanting. Here's what they came up with, followed by a translation of the text itself:
Eric also taught us a new tune for the Barchu, "Am I Awake" by Noah Aronson. The melody ask us to contemplate whether we are "awake" and ready for prayer, and when asked why we should be "awake" before praying, the students had some very insightful answers! Some of the responses included "because it makes us listen to God better," and "to make sure we're connecting to God and each other." They've really grasped the meaning of the call to prayer as a "wake up call!" Here's our first attempt at the new Barchu, followed by Noah Aronson's version.
We will be continuing to practice these and more tunes in tefillah, helping the children become more and more familiar with the traditional and contemporary music of the liturgy.
Shalom, Shiraniks! I apparently left this post as a draft when I wrote it back in the fall! So, enjoy this "Throwback" post featuring the Shiraniks celebrating Sukkot!
We have moved from the taste of honey cake and the sounds of the shofar to the sights and sounds of fall in the sukkah. This week, the students learned how to recite the prayer over the Four Species, and how to shake the lulav by doing the "Sukkah Shake." On Sunday, the rain was coming down too hard for Alissa to escort the class up to the sukkah, but they enjoyed learning about the harvest holiday in the warm confines of the classroom.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the students learned a new song parody to Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off," and they began recording the video in the sukkah. It will be completed soon, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, practice the lyrics to the karaoke version of the song (and if you want to audition for the rap section, you might want to check out the original song to get an idea of the timing of the words.)
Karaoke Version:
Original with lyrics
Everyone got a chance to shake the lulav!
Moadim L'Simcha! (It's the season of happiness!)
Erin
Purim is upon us, and the Shiraniks have been learning about the traditions and music of Purim. As we all know, here at Temple Isaiah it is customary to have a musical Purimshpiel. Since we are focusing on Jews in America between 1700 and 1800, it was only natural that the students would write parody Purim songs with an Americana twist. Here's what they came up with:
Tuesday's students wrote a song about Haman (boo!) sung to the tune of Oh, Susannah!
Wednesday, the students wrote a song about Mordechai, sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle.
And on Sunday, we managed to eke out one more original tune in the half hour just before the Purim Shpiel and carnival! Here's "This Land is My Land" (sung by Ahashveros):
Of course, the students learned one or two traditional Purim tunes as well! Here, Eric teaches them a Purim guessing game song sung to the tune of Tumbalalaika:
Here, we sing "Ani Purim"
This year's shpiel, a parody of Frozen, starred Erin as Haman, Maimone as the king, Karen as Esther, Joanne as Mordechai, and JQuest alumnus Michaela as the talented Vashti. As always, Cantor Korn (the snowman) put together a wonderfully musical production! If you happen to have any videos of the event, please email me, as I was unable to videotape or take photos while we were onstage!
Today, we began our unit on the Jews' migration to the United States. Our introductory lesson, "Who Am I?," focused on understanding that being Jewish is a part of our identity, and as Jews, we look at the world in a unique way. Our forefathers who immigrated to America had a Jewish identity as well, and when they became Americans, their American and Jewish identities intertwined, creating a new culture. To grasp the idea of identity, the students watched two videos of the same name, "Who I Am" by Jessica Andrews, and "Who I Am" by Nick Jonas. Each of the videos addresses the idea of identity, the first focusing on family roots and connections to one's history, and the second one focusing on how we create our own identities. Take a look:
The students then created their own "Identity Cards," filled with words that describe who they are. We discussed the idea that some of the things that make us who we are, like our heritage or physical makeup, do not change. At the same time, other aspects of our lives, such as being a soccer player or a 6th grader, are fluid.
As a culminating project, the two classes wrote a collective song, which we will sing again on Sunday:
I AM
by Shira 2017
I am smart and I am cool
I am friendly, I am Jewish
I am nervous and a brother
And a sister, but I'm anxious.
Sometimes I'm an only child
I'm lost or afraid
But other times I'm proud
Of the beauty I have made.
I am me, I am me
I am me,
and that's who I wanna be!
A dog lover who is proud
A gamer who is silent
I'm sensitive and a swimmer
A diva, I'm independent.
I am funny, I am changed
A survivor who's an athlete
I'm a dancer and a singer
Standing on my own two feet!
I am me, I am me
I am me,
and that's who I wanna be!
2x
This Sunday will be a special music-filled day, when we have a guest Klezmer performer, David Rosenfeld.
He will bring his mandolin and fiddle to lead us in learning some new Yiddish songs, and to teach us about the various elements of Klezmer music. It will be a session not to be missed!
This week, the students have been learning about Klezmer music, and the Ahavah Rabah (with an abundant love) mode. They know that a mode is a scale that starts on a note other than the base note of a scale, and that the Ahava Rabah mode has a specific, almost sad sound when played alone. However, when used to compose melodies, from classical to klezmer, the mode is very versatile, and conveys a variety of different moods.
An example of Classical Ahava Rabah Mode
An Example of Klezmer Ahava Rabah Mode
In addition to learning about the Ahava Rabah mode, we have expanded our Yiddish vocabulary with descriptive words such as freilich (happy), gutt (good), shayna (beautiful), meshuggah (crazy) and nouns that are brought to mind when listening to certain kinds of music in the Ahava Rabah mode: chutzpah (daring), shalom (peace), naches or simcha (joy), bagalan (chaos), and tsuris (anxiety).
Today, the students began a musical art project in which they convey the many "moods" of the Ahava Rabah mode. They listened to various examples of music in this mode, and expressed their feelings through art.
In Hebrew, the students are learning how to form the letters of the alef bet. This week's letter is lamed.
Musically, we have been learning many new songs, as well as revisiting some old favorites. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the 5th and 6th graders enjoyed singing Betzelem Elohim (In the Image of God) with Erik:
On Sunday, the students had an opportunity to learn a new dance to Adamah VeShamayim.
Next Sunday, we are very lucky to have an expert in Yiddish and Klezmer come to visit our class. We look forward to learning even more about this, and other types of Jewish musical expression.
