Sara Greenberg
Sara teaches a wide range of Judaic studies for grades 2 through 7 at Mercaz Aliyah, the supplementary school of Temple Aliyah in Needham. She is an enthusiastic participant in CJP's initiative to bring iPads and technology into the Jewish classroom. Sara also participated in Hebrew College’s Congregational Education Initiative (CEI) project-based learning program mentors other teachers on the use of iPads in the Jewish classroom at Mercaz Aliyah. Find out more about her classroom projects below.
Developing a Deeper Understanding of Biblical Texts Using Book Creator
Sara's Grade 4-7 Tanakh (Bible) class first explored biblical texts about the concept of holiness through textual and animated interpretations (BimBam.com). The students then brainstormed topics for inclusion in a book and chose, either individually or in teams, the areas for which they would be responsible. Using the versatile platform of Book Creator, they incorporated text (in English and Hebrew), images, photographs, drawings, and video to create the various chapters of the book.
The class was also interested in producing a skit or play, so they used a play on the portion Kedoshim (Holiness) from the book Parshah Plays to present an animated, stop-motion version with student voice-overs. This part of the project involved traditional arts and crafts combined with the technology of iMotion and Green Screen.
The entire project was captured and presented in video format set to music.
TinyTap Games and Puzzles Enhance Prayer Learning
TinyTap is both a website and an iPad app. Initially, Sara created the puzzles as a tool for student review and reinforcement. In addition to being able to create a puzzle from a photographed text, either word-by-word or phrase-by-phrase, TinyTap allows for the incorporation of audio so that each word or phrase can be accompanied by a voiced recitation. The puzzle can also be structured as a timed game, with the creator choosing the time limit as well as the number of errors allowed before the game terminates.
The students in grades 2-4 not only enjoyed playing with the puzzle, but were eager to create puzzles of their own, which they then shared with their classmates and other TinyTap followers once the game was published.
You can find Sara's puzzles as well as the ones the students created on Sara's TinyTap page.
History Comes Alive with Explain Everything
Both the beginner (grades 2-4) and advanced (grades 4-6) history classes used Explain Everything to create narratives and chronologies of Jewish history.
The younger students used Explain Everything to create a slide for each of 36 discrete historical events. Each iPad user created a set of slides that were numbered chronologically, captioned and illustrated, either through the students’ drawings or through other images researched on the Internet. They also made a game out of the slides by mixing them up and presenting them out of chronological order, requiring the students to put them back in the correct order.
The older students used Explain Everything to create several narratives with choices (“choose-your-own-adventure”) faced by various Diaspora communities and individuals. For example, the first segment traced the events surrounding the destruction of the Second Temple. The students, working in teams, constructed illustrated narratives (including text, images and animation) to depict the series of choices and consequences that ensued depending on whether they decided to remain in Jerusalem and fight, or escape and attempt to build a new life elsewhere.
They used a similar format to tell the story of the Expulsion from Spain in 1492. The students chose different communities for relocation and presented their work using Explain Everything slides. Then the class made a group decision for their emigration choice. They also addressed the great migrations from Eastern Europe to America in the late 19th and early 20th century and the 20th century aliyot to Israel.
An example from Explain Everything