Making it R.E.A.L. Blog - The Hebrew Academy

Elementary Experiences-Mrs. Jennifer Bentley

Wednesday, April 20, 2016 - 12:20 PM

From the Desk of Mrs. Jennifer Bentley

Kindergarten - General Studies

Animals

In Kindergarten we are finishing up our unit on animals. Over the past couple months, we have learned about farm animals as well as wild animals and their habitats. The students went to the Irvine Zoo and Centennial Farms to observe and learn about a variety of animals. In order to promote cross curricular activities, we have integrated Language Arts and Science in order to fully understand and explore these animals. One of the projects that we have been working on is our “Farm Books”. We have dedicated a page to each farm animal. In Language Arts we have been focusing on descriptive words and brainstorming our ideas before we writ… Read More »

Elementary Experiences - Mrs. Susan Choi

Wednesday, April 13, 2016 - 5:30 PM

From the Desk of Susan Choi

5th grade General Studies

Overcoming Challenges

For the past few weeks, the 5th grade class worked on a collaborative unit that explored the major challenges (exiles) endured by the Jewish people and how the Jews have strengthened their identity by facing and overcoming these challenges.

Then they wrote a personal narrative about a challenge they have faced that influenced them as a person and how they overcame their challenge.

“Being the only boy in a household, living far from shul, academic struggles,” these are just a few of the challenges that our students are facing today. A couple students were brave enough to share their challenges and how they overcame it.

Elementary Experiences - Mrs. Cheryl Johnson

Wednesday, April 6, 2016 - 12:16 PM

From the Desk of Cheryl Johnson

4th Grade General Studies

Opinion Essays

Right now, the 4th graders are revising and editing the opinion essays they just finished writing. The opinion-essay unit is the second unit in our Lucy Calkins writing program. The main goal of the program is to teach students how to express their ideas clearly, using three different types of writing: narrative, opinion essay, and response-to-literature. In addition, kids wrote an information essay (their “Jewish hero” reports) for Mrs. Marcus.

In the first unit of the Calkins program, students wrote realistic-fiction narratives. They used several strategies to generate ideas for their stories. They then pick… Read More »