Author: ATT Chicago

On December 19, 2021, a group of ATT early childhood teachers spent their Sunday afternoon very productively by attending a special workshop given by Morah Chaya Shapiro, an early childhood teacher from Far Rockaway, NY. Her session contained specific strategies and tips on how to achieve the goal to keep students happy, engaged, successful, confident, valued and safe. According to Shapiro, building a connection with students allows teachers to achieve these characteristics of resiliency.

Following are Shapiro’s top 10 tips for building connections in the classroom:

Morning greetings

This is the first opportunity of the day to create a connection. Teachers can give students a choice of their favorite morning greeting. Is it an elbow bump, wave, or high five? This shows that the teacher cares about them as individuals.

For example, Morah Chaya wears a necklace with choices that students can point to when they say good morning.

Soliciting opinions

Asking students for their opinion builds rapport and is a good transition activity. Ask students which picture they like best (from a choice of four pictures). If you do this one on one, you will be more likely to hear the student’s real choice. Otherwise, young students conform to the choices of their peers. Remind students that it’s their answer, not their friend’s answer.

Choices

Choices help students develop problem solving skills and ensures they will follow through with something. This improves self-esteem and empowers them because they do have a choice. They are not making a decision out of fear and thus feel more connected.

For example, give some options like the following:

•  “You may give your friend a turn now or you can give him/her a turn in two minutes. What do you choose?”
• Let the child choose the toy with which he/she wants to play.
• And when problem solving: “What choice will you make?” Some have an award “paper watch” that says: “I made a good choice.”

Please notice this

When we take time to notice children (without judgement) and their behaviors, then those students feel connected to the day, the learning, and you as a teacher. Remember to say: “I noticed…” It gives you the opportunity to positively comment on ALL students, even the ones harder to compliment.

Partner activities create a sense of belonging

Assign/choose a different partner every day. Use a gimmick to make it exciting. For example, you can do this with two sticks that have the same color or a heart with the same letter of the A, B,Cs. You can create a “friend” day and have a paper that says, “I have a friend.”  You can ring a bell and say, “Look at your friend. Ask their favorite color, candy, etc.” Share a book as partners. Shuffle partners during lunch time.

Show and Tell

Children love showing things from home. You can have thematic show and tell activities – e.g. transportation show and tells, family show and tells, etc.

Knowing your students

You, the teacher, need to take time to think about your students’ strengths, interests, parents, siblings, fears, hobbies, home life, past experiences, etc. Exploring these areas are especially helpful when dealing with a challenging student.

Getting to the root of the problem

Create empathy by seeing your students in the 3D’s listed below:

• Deep breath – allows us to access our toolbox;
• Decide – what’s going on? Are they missing a skill?;
• Demonstrate – every time there is an incident among children, it is a teaching opportunity to demonstrate the correct behavior. Ask: “Did you like it when that happened?” Then discuss the root of the problem, talk to the child(ren), and determine the real issues so you can resolve them.

Classroom jobs

Every child should have a meaningful job that makes the child feel important, needed, and connected to the classroom. Jobs empower children to be responsible and ready to learn. Some larger jobs can be shared by multiple students. There should be a “substitute” job  (like a substitute teacher) in case a child is absent. Be sure to include a “get well helper” job to makes cards for those students  absent from school due to illness.

Breathing exercises

This gives students (and you, the teacher!) the tools to cope with challenging situations and builds resilience. This can be a job choice for students as well, reminding each other to breathe. You can have a basket with breathing exercises, calming lotion, bubbles to breathe in and out, a windmill from the dollar store, a soft pillow, etc. There are lots of examples at https://consciousdiscipline.com/

Bonus tip: “Just Because!”

Do some fun unannounced activities “just because.” Examples include: put on music and dance, finger plays, read a story, paint a picture, puppet show.

By the end of the session, the participants were looking forward to Monday morning to put some of the wonderful tips they had learned into action! 

The ATT and it’s REACH program are proud and grateful to announce we have been selected to receive multi-year grants from the Northwest Home for the Aged (NWHA) and Park Plaza. This $5 million multi-year gift, earmarked for operational use for all Jewish Schools in Chicago, is in addition to the funding ATT received from NWHA and Park Plaza in 2019 to support and sustain Jewish day school education across the Chicago Jewish community. 

Funding from the gift will be allocated in three ways:

1. Building well-resourced, highly effective support services departments in all of our Jewish day schools including hiring new resource staff. 

2. Hiring occupational therapists and speech and language pathologists for full-time work in our system

3. Working with all school staff to ensure that student needs are being met in the most inclusive classroom setting.

This gift builds on NWHA’s ethos of service to the Chicago Jewish community for more than 75 years and its mission of providing high quality housing for Jewish seniors. NWHA’s flagship facility is Park Plaza, an independent living community located on the far north side of Chicago.

The ATT honored NWHA with the Crain Maling Pillar of Education at its annual dinner in 2019.

“The Hebrew words l’dor v’dor are literally inscribed into the doors at Park Plaza,” says Alan Caplan, president of Northwest Home for the Aged. “From generation to generation; that’s what we believe in, as individuals and as part of the Jewish community, and that’s exactly what this gift is: a gift that gives from one generation to the next, and the next after that. We at NWHA/Park Plaza are thrilled to make these gifts to support Jewish education in and around our communities.”

The NWHA/Park Plaza grant will have a far-reaching impact on ATT’s REACH program. Rusi Sukenik, REACH’s director of student services noted, “This endowment enables us to provide support to schools and teachers to teach struggling learners in a manner that best fits the student and addresses the needs and learning styles and needs of each student.” Rabbi Mordechai Raizman, ATT’s Executive Director of Operations added, “An endowment of this magnitude impacts our day school community in a profound manner. It ensures that no parent will worry that their child is falling through the cracks. This grant gives everyone a chance to succeed. Programs such as REACH are very costly to sustain. This grant is visionary in its nature and will allow us to provide for children for many years to come.”

Jewish diversity, inclusion, and acceptance are the hallmarks of NWHA/Park Plaza. The community’s residents span the spectrum of Jewish observance and experience. Many are lifelong Chicagoans. Others have moved to Chicago to be close to adult children and to enjoy a secure, supportive, and fully modern and updated facility. Park Plaza provides a rich Jewish life that includes broad based programming as well as kosher meal service. Park Plaza recently completed a major renovation to allow it to continue to provide a high quality of life to its residents.

The cross-generational aspects of Park Plaza are obvious the moment one enters. “Local school kids, grandkids, great-grandkids … they’re here all the time,” said Elly Bauman, Executive Director of Park Plaza. “Kids are here to celebrate Shabbat and holidays, to visit relatives, and to volunteer. It’s part of what helps us fulfill our mission of providing Jewish seniors with a life that’s not just comfortable, but which has dignity and meaning.”

“It’s just really what Park Plaza and Northwest Home for the Aged are all about,” added Alan Caplan. “We put ‘l’dor v’dor’ front and center, the first thing you see when you enter the building, whether you’re a resident or a first-time visitor. It’s what grounds the Jewish community. 

Northwest Home for the Aged couldn’t be more pleased to put our primary principle into action with these gifts. They are investments in the future of our community.”

At the heart of teaching is the daily practice of public speaking. A masterful educator who also masters public speaking can have his or her students rapt attention. And a weak speaker, no matter how hard he or she prepares the lessons, will be less effective in the classroom.

That’s why we welcomed Rabbi Henoch Plotnik for our first professional development class of this school year, together with Walder Education, to offer public speaking tips to ATT rebbeim. Rabbi Plotnik is a rebbe at Yeshivas Kesser Yonah and a popular speaker in our community and U.S. cities.

The fast-paced class for rebbeim of all grades presented numerous strategies to give effective presentations in a public/classroom setting.

Rabbi Plotnik shared tips for engaging content and professionalism:

Maintain perspective – always remember who your audience is and plan accordingly.

Prepare – one can never prepare “too much.” Be clear on the language and be sensitive to every individual present. Have citations clearly available and never misquote pesukim or Chazal.

Be clear – Ask yourself, “Is the message clear?” Try to emphasize at least one powerful line.

Be effective – Try to make your content personal. Responsibly use the technique of name and place dropping. Above all, don’t fake it – your audience can tell.

Remember, the speech starts early – people notice your image and posture, even before you start speaking. Wait for order, dress appropriately, and be physically comfortable yourself.

Watch your words

• Avoid “um” and quaint expressions. Not everything is amazing and unbelievable.
• Keep introduction short and attention grabbing.
• Translate, translate, translate.
• Keep stories and parables relevant.
• Keep it short. 12-minute segments are most effective to maintain the audience attention span.
• End once and once only.
• Leave with a call to action to the audience!

Miscellaneous strategies

• Use voice inflection and animation.
• Be careful with media and handouts – make sure that the technology works if you are using technology.
• Know the room – make sure you will be audible.
• Keep things simple, not actuarial.
• Pay attention to previous speakers so you do not repeat messages.
• Remember – the speech/presentation ends after you sit down.

The presentation was a model of what public speaking should be. Everyone who attended was entertained and enlightened. More importantly, rebbeim left excited to try the skills in their classrooms.

This class is among dozens of professional development classes the ATT offers to Judaic and general studies teachers each semester.

Now that we’re completing this unusual year, it’s important to reflect on the challenges and successes and celebrate what our schools managed to accomplish.

We anticipate saying good riddance to many of the pandemic protocols next year, but much of what teachers and administrators learned this year will continue into the future.

As students and teachers adapted to learning during a pandemic this school year, some students struggled more than others. At the same time, others who struggled with traditional learning started to thrive and learn beyond their typical in-person classroom learning. 

Moving forward in education after COVID

It’s time to look forward to what happens next. 

At Janice Levitan’s recent professional development class, ATT teachers discussed interesting findings to help them plan for future teaching and learning. She explored the use of Google Classroom and other online resources that teachers used successfully during the past year. She also offered suggestions on how they  can be used in today’s new learning environment. 

Google Classroom was a key tool in this year’s new learning environment. Whether students were in school or at home, Google Classroom ensured they always had access to their assignments and work. Those schools that adopted Google Classroom will likely continue using it in future learning.

Key benefits to Google classroom include: 

• Students in school and at home can see all the work and materials. 
• A teacher can post videos, Docs, Slides, Sheets and Forms and can choose to differentiate work with ease and privacy.
• Teachers can view work in progress and make comments in real time. 
• Grade books exist to track student progress. 
• Paperless assignments are cost effective and environmentally friendly.

Google features for better education 

Using Google Docs in the classroom allows for open-ended questions that are easily modified for student needs. Questions can be scaffolded and assignments are able to be tailored to student needs. Teachers can also provide different prompts or rubrics for different students. 

Google Slides is great for interactive work and fill-in-the-blank assignments. Teachers are able to differentiate learning while using Google Slides. Simple worksheets can become interactive ones and add-ons like Peardeck and Nearpod can help teachers explain content. 

Teachers can use Google Forms to take quick assessments of learning. Forms is self-grading, gives immediate feedback and is a great tool for quizzes. Like many Google classroom tools, it’s very user-friendly. 

Using Google Sheets is an effective tool to look at data. When you create a Google Form, you’ll be able to see all the data collected in a Google Sheet. 

Teachers and students can keep track of assignments with Google Calendar. It can also be used to schedule appointments with students and parents. 

Virtual learning tools 

Several virtual learning tools help teachers with review and instruction especially for absent and at-home learners. These include:

• Loom records quick videos of your screen. Teachers can walk students through an exercise or show them how to use virtual learning software. 
• EdPuzzle  a teaching tool used to place interactive content into pre-existing videos from a variety of sources, such as TED, YouTube or into teacher-made videos 
• Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that can be used as educational technology in schools and other educational institutions. Its learning games, “kahoots,” are user-generated multiple-choice quizzes that can be accessed via a web browser or the Kahoot app.

Ways for students to share work include: 

• Loom
• Flipgrid is a website that allows teachers to create “grids” to facilitate video discussions. Each grid is like a message board where teachers can pose questions and students can post video responses that appear in a tiled grid display.
• Screencastify, a free screen recorder for Google Chrome. No download required. This allows teachers to record, edit and share videos in seconds. Screencastify is the number one free screen recorder for Chrome. 
• Padlet  is a digital tool that can help teachers and students in class and beyond by offering a single place for a notice board. 
• Kahoot! 

Other online educational resources that will continue to prove useful for student learning:

• TeacherMade allows quick creation of online worksheets and more.
• LiveWorksheets is an interactive worksheets maker for all languages and subjects. Teachermade and LiveWorksheets are very similar, so teachers can decide which one suits them best. 
• Khan Academy provides individualized instruction for students and is most well-known for math support.
• Go Formative allows for testing and evaluation of student work.
• Anchor  is a website to create, distribute and host podcasts.
• Vocaroo is the simplest audio recorder on the web.

When the pandemic restrictions are officially over in schools, there is still a benefit to using these tools because they allow for individualized instruction and differentiation that is often challenging to execute in the classroom. Additionally, these resources provide a central location for materials and a calendar to keep track. 

These resources also allow for hybrid learning and enhance creativity in both teachers and students alike. Learning about these new strategies and tools can help teachers as they navigate the constantly changing learning environment.