Highly Recommended - URJ Webinar "Differentiating Instruction"

Once , participation in a professional development workshop meant traveling - to a synagogue, JCC, or conference center. No more! Professional development opportunities are available on-line in the form of webinars. I recently participated in an excellent webinar presented by the Congregational Consulting Group of the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism).

This particular webinar centered on the concept of "Differentiating Instruction," defined as "creating multiple paths so that students of different abilities, interests, or learning needs can experience success in the classroom." The webinar described practical, easily implemented ways to modify lessons in the skill areas of reading, writing, art, and cooperative learning. The suggested modifications shared the common goals of ensuring that Religious School is a positive experience and that each student feels personally successful at Jewish learning. As stated in the webinar, "A great teacher is one who can meet the needs of each student whether gifted or challenged." The information presented in the "Differentiating Instruction" webinar clearly supports our efforts to achieve such "greatness" in the classsroom. You will certainly find this webinar relevant and insightful.

To view the "Differentiating Instruction" power point presentation, go to
http://urj.org/learning/meetings/webinars/archive/?syspage=document&item_id=49740

To view the power point and to hear the accompanying audio presentation by Dr. Alan Levin, go to
http://media.urj.org/webinars/DifferentiatingInstruction9-20.wmv;
http://media.urj.org/webinars/DifferentiatingInstruction2.wmv

It's important to note that the actual webinar set-up allowed individual participants to ask questions, make comments, and receive responses from the webinar presenters. At the end of the webinar, participants were invited to e-mail additional comments and questions to the presenters. I did so and received extremely helpful responses.

Kol HaKavod to Dr. Alan Levin, Joan Carr, Marlene Myerson, and Deborah Niederman, the URJ Education Specialists who developed this very worthwhile presentation.

Teachers, parents, and congregants will find useful resources for Torah Study, Holiday celebrations, Israel programs, and more on the Union for Reform Judaism website http://www.urj.org/

Enrich with BabagaNewz.com

An amazing on-line resource for enrichment activities is the website BabagaNewz.com
BabagaNewz provides a wealth of information, activities, and lesson plans for a multitude of Judaic topics.

One small sampling of the offerings on BabagaNewz - I selected "Learning Torah" from a long list of "Jewish Values." Among the activities featured were a virtual tour of the Israeli Supreme Court building with an explanation of the various architectural elements; an article and lesson plan based on the long distance chevrutah experience of a Bar Mitzvah student ; an article and lesson plan connecting the wonders of laser light to the "Light of Torah." Each activity, in turn, included links to additional information. The possibilities were endless!

If you're lucky enough to have a computer in your classroom, BabagaNewz is a perfect site for students to explore independently. You might also assign topics for students to research on this site at home.

The "Teachers" section of BabagaNewz is a treasure trove of lesson plans on Holidays, Jewish History, current events, Israel, Torah, and more. I printed out a multi-page lesson plan about Tel Aviv, which celebrated its 100th birthday in 2009. This lesson plan included art activities, creative writing, Hebrew vocabulary, a color poster, and color photos of city sites - all the makings of a classroom learning center.

As an unexpected bonus, on the BabagaNewz home page, I discovered a dance video starring students from Bet Shraga Hebrew Academy of Albany, NY. The students were led by their outstanding dance teacher, a friend and the parent of two of my former students from the days when I was a member of the Bet Shraga faculty.

Visit BabagaNewz.com and explore the enrichment possibilities!

And...keep on visiting Jewish Educators' Village - K'far Morim - your virtual community for sharing ideas, strategies, and resources for Jewish Education.