4th & 5th Grade Israel Program Recap

On May 5, CEH Fourth and Fifth Graders traveled to Congregation Tifereth Israel for the third in a series of joint Israel programs. The first program focused on Am Yisrael (the People of Israel). The second program focused on Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel). This final program focused on Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel).

The day started with an icebreaker designed to teach students about the modern State of Israel. Students had to decide whether statements about Israel were true or false (e.g., you can buy hummus ice cream in Israel). Students then shared knowledge about Israel such as the names of famous Israelis and Israeli inventions.

Our focus then turned to the idea of Israel as a “Start-Up Nation.” We watched a video and learned about many Israeli inventions, such as instant messaging, flash drives, the most popular type of cherry tomato, drip irrigation, and the Waze GPS app. We talked about why such a small nation is a hotbed of innovation. Answers included: necessity, chutzpah, making money, security, and a desire to improve/repair the world.

The students were then tasked to think of something that is tedious (e.g., chores) and invent something to make the task easier. The teams demonstrated amazing creativity! For example, one team created a system to check out and reshelve library books, another created a car that ran on magnetic power, and a third created an automatic book page turner (lots of readers in this group!).

The day finished with Israeli snacks (cherry tomatoes and different flavors of Bissli – an Israeli snack food). Students left with their own set of “Chamesh Avanim” stones. Chamesh Avanim is a popular Israeli game also know as Five Stones. If you are the parent of a Fourth or Fifth Grader, ask them to show you how to play.

To wrap up this programming series, we asked students to tell us how their feelings about Israel have changed from the first class to the final class. Some answers:

* At the beginning of these classes I felt I knew everything about Israel. Now, I know I don’t.
* I didn’t know they were such an environmental country.
* I used to think Israel is two things: war and deserts. Now I think of it as culture and spirit and even ancestry.
* I feel like I have a bigger connection with Israel.

This program was generously funded by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington DC, supported by Congregations Etz Hayim and Tifereth Israel, and created by Laura Naide and Rina Rebibo. We have applied for a follow-on grant to continue the learning next year with a new group of students.

Thank you to Laura Naide, Lital Burr, Melissa Kaps, Emma Rosman, Rina Rebibo (Tifereth Israel Education Director), Jewish Federation of Greater Washington DC ( grant funding), Tifereth Israel staff, and parent drivers Dan Rosman, Stacy Rosenthal, Carmen Harris, Anna Steinberg, Harold Dorfman & Jeanne Howard.

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