We have just completed two units of study in our Edot class - the history and culture of the Jews of India and Pesach (Passover). As we do at the end of each unit of study, we played the Shekel Game yesterday morning. What made this game different from all other Shekel Games we've played in the past was the fact that only three Edot students were in attendance; not surprising since most families already began their Spring Break holidays and were out of town.
This turned out to be the longest Shekel Game ever played, lasting 45 minutes (thank goodness I always come prepared with many more questions than we usually have time for!). Usually, this is a group game, allowing the students in each group the chance to put their heads together to arrive at the correct answer to the review questions. Yesterday, each student opted to become a team unto himself, and so each only had his own memory to rely on for the answers. There were several questions asked where the student was sure he didn't know the answer (and so bet nothing that he could answer the question correctly), but then came up with the correct answer after all (and sadly earned nothing). I learned that the three boys recalled quite a bit of information that I had shared with them during the previous weeks; the boys (hopefully) learned that if you take the time to think things through, you can often recall quite a bit of information.
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| Max has all the tools necessary to play the game - Israeli sh'kaleem (shekels), a piece of scrap paper, pencil and eraser, a bowl of Goldfish crackers and a pitcher of cold water to wash them down (OK, so the last two items were not really needed to play the game, but certainly added to its enjoyment). |
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| Joey is all settled in his "territory" as well, ... |
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| ...as is Gabe. Let the game begin! |
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| Once I tell the player which category the question will come from (Hebrew Through Movement, Siddur/B'rachot, Jewish History, Edot or "The Circlemaker" story), he writes down how much he's betting on the piece of scrap paper. He can't bet more than half the amount of money he has when the question is asked during the regular rounds of play. During the "All-Or-Nothing" final round of play, he can bet all, part of, or none of his money, and can choose the category the question will come from. Of course, the question will be a very difficult one for that final round, so he has to carefully consider which category he feels most comfortable with, and how much money he dares bet on his ability to answer correctly. |
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| He has 30 seconds to think of the answer after the question is asked. If he answers correctly (as Gabe did here), he is paid the amount of money he bet; if he answers incorrectly, he pays that amount to the "bank." |
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| As mentioned before, one of the categories was Hebrew Through Movement. In order to win the money bet, the student has to correctly follow each of a series of Hebrew commands. Here, Gabe is following the command to lift up the chair from the floor and place it on the table (l'hareem keeseh mey'ha'reetzpa, v'la'seem et ha'keeseh al ha'shoolchan). |
After we finished playing the game, we still had time for a Hebrew Through Movement session, during which we practiced all the Pesach (Passover) Hebrew vocabulary we had learned over the past two and a half weeks, and also practiced acting out the "Mah Neeshtana" (the Four Questions). Our session was cut short, however, by a fire drill (which had been planned by Rabbi Greninger and announced to the teachers beforehand). It took us less than a minute to grab the earthquake preparedness bag, the teacher emergency binder and attendance slip and leave the room in an orderly fashion. All the classes met up on the lawn outside the Sanctuary, where teachers took attendance and let Rabbi Greninger know, class by class, that all children and teachers and TA's were present.
From the lawn, we all filed into the Sanctuary where Rabbi Greninger and Cantor Korn led us in prayer and singing Pesach songs, to get us all in the mood for the upcoming holiday.
I look forward to seeing everyone back in the classroom again after the Pesach holiday, on Tuesday or Wednesday, April 18 or 19. In the meantime, I wish you all a very enjoyable and meaningful Pesach holiday with your families and friends.
CHAG HA'MATZOT SAMEACH! HAPPY HOLIDAY OF MATZAS - HAPPY PESACH!
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