Transforming the School Community Making Judaism Come Alive! in the Classroom

1. Transforming the School Community Making Judaism Come Alive! in the Classroom Presentation By: Shiri Bernstein Marketing & Outreach Coordinator Areyvut

2. Change doesn’t have to be a bad thing! All you need is a little kindness

3. Adding Mitzvot to Your Curriculum Experiential Learning: Let students see first hand how fortunate they really are. Taking kids to a soup kitchen, lets them see who will benefit from their good deeds and that is often enough reward to motivate students to continue service learning. Role Models: Ask older students, teachers and/or celebrities who have volunteered speak to the students and discuss their experiences and the rewards they got out of volunteering.

4. Give your students a choice! • Once the students understand the importance of social justice, allow them to chose what action they want to take. What are their needs & passions? What problems would they like to solve? • Decide on a field that they want to work in (i.e. the environment) and let them choose an organization that fits their needs. • Because the students have made the decisions, they will be more likely to take a bigger interest in the acts of kindness they are performing.

5. About You… • 1) What do you enjoy doing? • 2) What extracurricular activities do you do? • 3) What are your strengths/skills? • 4) Below is a list of hobbies/interests. Circle the 3 that interest you the most. • Art Bike Riding Cooking Friends Hiking • Internet Knitting Movies Music Playing games • Reading Shopping Sports Television Traveling • 5) Below is a list of topics. Circle the 3 that interest/bother you the most. • Animals Anti-Semitism Education Environment Health • Homelessness Hunger Israel Jewish Education • Literacy Disabilities Poverty Senior Citizens Children • About Your Mitzvah Project… • Why do you want to do a mitzvah project? • If you can change anything about Judaism and/or the world what would it be? Why? • What volunteer/community service tasks have you done? What did you like about them? What didn’t you like about them? • 4) Who do you know who can help you with this project/cause? • 5) What days and times are you available to volunteer and/or work on your project?

6. Encouragement • Encourage students to stand up for their beliefs. • Encourage students to do projects that interest them. • Encourage students to be creative and start a project on their own if they can’t find one that fits their needs. • Encourage students by participating in projects with them. • Encourage students to do projects with their friends. • Encourage students with rewards and incentives (i.e. community service hours).

7. Community Service Fairs Arrange a personalized fair for students. This exposition is a wonderful opportunity for students to begin the process of choosing a meaningful mitzvah project. Model A: Volunteer Fair Representatives from various community organizations introduce students and their families to a variety of hands on mitzvah projects. Staff should offer guidance on how to plan and execute mitzvah projects that best meet each students needs.

8. Community Service Fairs Model B: Hands-On Fair Students are introduced to a variety of mitzvah projects through participating in hands-on activities that will help them decide what project best fits their needs and interests. Both models can also be combined into one fair.

9. Choosing a theme by class Alternatively, students can develop projects based around a yearly theme. Examples 1st grade- animals 4th grade- hunger 6th grade- environment 8th grade- tolerance or Israel The trick is- don’t change, but build on, the theme from year to year, that way, by the time graduation comes around, each student will have dabbled in every theme and have a better understanding of what they enjoy doing. Areyvut’s Project Database: www.areyvut.org/Bnai/projectNew.asp

10. Evaluation • Mitzvah Project Planning Journal • Log Community Service Hours • Discussions & Reflections • Be Creative! • Photography/Videos • Writing (poetry, drama, music, etc) • Skits/Performances • Visual Arts (murals, crafts, etc) • Technology (blogs, etc)

11. Mitzvah Essay Contestco-sponsored by JVibe Invite students to share their Mitzvah project experiences with the entire Jewish community by participating in Areyvut's Annual Mitzvah Essay Contest. Areyvut recognizes students who have made unique contributions to their communities. We will award winners with exciting prizes, invite winners to participate in the Bnai Mitzvah Panel Program and post winning essays on our website to serve as models for students who are just beginning to plan their Mitzvah projects. Have students write an essay that describes how and why you incorporated the values of chesed (kindness), tzedakah (charity) and tikkun olam (social justice) into their Bnai Mitzvah celebration.

12. Questions • How did you make (or how are you making) the values of chesed, tzedakah and tikkun olam an important part of your Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration? • Why did you choose to do a service project? • Why did you choose this particular project? • How did (or will) your project impact your Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration? • If you have already celebrated your Bar/Bat Mitzvah, how have you continued your project?

13. Contest Guidelines Eligibility: You must be between 5th and 9th grade Format: Essay must be between 250-750 words, typed, and double spaced. Judges: Essays will be judged by a panel of Areyvut staff, board members and outside experts. Winners will be chosen based on how well a project and its impact are described, the uniqueness of the project and the overall quality of the essay. Deadline: December 1, 2007 To Apply: Please e-mail your cover sheet and essay to projects@areyvut.org. To download the cover sheet, please visit www.areyvut.org/Action/cover08.pdf

14. Teach Social Action Through Media • Videos • Hotel Rwanda (Genocide) • Remember the Titans (Tolerance) • Paper Clips (Holocaust) • Pursuit of Happyness (Poverty) • Obsession (Global Terrorism) • Translating Genocide (Darfur) • Sicko (Health Care) • YouTube Videos • Create you own videos! • Check out Areyvut’s Resource Database for books, articles, curricula, videos and more on many different service learning topics!

15. Political Cartoons

16. Music: Where is the love- Black Eyed Peas What's wrong with the world mama? People living like ain’t got no mamas I think the whole worlds addicted to the drama Only attracted to the things that bring you trauma Overseas yeah we tryin’ to stop terrorism But we still got terrorists here livin’ In the USA the big CIA the Bloodz and the Crips and the KKK But if you only have love for your own race Then you only leave space to discriminate And to discriminate only generates hate And if you hatin’ you're bound to get irate Yeah madness is what you demonstrate And that's exactly how anger works and operates You gotta have love just to set it straight Take control of your mind and meditate Let your soul gravitate to the love y'all People killing people dying Children hurtin’ you hear them crying Can you practice what you preach Would you turn the other cheek? Father Father Father help us Send some guidance from above Cause people got me got me questioning Where is the love? (where is the lovex3) (the love2x)

17. Music: Heal the World- Michael Jackson There's A Place In Your Heart And I Know That It Is Love And This Place Could Be Much Brighter Than Tomorrow And If You Really Try You'll Find There's No Need To Cry In This Place You'll Feel There's No Hurt Or Sorrow There Are Ways To Get There If You Care Enough For The Living Make A Little Space Make A Better Place... Heal The World Make It A Better Place For You And For Me And The Entire Human Race There Are People Dying If You Care Enough For The Living Make A Better Place For You And For Me

18. More Music… For more songs about social change, visit www.ocap.ca/lyrics.html

19. Using the “A Kindness a Day” Calendar in the Classroom The “A Kindness a Day” Calendar contains 365 suggested activities that exemplify the values of kindness, charity, social justice and character improvement. The calendar is great for adults and children, for homes, schools and organizations, both as a guide to help inculcate these values into one's life and as a springboard for discussion and study. The calendar is used daily in classrooms around the country as an educational tool, motivating students and teachers a like to make kindness a reality. 

20. For Elementary School • Share a sampling of suggestions with your students and create a “Mitzvah Tree” to keep track of each time a student follows a suggestion. • When introducing a new suggestion, read a picture book in which characters emulate the suggestion. • Add a “World Repairer” to your job wheel. It is the World Repairer’s job to read a new suggestion for the week and let the class know when s/he witnesses tikkun olam in action. • Pick classroom themes and projects based on the suggestions in the calendar.

21. For Middle/High School • Develop a list of suggested chesed activities and information on agencies where students can perform those actions. • Add a “World Repairer” to your school newspaper or bulletin board and regularly highlight students and people who actively participate in tikkun olam. • Encourage your students to teach younger kids about Jewish values and create collaborative tzedakah projects.

22. More Ideas… • Have your student’s think of their own ideas of how they can help others and make their own tikkun olam calendar. • Post a new suggestion in a prominent place in your school or classroom. • After synagogue services read the suggestion of the day. • The sources in the calendar are traditional Jewish sources provided in English. Have students find the source in Hebrew or teach the sources and their meaning in a Hebrew or Jewish Studies class. • Present one of the daily suggestions without revealing the source and ask students to develop a source (Jewish or general) to coincide with the action. Similarly, present one of the sources without revealing the action and ask students to develop an action to relate to the source. • Look for articles, programs, movies and people who highlight these suggestions and try to learn more.

23. Even More Ideas… • Teach about famous people who emulated these values. Students can dress up as these people and share their lessons with the class. You can also find “regular” people or “Mitzvah Heroes” who live these vales daily and invite them to come speak. • Annually publicly recognize people in your community who excel in kindness. • Set up a monthly or regular tikkun olam trip. Each trip can be based upon a theme from the calendar, and all sources relating to the theme can be taught beforehand. • Assign each student or class a different theme from the calendar to incorporate into a tzedakah project. Have a school and community wide program featuring the various projects. • For each holiday, choose a different theme from the calendar and initiate a related tzedakah project.

26. Getting Involved in “Make a Difference” Day We invite you to dedicate your day to helping others. Areyvut’s “A Kindness a Day” Calendar is already uniting Jewish communities across the country in an effort to inspire acts of kindness. On “Make a Difference” Day, thousands of families will turn the calendar’s suggestions into action with the help of educational resources that Areyvut will provide.

27. March 23-25, 2007 “Make a Difference” Day Video

28. When is “Make a Difference” Day 2008? On April 4th, 2008, the “A Kindness a Day” Calendar encourages people to: “Try to be totally unselfish today.” Building upon this suggestion, “Make a Difference” Day has been scheduled to take place on this day and throughout the entire weekend for those who can’t participate on Friday. (April 4-6, 2008)

29. Where is “Make a Difference” Day? In YOUR local community!  That’s right… “Make a Difference” Day is a national effort that takes place everywhere and anywhere around the globe.  To bring “Make a Difference” Day to your community, all you need to do is get involved in a community service project between April 4th- 6th, 2008.  It’s that simple. 

30. Preserving the Environment The themes for the 2008 “Make a Difference” Day will be “Preserving the Environment” and “Thinking Out of the Box.” Educational materials will be available to help you address the theme. The materials will include texts relating to these values, hands on activities to do with your students, suggestions for follow- up and other educational resources.

31. Should I do any pre-planning? Introducing your students and community members to the “A Kindness a Day” Calendar will add meaning to “Make a Difference” Day by putting it in the context of an ongoing focus on tikkun olam. We also encourage participants to pre-plan their projects in order to make the day an even greater success.

32. Video Contest! Do you think you have what it takes to make the most creative mitzvah video in the country? Areyvut challenges you to take video footage of your mitzvah project and to send it to us. The community that produces the most exciting video of their mitzvah project will have their video featured on our website and e-Newsletter.

33. Registration You do not need to pre-register to be a part of “Make a Difference” Day. However, we encourage you to register so that we know in advance who is participating and are able to develop programming that is specific to the participants' needs. To register on-line, please visit: www.areyvut.org/Action/makereg.asp

34. More Information Shiri Bernstein (201) 244-6702 shiri@areyvut.org Check it out! www.areyvut.org