1. Teaching the Lesson
Although I spoke about my general goals for each group of students, I plan on teaching
the lesson in a way that will catch the attention of all the different types of students that are in
the class. Since Reuvain and Amittai are much more easily distracted, I plan on opening the
lesson (we are learning the Gemara that deals with havdalah) by playing the havdalah tune on
the violin, and asking the class if they know what I am playing. At this point I will give a brief
overview for what we will be discussing for the week, and explain the assignment that they will
be working on in groups. I will give clear oral directions as well as written directions to what
they will be working on in their groups, and will do a check for understanding to make sure that
the class knows what they are to do. I want them to work in groups because almost every
student in the class functions better when working in groups. Josh and Dina enjoy teaching the
material to the other students, and even students like Yehoshua enjoy passively learning.
When they are broken into their groups, I will gravitate from one group to the other making
sure each group is learning the material. If any of the groups have a question I will ask them to
speak to the nearest group, and if they can’t help then, they should just wait patiently until I
come around. In case any of the groups finish early, I planned an anchor activity that they will
be working on, and I will be announcing this during the instruction section before they are
broken up into their groups. After ten minutes or so I will wrap up the lesson and give a brief
conclusion of what they accomplished.