POLICIES AND DISCLAIMERS
Please note that I get the information for my answers from my own studies, personal experiences, and the knowledge of my teachers, peers, and colleagues. The answers do not necessarily reflect any one movement of Judaism, rabbi, or congregation, nor are they the only answers out there. Feel free to do more research. That is one of the reasons why I made other resources available by clicking Other Helpful Links on the sidebar. The Question Bag site is just a tool for personal research and should not be used as a reference for scholarly work.
Graduates of Morah Tzvia Krivitzky's classes can add questions and comments that will be posted in the appropriate places on the site. Obviously, anyone is free to read the information, but posting privileges are exclusive to alumni of my classes.
The questions are in no particular order. As I receive more questions and comments to the existing questions and answers, they will be "filed" under the appropriate sections. Each question's page has sections and links that you can respond with, and I am always adding to and revising the format to make the site better and more interactive (and the never ending quest to elimintate typos).
ELLEN GORDON, MY RESEARCH ASSISITANT
Ellen Gordon was one of the students in the 5th grade class (2001-2002) for whom I originally made this site. Ellen came to me with a previous knowledge of Hebrew, and was very advanced in my class. Following that year, she and her mom decided to have me tutor her privately in Hebrew and Judaica and prepare her and run the service for her Bat Mitzvah (she did a GREAT job). Even before her Bat Mitzvah, Ellen recognized the importance of Jewish learning, and decided on her own to continue studying with me after her Bat Mitzvah was over. As a reward for her (and to myself), I let her be more in control of what she wanted to study and boosted her up a notch by letting her get published on my site! Ellen is a very mature and insightful young lady, and some of the questions on this site are hers. Ellen has looked up the answers for certain questions, and at the bottom of those answers is a note saying that she contributed to them. The fact of the matter is, it is students like Ellen who keep me going and motivate me to update and improve this site and my knowledge base as a teacher. She continues to ask good questions (and some of them I make her find her own answers to!) and now gets to taste what it's like to impart her knowledge to other Jewish kids.
SITE FEATURES
As some of you may know, the Question Bag has now branched out to include more than just questions and answers. In the Photo Gallery you can see pictures of my students, and in What's in a Name? you can look up what my students' Hebrew names mean. As I have more students, the list will get longer! Also, if you go to the Did You Know page you can choose from several different categories from which to view interesting Jewish trivia, and you can get even more information in the Other Helpful Links. Finally, to ease your quest for knowledge on QuestionBag.com, a search engine has been installed for this site. As a bonus, students (and their parents) can log on and view grades, assignments, and of course, post questions, comments, and contact me.
If there are any technical problems with the site, you can contact the webmaster. Other comments and questions can be directed to TzviaRH@aol.com. I hope you enjoy browsing through the Question Bag, and please come back soon!
FOR TEAHCERS--THE QUESTION BAG IN THE CLASSROOM
Heres how it works: Get a box or gift bag (the fancier the better) and name it The Question Bag (or Box). When students have questions, they write them on small pieces of paper, put their names on them, fold them, and put them into the bag. Then, as you have time in your class, you (or choose a volunteer) pull questions out of the bag at random and discuss. You can pull out as many or few as time allows.
Heres why it works: Students love having their own agenda rather than follow yours. They also love getting extra attention. When your or a volunteer pull questions out of the bag, everyone pays attention because it might be his own question, or at least a question from his peers. As long as questions are appropriate, they can be any topic, regardless of what you are currently studying, and then in the students minds it almost becomes a game of "stump the teacher." In the process, they learn, and you build an environment conducive to asking questions, respecting each other, and trusting each other. Furthermore, if you happen to get into a great discussion but dont have time to finish it OR if a student asks a great question that is off the topic, all questions can be diverted to the Question Bag. This way, you can manage your time, focus your discussion, and the kids know that their questions will eventually get answered (and this way no one forgets them!). Finally, the Question Bag is a great provides shy students an opportunity to be heard. When you pull a question out of the bag, you can see the name on the paper but you dont tell the class whose question it is. Kids who might be embarrassed about asking a certain questions or of speaking up in general can feel comfortable participating.
I used the Question Bag as a kind of reward for the class for good behavior, and it sure worked! Without much stressing on my part, the kids realized that they had a unique opportunity, and no one abused it. I was amazed at the high level questions that came my way, and I enjoyed the discussions at least as much as they did. They felt safe asking questions, and realized that I would seriously try to answer everyone's questions. Each student who asked a question or who contributed to a discussion felt important.
THE QUESTIONBAG SITE AS A TEACHING AID AND AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL
QuestionBag.com is a web site that answers the rest of the questions left in the original Bag from my 2001-2002 classroom (and I am still working through them), and provides my former students a way to continue our tradition of open questions and discussions. In addition to the other features listed above, I use this site as a tool for keeping track of grades.
How it works: I have tried to make the site as interactive and intuitive as possible. My students (both past and present) and their parents can log onto the site with a user name and password I provide for them. With this, they have more options than the general public because they can see their individual grades, parent newsletters, extra credit, and have the opportunity to post more questions and comments to the site. They also have access to all the information displayed to the general public, so they can explore other kids' questions and browse through the Jewish links to increse their own knowledge.
Why it works: The students feel special when they see that you have a whole site devoted to them! In sharp contrast to the way we were taught and did our work when we were students, almost all kids today are computer literate, and have had exposure to the Internet. In spite of all the bad things out in cyber space, the Internet can be (and in most schools, already is) used as a very helpful tool for learning. QuestionBag.com keeps connected to students in the classroom and at home using a traditional base and guided technological tools. The Question Bag works in the classroom as a discussion management technique, and as a web site it reinforces class discussion and continuity.
Having your own Web site can be a great resource for you to enhance your assignment options and curricula. Furthermore, if you tutor children whom you do not see as regularly as you would in a normal classroom setting, this provides a way of keeping everyone on track and up to date. A Web site is a wonderfull tool for parent-teacher communication as well. Parents can check the progress of their children at their convenience, and see your comments, lesson plans, and whatever else you decide to make available to them. I have even scanned and uploaded most of the worksheets I gave out to my class so they can view and print them out from the site, in case they missed or lost something. This has been an invaluable tool for me this year.
Thank you for visiting! If you have any questions or comments, please click on the Contact Us link on the left and write me an e-mail.
Sincerely,
Tzvia Krivitzky