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Thinking is the Brain's Workout

Students' thinking skills are in constant evolution. In every grade level and subject area, Scheck Hillel teachers use a variety of methods to expand the connections that make learning happen. Grade 7 teacher Jason Touvi helps students reach ever-higher levels of thinking using Bloom's Taxonomy as a guide.  
 
"I use Bloom's Taxonomy (image on right), a multi-layered approach to learning, where students recall, connect, apply, and construct sentences showing off their vocabulary, grammar, writing, and literary knowledge. The goal is to help our middle schoolers develop their own voice and style when writing paragraphs and essays. These higher order thinking lessons will continue to challenge and engage our middle school students throughout the year," Mr. Touvi explained. 
 
More complex demands on the students' brains create learning "muscle," the equivalent of a workout for the body. Grade 7 students appreciate the challenge; below, they reflect on how they "see" their thinking skills expand:
 
"Mr. Touvi makes me think outside the box. He  asks us questions that I would have never thought of. He also challenges me in writing. For example, he tells us to write everything in the third person and in present tense. This helps me a lot in grammar and in everything overall."
-Nathan Cogan
 
"Mr. Touvi challenges me to think more deeply. No matter what I think or believe, there is always a deeper connection and a more significant meaning to whatever is in my mind.  Also, he challenges the way I write because no matter how good my essay or paragraph is - there is always something that could be written a better way. Mr. Touvi taught us that there is no such thing as a perfect essay, everything can be revised in some way." 
-Eva Chelminsky
 
"When Mr. Touvi asks us questions during classes, he makes us really think and find the deep answer to the question." 
-Layla Faith   
 
"Mr. Touvi connects grammar, vocabulary, and literature into his class by giving us prompts to respond to every day; this makes us think outside the box."
-Liat Schecter
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