Pirkei Avot as an intro to Mishna

I am always excited to be the one to formally introduce my students to תורה שבעל פה. My students love hearing the history of the מסורה.  They especially enjoy learning the stories of the תנאים.  When we get to Rabbi Akiva the students become especially fascinated by his story.  This year I decided to use the learning of  Pirkei Avot as the context for learning the history of the תנאים. This also worked well with the כתה המאוחדת which has an entire section devoted to proper manners: כללי הנימוסים. 

שינון: Learning by Heart

Learning משנה by heart is an exciting part of connecting the student to how the תורה שבעל פה was first transmitted. I used this video to help my students:

Songs

Almost all of my students memorized the first 3 Mishnayot. About 30% of the students went on to memorize 5 or more. 

The key was to have the Pirkei Avot songs  playing at every possible time. I used the music mainly for transitions between activities.  The students enjoyed chanting along with the music and as a result, for many, the memorization came naturally. 

I found that memorization was most difficult for some of the students who consider themselves as "enrichment" students. Being able to complete the task instantly was a challenge they don't always face. There was some resistance, but once the students learned the process of memorization, they bought in and participated. 

To celebrate the students accomplishments, we had a S'more party. I brought to school my tailgating grill and cooked up graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows. 

The students are now creating posters and imovie skits, creating stories (in Hebrew of course!)