When I was teaching 6th-grade religious school, I found that providing prompts while leaving decision-making about materials and techniques open to the students brought everyone into even abstract discussions. Through collaborative projects, we would discover new rules, and the topic itself would seem more meaningful.
(Above) A mask made as a group for Purim, guided by the students. We were thinking about disguise and costume.
(Above) We read about Jewish architecture, focusing on synagogue design, as we made a floor plan and built a model as a class. I wanted students to think about how these kinds of communal spaces work, not just what the space is.
