Introducing IssieRoots: Interactive Holiday Activities for all

Jewish holidays are central to Jewish life, family, and community, and have deep emotional value for children and their families. In order to maximize the inclusion of all children in family holiday traditions and activities we are creating IssieRoots, a suite of 18 accessible, interactive and digitized educational activities, corresponding to 18 holidays (including Shabbat). In addition, we will add three activities to this collection for the main Muslim holidays. All activities are offered in two languages, either Hebrew or Arabic, and English, so they can be enjoyed by Jewish and Muslim children in Israel and around the world.

Our latest activity, just in time for Passover, is an interactive Haggadah, full of features that will allow children of all ages and abilities to participate and be included in the family Seder. Click the pictures to go to the Haggadah.

All activities are created by Beit Issie Shapiro’s teachers, occupational therapists and speech and language pathologists together with the staff of The Technology Center of Beit Issie Shapiro, using the Ji Tap or Tiny Tap platforms. They can be opened and played on the web and in the free apps on mobile devices. They are designed using principles of inclusive design to maximize the participation of children with varying abilities. The language is clear and simple, often presented with both auditory and visual supports. Pages are designed to support visual attention and accommodate variations in motor accuracy. Some activities, such as our Megillat Esther, also accommodate for children that cannot effectively touch the screen on their own. In addition, we value the power of representation and strive to include characters with diverse abilities and features in all our activities.

You can also take a look at the first two activities in the series: Tu Bishvat and Purim. (click on the pictures to go to the activity):

Tu Bishvat: Concepts and word recognition related to the holiday

 

Purim: Megillat Esther

Our students have already started to enjoy the Haggadah, using it in their school Seder this week. They especially loved being able to read out the brachot on their own. We have downloaded the Haggadah to all the students’ iPads and they’re now ready to be a part of their family Seder.

 

 

We hope you enjoy the Haggadah and the other activities! Keep an eye out for the next ones in the series.

Wishing all our readers a Happy Passover!

The Technology Center