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48

Local educators
take successful
learning
techniques to
classrooms
of the world.

Whizin Institute field service specialist
Harlene Appelman tapped into families'
needs to be together.
The educators agree there is a lack of
exciting material to teach from and not
all teachers have the time or interest
in creating their own successful class-
room techniques. Individuals like Mr.
Wise, Ms. Appelman and Ms. Abramson
are hoping to close the gap with books,
tapes, pamphlets and games which mo-
tivate children and their families.
"The theory of Torah Aura Produc-
tions is that kids are capable of learning
just about anything. There's stick-to-the-
ribs content, along with fun, in their ma-
terials," Mr. Wise said.
The desire to find an internship that
was related to Jewish education, but was

not a camp experience, led Mr. Wise to
the California company which sprang
from a master's thesis by Mr. Grishaver
titled "Sh'ma is for Real."
"Sh'ma is for Real" included a student
workbook, teacher's guide, and a large-
scale board game centering around the
worship service. It was published by
Camp Olin Sang Ruby more than 20
years ago and was an underground hit.
Mr. Wise is now one of about a dozen
authors working for Torah Aura Pro-
ductions.
In addition to writing Betman's Book
of Hebrew Letters, a workbook filled with
cartoons, learning exercises and puns,
Mr. Wise has written two volumes of I
Can Learn Torah with Mr. Grishaver,
and several "instant lessons," one-hour,
self-contained classroom models com-

"You want everyone
to be part of the club.
But you've got to
show them how."

—Harlene Appelman

plete with story, discussion questions
and Jewish ethics.
Several qualities make Mr. Wise's
work with Torah Aura Productions dif-
ferent from most learning texts on the
market.
"Jewish textbook publishers can be
counted practically on one hand," Mr.
Wise said. "What makes our work