What the lesson is about
These are the first two lessons in a series on Judaism, looking at Hanukkah and Passover. They are aimed at KS2 pupils.
Aims: pupils will -
- understand what Hanukkah is;
- know what is used to celebrate Hanukkah;
- learn the history of Passover;
- recognise the different names for the Passover.
Getting started
Ask the class what they know about Hanukkah. Use the PowerPoint on the TES website to tell the pupils the story of Hanukkah.
Start a game of hangman on the whiteboard using key words about Hanukkah, such as “menorah” (below) and “winter” (more words can be found on the TES website). Explain the relevance of the words in relation to Hanukkah.
Tell the pupils that the dreidel is a four-sided spinning top and is the Yiddish word for “turn”. Start a game of Chinese whispers with the class using the four Hebrew letters on a dreidel (“nes”, “gadol”, “hayas”, and “sham”). After the game, explain to the class that the letters stand for the phrase, “A great miracle happened there.” Explain that in Israel the fourth letter is “poh”, meaning “A great miracle happened here,” to illustrate the fact the it occurred in Israel.
Taking it further
Explain that Passover takes place in the spring and is a time when Jewish people look back on events in their history and look forward to the future. Explain that it is one of the most important Jewish festivals and dates back to events 3,000 years ago. Use the PowerPoint on the TES website to explain the Passover story.
Ask the class to produce their own Seder plates, used in the Passover meal. You will need paper plates, felt tips, coloured paper, glue sticks and scissors. Get the pupils to use black felt tip pens to divide the paper plates into six sections, cut out shapes for the egg, bone and water bowl and use coloured paper for the haroset - the fruit and nut paste - and the vegetables.
Where to find it
The lessons, also including PowerPoints on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, were originally uploaded by joha and can be found at www.tes.co.ukjudaism.
