Unit: Who is important in Judaism? Prior learning Technical Vocabulary Resources. an opportunity to use words and phrases related to: -

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1 Unit: Who is important in Judaism? About this unit: This unit could be the second section of work of Judaism that children will do, or it could be their first encounter with Judaism. The approach is to look at the Jewish faith through its great tradition of story. Seek curricular links with rather than History or Geography, try to give children an idea of the power and importance of tradition. These skills will be important as they progress in RE. Inevitably this unit touches on some heavy topics and teachers will need to use care and judgement, however it is important to leave scope for even the youngest children to explore some of these issues in an appropriate way. Prior learning Technical Vocabulary Resources It would be helpful if In this unit children will have an opportunity to use words and phrases related to: - They had covered some work on Judaism They had heard stories about Abraham, Moses, David, Joseph Were familiar with the way in which stories can be used to convey meanings today. Heroes Jewish Community Abraham/Abram Sarah G-D Moses Egypt Slavery Freedom Persecution Pesach Seder dish 10 Commandments Ark of the Covenant Covenant Torah David Joseph PCET photopack and Activity Book Judaism. The Lion Storyteller Bible page 18/19 Let My People Go: The Story of Pesach Lynne Broadbent and John Logan in the Times to remember series RMEP The Price of Egypt Video/VCR Animated World Faiths: Moses and the Passover Quest/Channel Jane Silver Correnrecommended visitor A photocopy of teachers guide to Seder including songs etc can be obtained from the Salisbury Diocesan office (this was originally produced by Wandsworth Artefacts: Seder Dish Picture or replica of Torah Scroll

2 Expectations At the end of this unit Most children will: Be able to identify some symbols associated with Judaism (i.e. on a Seder dish) they will be able to retell in outline some significant stories from Judaism, Respond sensitively to the issues raised by the study of Jewish story by asking questions and recognising the values of others Some children will not have made so much progress and will: Be able to recognise and name some symbols associated with Judaism, they will be able to recall some elements of significant stories from Judaism. They can talk about the issues raised by the study of some Jewish stories. Some children will have progressed further and will: Be able to describe some key features of Jewish practice, they will be able to make a link between Jewish beliefs and practice e.g. the impact of the 10 commandments of Jewish lifestyle. They will be able to make links between their values and practice and will ask significant questions on issues raised by a study of Jewish Stories

3 Learning Objectives Possible Teaching Activities Learning outcomes Contribution to other Curriculum Areas Who are you Heroes? Pupils should: Consider the qualities and characteristics of a hero or someone you agree to follow Look at/recap on some aspects of Jewish life Make a class list/ collage book of their favourite comic book characters Spiderman, Superman, etc what is it that they like about these heroes what qualities do they have? Or show a small part of a well-chosen popular cartoon series, The Japanese style cartoons are good for this as they often involve a hero character going on a quest or journey (Digimon, Yu-gi oh) what ever is popular. Why do we like these stories? What can we learn from them? You may need to do some careful prompting here as this unlikely to be an aspect of these stories that children will have considered. Talk about/recognise values/identify what influences them Recognise/name/identify aspects of religious practice as Jewish Look at some pictures from a photopack showing Jewish Life. Don t go into any great detail but make them aware/or remind them that there is still a Jewish community today both in Israel and around the world including the UK. Explain that we are going to look at some stories of Heroes from Jewish History who founded or started the religion of Judaism.

4 Who was Abraham and why is he special to the Jews? Pupils should Learn about the life of Abram/Abraham. Learn the Jewish belief that G-d keeps his promises. Reflect on the importance of family history Imagine they lived in a tent all the time. What would it be like? What would be the good things? What would be the problems? Tell the story of Abraham, (stop before the sacrifice of Isaac!) stress that he trusted G-d and as result G-D kept his promises to him that he would have a son and many descendants. (This is why he is important in Judaism this could be linked to the story of Noah and his covenant with God) Think about the journey and how difficult that would have been for Abram and Sarah. Role play going on the journey in the story Make star shaped photo frames and stick pictures or photos of their family members in them. Make a class display to remember G-d s promise to Abraham Recall/retell/describe the story of Abraham Talk about/respond sensitively to issues connected to making and keeping promises. Opportunity for Spiritual Who was Moses and why is he so important to the Jews? Pupils should: - Learn about the story of Moses. Reflect on the importance of freedom Link back to the story of Abraham. G-D kept his promise and the Israelites did become as numerous as the stars. They were living in Egypt. Tell the story of Moses and the escape from Egypt. There are many versions of this available The Big Book: Let My People Go: The Story of Pesach is a good version. Try not to get too caught up on the plagues but focus on G-d keeping his promises, and the concept of moving from slavery to freedom. It might be appropriate to seek a cross-curricular or other link to look at those who have Recall/retell/describe the events of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt Talk about/ask questions about issues of the importance of freedom History/Geography

5 fought for freedom or stood up against slavery. Make a concertina book in the form of a scroll to tell the events of the Exodus. Or a fortune line for the main characters in the Story i.e. Moses, Pharaoh, A Jewish Slave. Opportunity for Social Collective Worship Pupils should: - Learn about the symbolism and meaning of Jewish Festival of Pesach Consider how people suffering today cope in times of trouble What is the Jewish Festival of Pesach and how is it celebrated? Explain that the Jewish people have a special festival to remember how G-d kept his promise to them in Egypt. Called Pesach. If you can invite in Jewish speaker who can talk about Pesach and how important it is to the Jewish Family. Use a Seder dish to explain the foods eaten and talk about the symbolism of the foods. Think about 4 questions they would want to ask God/or someone important if they had the chance. Draw /label a Seder plate. The Jewish people have suffered many terrible times in their history remembering this time when G-D saved them from persecution has helped give them hope in dark times. Think about who you would turn to in times of trouble? Name/identify/describe/ some key symbols associated with Pesach. Recognise/identify/make links between Jewish belief and practice. Respond sensitively by asking appropriate questions to the values of others Talk about/recognise/make links between their values and actions. Respond sensitively to those suffering persecution. Art, Music, Healthy eating Food Technology Opportunity for Cultural Opportunity for Spiritual Seder You could give the children the opportunity to taste the foods used but be aware that Charoset is an almond nut paste. A photocopy of teachers guide to Seder including

6 Holocaust Memorial Day The Festival of Pesach has many links to persecutions such as the Holocaust, this might be too difficult a link to explore with KS1 pupils but this might be a way of including KS1 pupils in Holocaust Memorial day. Alternatively Pesach could be revisited with KS2 pupils songs etc can be obtained from the Salisbury Diocesan office (this was originally produced by Wandsworth) What happened when the Jews escaped from Egypt? Pupils should: - Learn about the story of the G-d giving Moses the 10 commandments Consider the importance of having rules Learn about the importance of the Ark of the Covenant and the Torah. Talk about what it might be like if there were no rules in the school and you could do whatever you like. What would be the good things about this/ and what would be the problems? Recap or tell the story of the Jews in the wilderness. Explain that G-d gave them some very important rules to help the Jews live in safety. Look at the 10 commandments. Explain that some were rules about living together some were rules about how to worship G_d. Classify them this way. It was the rules about worshipping one God rather than many Gods that made them different from all the other people. The Jews had to trust G-d that these were the right rules to follow, even though other people they knew did things differently. Talk about not just doing what everyone else does etc Recall/retell/describe the giving of the 10 commandments to Moses Show awareness of similarities between Jewish and Christian (and Islamic) traditions Talk about/recognise/make links between their values and those of others. Opportunity for Social Citizenship Explain that the Jews now had to keep their commandments from G-d safely. Design a container for

7 keeping the stone tablets safe on a journey. Look at pictures of the Ark of the Covenant: explain what a covenant means. Today Jews keep the 10 commandments not as stone tablets but it is written as part of the Torah in a Scroll. Look at pictures or an example of a Torah scroll Extension Who else is special to Jews? Thinking skills Design Technology Work on David Work on Joseph

8 Suggested Assessment Task: The most obvious task here would be based around labelling/identifying the symbolism of the Seder dish. A simple worksheet (easily designed or adapted from a worksheet bank..such as Follens would do this). This can be developed to design their own Seder dish for a special meal for their family or the class. A task of designing a casket or container for the 10 commandments might also be effective. The design of the container would have container would have to be: - a) strong enough to withstand the journey in the desert b) Be special enough to reflect how the Jews feel about G-D Be prepared to explain your design.