Jewish Holidays: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Lesson Plan
Objective
This lesson will help the children learn more about the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur which are celebrated in September. Students will read a book related to these holidays and practice skills including but not limited to math skills, literacy and reading skills, music skills and art skills.
The Lesson Plan
1. Introduce the students to the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur by reading
On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur by Cathy Goldberg Fishman and Melanie W. Hall
This story tells about a child’s view on these holidays and how she feels and what she sees during these holidays such as the leaves changing and the air turns crisp and cool. Rosh Hashanah is the time Hebrews celebrate New Year’s and Yom Kippur is the celebration of “Day of Atonement” and is a day for people to atone for their sins.
Some questions to ask after reading the book:
- What is Yom Kippur?
- What is Rosh Hashanah?
- When do these holidays occur?
2. Vocabulary: Have students complete the word worksheet below. They will unscramble words they have learned from the book you have read together. Then they will try to making as many words as they can from the words Rosh Hashanah.
3. Math Skills: Have students practice math skills by completing worksheet 2 below. Math word problems will include related topics from the book. The students will also come up with their own word problem.
4. Geography: Where is Israel? Explain to children that Jewish and Hebrew people come from Israel. Print out outlines of Israel and hand out a map to each child. Have students mark down important cities, rivers, etc.
In our next part of the lesson we will look at more creative ideas for teaching these Jewish holidays. Some of these creative ideas will come from art, music, and poetry.
Worksheets
This post is part of the series: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Lesson Plan
This two part lesson plan will allow students to apply various skills including math, literacy, and creative skills such as art and music. At the end of this lesson studnets will understand th eimportance of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
