Topic: The people of the only God – ancient Israel

Target group

5th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

I. Ancient civilizations. Pupil:

2. locates civilizations of the ancient East (... Israel) in time and space;

3. characterizes (...) the religion of ancient Israel; explains the difference between polytheism and monotheism;

4. characterizes the most important achievements of the material and spiritual culture of the ancient world in various fields: philosophy, science, law, architecture, art, literature.

General aim of education

Students learn about the history of ancient Israel and the differences between polytheism and monotheism.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• characterize the basic symbols and main principles of Judaism;

• explain the difference between polytheism and monotheism;

• to describe the history of the dominant Israel.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. Students should know what polytheism is and know examples of polytheistic religions.

Introduction

1. The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

2. The teacher, referring to the knowledge acquired by students during previous lessons, asks for a reminder of the beliefs of ancient peoples. What were they characteristics? Students should mention the beliefs of the people of the Middle East and Egypt: their common feature was polytheism – many gods. By showing the difference between the Jews and the surrounding nations, the teacher introduces the concept of monotheism.

Realization

1. The teacher asks the students to recall where was the Fertile Crescent located (displays the map to the students). He asks students to point out the land of Canaan (Palestine) through deduction. The students should easily point it out on the map, eliminating the areas of Mesopotamia and Egypt.

2. The teacher asks the students how we can learn about the ancient history of those lands? Students should point to the Bible. The teacher can help students find answers by giving them hints, e.g. in the most popular book in the world; the holy book of one of the religions. Then he asks students to list their associations with biblical times. Students should mention the prophets – Abraham, Moses, Solomon, and events, such as the Flood, Egyptian and Babylonian captivity, the parting of the Red Sea, etc..

3. Referring to the students' proposals, the teacher briefly characterizes the oldest history of the Israelites, stressing that most of it is based on legends and conjectures due to the lack of historical sources and excavations. He talks about the beginnings of the Kingdom of Israel and its historical rulers: Saul, David and Solomon. The students arrange in a chronological order the events of the Jewish nation's history (** Exercise 1 **).

4. The teacher should pay special attention to the character of Jerusalem and its temple. Students get acquainted with the interactive illustration in ** Task 1 ** and answer the questions asked in it. At this point, the teacher can refer to the contemporary character of the city and show its multiculturality and significance for the three great monotheistic religions.

5. The symbol of the end of the Jewish presence in Palestine is the repeated destruction of the temple and their banishment from the promised land. The teacher explains the uniqueness of the Israelites who believed in one God, had separate religious principles and rules relating to everyday life, clothes, food, etc. The teacher introduces the concepts kosher, Sabbath.

6. The teacher asks students to look up the information about the symbols of Judaism and Jews (working in pairs), and then present their appearance and symbolism. Students should mention the Torah, menorah, Star of David, mezuzah and additionally tefillin and kipa (kippah).

7. The teacher provides feedback to the students during the exercises and tasks.

Summary

1. As a part of the repetition and consolidation of the lesson, students perform ** Task 2 ** (timeline) and ** Exercise 2 ** (text complement).

2. The teacher provides feedback and checks the correctness of completed tasks..

3. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare a self‑assessment questionnaire.

Homework

1. The teacher tasks willing students with homework: One of the most important rules of Judaism is the compliance with kosher principles by its followers. Look for what products are kosher and how kosher meals are prepared.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The people of the only God – ancient Israel

The first source to learn the history of the ancient Israelites is the first five books of the Old Testament, or Torah. In the most part, they consist of unsubstantiated stories of legendary patriarchs and prophets. According to the biblical tradition, Abraham, who left Mesopotamia and reached the land of Canaan, later called Palestine, is considered to be the forefather of the Jewish people. It was there where he made the covenant with God, in which he received the promise of numerous offspring and the state of his own, yet preceded by the period of enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt, which lasted for 400 years. According to tradition, Moses freed his people from slavery by leading them across the Red Sea due to its miraculous parting. After years of wandering, Moses led his people to God's promised land, making a covenant with him, under which the Israelites were to become the chosen people following the moral principles of the Ten Commandments written and offered by God on Stone Tablets.

As a result of the threat posed by neighbors, the 12 Jewish tribes living in dispersion decided to unite. The first king of Israel was Saul (around 1032 BC), however it was his successor, David, who finally conquered and consolidated the power of the Jews throughout Palestine. He established a new capital of the state in Jerusalem, which in time became the holiest city of judaism – the religion of the Jewish people. The successor of King David was Solomon. The ruler surrounded the capital with magnificent walls and built the first Temple in Jerusalem, in which the greatest relic, the Ark of the Covenant containing the Stone Tablets with the Ten Commandments, was placed.

In the 6th century BC Jerusalem was conquered by Babylonia, starting the so‑called period of Babylonian captivity. The next invaders were the Persians, the Greeks, and finally the Romans. Numerous uprisings against the occupiers ended in defeat and most often with destruction of Jerusalem. This was the case in the 1st and 2nd centuries, when the Israelites, defeated by the Romans, were forced to leave Palestine and live away from their homeland in diaspora. This continued until the middle of the 20th century, contributing to the strengthening of the sense of community among Jewish people, but also to their separation from others. They were distinguished not only by the monotheistic religion, but also by the rules of the kosher diet, their rituals, and celebration of the holy day – the Shabbat.

To this day, the symbols of Judaism and the state of Israel are considered to be the six‑armed star of David and the seven‑branched candle holder – menorah.