Activity Overview
Holidays are incredibly significant in religion, and highlight stories, seasons, or other significant aspects of a religion. Many Jewish holidays celebrate important moments in their people's history. In this activity, students will create a spider map highlighting the major holidays celebrated by the Jewish people. They should describe the significance of each holiday and create an illustration to help summarize what it is and how it is practiced.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Due Date:
Objective: Create a spider map focusing on 3-5 different major holidays in Judaism.
Student Instructions:
- Click "Start Assignment".
- Identify at least three major Jew holidays and write their name in the title box.
- For each cell write 1-3 sentence descriptions about each holiday explaining its significance.
- Create an illustration that represents each holiday using appropriate scenes, characters, symbols or items.
- Save and exit when you're done.
Requirements: Minimum of 3 cells showcasing different major holidays celebrated by Jewish people. Appropriate scenes to illustrate each cell. 1-3 sentence description for each cell demonstrating your understanding.
Lesson Plan Reference
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient | Emerging | Beginning | Needs Improvement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identification of Holiday | All holidays are correctly identified and are significant to the religion. | Most holidays are correctly identified. | Most significant holidays are missing, incomplete, or incorrect. | No holidays are correctly identified. |
| Descriptions | Descriptions accurately explain the holiday and highlight its significance. | Descriptions mostly accurately and explain the holidays' significance. | Descriptions contain inaccuracies in their explanations, or do not highlight the holidays' significance. | Descriptions are missing or too minimal to score. |
| Illustrations | Illustrations include appropriate scenes, characters and items that accurately represent the holiday and reflect time, effort, thought, and care. | Illustrations are mostly accurate and reflect time and effort. | Illustrations are somewhat inaccurate and show minimal effort, time, and care. | Illustrations are inaccurate or inappropriate and are missing too many elements or are too minimal to score. |
| English Conventions | There are no errors in spelling, grammar, or mechanics throughout the storyboard. All writing portions reflect careful proofreading. | There are a few errors in spelling, grammar, and mechanics throughout the storyboard. All writing portions show accuracy and some proofreading. | There are several errors in spelling, grammar, and mechanics throughout the storyboard. Most writing portions do not reflect proofreading or accuracy. | Errors in spelling, grammar, and mechanics in writing portions of the storyboard seriously interfere with communication. |
How To Help Students Prepare Holiday Themed Charts
Introduce the Concept of Holidays
Begin by conducting a general discussion on holidays and why different kinds of holidays are celebrated all over the world. Make distinctions between religious holidays, cultural holidays, and national or country-based holidays. Explain to the students that holidays are usually celebrated because of a significant event that usually occurred in the past on the same date.
Choose a Holiday
Explain to the students that they will be making a holiday-themed chart based on their favorite holidays. Give freedom of choice to students to pick one holiday according to their own interests. For instance, students to like Christmas can make a Christmas-themed chart explaining the origin, the purpose, and the festivities of the holiday.
Foster Creativity
Encourage the students to be as creative as they want with their charts. Students can use different colors, symbols, and visuals for their charts. Students can also create storyboards or spider maps to relay this information and use hand-drawn visuals to give the chart an interesting and different look.
Encourage Collaboration
Students who have picked the same holidays can work together to expand on each other’s ideas and build on one another’s creativity. Another way students can collaborate on this activity is to compare, contrast, or connect each other’s chosen holidays. For instance, if one student has chosen Christmas and another one has chosen Hanukkah, they can each make individual charts on their chosen holidays and collaborate on the comparison.
Display and Present
Once the students are done with their charts, encourage them to display their charts and give a five-minute presentation of their holiday using the chart in front of the class. The students will be able to learn about multiple holidays in this way and analyze each other’s findings.
Frequently Asked Questions About Important Jewish Holidays
What is the significance of Rosh Hashanah?
The High Holy Days officially begin on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Occurring in September or early October, this holiday marks the season of joy, reflection, and redemption.
What is a Hanukkah?
The eight-day festival of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, honors the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. It entails playing games, lighting the menorah, and giving and receiving presents. The festival is celebrated for eight days in honor of the miracle due to which the lamp oil lasted for eight days in the past.
What is Sukkot?
The holiday of Sukkot, also called the Feast of Tabernacles, honors the harvest and remembers the Israelites' wanderings in the desert. It entails constructing sukkahs, which are transient buildings, and living in them.
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