CHAPTER FIVE

PESACH – PASSOVER

1 BACKGROUND

Passover, one of the three pilgrim festivals, is the most ancient of all Jewish festivals. The story of Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) is told in the Bible in Chapter 12 of the Book of Exodus. It begins with the death of Joseph and the rise of a new Egyptian Pharaoh. Bible scholars believe this new Pharaoh was Ramses II. The death of Joseph brings in an era of slavery for the Isralites. The festival celebrates the flight of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, probably in the 1200's B.C.E. This flight was led by Moses.

The celebration of the holiday begins after sundown on the 14th day of Nissan, the first month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year. Most Jews celebrate Passover for eight days, but Jews in Israel, and Reform Jews in other countries, celebrate it for seven days. It is a religious, national and agricultural festival.

The central activity of the Pesach celebration is the telling of the story of the Exodus to future generations. Jewish families gather in their homes at a ceremonial feast called the Seder. At the Seder, the story of the flight of the Israelites is read from a book called the Haggadah. The Haggadah not only tells the story of Passover, but also tells exactly how to run the seder. In addition, foods symbolizing the flight from Egypt are placed on the table and referred to in the Haggadah. The most important symbol is unleavened bread called matzah. According to the Bible, when the Israelites fled, they did not have time to let their bread rise. They made flat, unleavened bread instead. Therefore, Jews eat matzot instead of ordinary leavened bread during Passover. Another example of a prescribed food symbolizing an aspect of the ordeal undergone by the Hebrews during their enslavement in Egypt is horseradish. This signifies the bitterness of the experience. A mixture of chopped nuts and apples in wine (called Haroset in Hebrew) symbolizes the building mortar used by the Hebrew slaves in their forced labour.

There are four names for this festival. The name Pesach (Passover) is derived from the instructions given to Moses by G-d (Exodus 12:3-17).

In order to encourage the Egyptians to allow the Hebrews to leave Egypt, G-d intends to “smite all the first-born ... both man and beast” in the land. To protect themselves, the Hebrews are told to mark their dwellings with lamb's blood so that G-d can identify and thus pass over them. The word Passover also refers to the transition (passing over) of the Israelites from slavery to freedom.

Two other names relate to the national aspect of the holiday. It is also called Hag Ha’Matzot, the holiday of unleavened bread, since we are forbidden to eat any leavened food. Another name for Passover is Z’man Heiruteinu, the season of our liberation, since the story revolves around the Exodus from Egypt and the transition from slavery to freedom. Yet another name reflects the agricultural aspect of the holiday. Passover is also called Hag Ha Aviv, the Festival of Spring, since it takes place between late March and mid-April.

Reflecting the agricultural aspects of the festival are the counting of the omer and the prayer for dew. Omer is a Hebrew word which refers to a specific measure of grain. Barley is the first grain to ripen in Spring. The Torah instructs Jews to harvest the first omer of barley at the end of the first day of Passover and bring it to the Temple as an offering. Beginning on this night 49 days are counted (this is called the counting of the omer) and on the 50th day the festival of Shavuot begins. Passover marks the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the dry season. During the long hot summer, dew is important as it provides moisture for plant life. A prayer for dew is said on the first morning of the Passover festival and recited every day until Succot when rain is prayed for.

It is important that you read the introduction in order to put the activities that follow in their correct framework.

2 LEXICAL ITEMS

Joseph, Moses, Pharaoh, Seder, matzah, afikoman, Elijah’s cup, Haggadah, Seder plate, haroset, shank bone, egg, karpas (green vegetable), maror (bitter herb), four questions, ten plagues.

Ideas for different levels

Grade 4: Passover word search with clues. Optional - provision of word bank.

Grade 5: The ten plagues word search with or without word bank.

Grade 6: Passover story word search. Each word can be used in a sentence. The word search can also be used in conjunction with the story cloze in the activities section.

Answers to the Passover word search :

1. Passover, 2. Matzah, 3. Seder, 4. Haggadah, 5. Bitter herbs, 6. Ten plagues, 7. Moses, 8. Pharaoh.

Activity Passover Word Search

In the word search below you have words going in all directions:

There are 8 things all related to

the title PASSOVER.

Here are clues to help you find the missing words.

1. On ____________ we do not eat bread.

2. Instead of bread we eat ____________ .

3. We eat a special meal called a ____________ .

4. At the seder table we read the ____________ .

5. We also eat ____________ . (2 words)

6. We hear about the ____________ . (2 words)

7. We hear about ____________ who brought our people out of Egypt.

8. Moses asked the ____________ to “Let My People Go.”

L K X O R F S E D E R T

B J Q H F F P E Q Y O E

A Y Q W G S B J V H N N

B I T T E R H E R B S P

H H N S H Z C H U J R L

A S O D E O A C I C C A

Z M B K C G A N T N J G

T H C A G N A R I G J U

A B X A W U E R A J C E

M Y D G Y P E N G H L S

K A R E V O S S A P P C

H T I C M S J J V J P I

Word bank: bitter herbs, haggadah, matzah, Moses, Passover, Pharaoh, seder, ten plagues.

Activity The ten plagues word search.

In the word search below you will find the 10 plagues going in all directions:

How many can you find? Can you put them in the correct order?

S E Z P L G K Q B Y N Y D B R N N

C G I M I U G U Q E Y H M E N B R

P X O K A C Y X V K N X V A O T O

K O R R H L S H T L B I S S R G B

V Q G V F L Y X L X N G E T L A T

D F V H F U U O Y E J S B S K J S

D A R K N E S S C U A C M U V L R

K X U I Z C W I N E H V O V K O I

S L I O B G L P S L W X B B F F F

K H S Z K S J I P G M N U P M K E

T M C B B I D P S C H I R W H A H

F Y L R N E Q O I F X D B Y G T T

W S V O L K D Y G C M C K C L M F

W F C T C U Y L Y R H S M L F Q O

U E T B B U P Z T U F E L L K E H

A A V L K K S C G R I I L G D O T

C Q O D D K R T R S A U Q C K I A

F O I T Z O A R S G Q M O D X G E

D Z N K B J D J Y R N P F D R S D

Word bank.

The plagues are: beasts, blood, boils, cattle disease, darkness, death of the first born, frogs, hail, lice, locusts.

Activity Passover Story Word Search

In the word search below you have 15 words going in all directions:

The words all relate to the story

of Passover.

P E S A O M N H H J S W F C I

Z D P E L A Y B K D W Q D D T

M H U S S S R E D S E A C T K

T R E S E D R E D E S F L Y K

W V I H D N M R H O G S T K F

O N O E T O B A Q H K E J J O

W F E H S X D K D W W K U W R

D M R E Q A V W L H F P P E T

S E S E G O S M H L I G H R Y

N L R G E Y S N F A Z P A B E

U F A A K D P U C C L Y R E G

G H D R V J O T D A L D A H O

E S L A V E S M G O H V O Y W

U S C Z W M F U T K X S H L P

P R O M I S E D R S X E V G K

D V R G M S D V Y F A J U G I

Use each word in a sentence. Each sentence must be about the Passover story.

Word bank : desert, Egypt, Exodus, forty, freedom, Haggadah, Hebrew, Moses, Nissan, Pharaoh, plagues, Promised, Red Sea, Seder, slaves

3 SONGS

When Israel was in Egypt's Land

When Israel was in Egypt's land

Let my people go,

They worked so hard they could not stand,

Let my people go.

Chorus:

Go down Moses,

Way down in Egypt's land,

Tell old Pharaoh,

To let my people go.

"Thus spoke the lord", bold Moses said,

"Let my people go,

If not, I'll smite your people dead,

Let my people go".

Matzah Ball Soup. (Tune: 10 little Indians)

1 little, 2 little, 3 little, matzah balls
4 little, 5 little, 6 little, matzah balls
7 little, 8 little, 9 little, matzah balls
Ten cheers for matzah ball soup!

Elijah. (Tune: "Maria")

Elijah!
I just saw the prophet Elijah.
And suddenly that name
Will never sound the same to me.
Elijah!
He came to our seder
Elijah!
He had his cup of wine,
But could not stay to dine
This year--
Elijah!
For your message all Jews are waiting:
That the time's come for peace and not hating--
Elijah--
Next year we'll be waiting.
Elijah!

Just a Tad of Charoset. (Tune: "Just a spoon full of sugar")

Chorus: This is repeated after each verse.

Just a tad of charoset helps the bitter herbs go down,
The bitter herbs go down, the bitter herbs go down.
Just a tad of charoset helps the bitter herbs go down,
In the most disguising way.

1. Oh, back in Egypt long ago,
The Jews were slaves under Pharoh.
They sweat and toiled and labored through the day.
So when we gather pesach night,
We do what we think right.
Maror, we chew,
To feel what they went through.

2. So after years of slavery
They saw no chance of being free.
Their suffering was the only life they knew.
But baby Moses grew up tall,
And said he'd save them all.
He did, and yet,
We swear we won't forget.
That......

3. While the maror is being passed,
We all refill our water glass,
Preparing for the taste that turns us red.
Although maror seems full of minuses,
It sure does clear our sinuses.
But what's to do?
It's hard to be a Jew!!!

4 ACTIVITIES

Title: Song Cloze.

Level: Grade 4/5/6.

Materials: Song words, Cloze -there are 2 versions to cater for level of difficulty. I suggest grade 4 use the first version (title in capitals).

Aims:

-to familiarize the pupils with the sound of the language.

-to use and practise listening skills (listening for a particular word).

Description:

The pupils first listen to the song (the teacher can either sing or use a tape).

The teacher hands out a copy of the song with several words missing.

The song is read through with the word “Passover” used every time there is a blank. (The method here is dependent on the level of reading in the class. Refer back to the explanation given for the song cloze activity in chapter 2 Hagei Tishrei-Rosh Hashannah.)

The pupils listen once more to the song and fill in the missing words.

The teacher corrects. (The full version of the song is on page 103.)

The song is sung together.

Activity Let my people go!

When __________ was in Egypt's __________

Let my __________ go,

They worked so hard they could not __________,

Let my _________ ___________.

Chorus:

Go down Moses,

Way down in __________ land,

Tell __________ Pharaoh,

To __________ my people go.

"__________ spoke the lord", bold Moses said,

"Let my __________ __________,

If not, I'll smite your __________ dead,

Let __________ __________ __________".

LET MY PEOPLE GO

When Israel was in Egypt's land

Let my people __________,

They worked so hard they could not stand,

Let my __________ __________.

Chorus:

Go down Moses,

Way down in Egypt's land,

Tell old Pharaoh,

To let __________ __________ __________.

"Thus spoke the lord", bold Moses said,

"__________ __________ people go,

If not, I'll smite your people dead,

__________ __________ __________ __________".

Title: Code work.

Level: Grade 3.

Materials: Pictures of apple, egg, eggplant, glasses, lion, nest, pencil, sandwich, tree, umbrella,

Aims:

-to revise lexical items apple, egg, eggplant, glasses, lion, nest, pencil, sandwich, tree, umbrella.

-to practise sound-letter co-ordination.

Description:

Go over the lexical items with the pupils. These should all be items that you have presented during the year. You can substitute alternative items if you wish. For each item ask the pupils what the first letter is. Each segment should involve the following interaction between teacher (T) and pupil(P)

T: What is this?

P: It’s a tree

T: Good. Who can tell me what’s the first letter you hear?

P: T

Then place the pictures on the board in the following order:

tree, eggplant, nest,

pencil, lion, apple, glasses, umbrella, egg, sandwich

Ask the pupils to write the first letter of the name of each item in the pictures.

After they have discovered “TEN PLAGUES” you can talk about the festival.

Title: Passover fun.

Level: Grade 3.

Materials: Pictures or items of haggadah, bottle of wine, tablecloth, matzah, egg, glass

Aims:

-to practise sound letter correspondence

-to practise letter formation

Description:

Hold up a haggadah and ask the pupils “What is this?” “When do we use it?” Do the same with each item eliciting some information about the item and its’ relation to Passover.

Then have the pupils number a page from 1 to 10. Call or show an item and have the pupils write the first letter of the word. Each time use the word in a sentence. Correct their work by writing on the board the words you called. (Words to call: 1. bottle 2. egg 3. glass 4. Haggadah

5. matzah 6. red 7. seder 8. tablecloth 9. white 10. wine ).

Have the pupils notice that the words were written in alphabetical order. Finish this activity by having the pupils copy the words onto a piece of paper – if you wrote the words on the blackboard in lower case have the pupils copy in upper case, and if you wrote the words in upper case have the pupils copy in lower case.

Title: Passover actions.

Level: Grade 4.

Materials: Worksheet.

Aims:

-to revise knowledge and lexical items about Passover.

-to practise reading.

Description:

Hold up a haggadah and ask the pupils “What is this?” “When do we

use it? Tell the pupils that the class is going to talk about what you do on Passover. Call on a volunteer to act out a sentence. (I normally give the students the sentence to read, but you can whisper it to them). When the class has guessed write the verb on the blackboard. When all 8 sentences have been acted out, have the students copy the list of verbs in alphabetical order into their notebooks. Then hand out the worksheet.

Activity What do we do at Passover?

· Read these sentences.

We ask the four questions.

We clean the table.

We drink four glasses of wine.

We eat matzot.

We hide the Afikomen

We open the door for Elijah.

We read the Haggadah.

We sit at the table.

· Arrange.

Now put these sentences in order of what we do on seder night.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

· Illustrate.

Choose at least one of the sentences and draw a picture to explain it.

Title: A Passover listening activity.

Level: Grade 4.

Materials: The items themselves or pictures (bottle cloth glass haggadah matzah plate Seder table tablecloth white wine) and flashcards of the items.

Aims:

-to practise listening skills.

-to reinforce lexical items (bottle cloth glass haggadah matzah plate Seder table tablecloth white wine).

Description:

Start the lesson with a question “What do you find on a seder table?” Elicit the items you have brought. Make sure the pupils know the items, and can read the flashcards.

Do the listening activity. (Read the text once. Hand out exercise, explain what has to be done and allow several minutes for pupils to complete it. Read the text again so pupils can check their own work. Collect pupil work.)

Text:

It is Pesach. The seder table is ready. There is a tablecloth on the table. It is a white tablecloth. There is a bottle of wine on the table. It is a big bottle. The wine is red. There are glasses on the table. There are also plates on the table. The plates are round. They are blue. There is a haggadah next to each plate. There is a seder plate on the table. The seder plate is round. The seder plate is big. It is blue. There is a big plate of matzah.

Activity THE PESACH TABLE Name:_________________

Tick (√ ) the correct column to complete the sentence. You may tick more than one column.

	blue	Red	White	big	round
The tablecloth is
The bottle is
The wine is
The plates are
The seder plate is

Title: Timed guided writing.

Level: Grade 4/5.

Materials: Individual questions (you need a question for each pupil – this means if you have 28 students in your class, you will need to make 7 copies of each question), worksheet.

Aims:

-to engage the students in social interaction.

-to have students practise writing.

-to present the results of the activity in a visual form.

Description:

Teacher gives each student a question to which they have to write an answer in their notebook. Instruct pupils to write very short answers. After a minute tell students to pass their question to their neighbour. In this way each pupil has a new question to answer. Answering and passing on the question is repeated four times (each pupil has answered all four questions.)

Let students get into groups and discuss their answers.

Record their answers in terms of numbers e.g. 20 pupils like a large seder and 15 like a small seder.

Hand out the worksheet for each student to complete.

Completed worksheets can be placed in the pupil's portfolio.

Questions to make copies of:

Do you like a large seder with many people or a small one?

Are you having Seder night in your house this year?

Have you ever been to a kibbutz for a seder?

Which is your favourite song in the Seder service?

Worksheet to make copies of:

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS BY FILLING IN THE SPACES. SOMETIMES YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR ANSWER FROM THE BRACKETS.

Do you like a large seder with many people or a small one?

I like a ________ seder with _______ (many / a few) people.

Are you having Seder night in your house this year?

__________ (Yes I am / No I’m not) having the seder in my house this year.

Have you ever been to a kibbutz for a seder?

________ I _____ (have / have never) been to a kibbutz for the seder.

Which is your favourite song in the Seder service?

My favourite seder song is ________________

MORE QUESTIONS.

Do you like Passover? Try and say why or why not?

Write some sentences to describe your seder.

Make a chart to show your classes answers to the questions.

Title: Quiz time.

Level: Grade 4/5.

Materials: Sentence strips, worksheet

Aims:

- to revise and practise lexical items connected to the story of Passover.

Description:

Begin the lesson with a brainstorming activity. Elicit from the pupils the answers they will need to complete the quiz sentences (Passover, matzah, Moses, seder, Egypt, wine, desert, spring). Make sure they are written clearly on the blackboard.

Have a pupil read a sentence strip and stick it on the blackboard. Repeat the sentence and have the pupils repeat. Do this with all 8 sentence strips.

Remove the sentence strips and hand out the worksheets.

SENTENCE STRIPS. (These can be enlarged or rewritten)

1. Every year at Passover we remember that we were slaves.

2. During Passover we eat matzah.

3. Moses took us out of Egypt.

4. We read the Haggadah around the Seder table.

5. We were slaves in Egypt.

6. During the seder we drink four glasses of wine.

7. After we left Egypt we wandered in the desert.

8. Passover is in the Spring.

Activity sheet PASSOVER QUIZ TIME

WRITE THE ANSWERS IN THE SPACE. LOOK AT THE BLACKBOARD FOR HELP.

1. Passover is in the ________.

2. Every year at ____________ we remember that we were slaves.

3. We were slaves in ___________.

4. __________ took us out of Egypt.

5. After we left Egypt we wandered in the __________.

6. During Passover we eat __________.

7. We read the Haggadah around the __________ table.

8. During the seder we drink four glasses of __________.

NOW WRITE YOUR ANSWERS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.

TRY AND MAKE A WORD SEARCH OR A CROSSWORD PUZZLE WITH THESE WORDS.

Title: Why is this night different?

Level: Grade 4/5.

Materials: Copy of title question and worksheet.

Aims:

-to practise lexical items connected to the festival.

- to practise reading and comprehension skills.

Description:

Put the activity title on the blackboard and ask the pupils “Which night is being asked about?” Elicit answers from the pupils. Make sure the following words get put on the blackboard (matzah, bread, vegetable, dip, sitting, reclining, bread, bitter herbs, once, twice)

Give pupils the worksheet and explain what they have to do.

Correct. The worksheet can be placed in their portfolio.

Activity Why is this night different?

Read the sentences below. Put them in the correct column. Write neatly and don’t forget capital letters and full stops.

We all recline.

We dip the bitter herbs twice.

We do not dip our vegetables even once.

We eat any vegetable.

We eat bitter herbs.

We eat bread and matzah.

We eat either sitting up or reclining.

We only eat matzah.

Seder night

Regular night

Title: Identity card for Moses.

Level: Grade 4/5.

Materials: Poster of completed identity card and activity card.

Aims:

-to practise alphabetical order.

-to practise letter formation by copying names.

Description:

Write the word MOSES on the blackboard. Develop a list of words related to the story of Moses. Elicit names – Amram, Yocheved, Aaron, Miriam, Zippora. Elicit events related to Moses’ story.

Have the pupils copy into their notebooks the six names (Moses, Amram, Yocheved, Aaron, Miriam, Zippora.) in alphabetical order.

Have the pupils complete an identity card for Moses. The completed card should look like this:

Name: Moses

Born: Adar 7, 2368

Father: Amram

Mother: Yocheved

Brother: Aaron

Sister: Miriam

Wife: Zipporah

Activity Identity card for Moses.

Name:

Born: Adar 7, 2368

Father:

Mother:

Brother:

Sister:

Wife:

Title: The Pesach Story Cloze.

Level: Grade 5.

Materials : Cloze.

Aims:

-to revise the Passover story.

-to practise reading skills.

Description:

Start the class with a brainstorming activity. Elicit lexical items and the events of the story.

Dictate the following words. (Explain to your pupils that they have to write down the following words without talking and without asking questions. Explain that you will read the word out, use the word in a sentence and then read the word again.) Words: drown; first; Israel; Haggadah; matzah; Pharoah; red; Seder; slaves; plagues.

Write the words on the blackboard and let pupils check their own work.

Let the dictation list be the word bank and hand out the cloze for the pupils to do.

Activity A Passover cloze.

Read the following paragraph and fill in the missing words. Use your dictation words to help you.

The Children of __________ are __________ in Egypt. Moses and Aaron ask Pharoah to let them go, but _________ refuses. G-d sends ten _________ to the Egyptians. The tenth plague is the killing of the _________ born. After this plague Pharoah agrees to let the Children of Israel go. They leave Egypt very quickly and cross the _________ Sea. The Egyptians follow them and _________. To remember the story of Passover we read the _________ at the _________ table and eat _________.

Answers to cloze; Israel, slaves, Pharoah, plagues, first, Red, drown, Haggadah, seder, matzah.

Title: Building sentences.

Level: Grade 5/6

Materials: Substitution worksheet.

Aims:

-to revise/reinforce lexical items related to the holiday.

-to practise using correct language structures (verb forms).

Description:

Begin lesson with a brainstorming session to elicit lexical items related to what one does at Passover.

Then give the pupils one of the substitution exercises and let them build sentences.

Correct by having pupils read out their answers.

Activity Choose a word or phrase from each column and write at

least 5 sentences.

In column 3 make sure you add “s” or “es” when needed.

1 2 3 4

Before Passover During Passover On the seder night During the Passover vacation

I Mother father my brother we my friends

ask buy clean do not eat drink eat go hide play read wash

to Tel Aviv . computer games. flowers. wine. the Haggadah. the afikoman. bread. matzot. the house. the windows. the four questions.

Activity Choose a word or phrase from each column and write at

least 5 sentences.

Before Passover During Passover On the seder night During the Passover vacation

I mother father my sister we my friends

have to has to

ask the 4 questions. buy a lot of food. buy flowers. clean the house. drink 4 cups of wine. eat bitter herbs. eat unleavened bread. finish homework. help mother. look for the Afikoman. read the Haggadah.

Title: Word arrangement.

Level: Grade 5/6.

Materials: Word flashcards and activity sheet (Passover order).

Aims:

-to practise both orally and in writing language structures of a sentence.

-to familiarize pupils with the story of the holiday.

Description:

Teacher puts the first group of flashcards on the blackboard ( were / They / slaves) and calls on the pupils to arrange them into a sentence. This is repeated with different groups of flashcards. Where necessary the teacher elicits and checks understanding. The number of sentences worked orally will depend on different factors in the class. (Classes with high noise levels are probably better off doing fewer examples orally and more in writing.)

The pupils complete the worksheet activity. (Passover order.)

After the teacher has corrected, the pupils can write up the story and place it in their portfolios.

Here are the FLASHCARDS. These can be enlarged and pasted on card, or you can make your own flashcards.

· were They slaves

· Egypt Jacob down went to

· Sea the They crossed Red

· “Let go” my people Moses said

· “Manna” in They desert ate the

· Egypt from G_d the rescued Jews

· of G_d brought Land the them to Israel

· years wandered desert They forty in the for

Answers for Passover order activity.

1. They were slaves.

2. Jacob went down to Egypt.

3. They crossed the Red Sea.

4. Moses said "Let my people go."

5. They ate "Manna" in the desert.

6. G-d rescued the Jews from Egypt.

7. G-d brought them to the Land of Israel.

8. They wandered in the desert for forty years.

Activity Passover order.

1. Arrange the words in each group in the correct order.

2. Write each sentence very neatly.

3. Check your work carefully for capital letters and full stops.

were /They /slaves

Egypt / Jacob / down / went / to

Sea / the / They / crossed / Red

“Let / go” /my / people / Moses / said

“Manna” / in / They / desert / ate / the

Egypt / from / G_d / the / rescued / Jews

of / G_d / brought / Land / the / them / to / Israel

years / wandered / desert / They / forty / in / the / for

Title: The Ten Plagues.

Level: Grade 5/6.

Materials: Haggadah and list of the ten plagues.

Aims:

-to practise alphabetical order.

-to practise reading skills.

Description:

Hold up a haggadah and ask the pupils “What is this?” “When do we use it?” Open the haggadah to the section with the plagues and hold it up or read the Hebrew and elicit from the pupils the term “ten plagues” Write it on the blackboard. Then give each pair of pupils an alphabetical listing of the plagues. Have them arrange them in order. Check their work and have them do the sentence completion exercise.

Place corrected activity in portfolio.

List of plagues to be arranged.

Please arrange this list of plagues according to the correct order.

beasts; blood; boils; cattle disease; darkness; death of the first born; frogs; hail; lice; locusts.

Activity

THE TEN PLAGUES

Can you complete these sentences?

Moses asked Pharoah to let the Jews go. However, __________ would not agree. It took ten _________ to make him agree. With the tenth plague he finally agreed to set the Jews free. The first plague changed the river to ________. The second sent millions of _________ like a flood. Then the Egyptians were bitten by ___________. After the lice _________ attacked, and then all their __________ died. The sixth plague brought painful _________. Next their crops were destroyed by _________ , and what was not destroyed was eaten by the __________ . The ninth plague brought ___________ to the land. Finally each Egyptian ____________ was killed.

Why weren’t the Jewish firstborn killed? (Hint – think about the name of the holiday.)

Title: The Pesach Story Cloze.

Level: Grade 6.

Materials: Cloze.

Aims:

-to revise the Passover story.

- to practise reading skills.

Description:

Start the class with a brainstorming activity. Elicit lexical items and the events of the story.

Hand out cloze and let students work. The cloze can be given at three levels – 1. The story only. 2. The story with the word search. 3. The story with a word bank.

Activity The Pesach Story Cloze

In the _________ month of _________ we celebrate Passover. At the _________ table we read from a book called the __________. We remember that the Jews were __________ in the land of __________ . ____________ kept the Jews oppressed and would not listen to __________ when he asked “Let my people go.” Ten __________ were brought down upon the land of Egypt and finally the Jews were able to leave. The parting of the ___________ __________ allowed the Jews to escape the Egyptians who were chasing after them. They reached the _________ where they wandered for ________ years before entering the ____________ Land. Every year we retell this story of the _________ and remind ourselves of the importance of _________.

Word Bank: desert Egypt Exodus forty

freedom Haggadah Hebrew Moses

Nissan Pharaoh plagues Promised

Red Sea Seder slaves

Word Search. You can find the words to fill into the story in the word search below. Words may appear forwards or backwards, horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Circle each word as you find it.

P E S A O M N H H J S W F C I

Z D P E L A Y B K D W Q D D T

M H U S S S R E D S E A C T K

T R E S E D R E D E S F L Y K

W V I H D N M R H O G S T K F

O N O E T O B A Q H K E J J O

W F E H S X D K D W W K U W R

D M R E Q A V W L H F P P E T

S E S E G O S M H L I G H R Y

N L R G E Y S N F A Z P A B E

U F A A K D P U C C L Y R E G

G H D R V J O T D A L D A H O

E S L A V E S M G O H V O Y W

U S C Z W M F U T K X S H L P

P R O M I S E D R S X E V G K

D V R G M S D V Y F A J U G I

Provide a title for this word search.

Title: A Passover writing activity.

Level: Grade 6.

Materials: Pen and paper.

Aims:

-to practise writing skills.

-to practise oral presentation of what they write.

Description:

Start the lesson with a brainstorming session about the festival.

Then have the pupils answer the following questions. See box below.

You can have them share their work in small groups and later in front of the whole class.

Pupils can rewrite their work and place in portfolio.

1. List three things you do before Passover.

2. How do you celebrate Passover?

3. Does your family have a special story or custom connected with Passover? If yes, tell about it.

4. Why do you like or dislike the Passover festival?

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