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What We Believe - Teaching Tips
Three stories are offered here to enhance the material in the Jewish Way of Life CD-Rom and to extend the activities it contains. All three stories are from a genre of Jewish literature that is comparable to parable and allegory. (Neither of these terms appears in the material for pupils to use but they might be familiar with ‘parable’ and you might consider introducing some or all of these terms.) The first two texts are retellings of ancient stories that are well known in the Jewish tradition; the third is a modern creation in a similar style. Each story explores one or more of the themes in the ‘What we believe’ chapter: God; prayer; Jewish actions and values; Torah; and Israel.
You do not need to use all three stories or even any of them. They relate to the material in the Jewish Way of Life CD-Rom and they also stand alone. To match the material to your pupils’ aptitudes and interests, you can amend the wording of the stories, as well as the notes, questions and activities for pupils. For example, you might wish to raise or lower the register of language. You might like to alter the format, too, such as by adding or removing images.
The text of each story is accompanied by a box of notes for pupils on the context of the story. There are also questions for discussion, or individual responses through writing or artwork. You are free to customise the notes and questions.
The Fox and the Fish
This is effectively a story within a story. Rabbi Akiva was a historic figure and this is a retelling of a story he told and explained. He used a well established and favoured form of storytelling that here has greater immediacy through the political considerations that necessitated Rabbi Akiva speaking in code.
The story lends itself well to pupils’ appreciation of the significance of the Torah for Jews. It might also be appropriate for you (especially in connection with question 6) to engage older pupils in a discussion or debate on the circumstances in which it might be justifiable to break school or classroom rules!
[Download (DOC)]A Dream of a Place
This is also a traditional story, retold in contemporary language. It treats the matter of the location of the first Temple, built by King Solomon in Jerusalem. (It was also the location of the second Temple.) It encapsulates a link between worship and loving-kindess.
Because of the ‘twist’ at the end of the story, it is valuable to read it aloud and to interrupt the reading by asking pupils to anticipate what is going to happen next—particularly after each of the brother’s speeches.
Following the text of the retelling of the story, there is a version for the cloze procedure. There are no ‘right or wrong answers’. All answers are good as long as they make sense. You can use the cloze procedure orally by reading the story aloud and, when reaching a blank, making a ‘blank’ noise and inviting suggestions. Then carrying out to check if the suggestion was valid. If using this as a written exercise, you may wish to make it more accessible by filling in some of the blanks (from the full version) or providing a word field (with or without red herrings).
The Olive Tree
This is a freshly created story in a traditional style. It is the most open-ended of all the three stories here and therefore the most demanding. It was written as an exploration of exile and return but pupils have seen it as pointing to other phenomena, such as relationships between different generations within a family or community and also as traditions surviving into the modern age or being revived.