Lesson Objective:
Review the Ten Commandments
Understand the importance of honouring your parents
Lesson Outcome:
By the end of the lesson, the children will have thought about what they do to help their family.
Resources:
The Ten Commandments
Joseph and His Brothers Story
Parental Responsibility
Siddur Lev Chadash page 563
Introduction
- The Ten Commandments – Ask children to recall as many of the Ten Commandments as they can. Combine the lists so that all of the Commandments are displayed. Discuss Commandments and place them in to two columns; Life Cycle and God (note that children may feel that some might overlap)
Main Teaching
- Joseph and His Brothers – Read the story of Joseph and his brothers and ask the children to identify which commandments haven’t been followed. In the story the brothers do not respect Jacob-they do not honour their parents.
- Honouring your Parents – Discuss what it means to honour one’s family. Reflect with your students why it is important to honour family? In what ways can children honour their parents and their family?
- Parents and Children – Children to make a list of things that they believe parents should do for a child and the things a child should do for a parent. Children to work in pairs or small groups to find as many things as they can think of. Bring class together and divide the board up to show what parents need to do for babies, young children, teenagers, young adults and adults. Similarly, what children need to do for parents at different ages.
- Parental Responsibility – Read and discuss the rabbinic interpretations about parental responsibility. Do children think they are fair? Do children think that they are relevant today? What other responsibilities might the children add?
Activity
- Option 1: Helping your Family – Children to draw pictures of their family members. Add annotations (in the form of speech bubbles or sentences) to explain how they help you and you help them. Extend to pets, grandparents and friends if you wish.
Example: My mum helps me by making my packed lunch for school. I help my mum by hovering my room once a week. - Option 2: Make a Pledge – Children to make pledges to their parents in the form of a poster, letter or poem. Children to explain why they are pledging to do these things (i.e. because their parents are important to them and bought them into this world).
Example: I pledge to tidy up my room every week
Example: I pledge to walk the dog after school
Plenary
- Parental or Mutual Blessing – Read the blessing over the children on page 563 of Siddur Lev Chadash. Children to read/listen in Hebrew and then the English translation. Discuss the importance of the prayer and why it is recited every Shabbat.