A (PURIM) Feast for the Mind
For grades 5-12
Teacher's Guide
Students research Megillat Esther and Ancient Persia in order to plan
and hold a dinner party for the heroes and villains of the Purim story. Generally, schools teach about Purim in one of two ways: a textual study of Megillat Esther or a survey of the halakhot and minhagim pertaining to the holiday. This WebQuest provide students with a fun opportunity to use their creative talents in conjunction with the development of research and analysis skills.
1. The Purim story as written in Megillat Esther.
2. The historical context of the Purim story.
1. Explore Ancient Persian society through the text of Megillat Esther.
2. Infer information about characters in the Purim story through the text of Megillat Esther.
3. Use online resources and books to research Ancient Persia.
4. Apply that knowledge to the dinner party conversation.
The WebQuest can be implemented as part of the Judaic Studies program
(either during a class set aside for the study of the Jewish holidays or during a Bible lesson). Additionally, it can be integrated into an Ancient History class, in which context students would be required to do substantial research of Ancient Persia, beyond the scope of what is available on the Internet.
The quality of the dinner party conversation will depend on the research skills of the students. High school students should be encouraged to study the various commentaries on Megillat Esther and include these interpretations in dinner party conversation.
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Decorating ideas:
photocopy/print pictures of Ancient Persian coins, shards of pottery to
decorate the classroom; drape colored sheets in the classroom.
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Students of Persian descent should be encouraged to ask
their parents about Persian cookery.
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Invite other classes to watch the dinner party.
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Complement the dinner party with a trip to a museum
that has an exhibit on Ancient Persia.
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Hold the dinner party on Purim or Shushan Purim.
To see photographs of another school implementing the webquest, click here.
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© Chana German for The Lookstein Center, 2003.