Lihitraot Lot! Avraham and Lot Separate, Part 2

40 min.
Grades: 1-2
Lesson Plan

Students act out the events of the text and learn about compromise.

Lesson objectives

The student will be able to:
1. Describe how the shepherds of Avram and Lot were fighting.
2. Describe how each shepherd felt his cattle did not have enough land on which to graze.
3. Relate how Avram expressed concern about family fights and offered a compromise.
4. Explain that Lot decided to choose a direction to travel, and Avram chose the opposite way.
5. Describe how Lot chose Jordan, towards Sodom. Avram made his way toward Canaan. They separated.
6. Describe compromise.

Skills

The student will be able to:
1. Identify a list of common Biblical vocabulary.
2. Identify the roots (shorashim) of common Biblical words.
3. Read the verses with understanding.

Values

The student will be able to:
Appreciate the value of compromise as seen in this story of Avram and Lot.

Resources & Equipment needed

Vocabulary binder/workbook, pens/pencil, cup or bag or something to collect small pieces of paper, worksheets

Procedure

1. Review – Student Pair Reading and Acting. Pair the students. Each pair of students should read and act the section out themselves, while you circulate to clarify issues and help slower children. Students should be more familiar with words and meanings by now.

2. Classroom discussion. Ask the students: What lessons can be learned from Avraham and Lot? List all student responses on board, asking students to put their ‘thumbs up or thumbs down’ to indicate agreement or disagreement with peers’ responses. Draw asterisks next to most practical and agreed upon response.

3. Tell the class that COMPROMISE is getting a little of what you want and giving up a little of what you want to make someone else happy. Compromise is necessary to live with one another, even if you don’t always get along.

4. Draw a chart on board called COMPROMISE. The chart should consist of two columns: one column should be “got what he wanted” and the second column should be “didn’t get what he wanted” Ask students how Avram and Lot got what they wanted and also gave up what they wanted. Under the first column write “Avram got place to graze”, “His shepherds stopped fighting”, etc. Under the second column write “Maybe it wasn’t the area he wanted”, “He had to separate from Lot, the only family he had on the way”, etc.

5. In pairs or alone, ask students to think of other examples where they have had to compromise. They must write down in their example how they received a little of what they wanted and how they had to give up what they wanted. Collect the examples in a cup/bowl/bag.

6. Pull out one of the examples and read it to the class. Discuss the issue as a class. Ask,“how is this compromise? Who compromised to whom? How did both sides get what they wanted and what did they have to give up?” Call up a student and pull another response from the bag/cup. Repeat discussion. Repeat one or two more times.

7. Homework: There are two homework sheets (see appendix). Vocabulary Worksheet – Explain to the class that in the verses read, many words were repeated in different forms. They all share the same root (shoresh) but they have different prefixes and suffixes. Sequencing worksheet – Explain the instructions and tell the students that if they do a good job, you will hang up their pictures.

8. Teacher Assessment: After completing the lesson plans and collecting, reviewing and discussing the homework, ask yourself the following questions: Did I achieve the aims that I set myself in this lesson (content, skills, values)? What was successful in these lessons? What was unsuccessful? Which techniques did I enjoy using? What would I do differently if I were to teach this again? Which students enjoyed acting, which drawing, and which oral questioning? This is good information to know for group work (one student skilled in each intelligence should be grouped together) and for developing future lesson plans.

9. Review homework next day (see appendix for answers).