Lesson Plans:
Shavuot: The Shnei Luchot HaBrit – The Torah teaches us that the Ten Commandments were on two tablets (LuchotHaBrit). The Midrash offers two opinions as to what was written on each tablet. In this lesson, we will examine and try to understand why the tablets may have been split up in this manner.
Shavuot Customs in Words and Pictures
Ten Commandments – Old and New
Study of Historical Source: Shavuot Prayers, 1450
Water – Can’t Live Without It
Chag HaBikkurim (Festival of the First Fruits)
Primary Sources:
Shavuot
Shavuot Prayers, Rome Machzor, 1450
Girls Dancing in Shavuot Ceremony, Tel Aviv, 1970
Children Participating in a Play at a Shavuot Celebration, Tel Aviv, 1970
Bikkurim
Bringing Bikkurim to Jerusalem, 1730
Bikkurim Celebration, 20th Century
Bikkurim from the Children of the Diaspora, Olami HaKatan, 1936
Shavuot Celebration, Kibbutz Hazorea, 1953
Eating Dairy Foods
Osem Cheesecake and Menu for Shavuot
Tikkun Leil Shavuot
Tikkun for Shavuot Night, 1680
Why Do the Pious Stay Up All Night? 1963
Other Customs
Naomi and Ruth, Postcard, 1870
Das Wochen-oder Pfingst- Fest, Pentacost-Shavuot (Decorating with Greenery)
Postcard of Shavuot, Germany, Nineteenth Century (Decorating with Greenery)
Confirmations Highlight Shabuoth, 1977
Shavuoth – A Bountiful Harvest, B’nai Brith Messenger, May 24, 1974 (Foods, Book of Ruth)
Ladder Cake on Shavuot, Sofia, Bulgaria, 1980’s
Other Resources
The complete toolkit for Shavuot, By Jewish Interactive – Contains innovative and engaging resources for teaching this festival to children. The toolkit includes: *How to use tech resources to teach the festival *An overview of what this festival is and how we celebrate it *The best educational games to teach Shavuot *How to create your own material to make this magical festival come to life. Also available in French and Hebrew.
Shavuot, By the Israeli Ministry of Education – Activities for Shavuot. The activities include: videos, digital activities, games and more.
Shavuot Lesson & Programming Ideas, By the Jewish Agency for Israel
Educational Resources for Shavuot – Collection of Shavuot lesson plans and activities.
Shavuot Social Story, By JTeach.org – A social story is read to or with students to give them an idea of both the holiday and what to expect. Making events predictable helps students who are challenged in new situations. This social story introduces basic concepts regarding Shavuot.
Shavuot Activities for Kids, By myjewishlearning.com – Here are a number of ways that we can connect our children and students to the special holiday of Shavuot.