8 whole-class recap questioning at the start of lessons will inject energy and focus, and help students commit prior knowledge to memory. Regularly setting revision of key vocabulary definitions and key people descriptions as homework also helps students remember what they have learned. This can be monitored by quick quizzes at the start of lessons. These quizzes could contain ten questions, with difficulty levels adapted to match class abilities. A quick and efficient way to do these quizzes is as follows: Give students half a piece of lined paper when they arrive at the lesson and ask them to write their name and the numbers 1–10 on it. (Alternatively, you can give students a printed copy of questions.) Read out each question twice. Questions with one or two short, clear answers are better than those with a variety of possibilities that students will want to check. Ask them to peer mark in a different colour pen. (Silently swapping papers with someone who is not sitting next to them will help talking/disputes!) Whilst marking, students should correct any wrong answers. This will reinforce the answers and help students remember for future quizzes. Students can stick their quizzes in a book and record their scores with a date in a table at the back. You can also collect scores. The whole process should take no longer than 10 minutes. 9 the rich history and symbolism involved in Jewish festivals (particularly Pesach), students could write a series of diary entries. Encourage them to expand each extract, linking to wider issues, modern issues and challenges, etc. should be encouraged to read from original texts of the Tanakh. Many schools have access to Christian bibles, which have the same text as the Hebrew Bible in the Old Testament, or texts are available online. Provide manageable extracts to students to enable them to read from texts in their original form. They could then identify key quotes that show key Jewish beliefs, teachings, etc. General resources (SEND / Lower ability)
Key vocabulary Unit 1: History and belief Ark a cupboard where Torah scrolls are stored Ark of the Covenant The box that housed the two tablets of stone on which the original Ten Commandments were written Babylonian exile The period from 597 to 538 bce when Jews were forced to live outside Jerusalem under Babylonian rule bimah The platform from where Torah scrolls are read circumcision The removal of a baby boy’s foreskin at the age of eight days in Judaism congregation People who attend a religious service Conservative Jews Jews who preserve Jewish rituals and traditions but are more flexible in interpreting Jewish laws than Orthodox Jews covenant An agreement between God and people Gemara Part of the Talmund, a commentary on the Mishnah Hasidic Jews A group within Orthodox Judaism who follow a strict religious lifestyle and have a distinctive appearance High Priest Historically, the highest rank of Jewish leader idols Statues that are worshipped kashrut Jewish food laws kippah A head covering worn during prayer kosher Food that is acceptable for Jews to eat; the word literally means ‘fit’ menorah A seven-branched candlestick and a symbol of divine light in the world Messiah Anointed one mezuzah A small box attached to doorposts in Jewish homes, containing the Shema Midrash Jewish writings that include rabbis’ interpretations of and further information about the Torah, Jewish law and moral issues Mishnah The early teachings of rabbis, which were passed on orally mitzvot Jewish laws (there are 613 in total); the singular is mitzvah monotheist Someone who believes in just one God ner tamid The light in front of, or above, the Ark Orthodox Jews Jews who believe in maintaining the traditional beliefs and practices of Judaism and the laws given by God Pharaoh An Egyptian king pilgrimage A journey taken to a place of religious importance polytheist Someone who believes in more than one god Promised Land An area of land in the Middle East given to Jews by God prophet A messenger of God rabbi The leader of a synagogue Reform Jews and Liberal Jews Jews who believe that Judaism can change or modernise over time sacrificial A place where animals were killed as offerings to God secular Non-religious The most important prayer in Judaism siddur A Jewish prayer book synagogue The Jewish place of worship tallit A symbolic shawl worn during prayer Talmud A collection of teachings from rabbis giving more information about the Torah
Key people Unit 1: History and belief Abraham A man who God made a covenant with that he would have many descendants who would be a great nation A Roman governor who built an extension to the Second Temple Isaac The son of Abraham and the second patriarch Jacob The son of Isaac and the third patriarch Moses A man who received the laws including the Ten Commandments from God Solomon The king of Israel who built the first Temple in Jerusalem Unit 2: Judaism in the modern world Eliezer Berkovits A rabbi who believed that God had to hide his face (hester panim) during the Holocaust so as not to interfere with human free will Emil Fackenheim A rabbi who thought that the 614th Mitzvot Jews should follow after the Holocaust is to unite and continue the Jewish family so that Hitler did not win Anne Frank A Jewish girl who wrote a diary whilst hiding during the Holocaust Richard Rubenstein A Jewish writer who claimed that Jews cannot think of God as omnipotent or that they are his chosen people after the Holocaust