Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain why Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are so important to most Jews.
Key learning points
- Rosh Hashanah is followed by ten days of penitence, leading to the festival of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
- People reflect on the past year asking forgiveness for things that they have done wrong.
- They also think about the year ahead and what is important.
- Special readings and prayers are said at services and the shofar horn is blown.
Keywords
Penitence - the feeling of regret for one's wrongdoing
Shofar - a ram’s horn that is blown like a trumpet
Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement
Rosh Hashanah - festival to mark the beginning of the Jewish New Year
Common misconception
All festivals are times of celebration and joy.
Yom Kippur is about reflection and penitence.
Teacher tip
Many Jews do not use the full name for God and prefer this holy name written as G_d. We follow this convention for Jewish speakers. Draw attention to the way Jews break their fast at Yom Kippur by eating sweet foods. This compares to the way Muslims break the fast at Ramadan by eating dates.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.During Rosh Hashanah, it is traditional to eat apples dipped in ...
Q2.'Shana Tovah!' means ...
Q3.The festival to mark the beginning of the Jewish New Year is called ...
Q4.Why are pomegranate seeds an important symbol in Judaism?
Q5.Rosh Hashanah marks the __________ of the Jewish New Year.
Q6.The bread eaten during Rosh Hashanah is called ...
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Yom Kippur is ...
Q2.Which of these Jewish festivals are about new beginnings and a fresh start?
Q3.How is a shofar blown?
Q4.Put these parts of the story of Jonah in the correct order.
To help you plan your 5 religious education lesson on: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 5 religious education lesson on: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 religious education lessons from the Jews: how does remembering maintain Jewish identity? unit, dive into the full primary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.