A Passover Lesson on Freedom, from Make, Create, Celebrate: Jewish Holidays through Art

Passover offers many opportunities for learning - about Jewish history, asking questions, home and holiday observance, and the core values of Judaism.

In Make, Create, Celebrate: Jewish Holidays through Art—to be published in April—artist and educator Julie Wohl helps students examine the concept of freedom through the lens of art.

What do the words “slavery” and “freedom” mean to you? What do slavery and freedom look like? Study the artwork by Moshe Castel using guiding questions, then create your own piece that reflects a time when you personally felt movement from being constricted to being free.

This is just one lesson in Make, Create, Celebrate!, which is designed for students in grades 4-6. Guide your students through a process of unlocking meaning of the holiday and its values through artistic projects and concepts. It does NOT focus on the how-tos of each holiday, but rather uses art as a way to help students connect with the underlying values of the holidays in a personal way. 

Not an artist? Don’t worry about it. These projects are about self-expression and ideas, and therefore, are for everyone.

By the time students have completed the holiday cycle, they will have created a portfolio full of their own work reflecting Jewish values.

Each chapter focuses on a different holiday, and there are special features to help learners connect with the underlying meanings of their work, such as:

  • - Gallery tour of beautiful, full-color images of contemporary and historical artworks with accompanying reflection questions
  • - Explanations of art techniques
  • - Fun facts about the holidays
  • - Prompts and thoughts questions that help learners apply their art experiences to the Jewish holidays
  • - Space for students to write and reflect about their own work
  • - Peer reviews that gives students opportunities to share their work with friends, and give and receive feedback
  • - Links to online, original videos by the author that demonstrate activities within the course

The companion Lesson Plan Manual includes at least two full lessons per holiday. Here’s a chance to try something different to prepare for this Passover: Download a free lesson from Make, Create, Celebrate: Lesson Plan Manual. Download the student pages for the lesson.

Make, Create, Celebrate! will be available in April. Want to see it first? Sign up here for our Golem Express plan that brings the newest educational materials right to your door as soon as they are published.

 

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