STUDENT TEACHER LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Day: Tuesday Date: November 30, 2021

Subject: Current Event: Hanukkah

Common Core Standard(s):

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2: Determine the importance of primary or secondary sources

“ ” 8.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text
“ ” 8.7: Integrate visual information with other information in print and digital texts

Objective(s): At the end of this lesson my students will be able to…

• Understand the importance of Hanukkah as it relates to Judaism and ancient history

• Describe the process and celebration of Hanukkah
• Explain the relationship between Hanukkah and American culture
• Research digital texts and secondary sources to answer guided questions

Resources/Materials List:
• Teacher: Projector
• Students: Google Chromebooks
• Students: Hanukkah Graphic Organizer Worksheet
• Students: Video Follow Up Exit Ticket

Procedure:
• As soon as students enter the classroom, they will notice a do now on the board. As per routine, they are
expected to complete the do now on the board. In three minutes, they are to answer “Would you ever go
on vacation to celebrate the holidays? Why or why not? If you would, where would you go?”
• Students will talk about their answers with their neighbors. After, volunteers will share with the class.
• Students will be shown the schedule for the day: Do Now, Hanukkah Introduction, Exit Ticket, Choices
if there is time.
• I will hand out the Hanukkah Graphic Organizer Worksheet. Students will be told to right their names on
the worksheet and I will emphasize them NOT to begin the worksheet.
• I will briefly remind students about the fact that for the past few days we have been learning about
Ancient Israel. There will be a transition from this into Hanukkah and I will emphasize how Hanukkah is
a Jewish holiday.
• Students will be asked to answer the first text box: “What do you already know about Judaism and
Hanukkah?” Students should have prior knowledge on Judaism based on what we have learned. I will
emphasize that it is okay if students do now know what Hanukkah is. They will be given three minutes
to answer this.
• We will discuss this as a class. During this discussion and sharing of ideas, I will ask if there is anyone
who celebrates Hanukkah at home and if they would like to share their experiences.
• There will be a transition into the rest of the graphic organizer. Students will form groups of 4-5
students. Whether groups are assigned to a group or they can choose their own group is dependent on
each class.
• It must be noted that the following group research and discussion will take up a majority of the class
time.
• Groups will be tasked with one of the five questions to answer. They will use their chrome books and the
internet to answer the questions. It will be emphasized that they must write down the name of the
website that they used to answer the prompt. I will also emphasize the importance of using reliable
 sources (.edu, .org, and .gov). I will also mention passed websites we have used that they can use
(History.com, Epic Books, Britannica, and BrainPOP). This should take a majority of their time.
• Once groups are done answering their respective prompts or once the time limit has been reached, we
will share as a class.
• I will have a digital copy of the graphic organizer on the projector. We will go through each group to
find out what research they had done to answer their questions. I will be typing their research for all to
instructed see. Students will be to listen to their peers attentively and to fill out the other prompts.
• We will end the activity by talking about the importance of Hanukkah, how it relates to the unit, anwhy
it is important to be culturally aware in an increasingly diverse country.
• We will transition into the video “What is Hanukkah?” Students will be asked to jot down their ideas in
their journals. After the video, students will think, pair, share.
• Students will be asked to complete the exit ticket. This exit ticket is two questions that must be answered
in their journals. If there is time, they may go on choices once I have read the exit ticket.

Plans for differentiation:

• Subtitles will be put on the video for those that cannot follow the audio.
• Students will have the ability to choose their own sources based on their preferences.

Assessment:
• Students will be given a formative assessment via exit ticket. They will be asked to answer the following
questions in their journal using prior knowledge and knowledge learned today.
• “With Christmas being the major holiday in the United States in December, how have American Jews
adapted Hanukkah to this?”
• “What do you think this says about the spread of religion to places with different cultures?”
• I will be going around to make sure that each student has an answer written down for both prompts
before they go onto Choices.

Plans for accommodation/modification: Describe any needed accommodations (changes in teaching method or
materials), modifications (changes in learning objectives), or modified assessments needed to meet student IEP
goals, objectives, or behavior plans here. Provide the student’s name, a reference to the related IEP objective
(e.g., Goal 3, Objective 2), and a description of the accommodation/modification.
• Accommodation: D.F. will be given sentence starters.
• Accommodation: E.R. can be given additional time to finish his exit ticket at home.
• Modification: F.D. will have modified grades based on lower learning goals.
• Modification: F.R. will be given a guided practice with a rewording of the prompts.

What’s next?
This lesson plan is designed to relate a current event to the unit: Ancient Israel, Palestine, Egypt, and
Mesopotamia. Going forward, we will return to Ancient Israel and the rise of Christianity.

Student Teacher Post-Instruction Reflection: Some advantages of this lesson plan included that it was a
current event, it put learning into the hands of the students, students had the ability to explore the internet, which
is something they are comfortable with, and students and groups were able to collaborate. One disadvantage was
that some groups were done the prompt much earlier than others. Perhaps next time I can reword the prompts so
some are more challenging and require more time.