Year 5 [Unit 5/c] 13 hours

This unit is about celebrations relating to key figures, including Easter.

• Who are the key figures in the Jewish religion? - Esther (Purim) and Moses (Pesach)
• What happened to Jesus over the course of Holy Week?
• What happened to Jesus during the last hours of his life?

Brainstorm famous role models, for example, David Beckham. How will he be remembered? How would the children like to be remembered? Draw round either a foot or a hand and inside write the ‘marks’ we would like to leave behind.
Think about the statement "It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph" (Edmund Burke 1729-97 an Irish born Whig politician).
Design a ‘Wanted’ poster for a leader of the pupil’s choice, including information about the qualities required. This activity could also be used for either Esther or Moses.

Esther

The Assemblies website has the story of Esther and background to Purim.
Look at the painting ‘’Esther Before Ahasuerus by Sebastiano Ricci and the accompanying unit of work contained in ‘The Bible Through Art’. We have laminated copies of the painting available on request. Further activity ideas are listed below ‘Moses’.

Moses

Watch clips from the video ‘Prince of Egypt’ or ‘The Testament’. You could also listen to the music from ‘Prince of Egypt’.

The interactive Bible resource ‘Ilumina’ has animations of Moses in the bullrushes and the burning bush.

Look at the three relevant paintings from ‘The Bible Through Art’ - Moses in the Bullrushes, The Burning Bush and The Plagues.

We also have copies of the big book ‘Let my People Go’ which tells the story of Pesach (Passover) and photocopiable worksheets.

Look at a Seder plate - click here to link to a site with an interactive Seder plate and find out what all the various elements represent.  We have a Seder plate available for loan.

Activities for Esther and Moses

The following activities could be used for either story:
Design a ‘Wanted’ poster as above.
Ask pupils to ‘freeze frame’ the most important moment of the story. Design a video cover for the story and include rating, title and information on the reverse.
Design a storyboard with pictures and words.

Notes for teachers for using Story Boards
When asking pupils to sequence a story and design a storyboard, it is usually helpful to ask them to decide on the content of the first and last boxes first of all. This helps them to evenly 'spread' the story using all six boxes.

Holy Week

Watch ‘Messiah’ video clip or the end of ‘The Miracle Maker’ film.

‘Ilumina’ has animated films of the resurrection and a virtual tour of the Garden Tomb.

Read ‘A Very Special Sunday’ big book.

Look at the Stations of The Cross - click here for some lesson ideas.

Discuss the painting ‘The Supper at Emmaus’. A copy was sent to local schools with lesson outlines for Easter 2000. You can also see it courtesy of the National Gallery - Emmaus.

Timeline of Holy Week

Make a timeline of holy week. Briefly the events are as follows:
Palm Sunday The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey where he was cheered by the people who had gathered to greet him. Some waved palm branches and others laid their cloaks on the ground for him to ride over. The crowd called out ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’.
Monday The Money Changers. When Jesus entered the temple to pray and found it full of money changers and traders he was very angry. He turned over their tables saying ‘My house is a house of prayer but you have made it a den of thieves’.
Tuesday The Trick Question. The religious leaders tried to catch Jesus out with a trick question so that they might have him arrested. They asked ‘Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?’ Jesus asked for a coin and said ‘Whose image is on this coin?’ They answered ‘Caesar’s’. Jesus replied, ‘Give to Caesar what is due to Caesar and give to God what is due to God’. As he had not told the people to break the law they had no reason to have him arrested.
Wednesday The Betrayal and the Anointing. Judas, who was one of the twelve disciples, agreed to betray Jesus to the religious authorities in return for a payment of 30 pieces of silver. Later that day, when Jesus was a guest in someone’s house, a woman poured a jar of precious ointment over him. The disciples grumbled that the money should have been spent on the poor but Jesus said ‘The poor are with you always, but you will not always have me. With this ointment this woman has prepared me for burial’.
Thursday The Last Supper. Jesus and his disciples met in a specially prepared room during the Passover festival. During the meal he took some bread, broke it and gave it to the disciples to eat, saying ‘This is my body, broken for you’. He then took a cup of wine and gave them all a drink saying ‘This is my blood, shed for you’. Jesus also said that one of them would betray him and one would deny they knew him. That night he was arrested.
Friday The Crucifixion. Jesus was put on trial before the religious leader, Herod and the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate. Against his better judgement, Pilate gave into the demands of the crowd and ordered that Jesus be crucified. The soldiers whipped and mocked him, putting a crown of thorns on his head and dressing him in a king’s robe. He was taken to a hill outside the town, where he was nailed to a cross of wood, along with two robbers. A sign above his head said ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews’. when he was dead his body was taken down and placed in a rock tomb. As it was nearly time for the Sabbath to begin, the body was not anointed.
Sunday Some of the women who were followers of Jesus went to the tomb to anoint his body. They were shocked and surprised to find that the stone, covering the entrance, had been rolled away and his body had gone. Two angels appeared who said to the women ‘He is no longer dead but risen to new life’. The women hurried away to tell the others.

Lesson idea: Look the painting of Mary Magdalene at the Tomb. There is a copy in Jesus Through Art. Use the following as discussion starters:

• What can you see in the painting? Mary is looking at us with her back to the dark empty tomb.
• Can you see her perfume on the ledge?
• Can you see the town in the distance?
• What time of day is it?
• Look at her body language. How is Mary feeling? What is she thinking? What had she intended to do with the perfume?
• Why did the artist paint Mary so big?

Explain that the Bible says Jesus died on a Friday. The Jewish Sabbath lasts from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday. Saturday evening counts as the next day. Hence Jesus died on a Friday (day 1) and rose on Sunday (day 3). Because of this Sunday has become the Sabbath for the followers of Jesus.

The Resurrection is a key belief of the Christian faith. Christians believe that Jesus is still alive in heaven today.

Activity: Draw an outline of Mary in the position shown in the painting. Using colours that might express her mood, write words that convey what she may be be feeling at this time.