Fourth Graders Learn What It Was Like to Wander the Desert

As part of their studies of the book of Exodus, fourth graders have been experiencing what it was like for the Jews who received the Torah on Mt. Sinai and wandered the desert, which is called Ma’amad Har Sinai. Through listening to audio—the shofar blowing, thunder, and dramatic music—and hearing the reading of the story, students are learning what it felt like for those Jews. After these experiences, they wrote in their empathy journals about how it felt to go up to Mt. Sinai. Then, working in pairs, students recreated this experience by creating sculptures depicting the scene using recycled materials. "Given the same materials," says teacher Liron Lahav, "all of the students put their own interpretation into their sculptures—some were tall, some were wide. It was amazing to see their creativity.

 

“This ties into the Tanakh Standards and Benchmarks that we use as part of our Judaic studies curriculum. One of the standards is empathy. By having them listen to audio and write their feelings about their experiences, they are able to develop empathy as if they were the ones who left Egypt.” MORE PHOTOS