{"id":21703,"date":"2022-03-23T14:17:34","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T18:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/?p=21703"},"modified":"2022-11-03T13:10:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T17:10:11","slug":"through-the-classroom-window-junior-high-purim-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/through-the-classroom-window-junior-high-purim-program","title":{"rendered":"Through the Classroom Window: Junior High Purim Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThrough the Classroom Window\u201d is an opportunity for teachers to share the inspiring learning that takes place in their classrooms, giving others a glimpse into the heartbeat of the school. Today, Grade 7 teacher, Dan Goldberg, shares how his students recently considered issues of power through the lens of Megillat Esther, expanding their learning on Purim with video creation.<\/p>\n

\n

As part of their exploration of ancient civilizations, Grade 7 students recently completed their study of Megillat Esther. Their encounters with King Achashverosh, Queens Vashti and Esther, Mordechai, and Haman offered them an important opportunity to explore the Generative Topic \u201cWe should aim to use power responsibly.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Through their close reading of the original text of Megillat Esther, the class discovered that it is not the G-rated story they encountered as young children. The book is filled with mystery and intrigue, which calls for looking beneath the surface and reading between the lines. <\/span><\/p>\n

As the story unfolded, the students continually considered the question: At this point in the story, are the characters using their power wisely and justly, abusing their power, or wasting power that could be put to constructive use.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some of their observations, taken from the chart they worked on in class:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u05de\u05d2\u05d9\u05dc\u05ea \u05d0\u05e1\u05ea\u05e8<\/b><\/h4>\n

Exploration and Documentation of Power<\/strong><\/p>\n

At this point in the text, how does this character use, abuse, or waste their power?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u05d4\u05de\u05dc\u05da \u05d0\u05d7\u05e9\u05d5\u05e8\u05d5\u05e9<\/b><\/h4>\n

Quote: <\/strong>“And the king said [to Haman]: ‘The money and the people are yours to do with as you see fit'” (3:11).<\/p>\n

Explanation:<\/strong> A king should think more responsibly than to hand over his signet ring to a man who wants to rid all the people of a certain faith. He is wasting his power<\/strong> by “handing it” to Haman.<\/p>\n

\u05d5\u05e9\u05ea\u05d9<\/b><\/h4>\n

Quote:<\/strong> “But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command conveyed by the eunuchs” (1:12).<\/span><\/p>\n

Explanation:<\/strong> Queen Vashti uses her powers responsibly because she is making a choice to stand up and tell the king \u201cno\u201d because she doesn’t want to be embarrassed.<\/p>\n

\u05de\u05e8\u05d3\u05db\u05d9<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Quote:<\/strong> “But Mordechai would not kneel or bow low” (3:2).<\/p>\n

Explanation<\/strong>: Mordechai is using the power of free will, a good use of power<\/strong>, to stay faithful to his religion and not bow down to anyone who isn\u2019t God.<\/p>\n

\u05d0\u05e1\u05ea\u05e8<\/b><\/h4>\n

Quote:<\/strong> “Queen Esther replied: ‘If Your Majesty will do me the favour, and if it pleases Your Majesty, let my life be granted me as my wish, and my people as my request’\u201d (7:3-4).<\/p>\n

Explanation:<\/strong> This is the power of persuasion, because Esther knew the king would listen to her. She also phrased her words in such a way so she didn\u2019t give her identity up. She is using her power wisely, by persuading someone who listens to her to do something good.<\/p>\n

\u05d4\u05de\u05df<\/b><\/h4>\n

Quote:<\/strong> “All the king\u2019s courtiers in the palace gate knelt and bowed low to Haman, for such the king\u2019s order concerning him” (3:2).<\/p>\n

Explanation:<\/strong> Haman making people bow to him is abusing his power because he isn\u2019t the king and can\u2019t make people respect him. I don\u2019t think Haman\u2019s parents ever told him that not everyone in the whole world will like him; or that you need to respect people to be respected.<\/p>\n

Following their study of Megillat Esther, Grade 7 students had the privilege and responsibility of planning the Junior High Purim Program. The class was divided into five groups, each of which focused on a different figure from Megillat Esther (King Achashverosh, Queens Esther and Vashti, Mordechai, and Haman). <\/span><\/p>\n

The groups prepared short videos and other interactive learning materials and activities that were intended to \u201cconvince\u201d the rest of the Junior High that their Purim figure played the most powerful role in saving the Jews of Persia. In this video, students persuade us that Mordechai took decisive action.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It was admittedly more of a stretch for certain characters, but with a combination of creativity and humour, students rose to the occasion!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThrough the Classroom Window\u201d is an opportunity for teachers to share the inspiring learning that takes place in their classrooms, giving others a glimpse into the heartbeat of the school. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":21746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,136],"tags":[182],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThrough the Classroom Window: Junior High Purim Program - The Toronto Heschel School<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/through-the-classroom-window-junior-high-purim-program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Through the Classroom Window: Junior High Purim Program - The Toronto Heschel School\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThrough the Classroom Window\u201d is an opportunity for teachers to share the inspiring learning that takes place in their classrooms, giving others a glimpse into the heartbeat of the school. ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/through-the-classroom-window-junior-high-purim-program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Toronto Heschel School\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-23T18:17:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-03T17:10:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screen-Shot-2022-03-23-at-11.31.00-AM.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2518\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1424\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Esther Berry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Esther Berry\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/through-the-classroom-window-junior-high-purim-program#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/through-the-classroom-window-junior-high-purim-program\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Esther Berry\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/#\/schema\/person\/49765cbc2dac0d2f528fb12baa8fcdbf\"},\"headline\":\"Through the Classroom Window: Junior High Purim Program\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-23T18:17:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-03T17:10:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/through-the-classroom-window-junior-high-purim-program\"},\"wordCount\":654,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Grade 7\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Through the Classroom Window\",\"Junior High\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/through-the-classroom-window-junior-high-purim-program\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/through-the-classroom-window-junior-high-purim-program\",\"name\":\"Through the Classroom Window: Junior High Purim Program - 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