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Unpublished

Sharing our Differences (Private-Religious)
  1. Strand PHIL.II Philanthropy and Civil Society
    1. Standard PCS 01. Self, citizenship, and society
      1. Benchmark E.3 Describe a benefit of group cooperation.
    2. Standard PCS 02. Diverse Cultures
      1. Benchmark E.4 Demonstrate listening skills.
    3. Standard PCS 05. Philanthropy and Government
      1. Benchmark E.8 Describe classroom behaviors that help the students learn.

This lesson emphasizes the value of each individual’s uniqueness. Students will learn to appreciate differences by comparing and contrasting fruit and using all of the fruit to create a tasty fruit salad.

Duration: 
PrintThree thirty minute periods
Objectives: 

The learner will:

  • understand that we thank God for all different things by reciting blessings.
  • learn and recite the blessing for all different types of fruit.
  • understand that each fruit is unique and important.
  • realize that we thank God for each unique person, just as we thank God for each unique fruit.
Materials: 
  • Eight to ten different kinds of fruit (enough of each sort to make fruit salad). Choices may vary depending on the season, but be sure that the fruits have some similarities and some differences from one another. Fruit that can be added to salad with little or no preparation, such as berries or dried fruit, works best.
  • Signs on construction paper that contain labels for five sorting groups you are going to make. For example, "Red," "Round," "Hard," "Soft," "Green"
  • Chart on white poster board that says each category and leaves room next to each category for students to draw or list fruit contained within the category.
  • Utensils and plates/cutting board for cutting fruit for salad, spoons
  • Large bowl for fruit salad, small bowls for serving fruit salad
  • Blessings for fruit written on poster board (Blessings can be found in any Hebrew/English siddur- prayer book. See Bibliographical References.)
Home Connection: 

Instruct students to think of ways that each different family member is important in the family.

Bibliography: 
  • Scherman, Nosson and Binyomin Yudin. Siddur: Trasnliteratied Linear, Weekday. Mesorah Publications, Ltd. July 2001. ISBN: 1578191513
Instructions: 
Print

  1. Anticipatory Set:

    Hold up two different fruits. Explain to the students that most things in the world have some things that are the same and some things that are different. Tell them that we thank God for all the different things in his creation, and that it is God’s intent that his creation works together for the good for all.

    Ask for volunteers to suggest things that are the same about both fruits and things that are different.

  2. Make sure students understand the terms: SAME and DIFFERENT.

  3. Explain that you will be sorting fruit into groups to show which are the same and which are different.

  4. Show students the signs that you made to label the sorting categories. Explain each one and give examples as needed.

  5. Sort fruit into the original five categories. This can be done as a class or in small groups, depending on the age of the students.

  6. Have students draw or list fruits by category on prepared chart.

  7. Allow students to suggest additional categories and continue sorting if time permits.

  8. Tell students that each fruit is important because they are all good, nutritious foods, regardless of the appearance, taste and feel. Explain that we thank God for them by saying a bracha (blessing). Each fruit deserves a blessing because it is special and gives us a special taste in our mouths.

  9. Teach students the blessing over fruit, if this was not done as part of Lesson One.

  10. Explain that fruits taste even better when all the different types are combined into a fruit salad because the fruits in the fruit salad work well together.

  11. Tell students that you will use all of the different fruit to make a fruit salad for you to eat. Explain that you will recite the blessing over the fruit salad to thank God for the fruit.

  12. Make fruit salad.

  13. Recite blessing and eat.

  14. Tell students that you think they are just like fruit because each of them is important and unique, but they work well together just like the fruit in the fruit salad.

  15. Have all students stand in a circle. Tell the students that when you call an attribute, such hair color, eye color, shoe color, hair length, that they possess, everyone with that attribute leaves their spot in the circle and quickly walks to an empty spot. Tell them that when you say "fruit salad toss" everyone in the circle finds a new space. Continue to have those with similar attributes change places as you call each new attributes. Ask the students to suggest attributes once they understand the concept. Say " fruit salad toss" after each three or four attributes.

  16. Re-emphasize that the students are all different from each other in some ways and the same as each other in some ways, just like the fruit. State that you would like to thank God for each student, just like you thanked God for each fruit, because each is important and special.

  17. Ask the class if they think they can work well together, like the fruit did in the fruit salad.

  18. Ask for some activities that they could try to do together, such as a circle dance, or a song, and try it as a group. (The students could dance to the songs used in Lessons One and Two.)

  19. Express how important it is to appreciate every person who adds his or her unique characteristics to a group.

Assessment: 

Students can be assessed based on their abilities to recognize similarities and differences among fruit, their ability to recite the blessing over fruit clearly, and their ability to work with the group.