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Home / Teachers / Teaching Tolerance (Private-Religious) / Love Your Neighbor: All the Rest is Commentary
(Private-Religious)

Love Your Neighbor: All the Rest is Commentary
(Private-Religious)

Lesson 1:

From Unit Teaching Tolerance (Private-Religious)

Lesson

Handouts

Academic Standards

Philanthropy Framework

3rd-5th Grade

Subjects:

Arts, Language Arts, Library / Technology, Philanthropy and Science

Key Words/Concepts click to view

ART-VA:	Visual Arts: Create/Communicate
ELA:	Group Discussions; Interview; Response to Text/Others; Universal Themes
PHIL:	Conflict Resolution; Feelings; Friendship; Judaism; Religious Perspectives; Respect; Tolerance

Purpose:

This lesson emphasizes the importance of respecting others and their opinions. Students will delve deeper into their understandings of friendship and compromise, and work on a collaborative project to apply what they have learned.

Duration:

Two to Three forty minute periods

Objectives:

The learner will:

explain the phrase "Love your neighbor as yourself."

explain the term "compromise."

interview a classmate to understand their opinions.

compromise their needs to meet the needs of others in a collaborative project.

Service Experience:

Although this lesson contains a service project example, decisions about service plans and implementation should be made by students, as age appropriate.

Students compromise on project plans and show their families how to compromise.

Materials:

"Things We Do Well" Survey (See Attachment One)
Text from the Leviticus 19:18 and Commentary (See Attachment Two)
"Interview Worksheet" (See Attachment Three)
"Cooperative Illustration Worksheet" (See Attachment Four)
construction paper, scissors, glue, markers

Handout 1: Things We Do Well Survey
Handout 2: Leviticus 19:18 and Commentary
Handout 3: Interview Worksheet
Handout 4: Cooperative Illustration Worksheets

Instructional Procedure(s):

Anticipatory Set:

Tell students that you are going to prove that each individual in the class is special. Distribute "Things We Do Well" Survey (See Attachment One) and allow students 10-15 minutes to complete. When they have finished, explain that since everyone is special and has special talents, it is important to consider each student’s opinion and to treat everyone with respect.

As a class, read the text from Leviticus 19:16 and the sources commenting on the importance of this verse (see Attachment Two). Ask students to explain the statement of Rabbi Hillel. Discuss: What does it mean to treat others as you wish to be treated and why is that so important.

Assign each student a partner. Ask each student to spend ten minutes interviewing his/her partner on how s/he would like to be treated (See Attachment Three). After ten minutes, announce that it is time for the second partner to interview his/her peer.

Bring the class back together and ask whether or not they were surprised by the results of the interview. Ask them to raise their hands if they had the same or similar answers for 1 question, 2 questions, 3 questions, etc. Stress that it is important to realize these types of differences when you work and play with others.

Tell students that they will work with their partner to make an illustration of how one should properly treat a friend. Explain that each will plan out how they would make their illustration if they were on their own, and then they will meet together to combine their ideas. Tell them that at least part of the each of the original plans must be included in the final product, and explain that this may mean that they have to compromise. Spend a few minutes clarifying that compromising means that each side gives a little and gets a little.

Distribute "Cooperative Illustration Worksheets" (See Attachment Four) and allow students to work independently on their planning. When they finish the planning, partners can work together on their compromise sheets and begin the project.

After the projects are complete, share them with the class and have each group reflect on what was good about compromising and what was difficult about compromising.

Assessment:

Assess students based on observations, their performance on worksheets, and the level of understanding that they demonstrate when they share and reflect on their experience in front of the class.

School/Home Connection:

Instruct students to become a "Compromise Cop" at home. Tell them to look for two situations at home that could be helped by compromising and to suggest to those involved (in an appropriate and tactful way) how to compromise.

Extension:

Set up a "court system" in the classroom where students can encourage their classmates to compromise when disagreements arise.

Bibliographical References:

Jewish Virtual Library http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/index.html
Navigating the Bible II
http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?
ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=3&CHAPTER=19
The Chumash: The Stone Edition, Mesorah Publications Ltd. ISBN: 0899060145
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat

Lesson Developed and Piloted by:

Shira Hammerman
Areyvut
http://www.areyvut.org
Bergenfield, NJ 07621

Handouts:

Handout 1Print Handout 1

Things We Do Well Survey

Name: __________________ Date: _______________

Things We Do Well

Directions: Find someone in your class who fits these descriptions. Have s/he sign next to the descriptions that s/he fits. Everyone must sign at least ONE line!

1. A person who has bowled and gotten a strike. ________________________

2. A person who has won a contest. _______________________________

3. A person who ran a race and finished. ___________________________

4. A person who read 5 books last summer. _________________________

5. A person who is very organized. _______________________________

6. A person who has gotten a hole in one.__________________________

7. A person who can sing really well. _____________________________

8. A person who can dance really well. _____________________________

9. A person who is great at soccer. _______________________________

10. A person who is a great artist. ________________________________

11. A person who is a great friend. ________________________________

12. A person who can play an instrument. __________________________

13. A person who has hit a home run. _____________________________

14. A person who knows how to speak a foreign language well. ________________

15. A person who has scored a touchdown. ______________________________

16. A person who is fun to work with. _____________________________

17. A person who is a great writer. ________________________________

18. A person who is a great speller. _______________________________

19. A person who is very friendly. ________________________________

20. A person who knows how to type. _____________________________

21. A person who is good at math. ________________________________

22. A person who knows a poem by heart ___________________________

23. A person who has completed a science experiment __________________

24. A person who can ice skate ____________________________________

25. A person who can ski _________________________________________

26. A person who can swim a lap _____________________________________

27. A person who can bake cookies ___________________________________

28. A person who knows the National Anthem by heart ____________________

29. A person who can sew __________________________________________

30. A person who has won a game of chess _____________________________

Handout 2Print Handout 2

Leviticus 19:18 and Commentary

Name: __________________ Date: _______________

Leviticus 19:18 and Commentary

"You must love your neighbor as [you love] yourself. I am God."

Leviticus 19:18

____________________________________________

"Rabbi Akiva says, "This is a great principle in the Torah."

Rashi on Leviticus 19:18

*Rashi is a well-known rabbi who lived in France during the 11th Century. He wrote many interesting comments on the Torah. Rabbi Akiva lived at the turn of the 1st Century.

___________________________________________________

The Talmud tells a story about a man who went to see Rabbi Hillel and asked him to teach him the entire Torah while he stood on one foot. Rabbi Hillel answered:

"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah, while the rest is commentary…go and learn it."

Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31A

* The Talmud is one of the most important books in Jewish law. It was written during the 5th and 6th Centuries. Rabbi Hillel is a well-known rabbi who lived at the turn of the 5th Century.

Handout 3Print Handout 3

Interview Worksheet

Name: __________________ Date: _______________

Interview Worksheet

Directions:

One partner starts by asking the other partner these questions and writing the responses on this sheet. In ten minutes, you will switch jobs and the second partner will ask these questions. IMPORTANT: In your examples, do not mention names of specific people because it could hurt their feelings.

1. How do you like to be treated when you are playing a game with a friend? Give an example of when you were treated this way.

_________________________________________________________________________________

2. How do you like to be treated when you are working on a project with a partner? Give an example of when you were treated this way.

_________________________________________________________________________________

3. How do you like to be treated when you are playing with the entire class at recess? Give an example of when you were treated this way.

_________________________________________________________________________________

4. Give at least one example of something that you don’t think people should do to their friends.

_________________________________________________________________________________

5. Give at least one example of something that you think people should do more of to their friends.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Handout 4Print Handout 4

Cooperative Illustration Worksheets

NAME: _____________________________ DATE: ______________

Partner’s name: ______________________

Cooperative Illustration Planning Sheet

I would like my illustration to be the following color:

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________
I chose this color because
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________
I would like to put the following designs on my illustration:

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________
I chose these designs because

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Here is a sketch of my ideas:

Cooperative Illustration Compromise Sheet

We chose to make our illustration the following color:

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

This is how we compromised:

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

We decided to make the following design on our illustration:

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

This is how we compromised:
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

**Before you start to make your illustration, decide which partner will get which supplies. **