Like many around the world, I’ve been closely following the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict in the middle east. The media coverage has been extensive, and while I have tried to shield my younger son from the graphic details, he has unfortunately come across distressing snippets. Given the current situation in Israel, I saw this as an opportunity to delve into studying the country. My goal is to provide him with factual information about the war as well as insight into the culture of Israel, cuisine, and the dominant Jewish religion.
While we usually tackle each unit independently, I decided to open our unit study to friends, from grades K-12 to join us. This unit study is easily adaptable for all grade levels and is great for home school co-ops, an at home summer camp program, or even individual use. While we completed the study in one day, it can be adapted to educate children over 1-2 weeks.
In this article, I will share valuable resources, material suggestions, and lesson plans that can be adapted to your preferences. Join us on this Israel immersion experience which engages students in a brief history of Israel, modern day Israel, and Jewish life in general. At Coastal STEM Academy as we aim to inspire others to teach this lesson as well.
The Materials:
In Coastal STEM Academy, we use My Father’s World, Exploring Countries and Culture’s Curriculum to study different countries comprehensively. We love to use unit studies as a supplement to our curriculum. Recently, Funschooling.com released their captivating 63 Page Printable PDF called Travel Dreams Israel – Social Studies Fun-Schooling Journal. This supplement is a great addition to your world history and world geography studies. This mini book is full of fun activities and is perfect for teaching young people about the historical Holy Land of Israel. I highly recommend ordering the paperback version on Amazon for just $12.50. It is cheaper and you will save on the additional cost of printing ink. You will need this packet to complete the lesson plan in this article.
Embassy of Israel
Before we even thought about what we’d do with this unit, we wrote letters to all of the embassies and foreign consulates of each of the countries that we planned to study. Of all the countries we wrote to, so far, we received packages from Brazil, Germany, and Israel. I’m truly grateful that we were able to receive a package from Israel prior to the grand upheaval. If you’d like to try to request a package, this is the address that I used:
Embassy of Israel
2154 International Drive N.W.
Washington, D.C. 2008
Israeli Eats & Treats
Additionally, I chose to order the explore Israel! kit by Eat2Explore. If you use this link, you can save $10 off of your order. I purchased Halva Tahini bars, 18 count for the “in-flight” snack. While the culinary boxes aren’t necessary, they are one of the fun ways to engage young minds in a multi-sensory experience. Alternatively, you can find Israeli recipes for free online and then purchase the ingredients separately. Finally, I made sure to have the ingredients for homemade Challah bread on hand. Below is the recipe card. We felt fancy, so we added a teaspoon of cinnamon to our dough!
Israel Lesson Plan:
Below is a timeline of how the immersive unit study unfolded. Normally, the MFW curriculum spreads out the activities over the course of the week. However, we intentionally saved all of the Israeli activities, focusing solely on academics during the first part of the week, so that we could have an incredible journey with our friends. This immersive format was really a whole new way of engaging my child’s attention, as we usually homeschool solo, except for homeschool days. We were excited to have four families participating, with a total of nine kids, mostly elementary and middle school aged. To ensure that the children remained engaged throughout the long lessons, I planned a strategic room-to-room schedule for the day. We began in the homeschool room where I introduced the lesson and country of Israel on a large map. Next, we moved to the kitchen where we made Challah together. The dining room acted as our main workspace, and the living room was transformed into an airplane area that transported us to Israel.
Morning Work
9:00 am – 9:15 am: Introduction
- Start in the homeschool room, introduce activities, gather around a large wall map to locate Israel on the map and discuss its geographical location.
- Hand out student packets
- Then move to kitchen to start Challah Bread Dough
9:15 am – 10:00 am: Challah Dough, Packets, and Currency
- Start the Challah raisin bread dough in the bread maker, through step 2 of recipe card. This is going to be dessert after our Israeli lunch!
- Move to seating area, open packet from the Embassy of Israel, then begin map worksheets (pages 8 & 10 of packet)
- Explore Israeli currency and collector coins.
- Give the students the printed pretend Israeli currency. Students will need Israeli currency to buy snacks, lunch, and dessert.
- Don’t forget passport stamps before boarding the plane!
Boarding and In-flight Snack
Students gather in the living room to board their flight to Israel. However, no flight experience is complete without indulging in some in-flight refreshments. They “purchase” a selection of delicious items, including Tahini bars and refreshing water bottles.
Educational Videos
10:00 am – 10:15 am:
- Enjoy snack while watching embedded videos about Israel, including “Begin your journey to Israel now”, “Jerusalem scenic flight”, and the “Israel – Hamas War explained”.
- The scenic flight gives a fully immersive 360-degree experience and interactive look over Jerusalem
- Use these videos as a starting point for a discussion on travel and culture.
Challah Braiding & Book Basket Time
10:15 am – 11:15 am:
- Disembark from the pretend air flight and report to kitchen to complete Steps 3 & 4 of Challah (remove dough, add raisins, and shape challah).
- Return to dining room work area to read relevant sections from “Window on The World” (pages 76-77 Israel & Judaism 204-205),”Children’s Atlas of God’s World” (pages 60-63), and skim “Everything Judaism” (cited books listed at end of this article).
- Engage in book basket research with available library books.
- Use research to participate in a book scavenger hunt worksheet (page 15 of the packet).
- Have students fill in MFW Israel information sheet. If you don’t have this resource, you can have kids create a simple country information sheet with basic facts about that country such as capitol city, major religion, flag, type of government, etc.
- Make sure to preheat oven to 350 for lunch & dessert!
Time for Food!
11:15 am – 12:30 pm:
- Move to kitchen: Place Challah into oven and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Now, make ground turkey falafels with cucumber yogurt and quinoa tabouleh from Eat2Explore, or any other recipe that you’ve chosen!
- Listen to Israeli music while cooking, this is a great addition.
- Enjoy the prepared meal, including dessert of Challah raisin bread.
Afternoon Lessons
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm:
- Dive deeper into Israeli culture, art, and life. You may need to conduct additional internet research with children to complete some sheets of the packets, or to answer further discussion questions!
- Fill out the Israeli cuisine worksheet (page 18 of the packet).
- Complete the Israeli music worksheet (page 40 of the packet).
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm:
- Fill out the MFW Hebrew Language sheet, to learn a little Hebrew.
- Discuss male and female clothing (pages 30 and 31 of the packet).
- Explore Israeli inventions (page 46 of the packet).
- Conclude with a brief Q&A session.
Concluding Thoughts
I think we all finished the day eager to visit Israel in real life – one day! This country study on Israel has become one of my all-time favorites. It was truly a special time; what made it even more special is that we were able to share the experience with friends. The immersive nature of this unit study truly made it enjoyable and enriching for everyone involved. The feedback from all participants has been positive. Our exploration of Israel’s history and culture, their traditional cuisine, and the heartfelt prayers we offered for the Israel-Palestine conflict made this a meaningful experience. I highly recommend delving into this study. If you have any questions or need further information, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below. I’ll be more than happy to assist you!
Israeli Music
Resource Citations:
“Window on The World”
- Author(s): Daphne Spraggett and Jill Johnstone
- Title: Window on The World: When We Pray God Works
- Publisher: Authentic Media
- Publication Date: [Year]
- Specific Sections: Pages 76-77 (Israel) and Pages 204-205 (Judaism)
“Children’s Atlas of God’s World”
- Author: Craig Froman
- Title: Children’s Atlas of God’s World
- Publisher: Master Books
- Publication Date: [Year]
- Specific Sections: Pages 60-63
“Everything Judaism”
- Author: Richard G. Marks
- Title: Everything Judaism: A Celebration of Jewish History and Culture
- Publisher: Adams Media
- Publication Date: [Year]
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