Zahava Stemp

Teaching Navi
Final Project
Section 1: Unit Plan
1. School Context:
This unit plan is for 8th grade girls. It is the middle track navi class in a
Modern Orthodox school. The students learn nicely in chavrusa and work
hard to understand the pesukim, even with scaffolding.
2. Unit:
The main focus of the unit is on the splitting of the kingdom in Melachim I,
the end of perek 11 and perek 12. The students will have prior knowledge
from other prakim learned before this as well of course, which will add to
their understanding of the split of the kingdom.
3. Unit Context:
Earlier in sefer Melachim, King Shlomo passes away. His son, Rechavam, is
going to take over for his father as king. Rechavam was young and vain. He
had a habit of following bad advice. He was advised to deal harshly with Bnei
Yisrael, and he did just that. Around 75% of Bnei Yisrael (ten tribes) left
Rechavam and had Yeravam as their king. This is where the split began and
the beginning of our unit.
4. Learning Objectives:
a. Cognitive:
Students will know that Shlomos wisdom is his most special
character trait and his biggest downfall at the same time
Students will know that there are different types of leadership
Students will know what led to the splitting of the kingdom
Students will know the history of both kingdoms
Students will know the role of the navi
Students will know how the relationship between the navi and the
king has a great affect on the people
b. Behavioral:
Students will be able to list the kings of both kingdoms in the
chronological order
Students will be able to explain the roles of the neviim during the
each kings control, respectively
c. Affective:
Students will value what it means to be a leader
Students will value the importance of unity amongst Am Yisrael
Students will value the fact that every action has a reaction,
namely every sin has a punishment
5. Big Ideas:
When we dont have unity within our nation, ultimately things
deteriorate be it physically, religiously, emotionally, etc

When choosing a leader and a representative of who we stand for, we

must make sure that our values are in line and that the leader guides
us in a way that builds us up and makes us stronger, not the opposite
6. Major questions that drive the learning of the unit:
In what ways did Shlomo sin?
Why did 10 tribes leave Rechavam?
What major changes does Yeravam impart on the people in order to
stabilize his kingdom?
What are Hashems feelings every step of the way?
7. Annotated List of Mefarshim: n/a
8. Major Issue to be Uncovered:
All of the kings that we learn about, unfortunately lose sight of what is right,
at some point.
9. Values/Morals:
Leadership is an extremely powerful tool that can be used for both
good and bad
Unity amongst Jews is key
Every action has a reaction
10. Relevant Maps:
Map of how the land was split once the kingdom was split
11. Cross references to other relevant sections of Tanach:
I would use Parshas Ki Sisa, with the sin of the golden calf as a crossreference here. I think that the story of the sin highlights two major points
that are being highlighted when learning our Navi unit; first, Bnei Yisrael are
united, even though it isnt for a good thing and second, the actions of Bnei
Yisrael elicit a reaction from Hashem and Moshe.
Section 2: Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan 1: Shlomo Becomes King
A. Lesson Objectives:
1. Students will identify the role of the king
2. Students will identify and explain the laws that the king must
abide by
3. Students will understand and discuss the positive traits that
Shlomo possessed at the beginning of his reign (wisdom,
genuineness, etc)
4. Students will describe the highpoints of the Jewish nations
power which lasted during Shlomos reign
B. Hook:
Since they will have just finished learning about Dovid
HaMelech, the students will be given two minutes (on a timer)
to write down the positives and negatives of Dovid as king.

When the two minutes are up, students will volunteer the
answers that they have come up with. This will open up into a
discussion of what it means to be the king of Bnei Yisrael. This
will lead us to our upcoming king, King Shlomo. This way, we
are tapping into prior knowledge while being led into our
actual lesson topic.
C. Learning Process:
1. The hook (discussed above). What we are basically trying to
accomplish here is to point (only) the positive ways Shlomo
influenced his kingdom.
2. We will look inside the pesukim as a class and students will
have to identify the positive characteristics that Shlomo
possesses on index cards.
3. We will then have a class discussion to drive home how these
characteristics will help make Shlomo a good king for Bnei
Yisrael.
4. I will put the highlights of Shlomos reign (wealth, tefillah for
Beis HaMikdash, fame) on the board, and the students will
have to find these concepts in the words of the pesukim at their
desks (this will be incorporated into a homework assignment
as well).
D. Check for Understanding:
Create a newspaper article, describing the beginning of
Shlomos rule.
Regarding number four in the learning process, the students
will write the words of the pesukim on nice paper and draw a
picture of the meaning of the phrase, showing the ways in
which Shlomo was successful as a king.
Lesson Plan 2: Shlomos Sin and Punishment
A. Lesson Objectives:
1. Students will identify and recognize Shlomos downfall
2. Students will understand that punishment follows sin against
Hashem
3. Students will understand the idea that human beings make
mistakes, regardless of stature
B. Hook:
With a five minute timer on the board, students will be asked to recall
a time in which they made a mistake. They will write the instance
down in their Navi journal. When the timer rings, a few brave
students will volunteer to read the stories of their mistakes out loud.
This will be the bridge that leads us to understand that as human
beings, no matter if you get perfect grades or are the most popular girl
in class, we all make mistakes.

C. Learning Process:
1. The hook
2. I will explain to them how the idea behind the hook (that
everybody makes mistakes), rings true for Shlomo HaMelech
as well.
3. In pairs, the students will read the pesukim that discuss
Shlomos downfall. They will be given a word key for the
difficult words they may come across in the pesukim. The
teacher will be walking around to help and answer questions.
4. Students will be asked to vote with their feet. Do you think
Shlomo is considered a good king or a bad king? Once they
vote, a representative from each side will give her reasoning
for her opinion.
5. I will end class by telling them that because Shlomo sinned, he
was punished. Every action has a reaction. They will then take
out their Nevuah SheHutzrecha LDoros journals and write
about what we can learn today from the fact that Shlomo is
punished (or any other point brought up during the lesson).
And I plan to pick up on this in tomorrows lesson
D. Check for Understanding
Students will have a write-up for the vote with your feet
activity that was done in class in which they will explain and
defend their positions
The Nevuah SheHutzrecha LDoros journal entry will serve as
a check for understanding as well
Lesson Plan 3: The Split
A. Lesson Objectives:
1. Students will understand the punishment that Shlomo receives
for sinning
2. Students will identify the two kings over the split kingdom
3. Students will know the story of how the split actually took
place
4. Students will recognize and appreciate the value and
importance of national unity amongst the Jewish people
B. Hook:
I will check for prior knowledge by a quick round of questions, just to
remind the students where we left off in our story.
C. Learning Process:
1. The hook
2. The teacher will explain the punishment that is a response to
Shlomos sinning. The students have to be listening carefully,
because the teacher tells the students to write down the

punishment in their own words on index cards (that will be

collected at the end of class).
3. We will then read the pesukim aloud that discuss Rechavam
and the way in which he dealt with Bnei Yisrael. The teacher
will pose the question of which king drove away 10 tribes by
dealing with them in a harsh way. On response cards, the
students will write the answer, and hold them up for the
teacher to see that they are on task.
4. Outside of the text, the teacher will tell the students about
Yiravam, who became the king over the 10 tribes that left
Rechavams rule.
5. I will show the students 2 maps, one of the split of the actual
kings, and one of the split of the land. The map of the split
kings will be done via poplet.
D. Check for Understanding:
Paraphrasing the punishment in their own words
Response cards regarding which king gave Bnei Yisrael difficult
taxes
Questioning and discussion
Section 3: Personal Reflections
Im going to be honest. When I originally registered for this course, I didnt
register for it because of what the course actually was offering in terms of content,
but because the instructor was one whom I really look up to and learn from, and
quite frankly because it was a course that fit with my schedule. Upon entering this
course, I was a 3rd grade teacher, without a real need for learning how to teach navi,
seeing as though the school that I teach in only starts learning navi in 4th grade.
However, after an intense meeting with the principal at the very end of June, he
convinced me that I was born to be a JHS teacher. And so for the upcoming school
year, I have agreed to be just that. And youll never guess one of the subjects Ill be
teachingnavi, of course! With that major change of events, I began to take this
class a lot more seriously. I have learned so much over this summer and was truly
challenged (sometimes, over-challenged in my opinion). While this course definitely

prepared me in many ways, it also really scared me and showed me how little I
really know. There is so much to learn still, and I am up for the challenge. I am
thankful for the tools and resources that I have been given in this course to help me
along the way.
One of my goals as a navi teacher is to make sure that my students are
actively engaged and interested. I dont want it to be story time for them. Another
goal that I have as a navi teacher is to really teach based on Big Ideas. I want them
to see a bigger picture through everything we learn.