Sarah Rosenbaum-Jakubovic

Teaching Navi-Final Project

Section 1: Unit Plan

1. School Context:

a. This unit is for a fourth grade co-ed class.

b. This is the first year that the students are learning Navi. They are able

to read passukim and understand the general idea. The class is ideally

taught Ivrit B’Ivrit. The students know how to read Rashi script, but

are just developing skills in understanding Rashi and other

commentaries.

c. The school is a modern orthodox school. Most of the students do not

come from religious homes, but the school administration views the

school as outreach.

2. Unit:

a. Sefer Yehoshua, Perek 2-Yehoshua sending spies into Eretz Yisrael

3. Unit Context:

a. Bnei Yisrael are about to enter Eretz Yisrael and begin conquering the

land. Their new leader is Yehoshua. Before crossing the Yarden,

Yehoshua decides to send 2 spies to figure out the best way to

conquer Yericho. This is the “beginning” of Kivush Ha’aretz, which is

the main tafkid of Yehoshua.

4. Learning objectives:

a. Cognitive:

i. Students will know at least 3 differences between the story of

the spies during the time of Moshe and the story of the spies

during the time of Yehoshua.

ii. Students will know the reason why Yehoshua sent spies to

Yericho now and how he sent them.

iii. Students will know why the spies chose to stay at Rachav’s

house.

iv. Students will know how Rachav saved the spies and why

v. Students will know the sign that Rachav and the spies made

b. Behavioral:

i. Students will compare and contrast Moshe sending spies to

Eretz Yisrael to Yehoshua sending spies to Eretz Yisrael

ii. Students will retell the events that took place when the spies

entered Yericho and when they were in Rachav’s home

iii. Students will identify times in their lives when they recognize

Hashem

iv. Students will define Chesed and explain how it is different than

Emes

v. Students will provide examples of Chesed and Emes from their

own lives.

c. Affective:

i. Students will value the concept of Hakarat Hatov.

ii. Students will value the concept of Chesed

iii. Students will appreciate the fact that Rachav took action to

help these Jewish spies (and converts to Judaism) because she

recognized Hashem

5. Big Ideas

a. “Ma’ase Avos Siman La’Banim-” Just like Moshe, Yehoshua also sends

spies to Eretz Yisrael. However, he learns from the mistakes of the

past time and sends the spies differently.

b. Hakarat Hatov/Chesed- Why is it important to peform Chesed? Why is

it important to show Hakarat Hatov?

6. Major questions that drive the learning of the unit:

a. Yehoshua sends spies to Eretz Yisrael. Who else sent spies to Eretz

Yisrael? Why?

b. What happened when Moshe sent spies to Eretz Yisrael?

c. Do you think that Yehoshua should send spies now? Why or why not?

d. How was Yehoshua’s spy mission different than Moshe’s spy mission?

(How many spies were sent? From where were these spies sent? What

was the spies’ mission? How were the spies sent?)

e. Why did Yehoshua send spies to Eretz Yisrael and specifically to

Yericho?

f. Who were the spies that Yehoshua sent? What do you know about

these two people?

g. Why did the spies go to Rachav’s house?

h. Why did Rachav save the spies? How do you think the spies felt when

they heard this?

i. Where do you see Hashem in your lives? What can/should we do

when we recognize Hashem in our lives?

j. What was the sign that Rachav and the spies made?

k. What is Chesed? How is Chesed different than Emes? What is an

example of Chesed? What is an example of Emes?

l. Why did the spies escape through the window?

7. Annotated List of Mefarshim:

(Please note: Since my students do not have the skills yet to read and

understand meforshim on their own, most of these meforshim will be taught

outside of the text or just referenced in the lesson. The students will read

some of the easier Rashis and Metzudot Tzion/Dovid independently and in

class).

a. Malbim on Passuk 1: “Vayishlach Yehoshua”

i. This Malbim provides 5 differences between Moshe sending of

the spies and Yehoshua’s sending of the spies.

ii. I will utilize this list of 5 differences when I help my students

compare and contrast Moshe sending spies and Yehoshua

sending spies.

b. Rashi on passuk 1 “Cheresh La’mor”

i. Cheresh means deaf. The spies feigned deafness so that people

would speak in front of them.

ii. I will use this Rashi to explain one possible meaning of

Cheresh. We will then discuss why it was important for the

spies to feign deafness.

c. Radak on Passuk 1: “Cheresh La’mor”

i. Cheresh means quietly. Yehoshua sent the spies quietly; Bnei

Yisrael did not know about this mission.

ii. I will also use this commentary to explain what Cheresh can

mean. As a class, we will discuss why it was important for

Yehoshua to send the spies quietly as compared to when

Moshe sent the spies in the Midbar.

d. Rashi on Passuk 1: “Ureu es ha’aretz ve’es Yericho”

i. Rashi explains that Yericho is singled out in this passuk

because as a border city it was harder to conquer.

ii. This Rashi is important for my students to understand why

Yehoshua sent spies specifically to Yericho and why Yericho

was the first city to be conquered. We will also find Yericho on

the map when discussing this Rashi.

e. Radak on passuk 1: “Es Ha’aretz”

i. Yericho was a very large city.

ii. Radak gives another reason for why it was important to send

spies specifically to Yericho and why it had to be conquered

first.

f. Rashi/Metzudot Tzion on Passuk 1: “Isha Zonah”

i. Rashi quoting Targum Yonasan and Metzudot Tzion explain

Isha Zonah as a seller of food/innkeeper.

ii. This is an appropriate explanation of Isha Zonah for 4th grades.

I will use this commentary to explain these words in the

passuk. I will also ask the students: Why do you think that the

spies went to Rachav’s house based on this?

g. Alshich on Passuk 1: “Isha Zonah”

i. 31 kings from around Cana’an came to Rachav’s home and told

her their thoughts.

ii. I will mention this commentary to the class. I will ask them:

Based on this, why do you think that the spies went to Rachav’s

house?

h. Rashi/Metzudot Tzion on Passuk 2: “Lachpor”

i. “Lachpor” means to spy out

ii. The students will look into Metzudot Tzion here to find the

definition of the word “Lachpor.” I will explain that many times

if they do not know what a new word means, they can find the

definition in Metzudot Tzion.

i. Rashi on Passuk 4: “Vatitzpino”

i. The two spies were Chalev and Pinchus. “Vatitzpino” means

“She hid him” because she rushed to hide the spies in a space

really fit for only one of them. According to the Midrash, she

only hid Chalev because Pinchus was able to become invisible.

ii. I will reference this Rashi earlier in the unit to discuss who the

two spies were. During that discussion, we will discuss what

the students already know about Chalev and Pinchus from

parsha lessons.

j. Metzudot Dovid on Passuk 5: “Vayihei Hasha’ar”

i. This means that it was getting dark outside so it was time to

close the gates.

ii. I will use this Metzudot Dovid to help the students understand

what these words mean in the passuk.

k. Radak and Gra on passuk 12: “Ki aseisi imachem chesed”

i. Radak explains the difference between Chesed and Emes.

Chesed is going above and beyond what is necessary. Rachav

did a chesed to save the spies. If the spies save her, they will be

doing an act of emes. If they save her family also, they will be

doing an act of chesed.

ii. In class, we will discuss the difference between Chesed and

Emes and provide examples from our daily lives.

l. Metzudot Dovid on passuk 15: “Ba’ad HaChalon”

i. Rachav had the spies flee from the window because the gates

of the city were locked.

ii. I will ask the students why they think that the spies had to

escape through the window. After they come up with possible

answers, I will tell them what the Metzudot Dovid says.

m. Radak on passuk 15: “Ba’ad HaChalon”

i. They had to leave through the window and not through the

gate because if Rachav would have opened the gate, some of

the neighbors might have heard the spies leaving.

ii. After the students discuss why they think the spies had to

escape through the window, I will provide them with this

Radak as a possible reason.

n. Rashi on passuk 23: “Vaya’avru”

i. They crossed the Yarden.

ii. As we explain the passuk together, I will explain that the spies

crossed back over the Yarden to rejoin Bnei Yisrael. The

students will track their route on a map.

8. Major issue to be uncovered:

a. Why would Yehoshua send spies now if when Moshe sent spies it was

a complete disaster? How is this time different than during the time of

Moshe?

b. In order to understand why Yehoshua sent spies even though the first

time was a disaster, we have to understand that Yehoshua’s sending of

the spies was very different than Moshe’s sending of the spies.

Therefore, to resolve this difficult, we have to discuss the similarities

and differences of these two episodes and specifically the difference of

the goal of the missions. The students’ comparisons, with the help of

the Malbim on Passuk 1: “Vayishlach Yehoshua” can help explain the

differences of these two episodes:

1) During the time of Moshe, Bnei Yisrael requested to

send spies (and they did not request for the correct

reasons). On the other hand, during Yehoshua’s time,

Yehoshua chose to send the spies without seeking Bnei

Yisrael’s opinion.

2) When Moshe sent the spies, Bnei Yisrael were in Midbar

Pa’aran, which was very far from Eretz Yisrael. There

was no reason to send spies already. On the other hand,

Yehoshua sent spies from Shitim, which was close to

Eretz Yisrael. Yehoshua’s spies were not looking to see

whether they should enter Eretz Yisrael or not; they

were going to enter. They were looking to see how to

conquer the land. The mission was different in the two

stories, which affects the outcome drastically.

3) Moshe sent twelve spies, one from each Shevet. Every

shevet felt the need to have a representative to see

whether the land was good or not. On the other hand,

Yehoshua only sent two spies because he just wanted

advice on how to conquer the land. In addition, Radak

points out in Passuk 1 (“Shenayim Anashim”) that these

two men were good men as opposed to the men that

Moshe sent.

4) When Moshe sent the spies, all of Bnei Yisrael knew

about this mission. The spies also told Bnei Yisrael all

about their findings before confronting Moshe. On the

other hand, Yehoshua sent the spies quietly. Bnei

Yisrael did not know about the mission, so they could

not get worried. In addition, the spies told Yehoshua

directly about what happened without confronting Bnei

Yisrael.

5) Yehoshua sent the spies for a clear purpose: to see

Yericho and figure out how to conquer it, as opposed to

Moshe who told the spies to see how “good” the land

and its produce is.

When you understand the differences between these two missions, you can

understand how Yehoshua’s scenario was very different and it was appropriate to

send spies now. In addition, Yehoshua learned from Moshe’s mistakes and sent the

spies differently than how Moshe sent the spies.

9. Values/morals

a. Hakarat Hatov

b. Acts of Emes and Chesed

c. Emunah and Bitachon in Hashem

10. Relevant Maps

Using the smartboard, the students will move “two spies” from Shittim to

Yericho to the mountain area back to Shittim. Through this map, the students

will have a better understanding of why Yehoshua sent spies to Yericho

specifically and why Bnei Yisrael must conquer Yericho first. They will also

be able to see how the spies hide in the mountains, which is farther from

Yehoshua, but also farther from the king’s messengers. They will also see

how in order to return to Yehoshua, the spies must cross the Yarden (see

annotated list of mefarshim above on Rashi 23: Vaya’avru”).

11. Cross-references to other relevant sections of Tanach:

a. Perek 2 in Sefer Yehoshua directly relates to the story of Moshe

sending spies to Eretz Yisrael in Parshat Shelach Perek 13. Just like

Moshe, Yehoshua also sends out spies to Eretz Yisrael before entering.

However, Yehoshua learns from Moshe’s mistakes and sends the spies

differently resulting in a positive outcome. By comparing these two

stories, students will discover the differences between these two spy

missions and come to understand how and why Yehoshua’s mission

was a success, while Moshe’s mission was a failure.

Section 2: Lesson Plans

A)

I. Lesson objectives:

a. Students will know at least 3 differences between the story of the

spies during the time of Moshe and the story of the spies during the time of

Yehoshua.

b. Students will begin to compare and contrast Moshe sending spies to

Eretz Yisrael to Yehoshua sending spies to Eretz Yisrael by comparing the

story in Parshat Shelach to the passukim in Sefer Yehoshua Perek 2.

c. Students will know the reason why Yehoshua sent spies to Yericho

now and how he sent them.

II. Hook:

a. Place the word “Meraglim” on the board” and ask the class:

a. What are meraglim?

b. What does a spy do?

c. Why do leaders send spies to other lands?

d. Thumbs up/Thumbs down: Do you think it is a good idea for a

leader to send spies to enemy land or not? Why or why not?

b. Where in Torah have we learned about spies before?

III. Learning process:

a. Review of story of Cheit Hameraglim:

a. Mini chavruta/group learning: The students will be divided into

groups of three that are pre-assigned by the teacher. Each student

will receive the note-taking guide with guided questions about

Cheit Hameraglim. Each group will receive the passukim from

Parshat Shelach Perek 13-14. Based on the text and their

memories, each student will fill in the side of the chart that says,

“Bezman Moshe” in the 10-minute time frame for this activity. One

student should read the Hebrew text, one student should try to

translate the text, and one student should be prepared to present

the information that they have found to the class. (The passukim

are indicated in the chart so that the task is not too difficult for the

students. In addition, some groups will be provided with the

translation of difficult words and key words underlined). If the

students finish before the 10 minutes are finished, they should

start reading Yehoshua perek 2 and try to fill in the second half of

the chart. While the students are working, the teacher will be

circulating the class answering questions and managing the

classroom.

b. As a class, we will review the chart and the story of Cheit

Hameraglim. Together we will fill in any information that the

students could not answer in their groups independently.

b. Think-pair-share: Yehoshua is about to enter Eretz Yisrael and conquer

the land. He knows what happened during the time of Moshe.

a. Should he send spies before entering the land?

b. Why or why not?

c. If he should send spies, how should he send them?

c. As we read the perek, look for the differences in how Yehoshua sent the

spies and try to fill out the side of the chart that says “Bezman Yehoshua.”

d. Tell students: After just reading passuk 1 you will be able to answer:

a. Who sent the spies now?

b. How many spies were sent?

c. Where the spies were sent from and to?

d. How Yehoshua sent the spies?

e. Student reads passuk 1. Each student will have the map that I posted

above in the unit plan on his or her desk. I will ask the class:

a. On your map, point to the place where Yehoshua sent the spies

from-highlight or circle the place.

b. Point to the place where Yehoshua sent the spies to-highlight or

circle the place. One student will come up to the smartboard and

move my “two spies” from shittim to Yericho.

c. Response card: Are Bnei Yisrael close or far from Eretz Yisrael?

d. Discussion: Based on Yericho’s location, why do you think that

Yehoshua sent spies to Yericho first? Why do you think he wants

to conquer Yericho first? How is this different than during the time

of Moshe?

f. How many spies does Yehoshua send?

a. Who were they?

i. What do you already know about Chalev? Pinchus?

ii. How were these spies different than the spies that Moshe

sent?

iii. Response card/Put up one finger up or two fingers: Is it

better to send 12 spies or 2? Why?

g. Point to the word in the passuk that tells us how Yehoshua sent the spies.

a. What does Cheresh mean? (After hearing possible definitions from

the class, I will explain the two possible meanings of the word):

i. Quietly-Yehoshua sent the spies quietly. How is this

different or similar to how Moshe sent the spies?

1. Discussion: Knowing what happened during the

time of Moshe, why do you think Yehoshua sent the

spies quietly?

ii. Deaf-The spies had to pretend that they were deaf.

1.Discussion: Why is this a good strategy for a spy?

h. According to the passuk, where did the spies stay in Yericho? What is she

described as?

a. Next class we will discuss why they decided to stay at Rachav’s

home.

IV. Independent Practice:

a. Students will fill out independently the first 6 rows in the “Bezman

Yehoshua” side of the chart throughout the lesson. This chart will

be reviewed at the end of the lesson and unit.

V. Checking for understanding

a. The students will write in short hand at least three differences between

Moshe sending out spies and Yehoshua sending out spies. They can use the

questions in the chart to help them. This will be at different points

throughout the lesson to check for understanding.

B)

I. Lesson Objectives:

a. Students will know why the spies chose to stay at Rachav’s house.

b. Students will know how Rachav saved the spies from the

messengers and display this knowledge through a drawing

c. Students will retell the events that took place when the spies

entered Yericho and when they were in Rachav’s home

II. Hook

a. Review last lesson:

a. What does Yehoshua do in Perek 2 that is similar to what Moshe

does in the midbar?

b. Response card: What are some differences in how Yehoshua sent

the spies?

b. Think-pair-share: If you were a spy and had to find out information about

a city, where would you go? Why?

c. Where do Calev and Pinchus go?

III. Learning Process:

a. Teacher explains that Isha Zona can mean that she was an

innkeeper.

i. Discussion: Why do you think that they would stay by an

innkeeper?

b. In addition, the 31 kings in all of the land of Canaan would come to

Rachav and they would tell them their secrets.

i. Discussion: Why then would Calev and Pinchus stay with

Rachav?

d. Student reads passuk 2 and tries to translate the passuk

a. What does Lachpor mean?

i. Ask all students to point to and look into Metzudot Tzion.

Choral reading of first two words in Metzudot Tzion.

Explain that many times Metzudot Tzion explains difficult

words for us.

e. Teacher reads passukim 3-5 dramatically, acting out the passuk with

some of the students.

a. After reading the passukim, teacher will ask questions on the

passukim to check for general understanding, such as:

i. Who came looking for the spies?

ii. What did Rachav do?

iii. What did Rachav tell the messengers about the spies? What

did she tell the messengers to do?

f. Teacher reads passukim 6-7 acting out the passukim with drawings and

images on the board.

g. Discussion: How did Rachav save the spies here?

a. Prediction: Why do you think she saved the spies?

IV. Checking for understanding:

b. Everyone writes/Creating Visual Depictions:

i. Write a summary of what happens in passukim 3-7.

ii. Draw an image depicting passukim 3-7. Make sure to

include in your image the messengers, Rachav, and the

spies-where each of them is and what they are all doing.

iii. Alternative to drawing an image, students can create a

powtoons of the events in these passukim. Ideally, students

should wait until the end of the perek to create a powtoons

that includes how Rachav saved the spies with the rope and

how the spies will ultimately repay her.

C)

I. Lesson Objectives:

a. Students will know why Rachav saved the spies

b. Students will identify times in their lives when they recognize Hashem

c. Students will appreciate the fact that Rachav took action to help these

Jewish spies (and converts to Judaism) because she recognized Hashem

II. Hook:

a. Everyone writes: Why do you think that Rachav saves the spies?

(Look for the answer in today’s passukim).

III. Learning Process:

a. Teacher reads passukim 8-11 and explains the passukim

b. Everyone writes/ Checking for understanding: Based on these

passukim, why does Rachav save the spies?

c. Discussion: What attribute does Rachav show here? What can we learn

from Rachav?

a. The Midrash tells us that Rachav became a geyores and marries

Yehoshua.

b. Rachav recognized Hashem in the story of Kriyat Yam Suf and the

wars in the desert and took action-she helped Jews and became a

Jew herself.

i. When are times in your life when you recognize Hashem?

ii. Everyone writes one idea: What can we do when we

recognize Hashem in our lives?

IV. Independent Practice/ Project:

a. This week look out for moments in your day or even events in the

newspaper that prove that there is a G-d running the world. Write down

the event and explain one thing that you did/ will do different because of

this event. Be ready to share your moment/event and reaction with the

class at the end of the week.

Section 3: Personal Reflections

Entering this class, I was unsure how to teach Navi effectively. I have seen

many teachers teach Navi simply as a storybook, and I was not satisfied with this

approach. After taking this course, I now understand that there are different

approaches to teaching Navi, each with different goals. Some teach Navi as a history

course, while others teach Navi as a springboard for deep philosophical discussions.

However, I believe that the focus in teaching Navi should be on extracting the

morals and values that the Neviim are teaching us. When teaching Navi, I need to

make sure that my students connect to the text and that the Navi makes a difference

in their lives. I now realize the importance of big ideas, active learning strategies,

and the usage of maps and technology to help my students connect to the stories

and lessons in the Navi.

In addition, entering this class, I was not as comfortable with the text of the

Navi as I am with Chumash. However, after having assignments that covered a range

of different sefarim in Neviim and having created two unit plans on different Neviim,

I now feel more comfortable with a range of Sefarim in Neviim.

This coming year will be the first year that I will teach Navi. I will be teaching

Navi to a fourth grade co-ed class. After creating a unit plan and three lesson plans

that I can utilize in my future class, I now feel more confident and ready as a Navi

teacher. As a new Navi teacher my goals are to find the big ideas in various stories in

Neviim to help my students create a deeper connection to the text. In addition,

utilizing the messages found in the Navi I want to help my students develop middot

tovot. I hope to do this by using active learning strategies, fun forms of technology,

and other strategies to make Navi personally meaningful to my students.