Lihitraot Lot! Avraham and Lot Separate, Part 2
Students act out the events of the text and learn about compromise.
Lesson objectives
The student will be able to:
1. Describe how the shepherds of Avram and Lot were fighting.
2. Describe how each shepherd felt his cattle did not have enough land on which to graze.
3. Relate how Avram expressed concern about family fights and offered a compromise.
4. Explain that Lot decided to choose a direction to travel, and Avram chose the opposite way.
5. Describe how Lot chose Jordan, towards Sedom. Avram made his way toward Canaan. They separated.
6. Describe compromise.
Skills
The student will be able to:
1. Identify a list of common Biblical vocabulary.
2. Identify the roots (shorashim) of common Biblical words.
3. Read the verses with understanding.
Values
The student will be able to:
Appreciate the value of compromise as seen in this story of Avram and Lot.
Resources & Equipment needed
- Chumashim or Sefaria link to text for all students
- Whiteboard and board markers
- Small slips of paper and pens/pencils for all students
- Cup/bowl/bag
Procedure
Student Pair Reading and Acting
Pair the students. Each pair of students should read and act the section out themselves, while you circulate to clarify issues and help slower children. Students should be more familiar with words and meanings by now.
Classroom discussion
Ask the students: What lessons can be learned from Avraham and Lot? List all student responses on the board, asking students to put their ‘thumbs up or thumbs down’ to indicate agreement or disagreement with peers’ responses. Draw asterisks next to the most practical and agreed-upon response.
Tell the class that COMPROMISE is getting a little of what you want and giving up a little of what you want to make someone else happy. Compromise is necessary to live with one another, even if you don’t always get along.
Chart
Draw a chart on the board called COMPROMISE. The chart should consist of two columns: one column should be “got what he wanted” and the second column should be “didn’t get what he wanted” Ask students how Avram and Lot got what they wanted and also gave up what they wanted. Under the first column write “Avram got a place to graze”, “His shepherds stopped fighting”, etc. Under the second column write “Maybe it wasn’t the area he wanted”, “He had to separate from Lot, the only family he had on the way”, etc.
Share Examples
In pairs or alone, ask students to think of other examples where they have had to compromise. They must write down in their example how they received a little of what they wanted and how they had to give up what they wanted. Collect the examples in a cup/bowl/bag.
Pull out one of the examples and read it to the class. Discuss the issue as a class. Ask, “How is this compromise? Who compromised to whom? How did both sides get what they wanted and what did they have to give up?” Call up a student and pull another response from the bag/cup. Repeat discussion. Repeat one or two more times.