Israel at War Lesson Plans
SEE ALL PESACH RESOURCES

High School Haggadah Projects

Grade Level: 9-12
Time: depending on the project and how much is done during class time or outside of class time.

Introduction

Learning the Haggadah, a notable element of the elementary school curriculum, is often neglected once students get to high school. This lesson provides options to help facilitate learning and engaging with the Haggadah in ways that are suitable for high school students. These options offer the opportunity for differentiation and creativity and allow students to create authentic and meaningful projects emanating from the Haggadah.

Objectives:

  • Students will review the Haggadah to view it with cognitive and emotional maturity
  • Students will deepen their understanding of texts and concepts contained in the Haggadah
  • Students will demonstrate their understanding of the texts in a variety of ways
  • Students will create authentic, usable products having to do with the Haggadah
  • Students will gain a more mature and lasting connection with the Haggadah

Project Options:

Below are suggestions for Haggadah projects. Some of the options are more text and parshanut-based, some are more creative, some are more geared towards day-school students, and others are more flexible and can be used in any setting. Creating a “personal Haggadah” is a powerful tool for engagement and meaning-making. 

Option 1: Pick a Parshan (or two or three)

Background: The Haggadah uses many texts from the Tanakh, which are then explained by the Tannaim. 

  1. Students can choose a pasuk–based section from Maggid and create alternate versions of how to “explain the pesukim” using one or more of the commentaries. This project requires students to find the original sources and explore the commentaries on those sources. They will then “rewrite” that section using the new explanations. This can be done using digital resources (Sefaria, Al HaTorah), text-based sources (e.g. Mikraot Gedolot), Nechama Leibowitz chapters from Sefer Shemot, or other more modern commentaries. The work can be presented in writing, orally, or both. (If it is presented in writing, it is more preservable for future use).
  2. Students can use the text and homiletics section to explore the “drash” approach to the text. They can compare the ba’al Haggadah’s explanation of the texts with a classical commentary, and reflect on the differences between them. Students can create their own “drash” on the pesukim, giving modern spins on timeless texts. 
Option 2: Summarize the Shiur or Parse the Podcast

Students can search for and listen to shiurim on the Haggadah and/or on the texts contained in the Haggadah. This lesson asks students to explore sites that have shiurim, and teachers should give students a guide to which sites they should look at. (Examples include YUTorah, VBM from Yeshivat Har Etzion, the Sacks-Herrenstein site for Rabbi Jonathan Sacks videos, and many more). These summaries can be presented in writing, orally, or both.

Option 3: Illuminated Haggadah

In this TikTok project, teachers can either present different images of illuminated Haggadot throughout the ages, have students do image searches, or ask students to bring in an illuminated, illustrated, or historical Haggadah as examples. Students should choose a piece of the Haggadah, preferably a “text” piece (rather than a “ritual” piece), and create an illuminated or illustrated version of that text. They should also explain their representation in some way (in writing or orally), similar to the artist’s notes. These illuminations and illustrations can be compiled and added to a pre-existing text or displayed as an exhibition or gallery walk.

Option 4: Haggadah Video Shorts and Illustrations

Students can create short videos, either a “TikTok-style video, a short documentary-style video, an animation video, or a podcast video dealing with some aspect of the Haggadah. Here are a few examples:

  • imagined interviews with the 4 “sons”
  • imagined interviews with the Rabbis who are having discussions recorded in the Haggadah
  • images or reportage of the plagues
  • “Haggadah reactions” to a specific section
  • actual illumination of letters or words at the beginnings of sections.