EDIS 5882

Lesson Plan Template for HUMANITIES 1

Unit Title: Early Judaism and Christianity
Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): The Art and Culture of Storytelling
Unit Primary Skill focus: Discovering literary techniques in early literature
Plan type: ____Full-Detail ____Summary
Critical Learning Objectives being taught in this lesson:
SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
1. Students will know the qualifications for a narrative vs. a historical narrative.
2. Students will understand how The Sacrifice of Isaac qualifies as a narrative.
3. Students will understand why The Sacrifice of Isaac was important to Hebrew culture.
Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:
4. Students will imagine The Sacrifice of Isaac from a characters point of view.
5. Students will imagine how this story might have shaped the Hebrews ideas about God.
Performance (do):
6. Students will be able to pick out narrative elements from The Sacrifice of Isaac.
7. Students will be able to construct a short historical narrative from a characters point of
view.
8. Students will be able to articulate and discuss how this story may have helped shaped the
Hebrews ideas of God.
SOLs: [List with numbers portrayed in the SOL document]*
9.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze a variety of literary texts including
narratives, narrative nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
c) Identify the characteristics that distinguish literary forms
g) Analyze the cultural or social function of a literary text.
h) Explain the relationship between the authors style and literary effect.
9.6 The student will develop narrative, expository, and persuasive writings for a variety of
audiences and purposes
a) Generate, gather, and organize ideas for writing.

*As this is a Humanities class of 9-12th graders, this lesson will cover the English SOLs
regarding the analysis of literary texts. These particular SOLs are relatively similar in detail
across the grade levels, so only 9th grade standards have been listed here.
CCSs: [List with numbers portrayed in the CCS document]
Grades 9-10, Reading Standards, Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity, Standard 10:
By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in
the grades 910 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of
the range.
By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at
the high end of the grades 910 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Grades 9-10, Writing Standards, Text Types and Purposes, Standard 3: Write narratives to
develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details,
and well-structured event sequences.
a. Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation,
establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create
a smooth progression of experiences or events

Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]
Beginning Room Arrangement:
[Changes in this arrangement that become necessary later will be noted in the plan]
1. [_2_mins.] Bridge/Accessing Prior Knowledge
Hey everyone! Last class we jumped into Chapter 8 in our Humanities textbooks. We started
looking at Early Christianity and Judaism. We started off the day by listing what you already
knew about some of the key players in Biblical history, and you guys seemed to already know a
lot about Father Abraham. Well, today we are going to delve a little deeper into the story of
The Sacrifice of Isaac, or, the almost-sacrifice of Abraham and Sarahs one and only son.
Now, remember: The accounts of Abraham are found in the Old Testament of the Bible, the parts
that recount the history before the birth of Jesus. What do we remember about how some of these
stories were told? [Im expecting that they will remember that these were oral narratives.]
Right. Now, how is this similar to what we remember from ancient Greek literature? [Im
expecting that they will say something to the effect of Homers epics were told by word-ofmouth before they were written down.] Right. Just like there was an oral tradition in ancient
Greece, the stories of the Bible were passed down from generation to generation until the time of
King David in about 1000-961 B.C. Thats when things started to get written down. I think its
pretty fascinating that we have something that dates farther back than even Homers epics,
which scholars believe were written in 8th century B.C.

2. [_5_mins.] Step 1: Read-Aloud of The Sacrifice of Isaac

[The Humanities textbooks are already on the desks.] Please turn in your textbooks to page 237.
I am going to read aloud to you the The Sacrifice of Isaac. [While students are turning to the
correct page:] Now, we know that the Bible as we have it today is written in several different
translations. The translation that is in this textbook is the King James Version which was written
in the early 1600s. So there will be some language that may sound funny or unfamiliar to you,
like ye, thou, thee, thy, and thine instead of just saying you or your; and
hast and shall instead of have and will. They even refer to Abrahams donkey as an
ass, just to warn you. So lets try to get past the tricky language and understand whats
happening in the story.
Also, remember that last class we talked about how the Bible consists history, short stories,
drama, lyric poetry, and philosophical mediation. As we are reading, try to decide for yourself
which type of literature this story might be.
Lets begin.
I will read the story out loud to them as the students follow along in their textbooks.
3. [_10_mins.] Step 2: Post-Reading Narrative Story Map
Where do you think this story falls? [Im hoping to get both the responses short story and
history.] Great. I would first classify this story as a narrative.
Do you guys remember from your English classes what constitutes a Narrative? [Allow students
to brainstorm while I write suggestions into the PowerPoint.
Great. So a narrative is a straightforward account of events or experiences, true or fictitious,
which usually has some sort of rising action, a climax, falling action, and resolution. It can also
be classified as part of Hebrew history. To show you how this story follows the narrative format,
I wanted to take some time to actually map out the story.
[Pass out Story Map Worksheet]
I will take the students through the story, asking them to help me fill in the story map that is
projected on the board through the ELMO. I will type the suggestions that they give me on a
projected story map. Im also expecting the students to write these things down on worksheets
that Ive provided for them. Im expecting the story map to contain these elements:

Setting (when? where?): After these things (v. 1) and into the land of Moriah (v. 2).
Rising Action:
o Event 1: God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son (v. 2)
o Event 2: Abraham takes 2 young men, wood, and Isaac up to the mountain (v. 34)

o Event 3: Abraham takes Isaac yonder, away from the 2 young men (v. 5-6). He
makes Isaac carry the wood while he carries the fire and the knife.
o Event 4: Isaac asks where lamb is, and Abraham says God will provide (v. 7-8)
o Event 5: Abraham builds and altar and ties his son to it (v. 9)
Climax: Abraham raises his hand to knife his son (v. 10)
Falling Action:
o Event 1: Angel appears and tells Abraham to stop (v. 11-12)
o Event 2: Ram appears and Abraham sacrifices it instead (v. 13)
o Event 3: Abraham calls place Jehovah-jireh (v. 14)
Resolution:
o Angel tells Abraham that his family line will continue and be blessed (v. 15-18)

As you can see, the story of The Sacrifice of Isaac follows the requirements for a narrative
pretty closely. It tells the story in a straightforward way with a sequence of events that build to a
climax and fall to a resolution.
4. [_10_mins] Wheres the Emotion? Brainstorm
Now, because this story is told in such a straightforward way, we dont get full descriptions of
how the characters are feeling during this strange and stressful ordeal. There are subtle ways
that the author builds suspense and clues us into what the characters might be feeling, however.
In your small groups, I want you to go back through the story and pick out how the author
conveys emotion. Look at the dialogue between the Angel of the Lord and Abraham. Look also at
Abrahams body language. Write these phrases down on a separate sheet of paper and be ready
to share what you found with the group in about 10 minutes.
Im expecting to get phrases such as:
Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest. . . (indicates that Abraham
loved his son very much).
Abraham lifted up his eyes (indicates that Abraham might have been downcast)
. . . where is the lamb for a burnt offering? (Isaac showing concern)
Angel of the Lord calls Abrahams name twice, right before he was about to slay his son
(indicates a sense of urgency)
. . . and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns (indicates and
element of surprise).

5. [_30 mins_] Creative Writing Activity

We have talked about how this story qualifies as a narrative, but its omission of the characters
thoughts and feelings leaves much to be desired. One literary genre that allows us to think about
and explore these thoughts and feelings is the historical narrative. In the historical
narrative, the author tells about a historical event, blending facts with imagined characters and
situations. For today, we are going to imagine that we are characters in The Sacrifice of
Isaac. In your small groups, I want you to write very short historical narratives from the point

of view of a character of your choice from the story. Heres what I want you to include in your
short narratives [I will pass out a slip of paper with these directions]:
1. Pick a character. You could be Abraham, Isaac, the two young men, or even the ram
that gets sacrificed!
2. Because this is a narrative, you will need to include the setting, rising action, climax,
and falling action in your narratives. (You are re-telling the story, so these events are
already mapped out for you! Refer to the story map that we filled out earlier.)
3. Remember: this narrative is from your characters point of view! Include what have
gone through your characters mind during each event in the story. How was your
character feeling? Terrified? Confused? Tired? Angry?
4. Be creative! What were the sights, sounds, and smells that might have been surrounding
the event?
5. Id like your narratives to be 10-12 sentences long.
6. You have 30 minutes. Make the most of your time!
After everyone has finished, I will ask one group member from each table to share their
historical narrative.
6. [_15__mins] Closure Discussion:
Alright, everybody. Lets take a moment to discuss the implications of a story like this on the
Hebrew culture. Take a few moments to answer these questions as a group. [I will project these
on the board]:

Why do you think God is testing Abraham? What is Abrahams reaction to this test?
What does this story say about the God of the Hebrews?
What kind of attitude might this story be calling its readers to have about God?

I will let the students discuss these for about 7-8 minutes. Then I will have one group member
from each group share out what they discussed.
Thank you for your participation today! I will see you next time.

Methods of Assessment:
[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] List all methods of assessment used in
this lesson or which are related to this lesson and come in a future lesson. After each assessment,
indicate in brackets the number(s) and letter(s) of the unit objective and the related lesson
objectives that the assessment is evaluating.
Formative
Narrative Brainstorm (Obj. 1, 2, 4, 6, 7)
Wheres the Emotion? Brainstorm (Obj. 4)
Short Historical Narratives (Obj. 1, 2, 4, 6, 7)
Small Group Discussion (Obj. 3, 5, 8)

Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my students:

I give the students a Story Map graphic organizer so that the visual learners can
understand how The Sacrifice of Isaac follows the narrative format.
I let the students work in groups; this is especially helpful to my ESOL students. I will
also be walking around the room during the creative writing activity to help those groups
who might be getting stumped.

Materials Needed:

Humanities textbooks
Story Map worksheets (attached at the end)
Google Presentation which contains notes and discussion questions.

Materials Appendix: (e.g., supplementary texts, Ppts, overheads, graphic organizers,

handouts, etc.)

Directions for Historical Narrative Assignment:

1. Pick a character. You could be Abraham, Isaac, the two young men, or even the ram
that gets sacrificed!
2. Because this is a narrative, you will need to include the setting, rising action, climax,
and falling action in your narratives. (You are re-telling the story, so these events are
already mapped out for you! Refer to the story map that we filled out earlier.)
3. Remember: this narrative is from your characters point of view! Include what have
gone through your characters mind during each event in the story. How was your
character feeling? Terrified? Confused? Tired? Angry?
4. Be creative! What were the sights, sounds, and smells that might have been surrounding
the event?
5. Id like your narratives to be 10-12 sentences long.
6. You have 30 minutes. Make the most of your time!

The Sacrifice of Isaac Story Map