Year 3 – How do festivals and family life show what matters to Jewish people? – Learning Pathway

About this resource

Year 3 Unit 22, ‚”How do festivals and family life show what matters to Jewish people?‚ invites pupils to explore how Jewish beliefs and values are expressed through religious festivals, family traditions, and community life. The unit aims to build pupils‚” understanding of Judaism by examining key celebrations and practices that highlight what is important to Jewish people.

Pupils are introduced to major Jewish festivals including Shabbat, Passover (Pesach), and Hanukkah, learning how these special times reflect themes such as freedom, identity, remembrance, and faith in God. They explore the symbolic rituals and objects associated with each celebration, such as the menorah, seder plate, and challah bread, and consider how these help Jewish people remember important stories and teachings from the Torah.

The unit encourages ages pupils to think about the role of family life in Jewish tradition, including how religious values are passed down from one generation to the next through home rituals, festive meals, and storytelling. Through discussion, artefact handling, and reflective tasks, children learn how Jewish identity is shaped by both individual belief and shared community practice.

Pupils also consider broader questions such as: What can we learn from how others celebrate? What do these festivals tell us about what Jewish people believe? Why is remembering and storytelling so important in Judaism?

By the end of the unit, pupils are able to describe how festivals and family life express Jewish values, deepening their appreciation of diversity and spiritual meaning in everyday life.