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Year 5

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

I can explain why Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are so important to most Jews.

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Year 5

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

I can explain why Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are so important to most Jews.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Rosh Hashanah is followed by ten days of penitence, leading to the festival of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
  2. People reflect on the past year asking forgiveness for things that they have done wrong.
  3. They also think about the year ahead and what is important.
  4. Special readings and prayers are said at services and the shofar horn is blown.

Keywords

  • Penitence - the feeling of regret for one's wrongdoing

  • Shofar - a ram’s horn that is blown like a trumpet

  • Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement

  • Rosh Hashanah - festival to mark the beginning of the Jewish New Year

Common misconception

All festivals are times of celebration and joy.

Yom Kippur is about reflection and penitence.


To help you plan your year 5 religious education lesson on: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Many Jews do not use the full name for God and prefer this holy name written as G_d. We follow this convention for Jewish speakers. Draw attention to the way Jews break their fast at Yom Kippur by eating sweet foods. This compares to the way Muslims break the fast at Ramadan by eating dates.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
During Rosh Hashanah, it is traditional to eat apples dipped in ...
chocolate.
Correct answer: honey.
bitter herbs.
Q2.
'Shana Tovah!' means ...
'goodnight!'.
Correct answer: 'Good Year!'.
'good morning!'.
Q3.
The festival to mark the beginning of the Jewish New Year is called ...
Hogmonay.
Correct answer: Rosh Hashanah.
Chinese New Year.
Q4.
Why are pomegranate seeds an important symbol in Judaism?
Correct answer: they remind Jews of the hundreds of laws in the Torah
they remind Jews to be healthy
they are round like challah bread
Q5.
Rosh Hashanah marks the __________ of the Jewish New Year.
Correct answer: beginning
middle
end
Q6.
The bread eaten during Rosh Hashanah is called ...
mitzvah.
Torah.
Correct answer: challah.

Exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
Yom Kippur is ...
Correct answer: the Day of Atonement,
a New Year's resolution.
a ram’s horn that is blown like a trumpet.
Q2.
Which of these Jewish festivals are about new beginnings and a fresh start?
Shabbat
Correct answer: Rosh Hashanah
Correct answer: Yom Kippur
Q3.
How is a shofar blown?
Correct answer: like a trumpet
like a balloon
like a bubble
Q4.
Put these parts of the story of Jonah in the correct order.
1 - God told Jonah to go to Ninevah.
2 - Jonah decided to flee on a boat to another place.
3 - A terrible storm blew in.
4 - Jonah was thrown overboard.
5 - He was swallowed by a gigantic fish.
6 - God made the fish spit Jonah out. He then went to Ninevah.

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