Sunday school – Zoroastrian Family Tree (Annahita Jasavala)
Ages: 5 – 9 years.
Standard:
Know prophet Zarathushtra’s family tree, names of his parents, and siblings, wife and children.
Objective:
The students will learn:
The members of prophet Zarathushtra’s family.
Based upon this information can learn to get curious about their own families and ancestors.
Materials:
Board with the image of a Family Tree and branches.
Names of Prophet Zarathushtra’s family members on slips of paper, folded in a box. There are also some names that are red herrings to make the children read the lesson
Thumb tacks – to tack the slips of paper on “Family Tree” board.
Text of lesson for each child.
Lesson:
Introduce the lesson (explain what the students will be learning) and then have the students read the text with the teacher helping with long words. After reading the lesson, pass around the box with the name slips so each student can pull a slip with a name of Zarathushtra’s family member.
Checking for understanding:
Save one slip for the teacher to demonstrate and pin it on the family tree on the correct branch.
Activity:
After teacher demonstrates how and where the names are placed on the board, have each child read through the lesson on their own to see at where the name (on their pulled slip of paper) should be placed on the “Family Tree” board. The child then comes up to the board and with a thumb tack pins the name on the correct branch of the tree. The other children follow in turn till the branches all have a name slip pinned on them.
Those children who picked a slip with a non family-tree name, will only know after reading the lesson that the name slip they picked, does not belong on the “Family tree”.
Those children who need help reading can count on the older children who can help them. This teaches the older children to help their fellow classmates and the younger classmates learn to respect and look upon the older children as mentors.
Closure:
Ask the students why, after over 2500 years, do we know about Zarathushtra’s family members?
Ask students to inquire about their own family members – grandparents, maternal and paternal, parents and their uncles and aunts, cousins, and their own siblings.
Answer any questions that they might have at this point.
Pow– roo– shas–paa
Doog – doe – vaa
Zara–thoo–sh – tra
ROOS-- TAM
Rat – ush – taar
Ran – gush – taar
SHE-Rin
No – da – ri – ga
Nee – vey – dis
Huv – vo – vee
Fray – nee
Three – tee
Pow– roo– chis– tee
Is – at – vast – aar
Ur – va –tad – naar
Kh–war–shed-chair
Zarathushtra’s Family Tree
Our prophet Zarathushtra was born about 1500BC.
His name means “He who manages camels”.
His father was Pow – roo – shas – paa, and his mother’s name was Doog – doe – vaa.
Zarathushtra was not the only child.
He had two older brothers - Rat– ush – taar, Rang– ush – taar, and two younger borthers, No – da – ri – ga, and Nee – vey – dis.
Zarathushtra married Huv – vo – vee (possessing cattle), and they had six children.
They had 3 sons, Is – at – vas – taar (desiring pastures), Ur-va – tad – naar (commanding men), Kh – war – shed – chair (Sun-faced).
They also had 3 daughters, Fray – nee (abundance), Three-Tee (the third one),
Pow – roo – chis – tee (very thoughtful).
How do we know this?
Zarathushtra’s family information was collected centuries ago by the priests and teachers, and later translated in many modern languages. This book is called the DEN-CARD. The information was collected in the 9th century – over 1100 years ago!
Activity – in class:
Draw paper slips from a hat. Clip the corresponding relations on the branches of the family tree.
Homework activity:
Inquire about lifestyle during the days when their grandparents or family elders were young.
Find out more about your family elders, so your family history and stories are preserved. Interview your grandparents to find out what life was like when they were children.
Here are some possible questions to ask –
What were the names of their parents?
What school did they go to?
How did they get to school?
How did they get their food?
How did they celebrate festivals like Norooz, Gahambar, birthdays?
What languages did you speak in the house?
Did they have house chores to do? What were they?
What games did they play? Were there computers?
What was their city like?
Were there wars, like the Second World War?
How did they manage during the war times?
Did they have enough to eat?
Were they worried for their safety?
If your grandparents moved to the US or Canada, then WHY did they move?
How did they continue their family culture in the new country?
What did they change?