Contents

Preamble

These games are designed to familiarize participants with the map and geography of Israel. Through playing games, participants internalize names of places, and will be able to connect the names to the places about which they studied, visited on their trip, or saw in a film.

For online references, please see the Places Gallery.

I.2. Line Up

The leader passes out a card with the name of a place in Israel to each participant.
The group has 30 seconds to line up from north to south.
The leader then calls out the names in order to see if the line is right.

Variation:
Use first names and line up alphabetically, ages, etc.

I.3. Pin Jerusalem on the Map

The game is the same as “pin the tail on the donkey,” but in this variation, participants locate the city of Jerusalem on the map of Israel.

Variations:
Pin Israel on a map of the world, or locate a different city within Israel.

I.4. Map Puzzle

Cut up fairly large maps of Israel into puzzle-shaped pieces. For each map create one group and see how quickly each group can put its puzzle together.

Variation:
Each group must put the map/puzzle together nonverbally.

I.5. Place the City

This game is to be played without consultation between participants, even if not in total silence.

The leader prepares the outline of the borders of Israel on the floor of a large room with masking (duck) tape. The map should be about the size of half the room.
Participants are each given one or more picture postcards (or simply a card) with the name of a place in Israel, and a short time together to walk around the map and place their postcard(s) on the appropriate spot non-verbally.
After all the postcards are placed, participants stand and look at the map for a minute without talking. Then they have another minute to return to the map and still without talking, move any postcards they think were misplaced.
Following this, the leader hangs up a large map of Israel and points out the different places, while each chanich puts his/her postcards in the proper place.

I.6. My Map

This activity may be done on a weekly basis, or once at the end of the trip to recall places and experiences. In class or community, this is a useful review exercise.

Participants are given a worksheet showing the borders of Israel, with nothing else indicated. They should draw or write on the map their recollections and feelings about the different places they have studied or visited.
This map or maps become a running record of the participants' feedback, or experiences.

I.7. Talking Postcards

A creative review activity.

Toward the end of the trip or educational program, the leader gives out a picture postcard to each participant of a place in Israel they have studied or visited.
All the participants have a couple of minutes to write an advertisement for that place on the back. Why is that site unique? (Participants can write about experiences that happened to the group, historical facts, the place's religious importance, impressions, etc.)
The leader collects up the cards and distributes them again in random order. Each person now reads one to group.
A fun idea is then to “auction” the postcards/places off, according to the descriptions.

Variation:
Read the “advertisement” while the postcard is resting on a table and see if the group
can guess which site is described.
The winner is the group member whose card stumped the group.

I.8. Israeli Postman

A variation of fruit bowl and other place exchange games.

For this game, the group should be sitting on chairs in a circle.
Each of the participants chooses the name of an Israeli city. The cities selected are written on the blackboard or on poster paper.
One person is chosen to be in the middle and s/he removes his/her chair from the circle. The person in the middle is the “postman.”
The postman then announces the arrival of a letter from city X to city Y.
The two players using those cities’ names must exchange seats without letting the postman sit down on one of their chairs.
The player left without a seat becomes the new postman and the game continues.

Variation:
To add a little extra excitement, allow the postman to announce a “special delivery”;
all the players must exchange seats at once.
Instead of using just the names of cities in Israel, you can use: moshavim, kibbutzim,
geographical regions (e.g., the Negev, Galil, etc.), mountains, etc….
http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/100/PLACES/index.html

top

I.9. Geography

The leader starts by naming a city, state, country, river or lake beginning with the letter A (Afula). http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/100/PLACES/places.html
The first player must name a city…. etc., beginning with the last letter of the previously named word (Acre).
The second player must then name a city…. etc. beginning with the last letter of the last named place (i.e., Eilat).
The game continues in this fashion. Any player unable to give a name is eliminated.
The last players remaining “in” are the winners.

Variation:
Instead of all places, use only places in Israel or use things associated with Chagim.

I.10. Get To Know Israel Game

This game is designed for a large group of 30-50 participants who are unfamiliar with Israel.
The aim of this game is to help participants be aware of the geographical position of towns and areas in Israel, to become familiar with their names and a little about them, to learn a few words in Hebrew, and of course to have a good time!
http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/100/PLACES/places.html
You will need pen or pencil for each team; pad of paper for each team, with ten sheets of paper; blackboard and chalk, or poster board and marker pens (felt tip pens); a map of Israel for each player.
The game includes ten game cards and ten answer cards. The game cards should be cut out and stuck onto cardboard, if possible.

The leader divides the group into teams of 5 or 6 - no more than 8 teams. Each team receives a pad of ten sheets of paper (answer sheets) and a pen or pencil. Each player should have a map.
The team should choose a name and write the name on each sheet of answer sheet. Then they should write the card number on each sheet, making out a sheet for each card from one to ten.

The leader should draw a key to the map on the blackboard/poster board:
Town
Small town
Kibbutz/village
Historical site

Explain to everyone that there are ten cards in the game. On each card there are ten points, related to the title of that card. Teams must try to answer as many questions as possible correctly.
If they find one question very difficult it may be better to abandon it and move on to another card. There will not be enough time to do all the cards, in any case.
Each team is given one card, at random, to start the game and they have 2.5 minutes per round (card). On completing the card they must hand it to the leader, together with their answer sheet, and they will then receive the next card. The game continues in this fashion.
The leader should mark the blackboard or bristol board in advance with a table, putting the team names on the horizontal axis and the numbers of the game cards on the vertical axis.
When the cards come back to the leader s/he should mark them and put the score up on the board. Each card has ten points, one for each question unless otherwise stated.
The leader stops the game when the first team finishes all the cards, or if the excitement is waning; in any case, after no more than 30 minutes.
The leader should encourage the groups from time to time; announce who is currently in the lead, and how much time is left, and so on, to keep up the level of competition and excitement.

After the scoring, and the prizes, the leader should sum up the game with the members of the group. Correct answers to be found on …

Game Cards

Answer Cards

I.11. Go Fish/Happy Families

Happy Families - Go Fish! Israel

Age: 8-11 years, in groups of 3 or 4

Time: includes preparation of cards - one hour

Aim: Teach the different types of settlement and geography of Israel through a game of luck which is then consolidated as a skills/knowledge contest.

Preparation (madrich)

Enough photocopies of cards and information to make a pack for three or four players (see below).

Heavier paper for backing cards: scissors, rulers, pencils, glue; contact lamination options

maps; blu-tack, thread and tape, pins.

Details for card preparation below.

Procedure

Split the group into threes and fours. Each group makes its own cards (below). Each group chooses a dealer who shuffles the pack and deals seven cards to each player; the surplus cards are left face down in the middle.

The player to the left of the dealer starts: if he already has a family of four cards of one type, he shows it to the group, then puts it aside and takes another card from the centre, without throwing one away. If he has no families, he just takes a card from the centre and discards one in a separate pile.

The player to the left continues, and the game goes on until one of the players has no more cards left or until the leader asks all groups to stop.

If the players come to the end of the pack without anyone finishing, they should shuffle the discards and continue. If there are no discards left, see who has the most families.

Now, when the card game is finished, each group sticks its map of Israel on the wall and all the players in that group attach their cards where they belong on the map. The group that finishes first wins, providing there are no mistakes.

Preparing the Cards

Games of Happy Families are usually played with seven families. We have provided 13 families (52 cards) so that you can choose to use all or 7 families twice over if you want to teach just one aspect of Israel (e.g., towns). Some names appear in two families.

You will need to make photocopies of the outline cards and then of the details to fill in - although the group can write in the details by hand. You will also need to make copies of the back of the card.

The group cuts up the cards, colours in the family side and may laminate the cards if desired (quite expensive).

Definitions:

• Kibbutzim - communal agricultural settlements
• Development towns - established to populate Israel more evenly
• Valleys - Hebrew "emek"
• Moshava - early settlements, some still agricultural today
• Moshav - agricultural village, either shitufi (communal) or ovdim (cooperative)
• Springs - Hebrew "Ma'ayanot"

I.12. Map it Out

MAP IT OUT!Get to know Israel