Jewish Life before the Holocaust
Students learn about pre-war Jewish life and compare it with today’s diaspora in order to reflect on how modernity can impact tradition.
Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust
Students define the term resistance and then learn about the different ways that Jews resisted the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Teaching with Video Testimony
Students watch video testimony from a Holocaust survivor and engage in purposeful reflection about the survivor’s important story.
Use Poetry To Teach About Identity
Celebrate National Poetry Month with this mini-lesson that uses poetry to help students grapple with the complexities of identity and inspire them to tell their own stories.
Introducing and Dissecting the Writing Prompt
Students begin to understand and stake out a preliminary position in response to the assessment writing prompt.
Introducing Evidence Logs
After learning about the Armenian Genocide, students reflect on the writing prompt a second time by adding a historical lense.
Telling Our Histories
Students connect themes from the film to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's concept of “single stories," and then consider what it would take to tell more equitable and accurate narratives.
Adding to Evidence Logs, 1 of 4
Students incorporate new evidence from the history of the Weimar era into the position they are developing.
Adding to Evidence Logs, 2 of 4
Students consider how what they've learned about the rise of the Nazi Party influences their thinking about the essay prompt and practice making inferences.
Adding to Evidence Logs, 3 of 4
Students review the documents and videos from previous lessons and consider what information supports, expands, or challenges their thinking about the essay.
Watching Who Will Write Our History
Students view the film, analyze a primary source from the Oyneg Shabes archive, and consider why it matters who tells the stories of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.