Expressing Diversity in Jewish Identity: Blending In and Standing Out
This two-day lesson uses the story of Purim as a frame to examine how Jews have preserved and protected their identities and culture in dominant societies by choosing when to blend in and when to stand out.
![A Jewish family pictured in Yemen](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-03/GettyImages-607446350.jpg?h=eec5a94e&itok=ZTRvXmoY)
Staging the Compelling Question
Students are introduced to the compelling question by annotating the question and completing an anticipation guide about educational justice.
![Kristina Vancil speaking to students in a Chicago classroom](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-02/SL_190523_0534.jpg?h=a49d782d&itok=KUtAJGSJ)
Borders & Belonging
This modular ELA collection for grades 7–12 invites students to explore the complicated world of belonging and the tangible and intangible borders that shape it.
A Part and Apart: Inclusion and Exclusion in Our Jewish Communities
Students consider the benefits and challenges of identity labeling and their identity experiences within and outside their Jewish communities.
Gay Life Under Nazi Rule: The Legacy of Paragraph 175
Students watch survivor testimony from the documentary Paragraph 175 and engage in purposeful reflection about the survivors’ important stories.
![Nazi's standing outside of a building](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-05/1103.jpg?h=2a25a39c&itok=OZxbHBB3)
Ukraine: Discussing the War and Refugee Crisis with Students
Use this lesson to help students process how they are feeling about the devastating war in Ukraine, develop media literacy in what news they consume and how, and explore the mounting refugee crisis.
![Ukrainian Refugees crossing a fallen bridge.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/2022_RussiaUkraineConflict_FH2168262.jpg?h=7fb2964e&itok=suTcwNTN)
Preparing to Discuss Race in the Classroom
Use this lesson to help create a classroom environment in which students can discuss the potentially challenging topic of race in brave and constructive ways.
What Is “Normal”?
Through quote and poetry analysis, students will consider the ways in which our desire to fit in can impact our identities and the choices we make.
![A student writes on a piece of paper in a classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Chicago_PhotoShoot_2019_FH2101686.jpg?h=c11c9c1d&itok=Uq9yiZlO)
How Do Others See Me?
Students will define key concepts and discuss the impact that labels, assumptions, and stereotypes have on their identity development.
![3 students at table](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-10/FHAO_2019_Summit_060.jpg?h=06ac0d8c&itok=iSw_ewUp)
Feeling Seen: A Matter of Perspective
Students will engage in perspective-taking activities to consider what it means to belong and how experiences and interactions with others can shape our identities.
![Two students working together and looking at classwork](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Chicago_Classroom_2019_FH2101643.jpg?h=c11c9c1d&itok=jYPbg96b)
Finding Belonging in the World
“Students create “pearls of wisdom” and consider the value of forming relationships that help us feel seen and secure in our sense of belonging.
![Two female students, one with a hijab, sit in classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-10/Los_Angeles_Classroom_2019_FH2109022.jpg?h=06ac0d8c&itok=jx8afuzO)