In a world that is increasingly connected through social media, educators often incorporate current events into instruction. While this is an important tool for educators to make learning feel relevant and current for students, it also must be done with thought and care. Many curriculum offerings claim to offer educators resources and guidance on integrating complex current events into their classrooms, like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sometimes these offerings, while claiming to provide…
Vox YouTube Video: “The Israel-Palestine Conflict: A Brief, Simple History”
Tools and Strategies
Educators surveyed in a 2025 RAND study said that after school curricula and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum materials, YouTube is their most-used supplement for teaching the Holocaust and related Jewish topics. Although its videos are free and visually engaging, their quality varies; for example, Vox’s “The Israel-Palestine Conflict: A Brief, Simple History” can appear more reliable than it is. Vox itself is an American news and opinion website that leans towards the…
Decode & Disrupt: A Toolkit to Recognizing and Combating Problematic Messages
Tools and Strategies
In recent years, the education landscape has changed dramatically. With the rise of AI platforms like ChatGPT and resource sharing hubs like Teachers Pay Teachers, there are many organizations and resources that claim to offer quality material—often at no cost. The rise of these platforms coincides with a change in trends for educators. According to a report from Education Week, the average teacher uses five supplemental resources and two core curricula sources. The report goes on…
This parent/family discussion guide helps families engage in a discussion about the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, its aftermath and how families can help.
The Pyramid of Hate illustrates the prevalence of bias, hate and oppression in our society. It is organized in escalating levels of attitudes and behavior that grow in complexity from bottom to top. Like a pyramid, the upper levels are supported by the lower levels; unlike a pyramid, the levels are not built consecutively or to demonstrate a ranking of each level. Bias at each level reflects a system of oppression that negatively impacts individuals, institutions and society…
When ‘Just Joking’ Is No Joke: How to Respond When Students’ ‘Jokes’ are Biased or Offensive
Tools and Strategies
There are many benefits of humor. A good joke can ease tension in a stressful situation. Humor can connect people and bring them together. Jokes can bring levity to a situation that begs for lightheartedness. Being funny can signal to others who you are. Humor can even open a conversation that previously felt closed or off-limits.
However, jokes and humor, when they target social identity groups, can do the opposite. They can make people feel unsafe, disconnected, excluded and…
Echoes & Reflections is dedicated to reshaping the way that teachers and students understand, process and navigate the world through the events of the Holocaust. They partner with educators to help them introduce students to the complex themes of the Holocaust and to understand its lasting effect on the world. GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening This unit introduces students to the Holocaust by providing a…
Echoes & Reflections is dedicated to reshaping the way that teachers and students understand, process and navigate the world through the events of the Holocaust. They partner with educators to help them introduce students to the complex themes of the Holocaust and to understand its lasting effect on the world. GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening This unit provides an opportunity for students to examine the complex issues…
Echoes & Reflections is dedicated to reshaping the way that teachers and students understand, process and navigate the world through the events of the Holocaust. They partner with educators to help them introduce students to the complex themes of the Holocaust and to understand its lasting effect on the world. GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening This unit provides students with an opportunity to learn about the…
The Pyramid of Hate illustrates the prevalence of bias, hate and oppression in our society. It is organized in escalating levels of attitudes and behavior that grow in complexity from bottom to top. Like a pyramid, the upper levels are supported by the lower levels; unlike a pyramid, the levels are not built consecutively or to demonstrate a ranking of each level. Bias at each level reflects a system of oppression that negatively impacts individuals, institutions and society…
More than sixty-five years after Brown v. Board of Education, the promise of equal access to quality education remains unfulfilled. School expulsions and suspensions are among the best predictors of who will drop out of high school and African American students are three more likely to be suspended or expelled than their white peers.
In January 2014, the Department of Education and Department of Justice issued watershed guidance on school discipline with the intent to …
What was Kristallnacht (kris'·tahl·nockt)?
Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass," was a wave of violent pogroms against Jews throughout Germany and Austria that took place on November 9-10, 1938. On the night of November 9th, the Gestapo (Nazi State Police) informed local police by telegram about the actions against Jews and their synagogues that would be taking place throughout Germany, instructing them not to interfere with what was happening. During these two nights,…