By: Emily Teck, EdD  | Posted on:  April 28 2019

Friends,
With a heavy heart, we have updated the resources we've compiled and created to support educators as we embark upon the terrible but necessary task of we help our students and communities process yet another tragic act of anti-semitism. Please see below 
We will continue to update the page, and please feel free to send us any resources you create or discover that merit inclusion.
As a gentle reminder that is relevant at this time and whenever significant events that conjure significant emotional response: Please remember the importance of self-care, and make sure that you attend to your own needs and seek support and space to process the news and your feelings about it with friends or colleagues before attempting to foster this process in your children. Additionally, your approach to facilitating classroom conversations or responding to children's questions about tragic events must be grounded in an understanding of developmentally appropriate practice. If you are unsure about how to answer a difficult question or feel that a particular conversation is headed in a direction that isn't appropriate for all of the participants, you can pause the conversation. Some honest, respectful ways to transition from a topic that you feel might not be appropriate to all of the community members present might be:

 "That is a great question! Let's discuss that with __________ (your parents, the Rabbi, whomever...) to see what they think, too!"

"That is a really interesting thought/question/comment, thank you for sharing it with me. I'm not sure what I think/what to say about that, so I'd like to pause this conversation and come back to you at another time so I have time to think/research about that"

"I appreciate that you feel comfortable saying/sharing that with me- it is brave of you to be so honest...I want to be honest, too- I'm not comfortable discussing this in this environment. We can revisit this at another time/place."

Any and all of this might be followed up with "Would you like me to let your grown-ups know that you are interested in discussing this with them? I can send them a note/email/text to let them know you are curious/concerned about this topic, if you would like..."
 
Lesson Prompts and Plans:
Current Events in Your Classroom an on demand webinar from Facing History and Ourselves
Guide to Fostering Civil Discourse from Facing History and Ourselves

Relevant Lesson Plans:
One Teaches To Pursue Justice (elementary, anti-bullying based on a picture book)
Terrible Things: An Allegory of The Holocaust Explore the role of The Bystander (upper elementary and middle school)
The World of The Bystander: "The Hangman" (middle school lesson plan based on poetry)
Anti-Semitic Incidents: Being An Ally, Advocate and Activist from the Ant-Defamation League (middle school, high school)

Articles 
“How To Talk to Kids About Anti-Semitism” from PJ Library
“It’s Time To Talk To My Kids about Anti-Semitism” from Kveller.com
“5 Tips for Talking To Kids About Anti-Semitism” from the JSSA 

We will be updating this page as more resources become available- please let us know if you have something to share by writing [email protected]. 

Be strong, and we will strengthen one another.