By: Emily Teck  | Posted on:  August 17 2017

Throughout history there have been watershed events that have changed and shaped our thoughts, attitudes, and perceptions, and given rise to questions to which there are no answers. The tragedy in Charlottesville is one such event and must be addressed at many different levels in our cities, our communities, our homes and in our schools.

Our students will see and hear things, possibly for the first time, as hatred and bigotry once again surface. We must be prepared to help them, providing them with a forum for discussion and giving them the tools they need to recognize and confront anti-semitism and become part of the solution.

We at JewishLearningMatters.com know the concern educators have at this time and have compiled a bank of outstanding, relevant resources to help you address students’ questions, fears and emotions. As a gentle reminder, stay grounded in developmentally appropriate practice, find a way to process your reaction independent from your students’ experiences, and continue to use excellent pedagogy and your experience as a human being to navigate this new territory.

Resources:

After Charlottesville: Teaching about Racism, Anti-Semitism and White Supremacy
“The First Thing Teachers Should Do When School Starts Is Talk About Hatred In America. Here’s Help.” from The Washington Post
"Resources for Educators To Use In The Wake of Charlottesville" from NPR
"Teaching about Race, Racism and Police Violence: Resources for Educators and Parents" from The Washington Post
"What Jewish Children Learned from Charlottesville" from The New York Times 
"After Charlottesville, 5 Jewish Ways to Help Kids Deal" from The Union for Reform Judaism
“Politics In The Classroom” from NPR
“Knowing Our History to Build a Brighter Future: Books to Help Kids Understand the Fight for Racial Equality” from Brightly 
"Why I Will Not Be Teaching About Charlottesville" from Teaching Tolerance
"How to Foster Humanity as Teachers in the Wake of Charlottesville" from Facing Today, a blog from Facing History
"Raising Race Conscious Children"
 
Lesson Prompts and Plans:
Charlottesville Resources  from Facing History and Ourselves
Guide to Fostering Civil Discourse from Facing History and Ourselves
"After Charlottesville: Contested History and the Fight Against Bigotry"
“5 Key Anti-Racism” resources from ChalkBeat.com
“Tragedy in Charlottesville After White Nationalist Rally” from ShareMyLesson.com
Action Plan: “Charlottesville Organizers Ask You To Take These 8 Actions” from Medium  


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 to Prepare To Address Anti-semitism:
“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.