Before teaching about any genocide, teachers are strongly encouraged to review and incorporate the Best Practices in Genocide Education, which can be found here.
The materials below were suggested during an eighteen-month collaboration of educators, historians, and others who were part of the Michigan Governor’s Council on Genocide and Holocaust Education, and they are meant primarily for classroom teachers. There are additional materials out there and available for a wide-range of audiences, including teachers. Teachers should only use established, researched sources and methods to inform classroom instruction.
Leading Websites for Teachers
Shoah Foundation Lessons
This website includes specific lesson plans around specific testimonies in many different languages.
Facing History and Ourselves
Explore the events that led to the systematic murder of six million Jews and millions of other innocent victims. Discover the stories of survivors, witnesses, and rescuers that raise essential questions about the nature of human behavior.
History Unfolded Project
This special project from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum asks students to become citizen historians by researching and posting newspaper articles depicting what Americans knew about the Holocaust and when did they know it. A special emphasis is on your local newspaper collections.
The Holocaust Memorial Center | Education Workshops
The Holocaust Memorial Center offers a variety of teacher workshops for both ELA and social studies teachers. We can provide you with inter-disciplinary Holocaust education training, support and curriculum integration.
Historical Background for Teachers
Teaching About the Holocaust
Background information about how to teach the Holocaust and links to lessons.
Holocaust Encyclopedia
A searchable webpage of a comprehensive collection of Holocaust terms, people, and places.
Classroom Resource Collection
The Path to Nazi Genocide (38 minute film)
This United State Holocaust Memorial Museum produced film tells the story of the Holocaust in a precise on concise way. Good way to start your study.
Lessons and Curricular Resources – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Ready to go lesson plans about the Holocaust (and other genocides) from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Echoes & Reflections
Echoes & Reflections offers a unique way to teach the Holocaust, using many online resources. This is a starting point to their approach.
Lesson Plans – Echoes & Reflections
This collection of ready to go lessons from Echoes & Reflections provides large, several lessons to more succinct, single-day lessons.
Educational Resources at Yad Vashem
This collection of educational resources from Yad Vashem includes everything you might need – lesson plans, book reviews, maps, art, testimony, etc. A great place to find resources for your classroom from the world’s leader in Holocaust education.
iWitness
This “award-winning educational platform brings the first-person stories of survivors and witnesses of genocide from the Institute’s Visual History Archive to students via multimedia-learning activities that are accessible via Macs, PCs, iPads, and tablet devices connected to the Internet.”
History Unfolded Project
This special project from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum asks students to become citizen historians by researching and posting newspaper articles depicting what Americans knew about the Holocaust and when did they know it. A special emphasis is on your local newspaper collections.
Holocaust Film Guide
This document addresses how and when to use film to engage with the Holocaust.
The Art of Holocaust Survivor Miriam Brysk
This website offers access to the Holocaust inspired artwork of Michigan Survivor Miriam Brysk.