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Study Guides

Facing History has produced classroom study materials to accompany books, films, and other multimedia resources used to teach lessons of identity, membership in society, and the legacies of history and prejudice. The study guides currently available are listed below. Educators in the Facing History network may borrow books and multimedia from our Lending Library, and other printed materials may also be purchased from Facing History.
America and the Holocaust Study GuideThis study guide accompanies the documentary America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference and offers a disturbing look at the choices Americans made at a time when the Germans were labeling, isolating, humiliating, and eventually murdering European Jews and others they considered "undesirable.
An American Love Story Study GuideThis study guide complements the documentary, An American Love Story, a film that follows the everyday experiences of an interracial family who tries to figure out a way to overcome instances of racism.
Anne Frank in the World Exhibit Study GuideThe purpose of this guide is to prepare teachers and students to view the exhibition, Anne Frank in the World, 1929-1945, while incorporating perspectives and themes highlighted in the Facing History and Ourselves program.
Becoming American Study GuideBecoming American: The Chinese Experience describes the ways the first arrivals from China in the 1840s, their descendants, and recent immigrants have "become American." It is a story about identity and belonging that will resonate with all Americans.
Blessed is the Match study guide Blessed is the Match Study Guide This guide includes classroom strategies and activities that will support students as they consider the significance of Hannah Senesh's life and the legacy that she leaves for young people today. Students study Senesh's poetry, letters and diary entries as they consider themes such as adolescent voice, heroism, and activism, as well as the historical context of the film.
Choosing to Participate Study GuideThis study guide is no longer available. Please visit the new Choosing to Participate Resource Book.
Eyes on the Prize Study GuideEyes on the Prize offers important lessons about the power of ordinary citizens to shape democracy. This study guide provides teachers with an invaluable resource that brings this landmark television documentary into the classroom and insures its legacy in the education of our students.
Facing the Truth with Bill Moyers Study GuideThis study guide accompanies Facing the Truth with Bill Moyers, an extraordinary documentary about the efforts of South Africans to deal with their past-specifically the years of apartheid. The film focuses on the stories of some of the individuals who testified before the nation's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), established in 1995 to investigate gross violations of human rights in South Africa and beyond its borders between 1960 and 1994.
Family Name Study GuideFamily Name, the documentary, traces the efforts of filmmaker Macky Alston to uncover the history that unites three present-day families that share his last name-two are black and one is white. In the film, Alston shares the journey he took to learn more about his name, his family history, and ultimately, himself.
Farewell to Manzanar Study GuideFarewell to Manzanar begins on the first Sunday in December of 1941, the day Japan launched a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It is a day that changes Jeanne's life and the lives of everyone in her family.
Finding a Voice: Musicians in Terezin Study GuideSoon after Hitler and his Nazi party took over Germany in 1933, they began to isolate and then eliminate Jews and other "racial enemies." By the late 1930s, Jews could no longer own radios or record players.
From Modern Art to Degenerate Art Study GuideIn 1937, Germany's National Socialist government seized over 16,000 modernist artworks by over 1,400 artists from German public museums and displayed over 650 of them in the Entartete Kunst, or Degenerate Art exhibition.
Ghetto Life 101 Study GuideThe idea for Ghetto Life 101 came from David Isay, a New York writer and producer. He was asked to make a documentary for a public radio station in Chicago as part of a series on issues of race and ethnicity in the city.
I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People During the Holocaust (Salvaged Pages) Study GuideDuring the Holocaust, a handful of young people chose to write and record in diaries throughout Europe.
Lost Childhoods Study GuideThis study guide accompanies three documentaries: The Lost Boys of Sudan, Discovering Dominga, and The Flute Player. All three focus on individuals who were orphaned as a result of a war in their homeland.
Matters of Race Study GuideMatters of Race is a four-part documentary series that explores race, culture, and identity in the United States today. Each of the 60-minute programs focuses on a single story or set of stories that reveals how "matters of race" continue to shape and misshape American life.
Memphis: Building Community Study GuideDay in and day out, our morning newspapers and evening newscasts document the consequences of our failure to value one another. It is a failure of truly global proportions. Memphis: Building Community recalls the voices of a few courageous individuals who tried to promote democracy by shattering the barriers that divide the people of Memphis and the nation.
New England Holocaust Memorial Study GuideOur identity is shaped, at least in part, by our history. One way a community builds and preserves memory is through monuments that honor its heroes or mark its tragedies. As Professor James E. Young explains, memorials often become places where groups gather to create a common past.
Night Study GuideElie Wiesel's Night is a memoir that focuses on the final year of the Holocaust-a year that the author spent at Auschwitz, a Nazi death camp. The study guide for Night explores two central questions: What is the relationship between our stories and our identity? To what extent are we all witnesses of history and messengers to humanity? For teachers and students reading Elie Wiesel's Night, we have developed a number of resources that provide historical context, suggest teaching strategies, and stimulate discussion in the classroom: From the Library Night -- Elie Wiesel's book is a memoir that focuses on the final year of the Holocaust-a year that the author spent at Auschwitz, a Nazi death camp Challenge of Memory -- The video montage to accompany Elie Wiesel's Night provides a framework with which to explore a number of episodes recorded in the memoir.
Participating in Democracy: Choosing to Make a Difference Study GuideParticipating in Democracy explores the challenges and possibilities of citizenship by highlighting the stories of four young Americans. Their work deepens and expands our understanding of the word citizen and helps us see good citizenship as a creative act - a work of the imagination.
Rescuers of the Holocaust: Boston Exhibit Study GuideThe rescuers acted at a time when most people saw themselves as helpless. Their action deepens our understanding of the ways one person can make a difference. They also expand our understanding of citizenship by helping us see good citizenship as a creative act - a work of the imagination.
Schindler's List Study GuideSchindler's List, the award-winning film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Steven Zaillian based on the book by Thomas Keneally, tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a war profiteer and member of the Nazi party who saved over 1,000 Jews during World War II.
Stitching Truth Stitching Truth: Women's Protest Art in Pinochet's Chile Study GuideThis guide begins with a reflection on the arpilleristas and the women's protest movement in Chile by award-winning scholar, poet, and activist Marjorie Agosín. The introduction is followed by several readings, comprising a historical narrative that describes the movement, and a series of primary source documents, including poetry, diplomatic correspondence, and, of course, photographs of the arpilleras themselves.
Survivors of the Holocaust Study GuideImmediately after World War II, Nazi leaders were brought to trial at Nuremberg, Germany for "crimes against humanity" and other war crimes. At those trials, the world heard evidence solely of what the per­petrators did.
Teaching BanishedThousands of African Americans were driven from their communities by violent mobs in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  In fear for their lives, the victims left behind their land, homes and businesses, never to return.
Teaching Red Scarf GirlTeaching Red Scarf Girl has been developed to help classrooms explore essential themes, including conformity, obedience, prejudice, and justice. This study guide accompanies Red Scarf Girl, Ji-li Jiang’s engaging memoir which provides an insightful window into the first tumultuous years of the Cultural Revolution in China.
The Reckoning Teaching The ReckoningFacing History and Ourselves has developed Teaching The Reckoning to help classrooms explore essential questions about judgment by studying the creation of the International Criminal Court.
The Children of Willesden Lane Study GuideIn early 1938, Lisa Jura, a young Jewish girl in Vienna, dreamed that one day she would become a concert pianist. In March, her dreams were shattered. She became a refugee, one of about 10,000 children brought to England before World War II as part of the Kindertransport--a mission to rescue children threatened by the Nazis.
The Giver Study GuideTwelve-year-old Jonas lives in a futuristic society in which all the needs of its citizens seem to have been met. They are protected from poverty, hunger, disease and violence. When Jonas is given his lifetime assignment, he becomes the receiver of "the memories of the whole world" that are held by just one other person in the community.
Totally Unofficial: Raphael Lemkin and the Genocide Convention Study GuideThis case study highlighting the story of Raphael Lemkin challenges all of us to think deeply about what it will take for individuals, groups, and nations to take up Lemkin's challenge. To make this material accessible for classrooms, this resource includes several components: an introduction by Genocide scholar Omer Bartov; a historical case study on Lemkin and his legacy; questions for student reflection; suggested resources; a series of lesson plans using the case study; and a selection of primary source documents.
Twilight, Los Angeles (Espanol) Study GuideEl film, dirigido por Marc Levin y basado en la obra teatral de Anna Deveare Smith, examina el evento desde varias perspectives. Utiliza los fragmentos de conversación recogidos por ella para fomentar el diálogo sobre las razas, el poder, la verdad y la justicia.
Twilight, Los Angeles Study GuideAnna Deavere Smith's Twilight: Los Angeles directed by Marc Levin examines the event from a variety of perspectives. She has collected fragments of monologues that both invite and provoke conversation.
Two Towns of Jasper Study GuideWe have known each other for twenty-five years. We attended the same high school, shared holidays and weddings, and at times even lived in each other's homes. Both of us went to similar northeastern colleges and ended up with similar careers as filmmakers in New York City.
Warriors Don't Cry Study GuideWarriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals-a first-hand account of the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. The book explores not only the power of racism but also such ideas as justice, identity, loyalty, and choice.