

At a Glance
Language
English — USSubject
- History
- Social Studies
Grade
6–12Duration
One 50-min class period- The Holocaust
Overview
About This Lesson
This lesson follows Lesson 2: Exploring Identity so that students in Jewish settings can apply what they learned about universal themes of identity to understanding the complexity of Jewish identity. In this lesson, students will continue to explore their answers to the question, “Who am I?” by examining the concept of dual or multiple identities, with an emphasis on what it means to have a Jewish identity. The activities that follow invite students to reflect on the pressure to choose an identity or prioritize one aspect of their identities over another. The lesson begins with students analyzing an etching by Glenn Ligon that centers around a quotation from author Zora Neale Hurston’s essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” and applying Ligon’s ideas to a Jewish identity. Then students will read Angela Warnick Buchdahl’s reflection on having a dual identity and the tensions that arise when she feels pressure, either perceived or real, to choose just one. Finally, students will watch a short video and consider a range of perspectives about what it means to be Jewish today. The readings and discussions in this lesson help students complicate the notion that having a Jewish identity means one particular thing or can be separated from their other identities or belongings.
Lesson Plans
Activities
Assessment
Extension Activities
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