Holocaust Education Resource Project – Pilot Teacher Support

If you’re visiting this page, you’re part of our Cohort of 56 Teachers helping to develop free and engaging Holocaust education for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. THANK YOU!

We’re assembling answers to Frequently Asked Questions on this page to help you teach the lessons and also share your feedback. You’ll also find links to key documents you may need.

Reach out if you need anything – (202) 741-0242!

Links to the Lesson Plans

• Teaching with Survivor Testimony 
• Nazi Racism 
• Challenges of Escape
• Exploring Holocaust-era Diaries
• HUF: Black Newspaper Coverage of the Holocaust 
• Holocaust Narrative through Historical Photos
• 4-day Overview of the Holocaust (coming soon)
• History of Antisemitism and the Holocaust
• How was the Holocaust possible – Overview (coming soon)
• How was the Holocaust possible – Teenagers (coming soon)

FAQ

How do the incentives work? You should have already received a $50 thank you. After the project is over, you will receive another $300. If you also do the student surveys, you will receive another $75. If you help support either the classroom observation or the student focus groups, you will receive another $75.

I’m ahead (or behind) schedule. Can I change my timeline? Of course! We want you to teach these lessons at your convenience. However, we still want to lead student focus groups and visit some of your classrooms, so please keep us posted! We’re coordinating across 35 schools and need to make sure parent/guardian consent forms are accurate.

Should I use the same survey for each classroom? It depends. If all of your classrooms are the same grade and subject (e.g., 5 sections of 7th Grade ELA), you can use the same survey link. If you teach different subjects or different grades (e.g., 11th Grade English, AP Language), you’ll need different survey links or hard copies. Check your Teacher Onboarding Letter or contact us.

Are the classroom observations and student focus groups in person or virtual? We would prefer to do both of these in person, depending on your school’s Health & Safety Protocols. But we can accommodate whatever makes the most sense for you and your classroom.

Are the observations full day or just a particular class? We will only observe classes where you are teaching the lessons for this project. If you teach the lessons in multiple classes throughout the day, we would love to observe as many as we can. Remember: we are there to observe the lessons, we are not there to evaluate you or your students.

If my class size changes, should I notify ACR? No need to update us if the number of students changes, but please let us know if the number of class periods changes.

About the Museum

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is America’s national institution for the documentation, study and interpretation of Holocaust history, and serves as this country’s memorial to the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust.  It carries out multifaceted programs including exhibitions, research, collecting, creation and distribution of educational materials and professional learning for educators, as well as public programming designed to enhance understanding of the Holocaust and related issues.  The Museum is working to keep Holocaust memory alive while inspiring citizens and leaders to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity.

About this Project

The Museum has developed curriculum resources for secondary teachers and classrooms across the country using the materials in the Museum’s collections. The Museum is interested in revising and expanding these resources and lesson plans to ensure that the full set of lessons:

• Encourage students to think about how and why the Holocaust happened using first hand accounts, video interviews and primary source materials.
• Are meeting desired learning goals.
• Align to best practices in critical thinking and inquiry-based learning.
• Are feasible for teachers to implement in a variety of classroom settings.