Inspiring change one teacher at a time

"Meagan Talbot, along with two other teachers at her school, have requested the use of three of our classroom sets of books.  This is the second year the school has used all three sets at one time. We emailed her and asked her to tell us a little bit more about what she is doing.  Here is her response!" - Ilana Cone Kennedy, Director of Education

Today is the first day of school, and so far everything has gone quite well! We are all 8^th grade Language Arts teachers and we collaborate on a Holocaust unit. Our anchor text is “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” by John Boyne, which all students read.  We also have students select one novel of their choice about the Holocaust. We use your trunks to help students select a novel about people who experienced the Holocaust. Students do a number of essays, class discussions, and presentations about their findings. We also read many survivor accounts, articles, share pictures and artifacts, watch historical videos and watch videos of survivor accounts, and read poetry as supplements.  Students really love the unit and come to be quite passionate about sharing the experiences they read about in their student selected texts. It’s amazing to watch them go from knowing nothing about the Holocaust and WWII, to understanding how it slowly grew into the Holocaust, and how people were able to survive it physically and emotionally. We do this unit at the beginning of the school year, and it’s amazing how students connect to it, and refer back to all year. Your trunks are an incredible resource, and we so appreciate the opportunity to use them!

 

Thank you!

 

Meagan Talbot
6th and 8th English Language Arts
North Whidbey Middle School

Student Projects and Thank You Notes

Occasionally, teachers send us some of their students' work inspired by the books they read in the Teaching Trunks.  In Paul Regelbrugge's class at Finch Elementary in Spokane, students created picture books and ABC books about the books they read.  Below are pages from a few of the projects.

The students also sent letters sharing how the trunks have affected them.  Below are a few excerpts.

"In the Holocaust chest that you sent to Finch Elementary, I read Faces of Courage, by Sally Rogow... Thank you for helping me get that opportunity to read such courageous stories from some amazing people.  Reading these stories helped me understand how much simply standing up for someone being bullied can change the world... If I ever have the chance I will make an impact in the world. No. Even if I have to fight to make a difference. I WILL make a change."

"The book I chose to read was Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, and let me say I am amazed how much this book and suitcase you sent has changed me. It just makes me cringe when i think about all the people in the world who have had to face death, or life-threatening injuries, just because of their skin color, religion, or for even being handicapped or gay.  And because of you one of my new favorite quotes is "change begins with me."... Lowry's bok helped me realize that I need to embrace who I am and not be ashamed of the color of my skin [I am African American]."

"The story [Number the Stars by Lois Lowry] made me realize how terrible this war was.... It makes me sad how someone could do this.... I wish to help people and teach them about this terrible event. I hate to know about this but at least it helps us be able to teach this scary event. To teach kids and other people about it and be able to learn that I don't want to be a bystander."


Thank you Paul Regelbrugge and your students for their great work!

7000 Students Use Holocaust Teaching Trunks & Classroom Sets of Books

[The students] learned life lessons about bullying, hope, love, survival, war, good vs evil and caring.
- Teacher, Ridgeline Middle School, Yelm

7000 students used the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center's Holocaust Teaching Trunks and classroom sets of books in the 2008-2009 school year!

This was the first year the classroom sets of books have been available - they were met with enthusiasm. A classroom set of books includes 30 copies of a title, a related dvd, a teacher guide, and related activities for the classroom. Titles available are All But My Life, Diary of Anne Frank, Hana's Suitcase, Night, and Number the Stars.

16 Holocaust teaching trunks criss-cross the state of Washington throughout the year. 81 schools used the trunks and classroom sets this year!

Reservations for the 2009-10 school year now being accepted for trunks and classroom sets! Reserve your materials now!

Thank you for sending the Holocaust teaching trunk. Thank you for letting us never forget. A million thank yous!

- Student, Meridian Middle School, Kent