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Education

Overview  |  MyBatMitzvahStory.org  |  Living the Legacy Curriculum  |  Go & Learn: Lesson Plans  |  Curricula  |  Primary Sources  |  Posters |  Oral History Tools |  Book/Film Guides |  Mother/Daughter Activities  |  Best Practices |  Professional Development

At the Jewish Women's Archive, we believe that education is empowerment. Only when we know our complete heritage can we understand our full potential. JWA develops educational resources that make the lives and accomplishments of Jewish women available and accessible to teachers and students alike.

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JWA educational materials are primary document based, bringing Jewish women's voices out of the archives and into dialogue with learners of all ages:

Curricula

  • Living the Legacy explores the role of American Jews in the Civil Rights and Labor Movements through the stories of both women and men. The Civil Rights module of the curriculum is now online; the Labor module will be available in fall 2012.
  • Go & Learn, features primary documents and lesson plans for Jewish educators. Use these texts and lessons in your classrooms, family education programs, youth group activities, and adult education courses.
  • Making Our Wilderness Bloom, our print curriculum, provides over 200 pages of rich historical sources linked to Jewish values, as well as a comprehensive Teacher's Guide.
  • Primary Sources Lesson Plans offer printable, stand-alone lessons using historical documents on themes including immigration, Jewish values, and women's activism.

Other Resources

  • MyBatMitzvahStory.org provides a safe, fun online setting in which bat-mitzvah-age girls explore and express their emerging identities through interactive features, a family history tool kit, and profiles of inspiring "cool" Jewish women. The site also offers tips for parents and activity guides for clergy and educators to use in offline, mixed-gender settings.
  • The Women of Valor poster series puts notable Jewish women's faces on the walls of our institutions, and the accompanying web exhibits provide an in-depth exploration of their contributions and achievements.
  • By using oral history to record Jewish women's stories, we are documenting a vital part of our collective past. JWA's oral history resources provide tools for individuals and groups to conduct interviews with the important Jewish women in their own lives.
  • JWA's book and film guides are designed to stimulate lively conversation about how American Jewish women are represented in literature and film. Book series include "A Place in History: Jewish Women Tell Their Stories," "Seeking Community, Creating Community," "Spiritual Journeys," "Jewish Women and the Search for Self," and "The Girls' Book Club." The film series guide addresses "Images of Jewish Women in American Film."
  • The Jewish Women's Archive has created specific resources for Mother/Daughter Activities. These include workshops based on our Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution exhibit and a Reading Guide, "The Girls' Book Club."
  • Join the JWA educational community: share Best Practices and other teaching ideas. We are always developing new resources. Tell us what you'd like to see next from JWA by emailing us.
  • JWA supports educators nation-wide in using our educational resources. We sponsor a biannual Institute for Educators. We are also available for phone consultations and curriculum workshops. Please email us for more information.