July 14 & 15, 2014
Museum of Jewish Heritage
New York, NY

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Complete Advance Preparation Assignments

Join the Jewish Women’s Archive for a two-day professional development workshop in New York City. This year’s program will give you new tools for engaging your students and bringing fresh content into your classroom.

Participants will have the opportunity to:

• DISCOVER the power of primary sources (including letters, photographs, and oral history interviews) and personal narrative to excite your students and introduce them to the stories and accomplishments of American Jewish women.
• COLLABORATE with colleagues and JWA staff to develop strategies and plans for integrating historical Jewish stories into your classroom or community.
• EXPLORE new ways to inspire your students through the Jewish legacy of social justice in the United States.

Program Highlights

• Learn how to create a Living Museum in your classroom with Paul Radensky, Ph.D., and Manager of Education Programs at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
• Investigate traditional Jewish texts about social justice, and practice strategies for sharing them with students.
• Experiment with strategies for creatively integrating historical sources into your teaching.
• Participate in lessons from JWA’s rich collection of curricular resources modeled by JWA staff.
• Collaborate, problem solve, and create new lesson plans with colleagues from similar education settings.

Draft Schedule

Day 1

Welcome and Introductions
Get to know your fellow workshop participants.

The JWA Mindset
Why was the Jewish Women’s Archive created? How will the JWA pedagogy and resources enhance your students' learning? In this session, we will answer these questions and begin to explore the current role that Jewish history and women’s stories play in your classroom, school, or community as a framework for the workshop.

Using Primary Sources
Why are primary sources an essential part of the JWA mindset? In this session we will learn how to creatively use primary sources through modeling, text study, and small group discussion.

Lunch

Living Museum Project
Paul Radensky, Ph.D. and Manager of Education Programs at the Museum of Jewish Heritage will introduce tools and strategies for creating “classroom museums” from family artifacts. Educators will be asked to bring in personal artifacts from important Jewish women in their lives and curate their own museum.

Reflection
In pairs or small groups and through writing, reflect on the following questions: How will you use what you learned today? What questions do you hope will be answered tomorrow? Evaluate the first day of programs as a group.

Day 2

Framing for the Day
Review Day 1, Set Frame for Day 2

Model Lessons
Participants will be able to choose from a select group of lesson plans and participate in a modeled lesson from our Living the Legacy social justice curriculum or our Go & Learn guides. After, we will discuss where the modeled lesson (or part of it) may fit into your curriculum.

Traditional Jewish Text Study
Explore social justice themes in traditional Jewish texts. Experiment with different strategies for bringing traditional text into a variety of programs or lesson plans.

Lunch

Breakout Sessions
Attend a breakout session about bringing historical sources and personal narrative into the educational setting of your choice. You will have the chance to practice identifying, adapting, and integrating primary sources to meet the specific needs of the students you serve. Content of these sessions will be based on participant input.

Content Mapping
Working with colleagues or independently, use tools and staff expertise to mine jwa.org for primary and secondary source content that matches your curricular goals. JWA will provide guidance.

Reflection
What did you learn? What are you taking away? Everyone gets one minute or less to share.

Next Steps
How will you take what you have learned into your community? Complete an action plan and learn how JWA can support you in the coming school year.

Schedule is subject to change.

Who is eligible to attend the workshop?

The workshop is open to any educator working in a Jewish setting. While our materials are primarily written for students in grades 8-12, educators working with younger or older students are welcome to attend.

Registration and Meals

Please complete the online registration form to attend the workshop.
JWA is pleased to offer this Workshop to educators free of charge.

Kosher lunches and snacks will be provided. We will provide written confirmation on completion of the workshop for anyone meeting continuing education or professional development requirements.

JWA is unable to provide lodging or travel stipends.

Advance Preparation

Please complete these three, short preparatory assignments prior to the first day of the workshop. The questions and reflections you prepare will be the foundation of several sessions.

Testimonials

“The workshop will catalyze important change for my school's curricula. I was introduced to so many rich primary sources that I want to share with students. I am excited to think about ways to distill what I've learned into lesson plans that help students connect to the work for justice done by previous generations, and inspire them to think about the complex choices involved in doing that work today.”

“I had very high expectations based on what I had heard from past participants. I expected to deepen my knowledge in the subject areas, connect with other educators, and come away with inspired with ideas for curriculum development related to social change. All of those things happened!”

“I was very excited to have the opportunity to connect with like-minded educators, and have the opportunity to learn, grow, and think with people that I am already connected with through political work. This space provided an excellent opportunity for that!”