Welcome to our Education Resource Center!

Below you will find a set of resources available to aid in your lesson and curriculum planning around the Holocaust. These exercises are meant to compliment watching our interviews.

If you would like any of the participants to speak at your school, place of worship, or community center, please email us at ifyouheardwhatiheard@gmail.com.

As the last generation to ever hear the stories of Holocaust survivors firsthand, many of us have a sense of obligation and responsibility to carry their stories forward, and make sure future generations never forget about what they went through, what they lost, and how they survived. We are grateful for educators like you, and that you are incorporating our stories as part of your work in shaping the next generation.

If you’re interested in incorporating If You Heard What I Heard into your lesson plans and curriculum, and want more information first on why Holocaust education is important, please visit our Holocaust Education Facts and Q&A Section by clicking here.

Lesson Plan Ideas (Scroll down to the next section for downloadable exercise sheets)

The following exercises are based on students watching 1-2 interviews from our site.

  • Write

    Write a letter from the perspective of the grandparent whose story was shared to their grandchild, telling them what they thought about how the grandchild told their story.

    Write a poem or song inspired by the interview you watched and the story that was told. Use different forms of poetic and literary devices such as metaphor, simile, imagery, personification, allusion, rhyme, meter.

  • Create

    Create a journal or diary from the voice of the survivor as they were experiencing the war. Include reference to dates, locations, and world events. Include their possible feelings and thoughts through vivid language and descriptions.

    Create a map of the locations the survivor traveled to and/or was taken to during the war. Include his/her birth location, and camps/ghettos, and where he/she was liberated from and to.

    Create a timeline based on one survivor's story. Include other historical events from the war. Reflect on how certain historical events may have impacted the survivor's journey.

  • Draw

    Draw a picture or create a collage using images that you pictured while watching the interview. Design the collage based around facts and symbols and also feelings that were triggered while watching the interview.

  • Watch

    Watch an interview and write a summary of the historical events and facts that align to that interview (showing the relationship between oral history and text book history).

    Watch a survivor interview from the Shoah Foundation, and watch an If You Heard What I Heard interview, and compare and contrast the two sources and perspectives.

  • Interview

    Interview an older relative, grandparent, cousin, aunt or uncle and share what you learned about him/her. What new things did you discover about him/her through hearing the story?

    Record a video of yourself retelling the story of this relative.

  • Discuss

    Discuss the value of using a variety of Primary and Secondary Sources to learn about the past:

    How is retelling these stories different from a firsthand story from a survivor?

    Why is it important to keep these stories alive through oral history?

    What are the challenges of relying on secondary sources to learn about history? How might information be distorted or omitted when stories are retold? What types of primary sources should be used to verify the information in these stories?

Below you will find downloadable exercises to aid in your lesson plans about the Holocaust.

  • Critical Thinking

    This exercise is designed to invoke critical thinking in students. The exercise asks students to watch one of our interviews, and has a series of questions connected that are designed to foster self-reflection and conversation. Students should take away lessons in the importance of story-telling, personal experience as a point of historical resonance, and empathy towards others.

    DOWNLOAD HERE

  • Discuss and Learn

    This KWL exercise is designed to identify basic knowledge of the Holocaust (or lack thereof), and inspire thought-provoking group conversation around learnings from watching our interviews. The goal of this exercise is to foster the development of a broader understanding of the Holocaust through watching our interviews and then discussing in a group setting.

    DOWNLOAD HERE

  • Historical Connection

    This exercise is designed to help students make the connection between personal experience and historical events. The goal of this exercise is to associate key events in WW2 with the real-life stories of Holocaust survivors, as they were heard by their grandchildren. Students should come away from this exercise with a greater reference point and understanding of historical events.

    DOWNLOAD HERE