USHMM Lessons

The collection of lessons and resources below can be accessed on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website and have been correlated to Common Core Standards and are organized by lesson topic.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum- Lessons, Activities and Teacher Guides

• Organizing the History-
  • Museum staff designed this lesson in 2004 to assist student groups who had recently visited our Permanent Exhibition in thinking about and learning from the history of the Holocaust. Whether they encounter this history in a museum or in a classroom, students are often overwhelmed by the emotional content as well as the sheer volume and complexity of information. A lesson like this one can help them organize and synthesize what they have learned from this challenging subject.

  • Grade(s)è     CC Standards ê	7	8	9-10	11-12
    Reading Informational Text	4	4	7	7
    Writing	10	10	4, 8	4, 8
    Speaking and Listening	2, 4	2, 4	1	1
    Language	1, 2, 5, 7	1, 2, 5, 7	1, 2, 5, 7	1, 2, 5, 7
    Reading Standards for Literacy in History/SS	1, 2, 3, 4, 6	1, 2, 3, 4, 6	1, 2, 3, 4, 6	1, 2, 3, 4, 6

• Pre-World War II European Jewish Life Photo Project
  • This project provides an opportunity to engage the students in thoughtful research and analysis of what life was like for Jews living in Europe before the German occupation (between the World Wars) by finding photographs and information about the places the photos were taken. The lesson also provides an opportunity for students to relate their own lives to those of the Jews at that time in a more personal way by finding their own family photos to parallel the ones researched. This exercise helps them focus on individuals rather than on numbers or groups of people.

  • Grade(s)è     CC Standards ê	7	8	9-10	11-12
    Reading Informational Text	1, 4, 7	1, 4	4, 7	4, 7
    Writing	2, 4-10	2, 4-10	2, 4-10	2, 4-10
    Speaking and Listening	1, 2, 6	1, 2, 6	1, 2, 6	1, 2, 6
    Language	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6
    Reading Standards for Literacy in History/SS	1, 2, 3, 4, 6	1, 2, 3, 4, 6	1, 2, 3, 4, 6	1, 2, 3, 4, 6

• Learning from the Early Stages of the Holocaust
  • In this lesson, students will develop visual literacy skills and refine their ability to analyze primary sources by examining photographs from the early years of the Holocaust. Students will be asked to describe the events of the Holocaust, assess whether these photos provided a warning about the genocide that was to come, and identify what the precursors to genocide are. Students will utilize higher-level critical thinking skills by reflecting on their own obligations as citizens of a democracy and by identifying effective methods for presenting information to enlighten and involve the public.

  • Grade(s)è     CC Standards ê	7	8	9-10	11-12
    Reading Informational Text	2	2	2	2
    Writing	1, 2, 4-8, 10	1, 2, 4-8, 10	1, 2, 4-8, 10	1, 2, 4-8, 10
    Speaking and Listening	1, 4	1, 4	1, 4	1, 4
    Language	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6
    Reading Standards for Literacy in History/SS	2, 5, 6, 7	2, 5, 6, 7	2, 5, 6, 7	2, 5, 6, 7

• Rethinking Perpetrators, Bystanders and Rescuers: The Case of Max Schmeling
  • The focus of this lesson is personal choice and how changing circumstances can affect one person’s ethical choices. During the Holocaust, people made choices, and by placing individuals in the appropriate historical context students can begin to comprehend the circumstances that encouraged or discouraged their acts. Schmeling’s life can be looked at as an example of the paradoxical composite that makes up all of us, and as his life is examined, students discover that this very public figure associated with Hitler had a very private life as well.

  • Grade(s)è     CC Standards ê	7	8	9-10	11-12
    Reading Informational Text	1-7, 9	1-7	1-7	1-7
    Writing	1/ 2, 4-6, 8-9	1/ 2, 4-6, 8-9	1/ 2, 4-6, 8-9	1/ 2, 4-6, 8-9
    Speaking and Listening	1-4	1-4	1-4	1-4
    Language	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6
    Reading Standards for Literacy in History/SS	1, 2, 4-6, 8-9	1, 2, 4-6, 8-9	1, 2, 4-6, 8-9	1, 2, 4-6, 8-9

• Individual Responsibility and Resistance During the Holocaust
  • This lesson aims to engage students in an understanding of the nature of resistance during the Holocaust. Many students approach this history with misconceptions: that the Jews went like “sheep to slaughter”; that resistance means solely physical resistance; and that the Nazis were so powerful no one could resist them. These misconceptions must be addressed so students may gain a meaningful and accurate understanding.

  • Grade(s)è     CC Standards ê	7	8	9-10	11-12
    Reading Informational Text	1-6, 9	1-6, 9	1-7	1-7
    Writing	1/ 2, 4-9	1/ 2, 4-9	1/ 2, 4-9	1/ 2, 4-9
    Speaking and Listening	1, 2, 4, 6	1, 2, 4, 6	1, 2, 4, 6	1, 2, 4, 6
    Language	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6
    Reading Standards for Literacy in History/SS	1-5, 8-9	1-5, 8-9	1-5, 8-9	1-5, 8-9

• Bringing the Holocaust Unit to Closure: Implications for the Future
  • Study of the Holocaust would not be complete without a discussion of implications for the future. How should the Holocaust be woven into the fabric of twentieth-century history? How can its study move us forward so that our children are not traumatized and fixated on its atrocities? Most important, what are the lessons that can be learned from this horrific event so that our children learn from the past to make a better world? These essential questions must be asked if the study of the Holocaust is to have meaning in the post-Holocaust world.

  • Grade(s)è     CC Standards ê	7	8	9-10	11-12
    Reading Informational Text	1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8	1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8	1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8	1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8
    Writing	4-6	4-6	4-6	4-6
    Speaking and Listening	1-3	1-3	1-4	1-4
    Language	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6
    Reading Standards for Literacy in History/SS	1-3	1-3	1-3	1-3

• A Poetic Finale
  • A central goal of Holocaust education is to inspire new generations to bear witness. As we face the challenge of educating the young to bear witness and foster renewal we can count on the natural inquisitiveness and inherent desire for fairness of students as forming the foundation for this unique job. This lesson is designed to give individual students the chance to craft a poetic response to the Holocaust as a form of bearing witness.

  • Grade(s)è     CC Standards ê	7	8	9-10	11-12
    Reading Literature	1, 2, 4, 5	1, 2, 4, 5	1, 2, 4, 5	1, 2, 4, 5
    Reading Informational Text	4	4	4	4
    Writing	4, 5	4, 5	4, 5	1.c, 4, 5
    Speaking and Listening	1	1	1	1
    Language	1-6	1-6	1-6	1-6
    Reading Standards for Literacy in History/SS	4	4	4	4

• Who Is Responsible When Genocide Occurs?
  • These lessons ask students to consider the level of responsibility of a variety of individuals for genocide perpetrated in Bosnia, Rwanda, and Darfur, Sudan. Learners consider and debate the roles played by bystanders, collaborators, and perpetrators during these events. This lesson leads learners to discuss civic and personal responsibility for citizens at all times but especially in a times of extreme oppression and even mass murder around the world.

  • Grade(s)è     CC Standards ê	7	8	9-10	11-12
    Reading Informational Text	1, 4, 7	1, 4, 7	1, 4, 7	1, 4, 7
    Writing	2, 4-10	2, 4-10	2, 4-10	2, 4-10
    Speaking and Listening	1, 2, 4, 6	1, 2, 4, 6	1, 2, 4, 6	1, 2, 4, 6
    Language	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6	1, 2, 3, 6
    Reading Standards for Literacy in History/SS	1-9  depending on focus and final product	1-9  depending on focus and final product	1-9  depending on focus and final product	1-9  depending on focus and final product