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Tools and Strategies

Israel in the Curriculum: Educator Assessment Toolkit

teacher talking to high school class in front of classroom

Introduction

Feelings of fear, powerlessness and vulnerability are common experiences all people share whenever acts of hatred, terrorism, or mass shootings occur, and feelings are personally compounded when the events target a group with which members of the school community identify. Children and teens are not immune to these feelings, but adults can help by providing information that answers their questions, giving them opportunities to express how they feel, reassuring them that adults in their lives are working to keep them safe, and helping them channel their feelings into positive actions in their own lives and communities.

When discussing and learning about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is possible for educators or students to perpetuate harmful biases, intentionally or unintentionally, and make Jewish students and students of other identities unsafe. In other school communities, the topic is simply ignored for fear of being divisive, stifling opportunities to make meaning of complex current events in the classroom. Tackling complex current events topics is an immense challenge for educators, but there are resources that can provide guidance and support.

The following suggestions and resources are a non-exhaustive list to support educators in creating a meaningful, effective and safe learning experience for students of all identities. School and district administrators and leaders can use this resource to support educators in bringing this learning to the classroom.

Inclusion and Challenging Bias in the Classroom

Bias is universal, and biases are often activated when learning about challenging history or current events. Even the most inclusive classroom and the most effective lesson can trigger biased language, feelings and behaviors during or after the learning experience.

  • What community agreements or guidelines for respectful dialogue are already established in my classroom? How effectively am I able to address bias or other harms that arise during a lesson?
  • How have I already incorporated exploration of identity and identity-based perspectives into my classroom community? How comfortable are my students with communicating, acknowledging and accepting diverse perspectives?
  • How have I previously addressed common risks when discussing complex social issues, such as, assuming that one’s perspective is universal, debating about who is “right” and “wrong”, competing to see who is the most knowledgeable, etc.? What will I do if this learning experience becomes a debate or an argument?
  • What will I do if students use jargon or conceptual terms in an inaccurate or oversimplified way? What will I do if a student expresses a stereotype about a group of people?
  • How am I engaging parents and caregivers to ensure their students are safe and feel supported in raising concerns about bias in the classroom and school? How am I being supported by my school and district administration in this learning experience?

Whether intentional or unintentional, harmful language must be addressed as quickly as possible to prevent acceptance or escalation. It’s possible that a student may make a biased comment that elicits no negative reaction from peers in the classroom, but it can still cause harm to individual students and to the overall classroom climate. Be prepared to interrupt all identity-based biases, including:

  • Establishing a litmus test in which there is only one "good” perspective and other perspectives indicate a person is bad or immoral.
  • Suggestion that either population of residents in the region should be eliminated or displaced from where they live.
  • Use of nationalities or other group identifiers (such as Zionists, Israelis, Palestinians, etc.) as slurs or pejoratives.
  • Use of dehumanizing names or comparisons (like “vermin,” “savages”).
  • Generalizing about all people in an identity group.

Professional Development and Intellectual Preparation

Reflect on your prior knowledge on current events in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the history of the region. Consider your experience and tools for teaching history, culture and geopolitical conflicts, and consider your students’ perspectives and identities.

  • What are my personal identities and perspectives that connect me to this content? What attitudes and inclinations do I have? With whom can I share or process my biases ahead of this lesson?
  • What academic or professional experiences have prepared me to understand and interpret the current and historical dynamics of the region? Who in my professional networks can support me in expanding or complicating my knowledge?
  • What am I seeing or hearing from my students about this topic? What do I know about my students’ identities and experiences that may shape how they learn new information on this topic?
  • How prepared is my classroom and am I to address bias, stereotypes, dehumanization, scapegoating, misinformation, disinformation and other problematic language or behaviors that may arise during or following this learning experience?
  • How can I be sensitive to the needs of students’ parents, caregivers and families?  What concerns, pushback, or scrutiny can I expect and be responsive to?  How can I communicate effectively with diverse communities on this topic?

Building a Meaningful Learning Experience with Clear Goals and Objectives

Creating a learning experience focused on current events that are engaging students can be beneficial to students’ social-emotional and academic development, but it also comes with risks. Teaching about Israel is a typical part of some World History courses, but otherwise may not be addressed as part of the curriculum, and there is often limited time to build knowledge gradually.

  • How does teaching this topic fit into my current unit(s) or overall curriculum? How can this learning experience support the building of knowledge, skills and mindset that are aligned with the goals I have for my students?
  • Which frameworks and best practices am I leveraging to ensure a developmentally appropriate learning experience?
  • What previous learning experiences in my classroom can connect to this topic? How have I previously addressed religious literacy, social identity groups, history of Israel or the region, media literacy or other relevant topics? Where will I begin and end this learning experience?
  • How much time do I have to devote to this topic? How much new information can I reasonably introduce in that time? How am I creating scaffolds to support learning about a new topic?
  • How have I gathered data on or assessed my students’ prior knowledge and current perspectives on this topic? What will progress, mastery or success look like at the end of this learning experience?

  • Refer to curriculum and instruction frameworks adopted by your state or district, and/or refer to the National Council for the Social Studies C3 Framework.
  • For one-off lessons, establish a realistic and manageable learning goal or essential question. Some examples:
    • 12th Grade: Determine the different kinds of sources and points of view that should be represented in an inquiry project on the Israel-Hamas war.
    • 8th Grade: Explore maps representing the Levantine region over time to understand different groups’ perspectives on the region.
    • 5th Grade: Who are the peoples who live and have lived in the Levantine region?

Gathering Curriculum and Instructional Resources

It can be challenging to select quality curricular resources. When it comes to lessons that address Israel, it can be difficult to find developmentally appropriate, accurate and effective instructional material.

  • What terms do I need to define for my students? How will I ensure that terms and definitions are appropriately sourced? How will I manage dialogue if students disagree about how terms are defined?
  • What primary source material can I access for this learning? How will I ensure that the primary sources are reflective of a cross-section of perspectives and experiences? How will my students make meaning of these sources?
  • What secondary source material will be effective for this learning? How will my students and I address bias and point of view in examining this material?
  • What do I know about the authors and/or intentions behind the curricular material I found or was offered to me? Am I equipped to assess if this material conveys a biased narrative?
    • For more on how to recognize and evaluate content, consider a resource like Decode & Disrupt. 
  • Who in my school, district or professional network can offer me feedback about the learning experience I’ve constructed? How open am I to changing my lesson materials or approach based on feedback I solicit?