The Stories and Art of Ezra Jack Keats: Arts Integration Lesson Plan
Based on The Contemporary Jewish Museum's award-winning tour The Stories and Art of Ezra Jack Keats, this arts integration lesson plan for K–2 teachers introduces students to concepts related to antisemitism, cultural and racial representation, close looking, and narrative art making.
The lesson plan features playful, open-ended art activities that foster personal expression and decision-making, allowing students to connect their learning to Keats’s experiences as a Jewish immigrant in early 20th-century New York.
The resources include an author study, video biography, read-aloud with close-looking, art projects, and further materials, introducing students to concepts like antisemitism, cultural diversity, and narrative artmaking.
- Arts and Culture
- Belonging
- Storytelling
- Antisemitism
- Congregational Learning
- Day Schools and Yeshivas
- Early Childhood
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Use this lesson plan to introduce Mizrahi and Sephardic culture to grades 6-8
A template for adapting Family Room experiences for intergenerational family programs.
Mensch-ify is an alternative learning program that is held twice a month for families with children in Pre-K to 6th grade. It is a developmentally appropriate program, built upon the parent-child co-learning experience, that combines stories, songs, art, movement, and play to provide families with the tools they need to live a Jewish life that works for them.