A Videography of the Jewish American Experience
Pop some popcorn and get ready to explore the dynamic story of Jewish Americans with your students. This video lesson is an interactive journey paired with a viewing guide to uncover the layers of Jewish American identity, including the community’s history, culture, challenges, triumphs, and contributions to American society.
Students will be thinking about: What unites this diverse community? How does their story connect to the broader American narrative? Click play and let them discover the answers to these important questions.
Essential Questions
How are Jewish Americans an ethnic group?
What visible and invisible components make up each person’s unique identity?
How do the multiple components that make up identity help us understand the diversity of Jewish Americans?
What are key positive and negative experiences of Jewish Americans both historically and today?
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
Understand what makes Jewish Americans an ethnic group
Identify at least three ways in which Jews are diverse
Understand challenging and empowering historical and contemporary experiences of Jewish Americans in the United States
Explain the concept of Jewish identity and how it can be expressed in various ways
Learn about the contributions of Jewish Americans to American society.
Develop empathy and perspective-taking skills
© Institute for Curriculum Services used under license.
- Jewish Identity
- Jewish American Heritage
- 6 - 7
Discover more
The OpenBook curriculum teaches American Jewish History through objects and hevruta style learning.
Explore how heritage, culture, and lived experiences shape Jewish American identity.
Click on any of the headings below to jump down to that category or on any of the organizations listed to go directly to their description and contact information. We also have a PDF version that you can download and print. Please note that the print/PDF version may not be quite as current and does