Holocaust and genocide education is a vital interdisciplinary endeavor. Given the serious nature of the topics and the vast amount of available information, teaching genocide can be challenging even for the most seasoned teacher. To help teachers, we have curated classroom-ready lessons, aligned with Connecticut's best practices for Holocaust and genocide education, providing historical context and meaningful learning opportunities.
The lessons accessed below invite students to reflect on how we remember the Holocaust and other historical world genocides, analyzing their lasting consequences and the role of remembrance in shaping collective memory.
Additionally, teachers can find information about accessing Voices of Hope’s Trunks of Hope. These traveling exhibits provide a hands-on teaching tool complete with recorded testimony, primary sources, and replica artifacts that beckon students to bear witness to the complex and profound journey of an individual eyewitness. Engaging with the Trunks of Hope materials through an empathetic lens of inquiry will nurture a sense of responsibility in students to become active global citizens fighting hatred, intolerance, and injustice in our world today.
Teachers can also welcome speakers into their classrooms. The HERO Program provides a Speakers Bureau, whose members include Holocaust and genocide survivors and their descendants who share their personal testimonies. Learn more at: https://www.ctvoicesofhope.org/hero-program/for-educators/speakers-bureau/
CT State Guidelines
The Connecticut Holocaust and Genocide Education and Awareness Act, directs public schools in Connecticut to provide Holocaust and genocide education. The Act mandates that “each local and regional board of education shall include Holocaust and genocide education and awareness as part of the social studies curriculum for the school district.”
The Act offers flexibility in meeting these requirements. No grade levels, scope, content, or learning objectives are defined by the Act. While Holocaust and genocide education must be incorporated into the social studies curriculum, the Act does not prohibit integrating these topics into other subject areas. A key goal of the Act is to foster student engagement with Holocaust and genocide studies.
Middle School
Understanding refugee experiences through identity and empathy
High School
Moral choices in times of crisis & remembering through memorials
Trunks of Hope
Learn more and request a trunk
Additional Resources
State and internationally recognized Teaching Resources
Submit an Idea
To add to our list of teaching resources, submit your ideas here.
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