We recommend these lessons and books for K-12 on the history of Palestine and the current crisis. Find many more lessons and articles in the Rethinking Schools publication, Teaching Palestine: Lessons, Stories, Voices. We welcome your feedback on these resources.
Teaching the Seeds of Violence in Palestine-Israel by Bill Bigelow. A mixer/mystery activity on Zionism, anti-Zionism, peasant resistance, the Great War, the British Mandate, and more.
Palestinian family of Ramallah, circa 1900-1910. Source: Library of Congress Matson Collection
Black Panther Party artist Emory Douglas was one of twelve people who contributed in a panel for the Oakland Palestine Solidarity Mural – If the Tree Knew. Source: Mondoweiss/Henry Norr
Teaching Palestine-Israel from the Perspective of Civil Rights and Black Power Activists by Hannah Gann, Nick Palazzolo, Keziah Ridgeway, and Adam Sanchez. This lesson highlights the complexity and diversity of thought as Civil Rights and Black Power leaders and organizations developed their views on Palestine-Israel.
Independence or Catastrophe? Teaching Palestine through multiple perspectives by Samia Shoman. A social studies teacher uses conflicting narratives to engage students in studying the history of Palestine-Israel, focusing on the events of 1948.
“I Think the Word Is Dignity” — Rachel Corrie’s Letters from Gaza. Letters to her family from 23-year-old U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed in 2003 while trying to prevent the Israeli army from destroying homes in the Gaza Strip. Followed by questions by Bill Bigelow for classroom discussion.
Painting of Mahmoud Darwish by Ahmad Kadi. Source: Ahmad Kadi website
Remembering Mahmoud Darwish. An essay by Naomi Shihab Nye, a poem by renowned Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, and a short lesson by Linda Christensen utilizing Darwish’s work to help students “name the invisible forces that imprison them” and “things they love.”
A Roadmap to Peace?: Promises Documentary Lesson A lesson to accompany the 2001 documentary Promises, that explores the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from the eyes and experiences of Israeli and Palestinian children living in the West Bank. (The lesson can be used effectively without the film.)
Subversives: Stories from the Red Scare by Ursula Wolfe-Rocca. Given the McCarthy era tactics being used to attempt to discredit any support for Palestinians and critiques of Israel — with accusations of antisemitism — we recommend introducing this lesson on McCarthyism. Students meet 27 different targets of government harassment and repression to analyze why disparate individuals might have become targets of the same campaign, determining what kind of threat they posed in the view of the U.S. government.
Stories from the Climate Crisis Mixer by Bill Bigelow. This lesson introduces students to 24 individuals around the world, including one from Palestine, each affected differently by climate change. Students meet one another in character, learn how climate change is shaping their lives, and explore how each person is responding.
Books for K-12
Teaching for Change’s Social Justice Books offers a carefully selected list of recommended books on Palestine for K-12 and background reading for educators.
Share Your Teaching Story
Share your teaching story and we’ll send you a free copy of Children of the Stone City by Beverly Naidoo, War Made Invisible by Norman Solomon, or I Found Myself in Palestine (an anthology).
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