The Purpose:
To build understanding and empathy for the experiences of the people who are witnesses and/or survivors of the Holocaust. In doing so, we will attempt to provide a sense of justice to those who suffered by giving voice to the legacy and memory of the Jewish experience in the Holocaust.  
Essential Question: 
As Jews, what is our obligation to the memory of those who suffered in the Holocaust?  What are our responsibilities to ourselves, to our community, to the Jewish people, and to the world?  
The Task:
You will explore a focused topic within our study of the Holocaust that helps you generate an answer to the Essential Question above.  To demonstrate your interpretation, you will create a 5-10 minute original video documentary that will integrate your answer with knowledge of the Holocaust and witness and/or survivor testimony.  
  • Answering the Essential Question: Students present a clear and concise answer to the Essential Question.  Your response will be personal and reflect your own interpretation. 
  • Inclusion and Connection of Survivor Testimony – Students have incorporated relevant and inspirational clips of the testimony of at least two individuals within their video project that is strongly and clearly linked to their interpretation of the Essential Question.
  • Research: Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.   Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to the task.  The iWitness Video Project tool allows for you to upload any photos or videos, add your own voice, music or writing. 
  • Telling a Story:  Students will create an original work as a means of personal expression that tells a story.  Your task will require you to communicate information and ideas effectively to your audience.
  • Video Design and Creativity: Students will produce a clear and coherent video in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.  The student’s story is communicated in an engaging, original, creative way and includes a variety of elements: video clips, audio, voice-overs, still photography, relevant text, and relevant theme.
  • Length of Presentation:  The student has created a video that is within the time frame of 2-4 minutes. 
  • Classroom Participation & Collaboration:  Students will interact, collaborate and publish with peers, experts, teachers, and the iWitness tools employing a variety of digital environments and media. Practice safe, legal ,and responsible use of information and technology. 

Teacher Reflection on Creating a Meaningful Project:

For weeks in the summer of 2017 I planned this new course.  I wrote, edited, revised, deleted, rewrote, and made sure that everything looked good aesthetically too.  Through the many brainstorm sessions I had that summer, I began creating the keynote project that would be the cornerstone of our school year.  Once I had loosely outlined the  dynamics of this project, I looked back and was pretty apprehensive about being able to make it happen.  Essentially, the projects was this:  create an invent I'd title the "Survivor Circles" in which students would conduct interviews of Holocaust survivors on their own and then utilizing the footage that they gathered students would work with a documentary filmmaker that would serve as an guest Artist-in-Residence at our school, they would learn the technology behind documentary filmmaking (Adobe Premier) and create a film that would answer the Essential Question above.  Those films would then be showcased in a real-life Film Festival that would rival mimic the style of community Film Festivals with an opening reception, introductory film (and speeches), multiple show times, question and answer sessions with the artists (students) and a dessert reception.  

The brilliant thing is that we pulled it off.  And it was a phenomenal event.  It was so much more than anything I did - or could have dreamed of.  Of the many lessons I've learned my greatest takeaway - and purpose of submission of this entry - is that this meaningful project can exist in classrooms across this country because you can make it happen.  And this website will detail the tools you need in order to do that.  

Ideas for the Years Ahead:

It was paramount for me to use Holocaust survivors (even if child survivors) because of the value of conducting an oral history with eyewitnesses.  I want to keep precious the years in which we still have these beautiful individuals with us - capable of telling their stories and I want to facilitate the "Survivor Circles" that would allow my students to meet them.  That is why I invited only Holocaust survivors, and not children of survivors.  

In the future, teachers can make the subject of their interviews and documentary children of survivors.  In fact, the subject of the interviews can highlight many other historical periods in Jewish History.  In my future renditions of this project I am already thinking about inviting veterans of Israel's wars to focus the documentary projects on the 1948 War of Independence or the Six Day War.  I think it is another incredible opportunity for students to meet and learn about the people who were foundational in establishing the Jewish state.