Teaching Resources
Downloadable Lesson Plans
The Sydney Jewish Museum offers free curriculum-linked teaching resources underpinned by rigorous research and expert subject knowledge.
Below you will find a range of lesson plans, videos, worksheets and activities available for you to download and incorporate into your classroom.
Many of our resources offer a sneak peak behind the scenes of the Museum to discover a range of case studies, videos, objects and images that will help you bring history to life for your students.
These resources are dedicated to the memory of the Chotiner, Kraemer & Schifter families.
Teaching Resources
MIDDLE YEARS: Full unit plan
Free
Download the Middle Years Full Unit Plan. MIDDLE YEARS Lesson Plan: Before your Visit to the SJM
Free
Pre visit activities to ensure that students get the most out of their visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum.
Free
Activities to assist students in reflecting on their visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum.
Free
This lesson is an exercise in Object Based Learning. It uses a range of objects to introduce students to the Holocaust, establishing a broad understanding of what the Holocaust was, and identifying the key stages of the Holocaust. It also leads students to reflect on the human impact of the Holocaust, and why remembrance matters.
Free
This resource is designed for EAL/D students that are being introduced to the Holocaust to the first time.
Free
This lesson examines Jewish life in Europe before WWII, revealing the differences and similarities between Jews from a variety of backgrounds.
Free
This lesson examines antisemitism in Europe before WWII, revealing the long history of this unique hatred, and the context for the rise of Hitler.
Free
This lesson addresses the rise of Nazism, examining the relevant events, and questioning the fragility of democracy in the face of crisis.
Free
This lesson encourages students to engage with the two essential Nuremberg Race Laws as well as a range of other laws, and to draw conclusions about the impact they had on Jews in Germany between 1933 and 1939.
Free
This lesson examines Nazi Propaganda in Germany, and considers how propaganda contributed to the Nazis’ rise to power.
Free
This lesson focuses on radicalization, looking at the November Pogrom as a turning point in Nazi aggression towards Jews.
Free
This lesson focuses on radicalization of Nazi policy, looking at the conditions in ghettoes, and analysing the role of the Judenrat.
Free
This lesson plan explores the contestability of the past through the lens of the Schnellbrief: a document that may have provided authorisation for establishment of ghettos.
Free
This lesson looks at the German invasion of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent development of the ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Problem’.
Free
This lesson looks at the difference between labour and death camps, and the conditions within the camps.
Free
This lesson is a companion lesson to ‘Labour and Death Camps’. It uses a range of source material to explore Auschwitz.
Free
A resource to help students analyse collection objects to learn more about camp uniforms and the internees forced to wear them in the Holocaust.
Free
This lesson addresses Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. It looks at different forms of resistance and includes discussion of contestability.
Free
This lesson identifies different types of Holocaust experiences, with a focus on the Holocaust in France, and Death Marches.
Free
This lesson is a site study about Babyn Yar, which takes the form of a guided inquiry task.
Free
This lesson focuses on the end of the war, and the liberation of Jews and other prisoners from labour camps and death camps.
Free
In this lesson, students learn about the short-term and long-term impacts of the Holocaust on Jewish people.
Free
In this lesson, students consider the importance of memorialisation and commemoration of the Holocaust.
Free
This lesson focuses on resistance, introducing students to two examples of resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto: the Ringelblum Archive and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Free
This lesson encourages students to consider the rare people who acted to protect Jews during the Holocaust. These people have been honoured by the Yad Vashem museum in Israel as ‘Righteous Among the Nations’.
Free
This lesson uses a case study based on the White Rose Movement to examine resistance during the Holocaust – its existence and its consequences.
Free
This resource delves into the economic factors that led to the rise of the Nazi party and the collapse of the Weimar Republic.
Free
This resource delves into the nature of the ideology of the Nazi Party, of which Adolf Hitler served as head.
Free
This lesson plan introduces students to the concept of propaganda and asks students to analyse both past and present examples of persuasive material.
Free
In this resource students explore a site in a small rural town Serniki, where about 850 men, women and children were massacred in 1942.
Free
In this lesson focused on the impact of the Nazi regime on women, students will engage in practical source analysis.
Free
A lesson plan exploring the historical site of Treblinka extermination camp through testimony of two individuals who experienced it very differently.
Free
In this lesson, students will look at the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman.
Free
This glossary features key terms that your Studies of Religion students might come across in their study of Judaism.
Free
Download the Middle Years Full Unit Plan. MIDDLE YEARS Lesson Plan: Before your Visit to the SJM
Free
Pre visit activities to ensure that students get the most out of their visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum.
- Student age range: 14-18
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Stage 6 History, Stage 6 Studies of Religion
Free
Activities to assist students in reflecting on their visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum.
- Student age range: 14-18
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Stage 6 History, Stage 6 Studies of Religion
Free
This lesson is an exercise in Object Based Learning. It uses a range of objects to introduce students to the Holocaust, establishing a broad understanding of what the Holocaust was, and identifying the key stages of the Holocaust. It also leads students to reflect on the human impact of the Holocaust, and why remembrance matters.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945)
Free
This resource is designed for EAL/D students that are being introduced to the Holocaust to the first time.
- Stage: 5
- Subject: History
- Curriculum links:
- Core Study - Depth Study 3: Australians at War: World Wars I and II (1914-1918, 1939-1945)
- Depth Study 6: School-developed topic
Free
This lesson examines Jewish life in Europe before WWII, revealing the differences and similarities between Jews from a variety of backgrounds.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), Antisemitism and Jewish life in Europe before the Second World War
Free
This lesson examines antisemitism in Europe before WWII, revealing the long history of this unique hatred, and the context for the rise of Hitler.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), Antisemitism and Jewish life in Europe before the Second World War
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), Antisemitism and Jewish life in Europe before the Second World War
Free
This lesson addresses the rise of Nazism, examining the relevant events, and questioning the fragility of democracy in the face of crisis.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), The rise of the Nazi Party; Nazi propaganda and anti-Jewish laws from 1933–1939
Free
This lesson encourages students to engage with the two essential Nuremberg Race Laws as well as a range of other laws, and to draw conclusions about the impact they had on Jews in Germany between 1933 and 1939.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), The rise of the Nazi Party; Nazi propaganda and anti-Jewish laws from 1933–1939
Free
This lesson examines Nazi Propaganda in Germany, and considers how propaganda contributed to the Nazis’ rise to power.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), The rise of the Nazi Party; Nazi propaganda and anti-Jewish laws from 1933–1939
Free
This lesson focuses on radicalization, looking at the November Pogrom as a turning point in Nazi aggression towards Jews.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), Radicalisation from Kristallnacht to ghettoisation (1938–1940)
Free
This lesson focuses on radicalization of Nazi policy, looking at the conditions in ghettoes, and analysing the role of the Judenrat.
-
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), Radicalisation from Kristallnacht to ghettoisation (1938–1940)
Free
This lesson plan explores the contestability of the past through the lens of the Schnellbrief: a document that may have provided authorisation for establishment of ghettos.
- Stage: 6
- Subject: Modern History
- Curriculum links:
- Stage 6 Preliminary Modern History, Investigating Modern History – The Nature of Modern History
Free
This lesson looks at the German invasion of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent development of the ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Problem’.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), War in the East and the move towards the ‘Final Solution’
Free
This lesson looks at the difference between labour and death camps, and the conditions within the camps.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), The development of labour and death camps
Free
This lesson is a companion lesson to ‘Labour and Death Camps’. It uses a range of source material to explore Auschwitz.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), The development of labour and death camps
Free
A resource to help students analyse collection objects to learn more about camp uniforms and the internees forced to wear them in the Holocaust.
- Stage: 5
- Subject: History
- Curriculum links:
- Stage 5: History, Core Study - Depth Study 3: Australians at War: World Wars I and II (1914-1918, 1939-1945)
- Depth Study 6: School-developed topic
Free
This lesson addresses Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. It looks at different forms of resistance and includes discussion of contestability.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), Differing forms of resistance
Free
This lesson identifies different types of Holocaust experiences, with a focus on the Holocaust in France, and Death Marches.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), The development of the Holocaust including the varied implementation of Nazi policy in different parts of the world
Free
This lesson is a site study about Babyn Yar, which takes the form of a guided inquiry task.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), The development of the Holocaust including the varied implementation of Nazi policy in different parts of the world
Free
This lesson focuses on the end of the war, and the liberation of Jews and other prisoners from labour camps and death camps.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), Short-term and long-term impacts of the Holocaust on Jewish People – Liberation and the establishment of Displaced Persons’ camps
Free
In this lesson, students learn about the short-term and long-term impacts of the Holocaust on Jewish people.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), short-term and long-term impacts of the Holocaust on Jewish people
Free
In this lesson, students consider the importance of memorialisation and commemoration of the Holocaust.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), the creation of Holocaust centres, memorials and museums.
Free
This lesson focuses on resistance, introducing students to two examples of resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto: the Ringelblum Archive and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), Key figures of the ghettoes (Emanuel Ringelblum), Differing forms of resistance, Suggested case study
Free
This lesson encourages students to consider the rare people who acted to protect Jews during the Holocaust. These people have been honoured by the Yad Vashem museum in Israel as ‘Righteous Among the Nations’.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), Differing forms of resistance; suggested case study
Free
This lesson uses a case study based on the White Rose Movement to examine resistance during the Holocaust – its existence and its consequences.
- Student age range: 14-16
- History
- NSW Curriculum links:
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (core): Australia at war (1939-c. 1945), The experiences of Jewish people and other victims in the Holocaust
- Stage 5 History, Depth Study (option): The Holocaust (1933-1945), Differing forms of resistance; suggested case study
Free
This resource delves into the economic factors that led to the rise of the Nazi party and the collapse of the Weimar Republic.
- Stage: 6
- Subject: HSC Modern History
- Curriculum links:
- Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World - 1919-1946
Free
This resource delves into the nature of the ideology of the Nazi Party, of which Adolf Hitler served as head.
- Stage: 6
- Subject: HSC Modern History
- Curriculum links:
- Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World - 1919-1946
Free
This lesson plan introduces students to the concept of propaganda and asks students to analyse both past and present examples of persuasive material.
- Stage: 5
- Subject: History
- Curriculum links:
- Core Study - Depth Study 3: Australians at War: World Wars I and II (1914-1918, 1939-1945)
- Depth Study 6: School-developed topic
- Curriculum links:
Free
In this resource students explore a site in a small rural town Serniki, where about 850 men, women and children were massacred in 1942.
- Stage: 6
- Subject: Modern History
- Curriculum links:
- Stage 6 Preliminary Modern History, Investigating Modern History – The Nature of Modern History
Free
In this lesson focused on the impact of the Nazi regime on women, students will engage in practical source analysis.
- Stage: 6
- Subject: Modern History
- Curriculum links:
- Stage 6 HSC Modern History, Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World - 1919-1946
Free
A lesson plan exploring the historical site of Treblinka extermination camp through testimony of two individuals who experienced it very differently.
- Stage: 6
- Subject: Modern History
- Curriculum links:
- Stage 6 Preliminary Modern History, Investigating Modern History – The Nature of Modern History
Free
In this lesson, students will look at the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman.
- Stage: 4 English - Suggested Texts
- Stage 5: English - Suggested Texts
Free
This glossary features key terms that your Studies of Religion students might come across in their study of Judaism.
- Stage: 6
- Subject: Studies of Religion
Video Resources
Browse our selection of short videos featuring educators and curators speaking about objects from the Sydney Jewish Museum collection.
Use them in your lessons, or share them with your students and enable them to come face to face with the evidence and artefacts. Bring your lessons to life as we share the hidden stories these objects tell.
Below is a range of videos available for you to incorporate into your teaching materials.
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