Jewish American Heritage Month

In April 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed that May would be Jewish American Heritage Month. The announcement was the crowning achievement of the Jewish Museum of Florida and South Florida Jewish community leaders.

Both Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida (current head of the DNC) and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania presented a resolution to the President urging him to proclaim a month that would recognize the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. The resolutions passed unanimously, first in the House of Representatives in December 2005 and later in the Senate in February 2006.

May was the month selected for Jewish American Heritage Month because it captured the spirit of the highly successful May 2004 celebration of the 350th Anniversary of American Jewish History. This major event was organized by the "Commission for Commemorating 350 Years of American Jewish History."

The planning coalition was composed of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, the American Jewish Historical Society, the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration. Leading the way in implementation of the annual celebration is the Jewish American Heritage Month Coalition, formed in March 2007 and convened by United Jewish Communities, the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, and the American Jewish Historical Society.

Your students can learn more about the history and culture of Jewish Americans by using the BookCart learning activity: "Jewish Americans--Culture & History."

BookCart learning activities are a one-stop solution for teachers and students in conducting 21st Century inquiry-based learning activities. Great editor-selected resources, essential questions for critical thinking, and student directions ensure that no time is wasted and that students have everything they need to maximize learning and save time. The learning activities for this month are just one of hundreds of BookCarts (new listing PDF) that teachers and librarians can copy into their local collection and use right away. Here's how to do it:

• Logon to the eLibrary CE TEACHER EDITION.
• Click the BOOKCART ADMIN tab at the top of the Teacher Edition.
• Click the PROQUEST CARTS tab.
• Type "Jewish Americans--Culture & History" in the SEARCH box.
• Click the COPY icon (middle one) in the ACTIONS column to the right of the title.
• Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.

Librarians or teachers can edit this BookCart to customize it for their students.

To edit this BookCart:

• Click the new BookCart TITLE (it will have the prefix "COPY OF".
• Delete "Copy of" and then type your name in the AUTHOR boxes and your initials in the EMAIL box (required info).
• Option: Edit any ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS for your students in the DESCRIPTION box.
• Option: Edit the existing STUDENT DIRECTIONS in the Description box to customize for your students.
• Scroll down and click SAVE.
• Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.

Or, you can use this resource to learn more about creating, copying, and editing BookCart learning activities, or see our short video.

Assign researchers to write a report of at least 150 words or a presentation of seven slides. Students should cite at least three resources from the search results using the Pathfinder listed below.

Students should address the following essential questions for critical thinking (you can add or substitute others):

• Which Jewish holiday is considered most sacred and why?
  
  
• Why is perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust so important to Jews?
  
  
• How are American Jews different than those in Israel?
  
  
• What Jewish religious ideas and cultural celebrations appeal to you, and why?
  
  
• What are the major contributions of Jews to American culture?

Advanced Search > Enter Jewish American History and Culture in the Search box > Type Jewish in the Document Title box.

Your students can use our custom ProQuest models for written and PowerPoint-style reports.

Teachers may be interested in a ProQuest flexible rubrics model for evaluating inquiry-based learning activities.

Educators may also wish to employ the Quizinator Web tool (free, but registration required) for creating a variety of printed resources, including short assessments.

Learners should select a Jewish American author using the resources from the pathfinder listed below. Student should write a summary of at least 150 words that include the author's most famous work, the author's life experience that prepared him for the literary world, the genre and most common themes of the works, and what the critics had to say about the works.

Pathfinder #1: Type Jewish American Authors in Quick Search > Click More in the Reference section to expand the choices

Pathfinder #2: Use the same search as above and click More in the Literary Works section

History Study Center has the resources you need to teach students about the history and culture of Jewish Americans.

Assign students to write a report of at least 150 words or a presentation of at least seven slides that cites as least three resources from the Pathfinder listed below. Have them select one of the American authors listed in the Study Unit. Students should address the following essential questions for critical thinking (you may add or substitute others):

• Which Jewish holiday is considered most sacred and why?
  
  
• Why is perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust so important to Jews?
  
  
• How are American Jews different that those in Israel?
  
  
• What Jewish religious ideas and cultural celebrations appeal to you, and why?
  
  
• What are the major contributions of Jews to American culture—name at least two famous Jewish Americans and their contributions?

Pathfinder: Type Jewish Americans in the Search box > Scroll down to the Multimedia and Journals sections

Your students can use our custom ProQuest models for written and PowerPoint-style reports.

Teachers may be interested in a ProQuest flexible rubrics model for evaluating inquiry-based learning activities.

Educators may also wish to employ the Quizinator Web tool (free, but registration required) for creating a variety of printed resources, including short assessments.