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Virtual Museum Experiences for Middle School Students

The Toronto Holocaust Museum engages thousands of students each year in meaningful learning about the Holocaust through our exhibition, artifacts, and survivor testimonies. Through our Virtual Museum experiences, tailored to middle school learners, we can bring the  experience of learning in the Museum directly to your classroom.

 

Our Virtual Museum experiences explore the Holocaust through the lens of Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Canada after the Second World War and through Canadian history, connecting directly to the learning strands in the Grade 6 social studies curriculum. A teacher resource accompanies the virtual museum experiences which includes introductory material so teachers can prepare their students for learning about the Holocaust. Included in the teacher resource is a screening guide with questions to engage students in critical thinking and discussion to extend learning after experiencing the Museum virtually.

The virtual museum experience videos include:

  • An introductory video that provides an overview of the learning for teachers and students.
  • Four unique videos, 8-10 minutes each, focusing in an age-appropriate way on one of our galleries.
  • A teacher guide with rich resources and best practices in Holocaust education.
  • Additional resources and best practices for teaching and learning about the Holocaust.

Learning Goals

  • Students will learn about the Holocaust through a virtual tour of the four different Museum galleries with an emphasis on personal stories of Canadians who survived the Holocaust, and specific connections to Canada’s role during the Holocaust.
  • Students will develop an appreciation for museum learning, including the explanation of primary sources including artifacts, historic photographs, and oral history.
  • Students will make connections with key topics in Grade 6 social studies, including the new curriculum expectations, as well as practice the inquiry process and work with concepts of disciplinary thinking.

Introducing our virtual museum experiences

  • To begin, our first video introduces students to the Toronto Holocaust Museum, the Jewish community in Canada, and the Holocaust.

  • Students are introduced to the beginning of the Holocaust after the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933 through Holocaust survivor testimony. We explore artifacts related to the persecution of the Jewish community, including yellow star badges in our Learning Lab. In the Meanwhile in Canada segment, students also learn about connections to Canada during the 1930s through Canada’s restrictive immigration policy and the MS St. Louis incident.

  • Students learn about the escalated persecution and violence towards the Jewish community in Germany and other European countries after the start of the Second World War. In an interview with Holocaust survivor Andy Reti, he shares a special artifact in the Museum and stories of the love and resilience of his mother. In our Meanwhile in Canada segment, we engage with artifacts and photographs of Jewish Canadian Bernard Yudelson, who enlisted in the Canadian Air Force to fight the Nazis.

  • In our third gallery, students learn about the liberation from ghettos and concentration camps and how those who survived the Holocaust decided how to rebuild their lives. Through the testimony of Holocaust survivor Judy Cohen, students learn how she immigrated to Canada through the Tailor Project to work in the garment industry sponsored by individuals from the Jewish community in Montreal.

  • In our fourth and final gallery, students learn how Holocaust survivors immigrated to Canada and rebuilt their lives as Canada’s immigration policies loosened. Michelle Fishman, a grandchild of Holocaust survivors, shares about our Museum’s largest artifact and how her grandparents persevered through hard work to build their own business and support their growing family. Lastly, students learn how Holocaust survivors became educators, sharing their stories with younger generations in the hopes of building a better world.

Teacher Resource and Screening Guide

Our teacher resource includes introductory materials to prepare students for learning about the Holocaust prior to viewing the virtual museum experiences. The resource also includes vocabulary words and recommended books about the Holocaust for middle school students. Included in the teacher resource is a screening guide with questions to engage students in critical thinking and discussion to extend learning after experiencing the Museum virtually.

Additional resources for teachers

  • Childhood Interrupted is a three-part learning experience, including an online exhibition about Holocaust survivor Yael Spier Cohen. Designed for Grade 6 and middle school students, students engage with Yael’s story in an age-appropriate way. Childhood Interrupted connects directly to the new Ontario curriculum expectations. Teacher resources, pre-visit, and post-visit lessons are available in the Teacher Guide. Available in both French and English.

  • Find our FAQ page and recommendations for teaching about the Holocaust.

  • Designed to support educators learning and teaching about the Holocaust, deepen your knowledge about essential topics and access classroom-ready materials and sample lesson plans on The Learning Platform for Holocaust Education and Antisemitism. Whether you are an experienced Holocaust educator looking for new lesson ideas or a teacher new to Holocaust education, we have resources to support you.

  • Unlearn It is a resource hub for educators and parents to learn about, identify, and take action to address antisemitism. These tools can be used proactively when talking about anti-racism and online safety as well as reactively when an incident occurs in your community or schools.

  • Hana & George Brady, prewar photo.

    Learn about the Holocaust and its aftermath through the story of one family’s experiences. George Brady, brother of Hana Brady (Hana’s Suitcase), takes us on a journey from his childhood in Czechoslovakia, to his postwar years in Canada through personal artifacts, testimony clips, pictures, and documents.

  • This digital exhibition showcases the journeys of seven Holocaust survivors coming to Canada after the war, highlighting themes such as Canadian identity and immigration. Through exploration and discovery, students connect these themes to modern day issues about the ideal of Canada as a multicultural nation and provide insights into how they can become active citizens of this civil society.

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