Be’chol Lashon Workshop Kicks Off Second Grade Unit on India

The second grade social studies curriculum dives into a number of very important questions around culture and community. The year begins with an exploration of the classroom community, where students get to know one another and their families (parents come in and share about their careers). Then the focus shifts to a broader topic, focusing on immigrants and where people come from around the world. Students learn about maps and geography to help contextualize the parts of our world. And now, the class zooms in on another country and culture different from their own—India—which helps “create a kind community of empathetic and compassionate students,” says teacher Sara Goldrath. The unit kicked off with a two-part workshop with Be’chol Lashon, an organization with the goal of raising awareness about the ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity of Jewish identity.

 

One activity of the workshop tasked students with putting stickers on a world map of where Jews live around the world. “It was great for my students to see that Jewish people live all over the world, and it's a great introduction to our unit on India, where one of the things we will learn is about the diverse religions of that country.” MORE PHOTOS