Beginning September 2023, Ontario will be the first province in Canada to mandate Holocaust education in Grade 6 classrooms. This mandate was created in response to our 2021 survey showing that “1 in 3 students believed that the Holocaust was exaggerated, fabricated or they weren’t sure.”

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As of September 2023, Grade 6 teachers will be required to teach the Holocaust to their students. Our interviews with Grade 6 teachers have shown that books are the most effective way to teach this type of challenging material; however, most Ontario schools do not have the funds to provide Holocaust-themed books for their students. Thanks to our generous sponsors, we are able to provide and ship a limited number of books to Grade 6 classrooms that are committed to teaching them. 

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These books are “Holocaust light” - they educate students about Jewish religion and culture, the dangers of antisemitism and the tragedy of the Holocaust in age-appropriate ways. They inspire and implore students to fight hate and antisemitism and be good citizens.

 

Four book options, representing different themes and levels of difficulty, are available for teachers to choose from. Focusing primarily on Canadian authors, books have been carefully chosen by Liberation75’s Education Committee. Lesson plans have already been written (and many books and lesson plans are available in French as well).

 

Lesson plans are available on the website...PUT SOMEWHERE.

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LINK TO CHALLENGING BOOK CLUB TOO

 

We especially encourage Grade 6 teachers in areas with the least access to Holocaust education in Ontario (e.g. areas outside of the GTA) to apply.

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All teachers who apply to receive free books for their classroom will be encouraged to attend the corresponding Challenging Stories Book Club to become educated on how to teach their selected books.

Applicants will also have to state their educational intentions in their application and complete a follow up survey.

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