The following are examples of Student Projects

Map of Sarah and Abraham's Journey Out of Mesopotamia Many students are surprised to learn that Sarah and Abraham came from the Middle East and not from Europe, though students have studied Biblical stories numerous times. Our curriculum gives ancient Jewish civilization a clear geographical context. Revisiting ancient Jewish text through this lens challenges assumptions of who Jews are, where we come from, and what we look like.

Pyramids of Ancient Egypt Much of our curriculum involves revisiting and embodying the Jewish journey with a contemporary understanding of its relevance, so that the names, places, and struggles do not seem so remote from our American shores. As Jewish slaves built pyramids for the Egyptian rulers, so do our students build pyramids for their class! Although they seem much more cheerful about it...

	Current Events Project Students break into small groups and grapple with contemporary issues facing the Ethiopian Jewish community, using translated articles from an Ethiopian paper in Israel. For their writing & art project, students write up a summary of the article and a summary of their class-long discussion about it. They then make a poster out of these summaries, the original Hebrew article, and pictures of Ethiopian Jews.
	Traditional Ethiopian Jewish Food Parents use our website to look up and cook traditional recipes from each Jewish community, which helps them physically experience an aspect of the communities the children are studying. Parents then share the wonderful food they have made, at a family program. As part of their "homework assignment," parents write up and display cards identifying what the food is called, when it is eaten, and how it is eaten.
	Queen Makeda and King Solomon Working with a theater specialist, our project has adapted the story of Queen Makeda and King Solomon into a play, which students learn and rehearse throughout the year. Not only do students learn their parts, but they also research traditional Ethiopian costumes and make their own.
Stay tuned for more samples of student projects!

Class Discussion Collage The documentary about the Lemba always provokes many questions and a profound discussion following the video. Students are often surprised to learn about the genetic link of all Jews, disheartened to hear about discrimination the Lemba faced, and eager to find ways to heal ethnic tensions in our community. Students write up their thoughts and assemble them on a poster with pictures of the Lemba.

Stay tuned for more samples of student projects!

A Middle Eastern Purim Purim happened in the Middle East! After telling the Purim story in a round-robin game, students find four Middle Eastern and North African countries on a map and study the many different Purim names and Purim traditions from the region. "Studying" includes playing traditional Purim gambling games! After voting on their favorite Purim tradition, students do a writing and art project presenting what they have learned.

Stay tuned for more samples of student projects!

Stay tuned! Projects will be posted soon.

	The Magic Sandles of Abu Kassim WIth the help of a theater specialist, the JMCP has adapted this Jewish folk tale from Tukey and turned it into a play. Students learn and rehearse this play throughout the year. They research traditional Jewish costumes in Turkey and make their own.
Stay tuned for more samples of student projects!

Stay tuned! Projects will be posted soon.

Stay tuned! Curriculum under development.

Stay tuned! Curriculum under development.

	©2002 by the Jewish Multicultural Curriculum Project. All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be copied without the permission of the Project Director.