Jewish Tapestry Institute: Teaching Tools

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

High School (Grades 9-12)

Short videos and teacher guides from Jewish Tapestry Institute that bring Sephardi, Mizrahi, and diverse Jewish heritage into the classroom, on topics from medieval scholars to holidays and synagogues.

Overview
Tapestry Institute creates classroom materials that bring Sephardi, Mizrahi, and diverse Jewish heritage into Jewish education. Its teaching tools include short informative videos, about five minutes each, paired with teacher background and suggested activities, on topics such as medieval Sephardic scholars, Jewish history, holidays, synagogues, and notable women. Many videos were produced with partners such as the ASF Institute of Jewish Experience and the Union des Juifs d’Egypte en Israël.

What Teachers Will Find

  • Short videos with teacher background and classroom activities
  • Topic collections on medieval scholars, history, holidays, synagogues, and notable women
  • Teacher training workshops, available by request

At a Glance

Grade level: Upper elementary through high school; designed for Jewish schools
Format: Videos with teacher guides; free access with sign up
Source: Jewish Tapestry Institute

About this resource

These materials were created by Jewish Tapestry Institute, which is fiscally sponsored by SAMI, the Sephardic American Mizrahi Initiative. They are not JIMENA lessons. JIMENA recommends them as a companion to our own lessons. Access to the full content is free with a sign up on Jewish Tapestry’s website.

Explore Jewish Tapestry’s teaching tools  Opens on jewishtapestry.org

Procedures

Getting Started

  • Sign up for free access on Jewish Tapestry’s Classroom Tools page.
  • Choose a topic that fits your curriculum, such as a holiday you are about to teach or a unit on medieval Jewish history.
  • Preview the video and teacher background, then select the suggested activities that fit your class.
Body of Lesson
Conclusion

After watching a video, ask students to name one person, place, or tradition they learned about and how it adds to their picture of the Jewish people. Many of the Jewish Tapestry videos pair well with JIMENA lessons on the same communities and holidays.

Extension Activities
Resources and External Links