Balanced Learning Resources
Lesson Plans

In Nazi-occupied Poland during WWII, Irena Sendler, a 29-year-old Catholic social worker, risked her life to smuggle 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto. Working with a network of brave resistors and inspired by people like Dr. Janusz Korczak, she forged documents, coordinated secret escapes, and hid children with Polish families and in convents — preserving not just their lives, but their identities and future.

Students will learn about Hungary during WWII and how Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, saved tens of thousands of Jewish people during the Holocaust. After reviewing a short historical timeline and the “10 Upstander Steps,” students watch videos about Wallenberg and survivor Agnes Adachi to identify how he acted with courage and moral leadership. In Part 2 of the lesson, students will connect the historical content to today by viewing a modern example of upstanders in an

In this lesson students watch the video The Sneetches, by Dr. Seuss, to learn what prejudice is and how to respond to unkind behavior with empathy and courage. After discussing key themes from the video, students learn the 10 Upstander Steps and work in small groups to create and perform their own role-plays showing how an upstander can help in a hurtful situation. Students then create posters illustrating each step, forming an “Upstander Gallery” in the classroom. The lesson

In this Super Monsters episode, the young monsters make unkind, prejudiced jokes about ogres without realizing how hurtful their words can be. When their beloved friend Luigi reveals he is actually an ogre, they learn an important lesson about respecting others and challenging assumptions. This lesson extends the movie by teaching students 10 concrete upstander steps they can use whenever they witness prejudice (or any unkind behavior), and students will practice these steps

In this lesson, students watch the What Would You Do? segment “Antisemitism and Jewish Discrimination: What Would You Do?” which places unsuspecting bystanders in situations where Jewish people experience discrimination in a public setting. The video captures real reactions — prompting students to consider how prejudice can appear in everyday life and what moral courage looks like. As an extension to the video, students learn and role-play 10 Upstander Steps and become Upstan

Students watch a hidden-camera scenario where a family with same-sex parents is refused restaurant service. Students identify what’s unfair, analyze how bystanders and upstanders respond, and practice (via role play) 10 Upstander Steps that are kind, safe, truthful, and inclusive. As students learn upstander skills, they discover how to make public spaces safer and more respectful for everyone.

Students analyze a hidden-camera scenario from What Would You Do? in which a Muslim couple is denied restaurant service because of their appearance. Using 10 Upstander Steps, students evaluate how bystanders respond and identify which reactions show courage, kindness, and inclusion. Students then discuss and role-play what they themselves can say or do to stand up for others when prejudice or unkind behavior occurs.

This lesson begins with The Path to Nazi Genocide, a short introductory documentary that examines how the Nazis systematically excluded Jews from society and justified escalating violence. Students are given 10 criteria with which to measure a social movement in order to think critically about how ideology and propaganda can shape collective behavior. The second part of the lesson features The Wave, a dramatization of a real 1967 high school experiment in California

This moving interview on American Thought Leaders introduces two modern day heroes - Simon Deng and Charles Jacobs - who discuss the ongoing struggle against slavery, human trafficking, and genocide in Africa, and the impact of Islamist extremism. Simon Deng, formerly enslaved, shares his personal story of escape and the horrors of slavery in Sudan. He and Charles Jacobs, who helped free tens of thousands of slaves in Sudan, highlight the international community's lack of res

This lesson focuses on the perspectives and experiences of Mosab Hassan Yousef, a former Hamas member who later became an informant for Israel. Students will learn about the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly through Yousef's perspective. The lesson will also address common misconceptions and the political narrative of genocide, particularly the claims surrounding the Gaza conflict.

In this lesson, students will explore the life and contributions of Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a Black feminist, child welfare advocate, and community activist.

"The Story of Artist Frida Kahlo" by Lillian Gray is an educational video exploring the life, challenges, and artistic legacy of Frida Kahlo, one of the most significant artists of the 20th century. In a time when most famous artists were men, she broke barriers, fearlessly painting taboo topics like pain, femininity, and personal struggles. The video highlights how her experiences—overcoming illness and a near-fatal accident—shaped her art, allowing her to express her identi

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were united by a deep commitment to justice and human dignity. Heschel, a Jewish theologian and Holocaust survivor, believed that the fight for Black civil rights was a moral and spiritual imperative. He famously marched alongside Dr. King during the Selma to Montgomery march in 1965, later saying, “I felt my legs were praying.”

This is a "60 Minutes" episode that focuses on the story of Sir Nicholas Winton, a British humanitarian who famously rescued hundreds of Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia just before World War II, often referred to as "Nicky's Children." Meet Sir Winton and the people he saved!

Schindler’s List is a powerful film by Steven Spielberg that tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved over 1,100 Jewish people during the Holocaust by employing them in his factory. The movie shows the horrors of the Holocaust and the impact one person can make.

An exciting, endearing film about how a Catholic nun, Sister Gabrielle (played by Loretta Swit), and a group of Christian school children in France helped three Jewish children escape the Nazis. Due to antisemitic lies their parents told them, the Christian children are, at first, not very friendly to these unexpected Jewish strangers. In a short time, however, the children develop a strong bond.

This short family film, presented with the Museum of Jewish Heritage, introduces Holocaust history to a new generation. When 10-year-old Elliott asks his 90-year-old great-grandfather, Jack, about the number tattooed on his arm, he sparks an intimate conversation about Jack’s life that spans happy memories of childhood in Poland, the loss of his family, surviving Auschwitz, and finding a new life in America.