Balanced Learning Resources
Lesson Plans

Students will explore the Soviet Jewry Freedom Movement through two powerful videos: U.S. Representative John Lewis Speaking for Soviet Jews (1987) and The Soviet Jewry Freedom Movement (Unpacked). By examining this historical social justice movement, students will gain insight into the broader themes of advocacy, solidarity, and global human rights. Using a set of 10 criteria, students will critically analyze the movement’s structure, impact, and legacy, applying these same

Students will examine the civil rights movement through two key films: Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech and The March (1964), a restored documentary on the March on Washington. After viewing, students will use 10 criteria to evaluate whether the movement meets the standards of a true social justice movement—analyzing its stated goals and actions, commitment to equity and human dignity, openness to dissent, use of nonviolence, reliance on truth over propag

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

Grade Level: 6-12 Duration of video: Under 7 minutes Themes: Multiracial and Multicultural Alliances, Solidarity, Advocacy Image: March...

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.”