The Zelikovitz Centre is proud of this work, produced in collaboration with CHES between 2015-2020, while CHES was affiliated with the ZC.
Teachers’ Workshop November 23, 2017
Holocaust Education Month 2017’s Theme was Immigration and Refugees.
70 Years since the arrival of 1,123 Holocaust orphans to Canada. The Teachers’ Workshop emphasized the story of the 1,123 Jewish orphans who were brought to Canada after the Holocaust. We first turned our attention to Canada’s policy regarding immigration and refugees during 1933 – 1945. We then looked at the changes toward refugees between 1947 – 1949 and their integration into Canada; the important role of community welcoming them in and then continuing to support them. In particular, to understand the forceful impact of the displacement of people, and to develop empathy and compassion between individuals to educate for a better world.
Keynote address: Robbie Waisman, one of the 1123 Jewish orphans who were admitted to Canada from 1947 to 1949.
Special presentations by CBC journalist Judy Trinh, who arrived in Canada as a refugee with the Vietnamese “Boat people”, and Elin Beaumont of the Educational Outreach and Program Coordinator of the Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program at the Azrieli Foundation.
The following teacher’s activities are taken from Facing History and Ourselves online teacher’s materials. We have adapted it to our specific needs for each teacher’s workshop. In each of our workshops we give full credit to this tremendous organization for it’s fantastic work and dedication to understanding the effects of racism and othering and the importance of compassion and understanding.
Below we have listed the links to each of the teaching strategies that we have used. That way, if you look through our examples and see a certain teaching strategy that would be useful in your own classrooms, you can visit the Facing History and Ourselves website and download their instructions, tools, and examples, in addition to our adapted examples.
The workshop was specifically designed for High School teachers and focused on:
- Event Program
- Contextual Information: “A Brief History of Canadian immigration”
- Contextual Information: “2017-2018 Department Plan for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada”
- Teachers’ Workshop 2017 OCDSB Vision & Exit Outcomes
- Think – Pair – Share Strategy “Instruction for Teachers”
Strategy # 1 (30 min) - Think – Pair – Share Strategy “Instruction for Teachers”
“Orphaned and Stateless” - Think – Pair – Share Strategy
“Liberation and Loss” - Think – Pair – Share Strategy
“Closed Doors” - Think – Pair – Share Strategy
“Where Can We Go?” - Think – Pair – Share Strategy
“Becoming Canadian” - Identity Charts
“Instructions for teachers” - Identity Charts
“John Freund” - Identity Charts
“Saul Hayes” - Identity Charts
“Kitty Salsberg and Ellen Foster” - Identity Charts
“Greta Fischer” - Identity Chart
“William Loyed Mackenzie King” - “Canada’s Jewish War Orphans Project”
Video by fifth-grade student, Zachary Mullin, 2014
The 2017 Teachers’ Workshop took place Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017 inside Temple Israel.
Keynote speakers included:
- Robbie Waisman – One of the Holocaust orphans who will speak about his story of survival;
- Judy Trinh a journalist with CBC radio will share her fascinating personal story as one of the Vietnamese Boat people;
- Special presentation by Elin Beaumont Educational Outreach and Program Facilitator, Azrieli Foundation