Jewish American Heritage in the ELA Classroom

In celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month this May, we’ve curated a selection of NCTE award-winning books, book rationales, classroom resources and lesson plans, and journal articles to uplift Jewish American authors, history, culture, scholarship, and literature.

Books Recognized by NCTE’s Children’s Book and Poetry Awards 

Breaking the Mold: Changing the Face of Climate Science by Dana Alison Levy
2024 Orbis Pictus Award® for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Recommended Book
See the associated NCTE book rationale (grades 4–7).

Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin
2022 Orbis Pictus Award® for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Honor Book
See the associated NCTE book rationale (grades 6–8).

Wayward Creatures by Dayna Lorentz
2023 Charlotte Huck Award® for Outstanding Fiction for Children Winner
See the associated NCTE book rationale (grades 3–7).

Book Rationales

NCTE’s book rationales are available to members only. Not a member? Join today.

Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Anne Frank and Ari Folman; illustrated by David Polonsky (grades 9–12)

by Art Spiegelman (grades 9–12)

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews (grades 9–12)

When Aiden Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff (grades K–3)

Classroom Resources and Lesson Plans from ReadWriteThink.org

On Kristallnacht
Resources include a classroom activity to help students understand how German leaders could wreak havoc on a segment of the German citizenry during the Holocaust without many others coming to their aid or rescue.

Fighting Injustice by Studying Lessons of the Past (grades 6–8)
This lesson educates students about the experience of European Jewish citizens during the Holocaust to prepare them to become concerned and active students.

NCTE Journal Articles

“Assimilation/Appropriation: What Jewish Discourses in Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing Studies Tell Us about the Limitations of Inclusion” by Mara Lee Grayson
Published in College Composition and Communication

“Intersectional LGBTQ+ Identities: Exploring LGBTQ+ Identities through Young Adult Jewish Literature” by Jennifer Kagan and Raia Gutman
Published in English Journal

“The Monstrous Other: Analyzing Jewish Characters in the Literary Canon” by Heather J. Matthews
Published in English Journal

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