The Artifact Program 

Receive a downloadable lesson plan
that includes slides, classroom activities, discussion questions, and resources for further exploration

Our newly-developed Artifact Program provides students with the opportunity to engage with an artifact from the Holocaust. This particular lesson is built around a child’s shoe that was found at one of the death camps in Poland.

Artifacts are also a powerful educational tool. Within artifacts there are always stories for students to discover.  Bringing artifacts into the classroom allows students to focus on individuals and their stories and to relate to them, not only in their time of death but in their lives. These stories bring out both the individual and personal experience as well as the more general history contained in the artifact. 

In addition, the use of artifacts encourages active learning as students work with documents, texts, and photos related to the artifact as they seek to uncover its story. This type of exploration helps students develop critical thinking, make connections to background knowledge, build content about a historical event or period, and gain a more critical and well-rounded understanding of history. 

If you would like to access the document that offers suggestions for teaching, extensive historical information related to this object, lesson plans and discussion topics—as well as slides that pertain to each section—please fill out the form below and we will email you links to the google docs. We hope you will take advantage of this in-depth, engaging resource.