Palestine. An Untold Story
Learners will investigate the brief history behind how Palestine became an occupied land and the building up of events that eventually led up to the ongoing genocide. Learners will walk away with ideas on how they can turn their new knowledge on the subject into action.
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LE 1. Who are the Palestinians?
Learning Experience Goal:
I will be able to accurately describe the land, people, and culture of Palestine.
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LE 2. What are the origins of Israel?
Learning Experience Goal:
I will be able to describe the origins of Israel and the ideas of its founders.
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LE 3. What was the Nakba?
Learning Experience Goals:
I will be able to understand the causes, events, and effects of Palestine’s 1948 catastrophe, the Nakba.
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LE 4. What is life like for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation?
Learning Experience Goal:
I will be able to describe what life is like for Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation.
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LE 5. How have Palestinians resisted occupation?
Learning Experience Goals:
I will be able to describe the various ways in which the Palestinian people have resisted occupation.
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LE 6. How is the U.S. involved?
Learning Experience Goal:
I will be able to analyze the relationship between the United States, Palestine, and Israel.
CONTENT WARNING
Content includes brief scenes of violence within some videos & text
Palestine. An Untold Story.
In this free Investigation, we investigate the history and culture of Palestine. Using primary sources and historical evidence, learners will explore Palestine from the pre-occupation period through its current day from an accurate and decolonized perspective.
If you would like to make a donation in appreciation for the course, please donate directly to the Harrisburg Palestine Coalition, our collaborative partners in educating for Palestine.
The questions we seek to answer in this course:
Who are the Palestinians?
What are the origins of Israel?
What was the Nakba?
What is life like for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation?
How have Palestinians resisted occupation?
How is the United States involved?
Writing & Discussion Prompts
Throughout this investigation, you will have the opportunity to think, write and/or talk about a number of questions. You can capture your responses in a notebook or journal, a Google Doc, and/or on printed hard copy.
Educators, check out the lesson plans to easily copy & paste course content.
The lessons in this course include resources in the Teach for Palestine casita, a collection of resources centering Palestinian voices and perspectives. It is a collection curated and fact checked by educators and community members, including Palestinians in the diaspora. This collection is free to access and includes many resources beyond what is included in this course. For other full coverage unit plans, check out these options from Teaching While Muslim and other sources. Please, as always, direct support to Muslim and Palestinian- run organizations.
Teach for Palestine Digital Library
FAQ
What is the purpose of this Investigation?
The purpose of this Investigation is to provide access to a version of Palestinian history that is based on truth, historical evidence, and the Palestinian perspective. Our hope is that learners will walk away with empathy, a deeper historical understanding, and ideas on how they can turn their knowledge into action.
Who is this curriculum for?
Any and everyone who is interested in learning about the history and ongoing genocide happening in Palestine. Teachers can use it in the classroom, homeschooling families can talk through it with their kiddos, study groups & school clubs can learn together, etc. Someone can even just scroll through the lessons on their phone while chilling on the couch.
How long does the whole Investigation take?
That really depends on the teachers and learners using this material. You can go through the whole Investigation, each Learning Experiences average around 60-90 minutes. But there are multiple ways to extend time as well. A teacher can also adjust for a quicker lesson. For example learners can analyze two of the four sources in a lesson.
Is this curriculum standards-aligned?
Our Palestine Investigation is aligned with Common Core State Standards, which you can see in the lesson plans here. You can also easily tag our lessons with social justice standards, ELD standards, as well as many state social studies standards. This is also a great unit for Ethnic Studies. In addition, the interactive and media-based component of this course supports efforts to build 21st century skills, while the “take action” piece supports civic engagement.
Can I trust the information in this Investigation to be accurate?
We work very hard to fact check our information and use primary and corroborating sources as much as possible. We also draw a lot from our Teach for Palestine resource collection, which is well-researched, evidence-based, and supported by the firsthand knowledge of our Palestinian collective members.
Does the course present “both sides” and stay “neutral”?
Yes and no. We are very transparent as an organization where we stand on issues of justice and humanity. We are 100% in solidarity with the people of Palestine. We also think it is important to empower ourselves with the whole story and understand all the layers of a situation. So, yes, we will include the Zionist perspective and history. We will also include their war crimes. We think the latter cannot be fully understood without the former.