Jewish People: Albert Einstein

Grades: 4-6        Though its usage may well be broader, this material was specifically designed to be used in fourth to sixth grade as a personality centered introduction to Jewish history. We know that many schools struggle with a problem of (a) knowing that research suggests that sequential history cannot really be studied until seventh or eighth grade, but (b) also knowing that if history is not taught in the fourth to the sixth-grade slot, many students will never have an opportunity to study it.

Therefore, what we have created is a series of “biographies” that tell individual stories in the context of background, that can be mastered during this period. Each of these units is designed to:

• Tell the story of a significant, influential, Jew
•  Set that story in a specific historical period
• Expose students to the use of primary source material/texts
• Use the conflicts in our subject’s life for a source of values
• Provide tools for a review of key concepts

The individual biographies can be considered “quilting squares” and can be assembled in any fashion that the teacher or curriculum designer desires. They can be clustered within a historical period, gathered by theme, or sequenced to demonstrate a historical flow.

In this lesson, we explore the first half of the 20th Century through the life of Einstein. Albert Einstein was a scientist, a pacifist, a humanist, and a Jew. His scientific accomplishments completely changed the way science looked at the universe, from the tiniest particles to the structure of the cosmos.

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