Explore the stories and artifacts featured in the Skirball’s permanent exhibition, Visions and Values: Jewish Life from Antiquity to America. Amid rising antisemitism in our schools and communities, these FREE resources teach students about Jewish life and create connections to Jewish stories, people, history, and culture. Young people of all cultural backgrounds will learn about key moments in history, explore their family histories, create original works of art, and discover commonalities across cultures.
Funding provided by Specified General Fund for the Museum Grant Program under the California Cultural and Historical Endowment.
Lesson Plans
Welcome to the Skirball
Learn about the Skirball Cultural Center, our essential Jewish values, and the exhibition that inspired this curriculum.
Build Community
Consider personal and cultural values and engage in writing and discussion activities to identify shared classroom values.
Honor Memory
Listen to the true story of one family’s journey from Eastern Europe to the United States more than one hundred years ago. Then make connections to life today.
Seek Learning
Get to know more about a loved one or role model and create a work of art that can help carry these stories from one generation to the next.
Pursue Justice
In the spirit of tzedakah, or "justice" in Hebrew, identify a need in your community and make a plan to effect change.
The Power of Storytelling
Using an everyday, meaningful object as a primary source, students will learn how to tell a story as a creative way to express emotions, create cohesion, and build community and connection.
Visual Analysis and Interpretation
Build visual analysis skills by comparing and contrasting works of art from around one hundred years ago that depict the immigration experience.
From Darkness to Light
Practice visual storytelling and strengthen critical thinking and empathy-building skills to make connections to students' lives and identities.
Speaking Our Stories: A Theater and Language Arts Exploration
Listen to the true story of one Jewish family’s journey from Eastern Europe to the United States, then make connections to your own life through peer interviews and writing monologues.
Curriculum Extension
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Community Collage
Build upon the Honor Memory lesson plan with this collage-making activity developed by Los Angeles artist Stephanie Mercado. Combine Mercado’s illustrations with personal artwork and photos of family and friends to express the memories, values, and ideals you carry wherever you go.
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How Much of Learning is Inquiry?
Students will study artist Chloë Bass’s multimedia artwork and discuss the power of questions to prompt close looking and discovery. Then students will make their own artwork as a tool for reflection.
