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Schedule a professional development program for your school, district, or group

Suitable/Adaptable for teachers of grades 5-12

The Holocaust Center for Humanity offers a variety of interactive professional development opportunities for teachers of grades 5-12. Individual sessions range between one hour and two and a half hours and can be combined for half-day or full-day programs. All sessions can be facilitated in person or virtually.

All professional development programs are offered free of charge to schools and groups in Washington State. Donations to support these programs so that we can continue to offer them for free are always appreciated. You can make a donation to support professional development.

For more information or to schedule a program, please email Paul Regelbrugge, Director of Education, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Branda Anderson, Teaching and Learning Specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Attend a general workshop

Throughout the year the Holocaust Center organizes teacher workshops on various topics. Almost all sessions are free to attend and clock hours are available. See what's coming up!

Teachers in workshop

2023-2024 Professional Development Menu of Options

Schedule a Professional Development session for your school

Email Paul Regelbrugge, Director of Education: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Branda Anderson, Teaching and Learning Specialist: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

45-60 minute course presentation options

Foundational lesson plans for teaching the Holocaust in a Secondary Classroom (45-60 minutes)

Participants will be introduced to one or more of the essential foundational lessons, The Pyramid of Hate, Universe of Obligation, and/or teaching about the Historical Roots of Antisemitism. One or more of these lessons are strongly recommended to help establish the purposes for student learning about the Holocaust, but also about any other ensuing, difficult history.

Teaching the Holocaust in a World History Classroom Practical Applications (45 or 60 minutes)

Participants will gain insight and lesson plans to help them integrate the study of the Holocaust into their World History course. We will together unpack three essential foundational lessons, The Pyramid of Hate activity; the Universe of Obligation, a Facing History lesson; and teaching about the Historical Roots of Antisemitism. The presentation will also include contextual background related to the role of nationalism, economic crisis, and the fear of communism in the development of the Holocaust in Europe.

Teaching the Holocaust in a United State History Classroom Practical Applications (45 or 60 minutes)

Participants will gain insights and lesson plans to help them integrate the study of the Holocaust into a US History Course. The presentation will be introduced to a brief history of antisemitism in America as well as classroom-ready lesson plans about the history of antisemitism. Participants will then explore the lesson plan “The Refugee Crisis and 1930s America” from the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum and Facing History and Ourselves.

Teaching about The Historical Roots of Antisemitism (45 minutes)

Participants will learn about the historical roots of antisemitism in Europe. The presentation begins with an exploration of the persecution of Jews in the ancient world, it will then move on to a discussion on the development of Christian anti-Judaism, and finally an examination of the evolution of antisemitism from a religious-based prejudice to one rooted in “racial” pseudo-science. The course concludes with an overview of a classroom-ready lesson plan to teach students about the Historical Roots of Antisemitism.

Building Historical Context Around Holocaust Literature (30-45 minutes)

Participants will be introduced to the historical context that will support the Holocaust literature they use in the classroom. Options include, White Bird, Refugee, Night, Maus, the Diary of Anne Frank, and others upon request.

60-90 minute course presentation options

Best Practices for Teaching about the Holocaust (60 or 90 minutes)

Participants will learn the impact of quality Holocaust education on students’ attitudes towards diversity, tolerance and upstander behavior in the face of hate and intolerance, and on their critical thinking skills. Participants will also learn about the Washington State-required “Best Practices” for teaching the lessons of the Holocaust, and how the Holocaust Center for Humanity and its many resources help prepare them, regardless of prior knowledge and teaching experience, to create such positive, necessary student learning outcomes. We will together unpack two essential foundational lessons, The Pyramid of Hate activity, as well as a Facing History lesson, the Universe of Obligation. In addition, we will briefly examine the importance of introducing the history of Prewar Jewish Life in Europe as a means to establishing empathy, how Holocaust education fosters SEL needs, and also how to create a safe, respectful and trauma-informed learning environment.

Navigating Critical Conversations and Tough Topics (60 or 90 minutes)

The polarized nature of our current society can make educators hesitant about bringing potentially controversial issues into the classroom. We fundamentally believe that this is a time not to avoid those topics and conversations, but to lean into them, in order to model in our classrooms what a healthy democracy looks, sounds, and feels like. Teachers equipped with clear goals, academic resources, and discussion strategies that foster civil discourse can turn their classrooms into model democracies.

Centering around Facing History and Ourselves resources, we will model how to build a reflective and honest classroom that is rooted in identity and belonging, we will examine critical histories and their enduring legacies, and we will practice strategies to design and hold these spaces for students and community members.

Tool, Tips and Resources to Teach Hard Histories in Elementary School (45-60 minutes)

The state of Washington’s Holocaust Education Law “strongly encourages” teaching about the Holocaust and other genocides in grades 6-12. It is NOT recommended to teach explicitly about the Holocaust in earlier grades. However, this session focuses upon strategies and resources, including recommended texts, lessons, etc., that enable and empower teachers to safely address key underlying concepts and themes leading up to students’ more likely readiness to directly confront and apply such concepts and themes in upper grades and in their lives. Among many other things, this session focuses upon empathy and identity, the obligation to protect others, rules and fairness, allyship and much more!

Teaching about the Holocaust through ELA or Social Studies (90 minutes)

In this session, participants will dive deeper into their subject matter of choice and/or practice.

ELA teachers will consider teaching and learning objectives for teaching about the Holocaust built on the best practices foundations; applicable guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust, SEL, Safe Classroom and Differentiation; and Strategies for teaching recommended literature will be modeled and shared.

In a separate breakout session, History/Social Studies teachers will learn about key “deep dive” lessons applicable to US and/or World History classes. Such lessons and interactive activities may include The US Response to the Holocaust; The Challenges of Escape; Antisemitism; Nazism and Jim Crow; and Examining the Stages of Genocide/Other Genocides.

Teaching about Identity and the Holocaust in an ELA or Social Studies classroom (90 Minutes)

This session will build upon the lessons and ideas presented in “Teaching about the Holocaust through ELA or Social Studies.”

In this session, participants will dive deeper into their subject matter of choice and/or practice.

ELA teachers will be introduced to the Facing History and Ourselves Exploring Identity through Literature and Life Lesson Plan, as well as approaches and lesson plans on teaching about the historical roots of antisemitism in their courses. Finally participants will explore the historical context around Holocaust literature text they use in their classrooms.

History/Social Studies teachers will learn about key “deep dive” lessons applicable to US and/or World History classes. The session will begin with an exploration of the Facing History and Ourselves lesson plan Understanding Identity, which gives students the opportunity to identify the social and cultural factors that shape identity, as well as the ways in which we define ourselves and the ways we are defined by others. Participants will then be introduced to the Echoes and Reflections Pre-War Jewish Life Lesson Plan.

Presenters

Paul V. Regelbrugge is the Director of Education for the Holocaust Center for Humanity. A former attorney, Paul then taught in the inner cities of Chicago and Buffalo, as well as in Spokane and Kent, Washington. Paul is a USHMM Teacher Fellow, Powell Teacher Fellow, Alfred Lerner Teaching Fellow, and a Gonzaga University adjunct professor. He is also the author of The Yellow Star House: The Remarkable Story of One Boy’s Survival in a Protected House in Hungary, and co-author of the new graphic novel, More Than Any Child Should Know: A Kindertransport Story of the Holocaust.

Branda Anderson is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for the Holocaust Center for Humanity. Branda previously taught World History and Social Studies at Kamiak High School in Mukilteo for 19 years. She holds a Masters in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from Gratz College, and is a USHMM Teacher Fellow and Mentor, Alfred Lerner Teaching Fellow, Powell Teacher Fellow and Defiant Requiem Teacher Ambassador. She is presently pursuing a PhD in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from Gratz College.

Questions?