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Ethics of War Resource Pack

Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation

Description: Contains the Ethics of War lesson plan, an annotated outline of this video course, plus samples student answers to the Workbook in the Woods report sheet included in this lesson.
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Ethics of War Lesson Plan

Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation

Description: Contains the Ethics of War lesson plan, an annotated outline of this video course, plus optional classroom activities and links to the JPEF profiles for each of the women mentioned in this course.
Ethics and the Film 'Defiance' Discussion Guide

Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation

Description: Are there times when it is morally right to steal, to kill, even to take revenge? Should there be? Use the film Defiance — starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber — to examine complex ethical issues with your teens. Includes Jewish ethical texts, plus interviews with screenwriter Clay Frohman.
Eight Degrees of Gevurah Lesson Plan

Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation

Description: Help students discover that anyone has the potential to become a hero — and that Tzedakah is much more than charity — through a study of Maimonides' Ladder and inspiring stories of Jewish partisans who pursued justice by helping others.
Living and Surviving in the Partisans Study Guide

Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation

Description: Answer your students' most frequently asked questions, including: How did the partisans survive in the forest? Where did they get their weapons and food? What happened if someone got sick?

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Ethics

Ethics of War

Help your students look honestly at concepts of resistance, revenge and ethics using this 45-60 minute lesson. Includes a short play that students can read through in-class without any advanced preparation. Great for classrooms, youth groups and informal education.

120 Educators Enrolled

Running Time: 35:04

Credit Hours: 1.25

Lesson Prep for:
Ethics of War lesson plan
Recommended for:
English, Ethics, History, Theatre, Jewish Values, Text Study

Free

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Includes

29:57 minute video divided into 8 chapters
5 Downloadable study guides for grades 7-12th Grade
Desktop and mobile access
Certificate of Completion
1.25 Credit hours towards free CEUs (10 credit hours = 1 CEU)

Interactive Features

Appropriate for classroom use
Start and stop any time
Optional quizzes to qualify for course credits

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What Will I Learn?

How to use JPEF’s Ethics of War lesson plan to teach one or more 45-60 minute classes about the moral and ethical decisions partisans had to make.
Skills for facilitating analysis and discussion about the process of making ethical decisions through the lens of the Jewish partisans.
Techniques to help your students discuss the partisans' choices
How to apply textual analysis and extended activities to support your students’ critical thinking skills

Q:	What is the video course about?
A:	This video course provides teacher tips and step-by-step instructions so you can use JPEF’s Ethics of War lesson plan right away with your students.

Q:	What resources are included in this video course? Ethics of War centers around a short play your students can read in-class with no prior preparation. It also includes text study, small group discussion and worksheets for comprehension and critical thinking.

Q:	What is the play about?
A:	The play, "A Conversation in the Woods", is based on actual events in the lives of seven Jewish partisans. It follows the difficult moral and ethical decisions they had to make in deciding whether to save their own lives or continue fighting after the territory they were defending was liberated by the Allies.

Q:	How do these materials support learning?
A:	These materials provide the basis for whole class discussion, partner study, written response, research projects, and creative extensions that will expand the way students think about both history and resistance to oppression. Jewish texts appropriate for both public and religious schools accompany are accompanied by critical thinking questions about the moral and ethical issues partisans faced and how students might respond to difficult situations in their own lives.

How do these materials support learning?

These materials provide the basis for whole class discussion, partner study, written response, research projects, and creative extensions that will expand the way students think about both history and resistance to oppression. Jewish texts appropriate for both public and religious schools accompany are accompanied by critical thinking questions about the moral and ethical issues partisans faced and how students might respond to difficult situations in their own lives.

Q:	Where else and in which contexts can I teach this lesson?
A:	Teachers can use these materials in outdoor activities with youth groups, at summer camps, drama classes, in teaching tolerance workshops and in other extra-curricular activities. For Jewish educators, these texts can be used as entry points into further study of the Talmud and other foundational texts.

Q:	How do these materials support learning?
A:	These materials provide the basis for whole class discussion, partner study, written response, research projects, and creative extensions that will expand the way students think about both history and resistance to oppression. The materials are designed to encourage critical thinking skills, including questions about the moral and ethical issues partisans faced and how students might respond to difficult situations in their own lives.

How do these materials support learning?

These materials provide the basis for whole class discussion, partner study, written response, research projects, and creative extensions that will expand the way students think about both history and resistance to oppression. The materials are designed to encourage critical thinking skills, including questions about the moral and ethical issues partisans faced and how students might respond to difficult situations in their own lives.

Q:	How is the course structured?
A:	This course uses a "do, then teach" model showing how the lesson is used in the classroom, then explaining the theory behind it, as well as suggestions for customizing the lesson. The course is divided into eight chapters, with quizzes at the end of most chapters to test and reinforce comprehension. Teachers who score 80% or more on the quizzes can earn free credit hours and CEUs through Touro College.

How is the course structured?

This course uses a "do, then teach" model showing how the lesson is used in the classroom, then explaining the theory behind it, as well as suggestions for customizing the lesson. The course is divided into eight chapters, with quizzes at the end of most chapters to test and reinforce comprehension. Teachers who score 80% or more on the quizzes can earn free credit hours and CEUs through Touro College.

Chapters

1. Introduction & Goals (03:53)
2. Lesson Context (09:32)
3. Activity A: Core Concepts (05:48)
4. Activity B: The Play (03:05)
5. Activity C: At the Break (00:-4)
6. Activity D: Discussion & Wrap-Up (03:55)
7. How to Use in the Classroom (01:43)
8. Conclusion (02:05)

Feedback

5.0

Community

Have a comment, question or answer? Share it here with fellow educators and JPEF staff.

Bilal Muhammad

Antonia Tejeda Barros

This course is intended only for teachers. Too didactical. Not historical.

Carla Marsh

mitch braff

Liz Page

Naomi Zeineldien

Lou Yelgin

Excellent lesson plan and classroom activities on the ethical issues faced by the partisans.

Timothy Marks

Tiffany Williams

Michelle Riley

I would love to see/ hear the Conversation in the Woods performed/read in case low bandwidth makes reading in class on zoom not a possible choice.

Rebecca Conn-Pearson

Abby Basile

I thought it was very informative and the play would be a wonderful resoure to use with my students. The program connects all the dots for the educator by providing so much additional information and resources to pair withe play.

Jason McDonald

I will definitely use this in my Holocaust class next Fall. I am teaching Drama.

James Carroll

rabbi justin schwartz

excellent

Mickie Jacobs

Miriam Furst

My students love getting to learn through drama, so this course was right up my alley. I appreciated the tips for how to enhance the play and make sure the debate portion stays on track.

Help Section

	A.The development of one’s own standards (ethics) has both positive and negative consequences for the group (dilemma).
	B.Different standards for right action (ethics) seem to be in conflict (dilemma).
	C.Competing choices (dilemma) have both positive and negative consequences (ethics).
	D.Different motivations for right action (ethics) seem to be in conflict (dilemma).

	A.Whether it was worth the risk of exposing themselves to potentially hostile Soviet soldiers who were advancing on the area.
	B.Whether it was more important to keep pursuing the Germans or to begin rebuilding their lives.
	C.Who was going to be in charge of the operations against the city.
	D.Whether there was anyone left in the city to save at that point.

	A.Challenge students to question unspoken assumptions in their own ethical traditions.
	B.Stimulate student thinking about the importance of ethics.
	C.Illustrate the wide variety of sources available to students for examining and responding to ethical questions.
	D.Assess students’ level of comprehension and sophistication in regards to ethics.

	A.Survive to honor the memory of his mother.
	B.Take revenge to honor the memory of his mother.
	C.Go to Vilna to tell the world that Jews fought back.
	D.Keep fighting in order to save more Jews.

	A.To give students greater insight into the cultural context that may have influenced the partisans' decisions
	B.To help students choose the right answer
	C.To demonstrate that different ethical traditions may seem contradictory on the surface, but are founded on the same principles.
	D.To help students analyze the choices that the partisans faced

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