Andrée Aelion Brooks

HOW TO USE

1. Consider each lesson individually. Where might it fit into your ongoing units?

Examples: a unit on heroes and heroines could include a lesson (Book II, lesson 6) on Doña Gracia Nasi, the conversa woman who saved thousands of victims of the Inquisition.

A lesson on Jewish food and Jewish cooking could include Mediterranean dishes favored by the Jews (Book III, lesson 4).

A mock Seder could look at a Crypto Jewish seder (Book III, lesson 6).

2. Many schools offer their students a year when they study Jews in other lands. The history of Jewish involvement in the Caribbean is rarely included. Yet the Caribbean is somewhere many of our students visit. They are familiar with the islands.

Try Book II, lesson 7 with its stories and activities about Caribbean traders and its board game.

3. Schools frequently encourage students to explore their own family histories. Many students may have one parent, or a grandparent of Sephardic origin. How did that happen? Where did the parent come from?

Look at lessons 1-4 in Book II to discover how many of the Jews first came to these places and what they found when they got there.

Try also Book III, lesson 2, to help them understand the similarities and differences. And Book III, lesson 1, for a discussion on family legends and how they develop.

4. Not all of the liturgy and prayers found in our daily and high holyday services emanate from Eastern Europe. Some of them came from the days when a majority of Jews lived on the Iberian Peninsula.

For some examples try Book I, lesson 3-4.

5. We teach a lot about the Holocaust but very little about the Inquisition, though the Inquisition lasted for 350 years and operated in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Peru and other parts of South and Central America.

Try Book II, lesson 5, for some material about the Inquisition.

6. There has been a lot of talk in recent years about the Crypto Jews of New Mexico and Portugal and how they returned to Judaism after hundreds of years as Catholics.

For insights into their compelling story of faith and pride in their ancestral religion try Book II, lesson 5 and Book III, lesson 6. The activities teach about the Crypto Jews.

7. Looking for a new way to celebrate the festivals? Consider Book III, lessons 5,6,7 for some new ideas to try out with your students for Passover and Hanukkah.

8. Want to do a brief history course on the Jews of pre-expulsion Spain. Who were they? How did they get there? What did it feel like to live in Spain during the first Millennium? At the end of their stay, how did these Jews make the choice between conversion or expulsion?

A five-lesson mini course in Book I, lessons 1-5 takes you on that journey.

9. Just time for one lesson? Try our story of the Great Expulsion as told through a mock broadcast of a CNN newscast, created and narrated by the students themselves.

"Out of Spain" (Ed.) educational program for schools
Books/lectures/teacher training

Out of Spain learning materials

NEW! You can pay for these materials in any currency using PayPal or credit card by going to its dedicated website: www.outofspain.com.

OUT OF SPAIN
Contents of all books in the series
For pricing and orders: go to: outofspain.com If you encounter any difficulties accessing that site (we have been having some difficulties which we hope to resolve very shortly) please send an e-mail with your needs to: andreebrooks@outofspain.com

BOOK I: Ayer: Our Spanish Heritage
Five lessons covering the history of the Jews of Spain prior to the expulsions of 1492
Optional addition: a 12-minute teaching video starring Theodore Bikel

+Lesson 1. Who are the Sephardic Jews? An introduction including our 12-minute video.
Lesson 2. The Great Invasion: The impact of the arrival of the Moors in Spain.
Lesson 3. Heroes of the Golden Age and Beyond: Poets, songs, medicine and science.
*Lesson 4. Music in the Castles: Birth of the Romanza and favorite instruments.
Lesson 5. Expulsion or Conversion: The Great Expulsion of 1492.
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BOOK II: Off to Other Lands: Sephardic Jews from 1492 to the present. Nine lessons covering the scattering and resettlement of the Sephardic Jews after expulsion from Spain. Includes their role in the colonization of the New World.

Lesson 1. Where are we going? ...and the Horrors on the Way.
Lesson 2. “We’ve Arrived!” – in the Ottoman Empire.
Lesson 3. Morocco
Lesson 4. Italy
Lesson 5. Dangerous Secrets: What happened to those who stayed behind.
Lesson 6. A True Story: The amazing life of Doña Gracia Nasi.
Lesson 7. The Caribbean Trading Game: The Sephardic merchant networks.
Lesson 8. Arrival in the New World.
Lesson 9. American Sephardim in Modern Times.
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BOOK III: Celebrating Sephardic Culture
Seven lessons covering the customs, music, festivals and food of the Sephardic Jews

*Lesson 1. The Legend of the Key.
Lesson 2. Similarities and Differences: Ashkenazi customs v. Sephardic customs.
Lesson 3. Language Mixtures and Puzzles; the making of the Judeo-Spanish language.
Lesson 4. Food glorious Food: The history and practice of Sephardic cooking.
*Lesson 5. A Sephardic Seder.
*Lesson 6. A Crypto-Jewish Seder.
*Lesson 7. A Sephardic Hanukkah.

*A CD is available (and recommended) to accompany certain activities in these lessons
+ Book I, lesson 1 is designed to be used with our DVD “Ayer: Our Spanish Heritage”
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BOOK IV: Teacher’s Notes and Resource Guide:
An additional book covering all lessons to guide teachers through the series.
Includes a Resource Guide: lectures, field trips, videos and books for the family
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For pricing and orders go to: outofspain.com If you encounter difficulties with this link (we have been struggling with some problems lately) please let us know your needs by sending an email to: andreebrooks@outofspain.com

"Out of Spain" (Ed.) educational program for schools
Books/lectures/teacher training

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