My Family Story: Project and Competition
Source: My Family Story
Beit Hatfutsot is happy to announce that registration is now open for its flagship project and competition, My Family Story. For fifteen years, Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People, has hosted the My Family Story program, which gives students from 5th-8th grade the opportunity to research their family stories, identify their personal stories with the ongoing story of the Jewish people, and to join the elements together in a unique and creative representation of their personal history. Outstanding projects participate in the My Family Story competition held at Beit Hatfutsot in June, 2012 and finalists participate in the opening of the My Family Story exhibit in Israel.
This year, teachers, students, and families will have the added benefit of our newly launched, My Family Story curriculum which gives a structure and educational framework to the program. This curriculum has been developed by our team of educators at the International School for Jewish Peoplehood Studies, which is dedicated to using Beit Hatfutsot as a platform for enhancing Jewish peoplehood. We also are happy to introduce Ilan and Ruth, the My Family Story comics characters who are part of the curriculum as well as our new soon to be launched website, where students and teachers can join the world wide conversations and forums surrounding My Family Story and Jewish identity in general.
We are happy to announce that this year’s My Family Story finalists have the chance to win a roundtrip ticket to Israel in order to participate in the two day international Tel Aviv encounter with students from around the world as well as the My Family Story ceremony held every year at Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People.
My Family Story is:
- A creative and hands-on method for teaching Jewish heritage, promoting the historical memory of the Jewish people and creating a sense of Jewish Peoplehood.
- An interactive family heritage project.
- A sequenced series of lesson plans based on the Project Based Learning teaching technique.
- Structured and well defined home based activities.
- An opportunity for your students to connect to Jewish peers around the world and in Israel.
- An opportunity for your school to highlight student progress and events to the greater local community.
- An opportunity for your students’ work to become part of Beit Hatfutsot’s museum exhibition.
A video presentation about My Family Story can be viewed here.