PRESS RELEASE
The Genocide Education Project
“Learning the Past, Building the Future”
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 264-4203
[email protected]
Contact: Sara Cohan (415) 264-4203
April 18, 2005
NEW TEACHING KIT ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
San Francisco, CA – A new teaching kit about the Armenian Genocide
is now available through The Genocide Education Project. The Genocide
Education Project has teamed up with Facing History and Ourselves to
provide teaching guides, lesson plans, and audio/visual aids together
as one comprehensive kit for teachers seeking to include the Armenian
Genocide in their classrooms. The kit includes a resource book,
step-by-step lesson plans, five large posters, and a television
news video for $59.00 + S/H. Educators interested in incorporating
the Armenian Genocide into their curriculum can purchase this
teacher-tested resource kit online at
Below are brief descriptions of the resources in this kit.
RESOURCE BOOK
Facing History and Ourselves’ new resource book, “Crimes Against
Humanity and Civilization: The Genocide of the Armenians,”
combines the latest scholarship on the Armenian Genocide with
an interdisciplinary approach to history, enabling students and
teachers to make the essential connections between history and their
own lives. By concentrating on the choices that individuals, groups,
and nations made before, during, and after the genocide, readers have
the opportunity to consider the dilemmas faced by the international
community in the face of massive human rights violations.
LESSON PLANS
“Human Rights and Genocide: A Case Study of the First Genocide of
the 20th Century” was developed by The Genocide Education Project and
the San Francisco Unified School District. Using the History-Social
Science Framework for California Public Schools as its foundation,
this comprehensive teachers’ manual focuses on the Armenian Genocide
of 1915, during which 1.5 million Armenians, half of the Armenian
population, were systematically annihilated. It includes a One Day,
Two Day, and Ten Day unit, with all the materials teachers will
need, including more than two dozen overheads, interactive classroom
exercises and more.
The lesson plans also approach the Armenian Genocide in the context
of WWI and the international political-social upheavals of the
time, and also considers the links between the Armenian Genocide
and the Holocaust. Other major human rights violations such as the
Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Rape of Nanking, and the Cambodian and
Rwandan genocides are also used in the lessons to draw parallels and
engender contemplation and discussion about the phenomenon of genocide
and human rights abuses.
VIDEO
“The Century: The Forgotten Genocide” is a 5-minute news program
produced by ABC News for the news broadcast World News Tonight with
Peter Jennings. Beginning with a comparison by Jennings of the scene
of death marches during the Armenian Genocide at the beginning of
the 20th century with lines of refugees leaving Bosnia at the end of
the 20th century, the piece includes survivor interviews, historians,
and archival footage to give a brief synopsis of the century’s first
genocide. The video can be used as a good introductory visual aid,
and is available in DVD and VHS formats along with a transcript
through The Genocide Education Project
POSTERS
Designed for classroom use, teacher workshops, exhibits, and displays,
this set of 5 theme-oriented instructional posters tell the story
of the Armenian Genocide, providing a visual overview of key events
related to the genocide, its prelude, methodology, and aftermath. Each
illustrated poster measures 19″ x 25″ and includes photographs, text,
graphics and a chronology, allowing teachers and students to easily
grasp essential facts related to each theme. The posters also provide
teachers with a template for further instruction, exploration and
study. These educational are available through The Genocide Education
Project.
For more information about the efforts of The Genocide Education
Project please visit their Web site at
—-
The Genocide Education Project is a nonprofit organization that
assists educators in teaching about human rights and genocide,
particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and distributing
instructional materials, providing access to teaching resources and
organizing educational workshops.