Christopher F. Rufo

In Portland, the Intifada Begins in Kindergarten

The local teachers’ union encourages students to resist “Zionist bullies.”

Portland, Oregon, has earned its reputation as America’s most radical city. Its public school system was an early proponent of left-wing racialism and has long pushed students toward political activism. As with the death of George Floyd four years ago, the irruption of Hamas terrorism in Israel has provided Portland’s public school revolutionaries with another cause du jour: now they’ve ditched the raised fist of Black Lives Matter and traded it in for the black-and-white keffiyeh of Palestinian militants.

I have obtained a collection of publicly accessible documents produced by the Portland Association of Teachers, an affiliate of the state teachers’ union that encourages its more than 4,500 members to “Teach Palestine!” (The union did not respond to a request for comment.)

The lesson plans are steeped in radicalism, and they begin teaching the principles of “decolonization” to students as young as four and five years old. For prekindergarten kids, the union promotes a workbook from the Palestinian Feminist Collective, which tells the story of a fictional Palestinian boy named Handala. “When I was only ten years old, I had to flee my home in Palestine,” the boy tells readers. “A group of bullies called Zionists wanted our land so they stole it by force and hurt many people.” Students are encouraged to come up with a slogan that they can chant at a protest and complete a maze so that Handala can “get back home to Palestine”—represented as a map of Israel.

Other pre-K resources include a video that repeats left-wing mantras, including “I feel safe when there are no police,” and a slideshow that glorifies the Palestinian intifada, or violent resistance against Israel. The recommended resource list also includes a “sensory guide for kids” on attending protests. It teaches children what they might see, hear, taste, touch, and smell at protests, and promotes photographs of slogans such as “Abolish Prisons” and “From the River to the Sea.”

In kindergarten through second grade, the ideologies intensify. The teachers’ union recommends a lesson, “Art and Action for Palestine,” that teaches students that Israel, like America, is an oppressor. The objective is to “connect histories of settler colonialism from Palestine to the United States” and to “celebrate Palestinian culture and resistance throughout history and in the present, with a focus on Palestinian children’s resistance.”

The lesson suggests that teachers should gather the kindergarteners into a circle and teach them a history of Palestine: “75 years ago, a lot of decision makers around the world decided to take away Palestinian land to make a country called Israel. Israel would be a country where rules were mostly fair for Jewish people with White skin,” the lesson reads. “There’s a BIG word for when Indigenous land gets taken away to make a country, that’s called settler colonialism.”

Before snack time, the teacher is encouraged to share “keffiyehs, flags, and protest signs” with the children, and have them create their own agitprop material, with slogans such as “FREE PALESTINE, LET GAZA LIVE, [and] PALESTINE WILL BE FREE.” The intention, according to the lesson, is to move students toward “taking collective action in support of Palestinian liberation.”

The recommended curriculum also includes a pamphlet titled “All Out for Palestine.” The pamphlet is explicitly political, with a sub-headline blaring in all capital letters: “STOP THE GENOCIDE! END U.S. AID TO IRSAEL! FREE PALESTINE!” The authors denounce “Zionism’s long genocidal war on Palestinian life” and encourage students to support “boycott, divestment, and sanctions” policies against Israel.

Read more at City Journal

Contents

This document, compiled by Oregon Educators for Palestine in collaboration with Portland Association of Teachers, includes lessons, reading lists, toolkits, videos, films, mental health resources, and more for K-12+ educators in Portland Public Schools (and beyond!). See contents below to easily navigate between types of resources, grade levels, and subjects.

Lessons by Grade Level

Elementary School: Pre-K-5

Middle School: 6-8

High School: 9-12

SPED Transition

Books by Grade Level

Sources & Additional Teaching Resources

Resources for Talking to Young People

Reading Lists, Toolkits, & Curriculum Resources

Digital Resources & Websites

Posters

Articles & Publications

Webinars & Teach-Ins

Videos

Films & Documentaries

Mental Health Resources

Lessons by Grade Level

Elementary School: Pre-K-5

Pre-K

Teaching Young Kids about Palestine is a list that has been compiled by childcare workers and early childhood educators as a resource for others to teach and talk about Palestine (history, current events, culture, and joy) with young kids. This information is catered to Preschool age and younger.

K-2

Social Studies, Art, SEL: [OCS: Social and emotional learning]

Art and Action for Palestine

So You Made it to a Protest! A sensory guide for kids This visual guide from Woke Kindergarten takes students on a sensory guide through a Palestine protest.

Word of the Day: Ceasefire This slideshow explains the word “Ceasefire” in the context of Palestine (click the arrow to the right to move through slides).

Word of the Day: Protest This slideshow explains the word “Protest” (click the arrow to the right to move through slides).

Lil Comrade Convos: Power This slideshow is not about Palestine, but a good lesson about power (click the arrow to the right to move through slides).

ELA: [OCS: English language and literature]

Everybody’s a Helper This lesson from Learning for Justice is not about Palestine specifically but is a nice foundation for talking about social justice and why we help each other.

Choosing Reliable Sources This lesson from Learning for Justice is not about Palestine specifically but is a good foundation lesson on being critical consumers of media.

Let’s Go to Palestine This reading book, compiled by Teaching While Muslim, offers variations based on reading levels, introducing new words alongside images and facts.

Math:

K-1 Math Word Problems Worksheet provides Palestine-themed subtraction and addition word problems.

K-1 Color by Number has students practice their numbers and colors to color in a map of Palestine using the colors of the Palestinian flag.

1-5

ELA:

I Am From Palestine | Award-Winning Short Animation (full) | Rifk Books As Saamidah, a young Palestinian-American girl, anxiously starts her first day of school, she finds her identity in question when faced with a world map that doesn't include her homeland. Pair with this Discovering My Identity lesson to help students understand the Palestinian struggle for self-determination. While this video is listed here for younger students, it may also resonate with older grades. See also HILL MODEL Learning Standards (Histories, identity, literacies, and liberation) for Palestine.

Handala’s Return: A Children’s Story and Workbook The Palestinian Feminist Collective is excited to announce the launch of “Handala’s Return”, a children’s story and workbook with art by C. Gazaleh. Handala has been a symbol for Palestinians since being published by his creator, Naji al Ali, on July 13, 1969 in the Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Seeyasa. He remains a timeless symbol of Palestinian youth, refugeehood, steadfastness, and determination to realize return and liberation.

3-5 ELA:

Sitti’s Bird: A Gaza Story—An Introduction to Gaza for Children Lesson by Donnie Rotkin and Jody Sokolower, Sitti’s Bird: A Gaza Story,  is a beautiful children’s book by Malak Mattar, now a world-renowned artist, who grew up in Gaza. This lesson is aimed at 3rd to 5th graders, but can be adapted for younger or older students. (Note: In case you can’t easily get a copy of Sitti’s Bird, here is a YouTube video of a young Palestinian girl reading the book to us. If you have Arabic-speaking students in your class, you may want to use this video, which includes the text read in both English and Arabic. The book starts about 9 minutes in.) At the end of this lesson is a slide deck you may want to use as you teach the lesson. It includes links to the video of the book.

Examining Stereotypes in Books Use this lesson is from Learning for Justice as a way to examine stereotypes about Palestinians.

Evaluating Reliable Sources This lesson is from Learning for Justice and is a great introduction to teaching about bias in media.

Make Zines. Examples of Zines made by Children 4 Children on Palestine

Activism Online Lesson by Learning For Justice. Not Palestine specific but can used to show how some people advocate for Palestine and that we wouldn’t know about the genocide in Palestine if it weren’t for young journalists on Social Media. Use @lama_jamous9 as an example on instagram.

Producing Digital Information Lesson by Learning For Justice. Have students use Canva to make websites, instagram posts, & infographics.

3-5 Social Studies:

This Settler Colonialism & Palestine is a week-long, adaptable curriculum for 2nd & 3rd grade students created by and for educators.

4-5 Math:

Tatreez on the Coordinate Planeis a 60-90 minute geometry lesson by Teaching While Muslim that has students plot points on a coordinate grid in order to create a Tatreez pattern. 

Olives and Ordering Decimals is a 60-90 minute decimal lesson by Teaching While Muslim where students compare and order decimal amounts of Palestinian olive products.

Middle School: 6-8

6-8 ELA:

Palestine Culture, Identity and Resilience: An Overview by Teaching While Muslim, could also be applicable to Social Studies.

Little Piece of the Ground: Chapter 6 Mini-lesson This lesson uses a passage from the book A Little Piece of Ground to help students analyze the theme of humiliation and understand that real people are affected by the occupation using the 5 elements of characterization (see STEAL Graphic Organizer). This lesson is aimed for students who have already read chapters 1-5 of the book.

Poetry Through a Human Rights Lens This lesson guides students through a close-read of three poems, “Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear,” “What a Gazan Should Do During an Israeli Air Strike” by Mosab Abu Toha and “Before I was a Gazan” by Naomi Shihab Nye, examining how imagery and sensory details can be used to effectively represent ideas, themes, and points of views.

Butterflies for Children of War Students will analyze a series of poems written by, or about, children in war/conflict/distress and understand how to identify symbolism.

Analyzing How Words Communicate Bias This lesson, part of the Digital Literacy series, focuses on teaching students to identify how writers can reveal their biases through their word choice and tone. Students will identify “charged” words that communicate a point of view. Students will understand how writers communicate a point of view implicitly by writing their own charged news stories.

Tuqan & Angelou-Words of Resilience In this lesson, students will identify the importance of poetry and how it can evoke feelings of determination and resilience across different oppressed/marginalized groups (i.e African Americans/Palestinians).

"To My Mother" Poetry Analysis To better understand Palestinian culture through poetry, students will read Mahmoud Darwish’s poem “To My Mother” as an entry point into Palestinian culture, food, and music.

Poetry and the Art of Resistance In this lesson, students will analyze the figurative language and imagery of a poem to identify the theme of resistance and holding onto your unique identity in the face of oppression, writing their own poem that incorporates figurative language and imagery that demonstrates the theme of resistance and holding onto your unique identity in the face of oppression. Students should have a basic understanding of the Nakba and context for the ongoing Palestinian struggle. They also need prior knowledge of figurative language/imagery and its usage in poetry.

Social Media For Social Action This lesson will engage students in the debate about the efficacy of social media as a tool for social change. Not Palestine specific but can used to show how some people advocate for Palestine and that we wouldn’t know the genocide in Palestine if it weren’t for young journalist on Social Media. Use @lama_jamous9 or @wizard_bisan1 as examples on Instagram.

5-8 Math, Art:

Islamic Art and Geometric Design Students will learn about the geometric design that are the basis for the beautiful and intricate patterns in the art of the Islamic world. Includes a brief overview of Islamic art and a series of pattern-making activities for use in the classroom. Adapt these materials to create lessons in art, culture, math, and geometry.

6-8 Social Studies:

Liberation Movement and Activism In this lesson, students learn about the Palestinian liberation movement.

Japanese Concentration Camps: Connections In this lesson, students identify the parallels in history between past and current events and discuss the ways in which society can prevent injustice from recurring in future

6-8 Life Sciences:

Renewable Energy in occupied Palestine In this lesson, students will investigate the issues that Palestinians face in implementing renewable resources under occupation. Students will work together to “pitch” their energy resource in a mock town hall, hoping to gain the most votes from their classmates to adopt their energy resource.

High School: 9-12

Social Studies:

Palestine Culture, Identity and Resilience: An Overview Also applicable to ELA, this slide deck by Teaching While Muslim teaches about elements of Palestinian culture, including dabke, music, tatreez, keffiyehs, cuisine, agriculture, kite flying, architecture and landmarks, and poetry.

Al Aqsa Mosque A slide deck by Teaching While Muslim, this lesson covers the significance of Al Aqsa to Muslims around the world and in Palestine.

Uprooted: How Exile, Community, & Trauma Shape Cultural Identity In this lesson, students will examine literature and the visual arts to understand how Native Americans’ forced relocation is similar to Palestinians’ dispossession of their homeland. 

Genocide of Palestinians In this lesson, students will learn the meaning of genocide, examine case studies from around the world, and learn about the Nakba and genocide in Palestine

Historic Palestine, The West Bank & Gaza This lesson can be implemented as a stand-alone lesson on settler-colonialism with its implications on historic Palestine and the implications of the creation of Israel.

Colonization: An Ongoing HistoryIn this lesson, students will compare and contrast the motives, process, and impact of early colonization in the Americas with the ongoing colonization of historic Palestine.

Tying the KnotIn this lesson, students will examine the history of the region by charting the changes in political boundaries across time. Connect the patterns of the Palestinians’ plight with that of other indigenous peoples throughout the world.

What is Islamophobia? After constructing a definition of Islamophobia, students will learn the difference between interpersonal and structural discrimination, classify Islamophobia examples, and brainstorm solutions.

Whose Terrorism? Students will critically analyze the way the word “terrorism” affects the lives of individuals by asking who is being terrorized and why.

Who Benefits from Islamophobia This lesson gives participants an opportunity to investigate some of theindividuals,organizations, andcorporations that benefit from anti-Muslim hate through a role play activity.

Health:

Sex Education In Gaza: Empowering Young People Under Occupation (Zine) An illustrated 2018 interview (published in 2023) of a Gazan coordinator of the International Youth Alliance For Family Planning (IYAFP). They’re a youth (ages 15 to 30) -run nonprofit that advocates for sex education around the world. Use this zine to teach about sex education or incorporate it into a lesson on zines.

Queer Voices From From The Fight For Palestine Liberation (Zine) A zine on queerness, Palestinian liberation, and pinkwashing. Incorporate into lessons on identity, gender, sexuality, zines, and more.

ELA:

Borders and Walls is a lesson by Teach Palestine on two of the most significant walls in the world today: the US/Mexico border and Israel’s “security” wall that snakes through the West Bank, cutting Palestinians off from their neighbors and families, their farmland, schools, hospitals, and places of worship. The lesson expands to include a critique of settlers/pioneers, raising questions about borders in general: Who draws border lines? Why? What is the impact on the people and animals living there, and on the land itself?

Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire A study guide from Gaza Unlocked, the guide includes questions for each essay of the 2022 anthology.

Jerusalem: Chronicles From the Holy CIty by Guy Delisle

A Gazan Young Man Dreams of a Peaceful Death (Zine) Use this as a primary text for your students to investigate; to go deeper, define and talk about the medium of zines as a way to share stories and information. (See these examples of student-made zines.) See this example of how zines can be used as a call-to-action.

We Palestinians Are Not Going Away (Zine) Another zine with a first-person account to incorporate into lessons.

BDS: Why Does it Matter (Zine) A visual explanation of BDS, can be used in any lessons on comics, zines, or any explorations of the Palestinian liberation movement.

Palestinian Artist in History and Today (Zine)A one-page zine on the visual ways Palestinians resist. Could be paired with any lessons on Palestinian artists, writers, or zines and comics more broadly.

Poetry and the Art of Resistance In this lesson, students will analyze the figurative language and imagery of a poem to identify the theme of resistance and holding onto your unique identity in the face of oppression, writing their own poem that incorporates figurative language and imagery that demonstrates the theme of resistance and holding onto your unique identity in the face of oppression.

Poetry Through a Human Rights Lens This lesson guides students through a close-read of three poems, “Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear,” “What a Gazan Should Do During an Israeli Air Strike” by Mosab Abu Toha and “Before I was a Gazan” by Naomi Shihab Nye, examining how imagery and sensory details can be used to effectively represent ideas, themes, and points of views.

[OCS: Have they not noticed that the terrorist group Hamas puts civilians at risk by placing weapons and soldiers in civilian homes, schools, hospitals, Mosques and relies on human shields to protect them?]

"To My Mother" Poetry Analysis To better understand Palestinian culture through poetry, students will read Mahmoud Darwish’s poem “To My Mother” as an entry point into Palestinian culture, food, and music.

Media Studies:

PBS: Studying The Israel-Palestine History through a Media Literacy Lens PBS NewsHour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where, and why it matters in the major national and international news stories. The site combines the best of NewsHour's reliable, trustworthy news program with lesson plans developed specifically for students.

Palestine Remix Watch a documentary and remix highlights.

Modern Palestinian Filmmakers and their Bios (PDF) Utilize this resource for class film ideas and student research projects.

Science:

Protecting Biodiversity: Challenges and Strategies in Occupied Palestinian Territories Students will learn, design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity, looking at biodiversity in occupied Palestine as a case study.

[OCS: Progressive communist democrat climate change hoax now extends to Palestinians.]

SPED Transition [OCS: Special education, also known as special-needs education]

Media Literacy/Current Events Resources:

Article: How Trapped Palestinians Fell In Love With Bird Watching

[OCS: Unbelievable!]

Liberation Movement and Activism In this lesson, students learn about the Palestinian liberation movement.

Borders and Walls is a lesson by Teach Palestine on two of the most significant walls in the world today: the US/Mexico border and Israel’s “security” wall that snakes through the West Bank, cutting Palestinians off from their neighbors and families, their farmland, schools, hospitals, and places of worship.

Who Benefits from Islamophobia This lesson gives participants an opportunity to investigate some of the individuals, organizations, and corporations that benefit from anti-Muslim hate through a role play activity.

[OCS: Perhaps we should teach students that is the activists who benefit from exploiting social issues and hatemongering.]

Museum of the Palestinian People - Virtual Tour Explore the Museum of Palestinian People’s full 3D view of all Museum exhibitions, highlights of their permanent collection, a preview of their new exhibit, Art of Palestinian Women, including stories from each of the Palestinian Women Artists themselves and MAPS: Where are Palestinians Today? A fully mapped exploration of the more than 12 million Palestinians living in the world today, both in Palestine and in the diaspora.

Sexual Health Resources:

Sex Education In Gaza: Empowering Young People Under Occupation (Zine) An illustrated 2018 interview (published in 2023) of a Gazan coordinator of the International Youth Alliance For Family Planning (IYAFP). They’re a youth (ages 15 to 30) -run nonprofit that advocates for sex education around the world. Use this zine to teach about sex education or incorporate it into a lesson on zines.

Queer Voices From From The Fight For Palestine Liberation (Zine) A zine on queerness, Palestinian liberation, and pinkwashing. Incorporate into lessons on identity, gender, sexuality, zines, and more.

[OCS: Overlooking the fact that homosexuals in Gazan Palestine are stoned or thrown off roofs.]

No Freedom Without Reproductive Freedom for Palestinian Women by Lina Abirafeh for the International Planned Parenthood Federation

[OCS: Women have few rights under Islam, including sexual matters which are strictly controlled.]

Disability Awareness Resources:

The Gaza Sunbirds

Gaza Sunbirds: Palestine's Para-Cyclists Fight for Life Amid Israel's Genocide on Gaza (Video)

Everybody in Palestine is Disabled

Employment Skills:

Unions This lesson connects the history of the unions with modern-day social justice issues. By the end students will identify the pros and cons of unions, how unions advocate for international workers, and shape company policies.

[OCS: Perhaps students should be warned about the intersectional authoritarian nature of communism and Islamism.]

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