Teachers use this activity for any project where students are asked to create a story on film or another visual presentation (Prezi, PowerPoint), including the Virtual Walking Tour project (students research the Jewish community in their town and create an online tour using Google Maps that others can take). The goal of this activity is to help students see how a story told in film is told through narrative, visuals and audio. Students watch a short Centropa personal story film three times, each time focusing on one aspect of the film-making.

This lesson asks students to research family history and to create a project that tells the story of his/her family origins. Using the Centropa films about Max Uri and Jozsef Faludi students examine issues regarding Jewish identity and cheder (Jewish religious school) and students compare specific issues in the films with their own lives today. Then, the lesson employs Centropa-inspired techniques to ask students to create their own short films about their personal family history.

Students interviewed and took pictures of a relative while they prepared a favorite family recipe. The students then created a PowerPoint presentation that included their relative preparing the dish; background information about the recipe and the family member; and a recipe from Centropa that will highlight the similarities in Jewish cooking. Students’ interactions through family collaborative tasks can provide opportunities for them to acquire knowledge that may ultimately influence their personal development and growth.

In this family history project, students conduct oral histories with family members with the objective of creating a final project about their family history and understanding how an individual's family story is part of the larger story of Jewish history. The project begins in November, starting with the National Day of Listening Project (http://nationaldayoflistening.org).

Just as we pass the Torah from one generation to the next at bar and bat mitzvahs, so do we pass family stories dor l’dor (from generation to generation). Stories connect us to our history, our traditions, and who we are.