Lyndsay Fleming teaches sixth grade social studies at East Cobb Middle School in Marietta, Georgia.

I first learned about IWitness from Jane Moore during a professional learning day. I was interested in using the website in my classroom because of the primary and secondary sources and interviews of Holocaust survivors. One of the major benefits of the website is the premade lesson and activities as well as being able to create your own. 

In my class I use IWitness as part of our Holocaust novel study. My students read the novel, The Boy on the Wooden Box. Students read the book and then complete the My Story Matters activity. They review different testimonies of Holocaust survivors and learned about events of World War 2. After they created a video through the activity, they used the information they had learned from the activity and novel to create website about World War II, the Holocaust, and The Boy on the Wooden Box.

Through the use of IWitness, my students grew a deeper understand of World War II and the Holocaust. They were shocked by the events of the Holocaust through viewing the different testimonies. It effectively teaches students about tolerance, and the Holocaust because of the testimonies. My students saw the faces of people who lived through the Holocaust and heard their stories bringing the Holocaust to life and making an impact on the students.

My students not only learned about the events of the Holocaust and World War II, but they also learned the importance of tolerance of any religion, empathy for others, and the importance of human dignity. I would recommend IWitness to any teacher, not only for the historical lessons, but also the life lessons taught from the testimonies of the survivors.