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Judge a Book by Its Cover
History meets modern publishing in History Teacher Zachary Albert’s “Jewish History” class. Students made book jackets for their final project and celebrated their hard work with a “cover reveal party.”
Each jacket has four components: a title, a student-designed cover, a description of the “book,” and an author’s bio. “Each student presented a claim about the Jewish story that was meaningful or compelling to them,” explained Mr. Albert. From there, they picked a title and designed a cover that encompassed their chosen topic.
On the back of each jacket was a description of the area of the study, complete with a claim and supporting evidence from a variety of the time periods in Jewish history they studied this semester. The author biographies made the project extra special: this is where the students shared how their topic is significant in their own lives.
Galete ‘25 chose “Perseverance Through Preservation” as their title. They explained that their argument reflected on how Jewish communities have survived throughout centuries of hardship. “We always return to our roots,” they said. “We keep coming back to important Jewish values. I left a restrictive community, but I kept my Jewish values, and that’s had a really positive impact on me.”
Other topics included the “golden age” of Jewish life in Spain, the ways Jewish people adapt to living throughout the diaspora, and the importance of an Israeli homeland to Jewish culture.
Students had the opportunity to flaunt their hard work at a cover reveal party on the last day of classes. Classmates walked around to get each other’s “autographs” and learn about the research and effort put into every project.
