Jay M. Brown
Objective
To acquaint the students with the problems that faced the Jewish immigrant.
To assist the students in understanding one of the roles of the Yiddish press.
To help the students develop their own writing skills.
Materials Needed
A teacher’s copy of
A Bintel Brief
.
A teacher’s prepared ditto of letters from
A Bintel Brief.
Presenting the Lesson
Teacher would discuss with students the various roles a newspaper plays and the columns it contains. Afterward the teacher should try to get students to write an Ann Landers-type advice column. A discussion of the role the Yiddish Press played in the life of the East European immigrant will follow. The teacher should select a number of letters from A
Bintel Brief
and read them to the class. Students should be allowed to answer the letters verbally.
For homework, distribute the prepared ditto containing no more than five letters from
Bintel Brief
. Students are to answer at least three of the letters in writing. The answers should be discussed in class the next day. If desired, the teacher may allow students to write their own
unsigned
letters and give them to other students, who will then write a response.
