The goal of this lesson is to teach students how to do independent research in their school or local library. Students will identify at least 3 articles (primary sources) from the period of the Refuseniks that discuss a topic of their choosing. Then, students will write a summary of those articles.

Students will: 

• Research the topic in their school or local library, particularly in magazine and newspaper archives (primary sources).
• Communicate and collaborate with research librarians in their communities.
• Acquire skills so that they understand how to dig deeper into matters that are presented in their textbooks.
• Explain how to find articles from the 1950s-1990s on this topic.
• Consider how difficult it was to find and access accurate information when the totalitarian regime was controlling publishing and the media.

1. Students should choose a research topic from the list below.
2. Students will go to their school or local library and speak to the librarians about the best methods for conducting historical research using primary sources. 
3. Students should search the archives of major magazines (Time, Newsweek, US News & World report, etc.), newspapers (Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times, Baltimore Times, etc.), and local sources. They should limit their search to particular phrases/events/periods of time (eg 1965-1970 or 1970-1975) to ensure it is not overwhelming.
4. Students can photocopy, photograph, or print their findings. 
5. After careful reading and analysis of the primary sources, students should write a one page summary of their findings. 

Possible research topics:

• What the press was and was not covering on the Refuseniks, a key human rights issue of the day. 
• The oppressive conditions in which their Soviet Jewish relatives lived.
• What was it like to live in the USSR, a totalitarian regime which hated Jewish people purely based on their religious beliefs.
• The extremes to which Jews living in the USSR had to go in order to learn about and engage with their Jewish heritage, culture, language, etc. 
• The ways in which Jews living in the USSR managed to create a cohesive Jewish community, entirely in secret. 
• The activities and campaigns organized by Jews in the West to help their fellow Jews on the other side of the world.