Materials your teachers can keep
Slides, sources, discussion guides and student handouts are yours to reuse. Teachers who would rather deliver the unit themselves are welcome to.
Archival sources. In your classroom.
In-depth history
for Idaho students.
Riverbank builds history units from archival sources and presents them in your classroom. Materials are provided to your teachers at no cost, whether or not you schedule a visit.
Now scheduling for the 2026–27 school year.
01
A presenter in your room Your instructor is welcome to stay and take part.
02
Reviewed in advance Your curriculum office or administration is welcome to review all materials ahead of time.
03
No cost in the Treasure Valley Instruction and materials, at no charge.
What Riverbank provides
Built for the way
schools work.
A presenter, a complete set of materials, and time for students to ask questions.
Built to a class period
Each lesson runs 50 to 60 minutes: roughly 40 minutes of presentation and 15 to 20 minutes of structured discussion.
Archival sourcing, cited
Every claim, image and figure is attributed to a named archive or scholarly source. Citations go to your department in advance.
The Holocaust unit
Three lessons.
A deeper understanding.
A sequenced unit that moves from what happened, to how it became possible, to what was lost.
At a glance
- Format
- Three lessons, presented in your classroom
- Length
- 50 to 60 minutes each
- Level
- Secondary
- Sources
- USHMM, Yad Vashem, USC Shoah Foundation
- Provided
- Slides, citations, advisory, opt-out letter, alternative assignment
Lesson one
The Atrocities
What was done, to whom, and at what scale — through archival photography, film, testimony and documented figures.
Lesson two
What Made It Possible
How a modern European society arrived at genocide, traced from post-war Germany through the Nuremberg Laws to Kristallnacht.
Lesson three
What Was Lost
The cost measured in what never came, using an interactive record of Jewish contributions in the decades after 1945. The lesson closes on what recognizing the early stages of this history asks of the people who study it.
Who teaches it
Meet David.
Thirteen years of teaching.
Years of study on the ground.
David
Orias
Idaho-certified educator
Husband.
Father of four boys.
David has taught for thirteen years and holds Idaho teaching certification with endorsements in Middle Level Mathematics and K-12 Music.
The history work comes out of study on site — in Israel, Jordan, Greece, Turkey, Italy, France, Germany and Portugal — walking the ground and returning to the same places across many years.
Riverbank units are built the same way that study was: from the primary record, cited in full, with the reasoning shown rather than asserted.
Idaho certificationEndorsements #8320 Middle Level Mathematics and
#7810 Music, K-12
Classroom experienceThirteen years teaching in Idaho schools
For your curriculum office
Idaho standards.
Clear connections.
Idaho Content Standards, July 2026
The full alignment document goes to your curriculum office with the materials.
Idaho Content Standards (opens in a new tab)
Official Idaho Department of Education resources. External links open in a new tab.
6-9.WH.5.4Full unit↗
Analyze the causes, events and consequences of the Holocaust while exploring the impacts of discrimination and prejudice.
Opens the official K-12 Social Studies Standards PDF in a new tab.6-9.WH.5.1Lesson two↗
Explain the political, economic, religious or cultural causes of conflicts in various civilizations and their consequences.
Opens the official K-12 Social Studies Standards PDF in a new tab.9-12.US2.15Lesson two↗
Explain the events and actions that led to World War Two, including the rise of fascism and totalitarianism.
Opens the official K-12 Social Studies Standards PDF in a new tab.6-12.HT2.6Full unit↗
Evaluate historical sources, considering authorship, strengths, limitations, potential biases and appropriate application.
Opens the official K-12 Social Studies Standards PDF in a new tab.A note for teachers using 9-12.US2.16
Teachers working to 9-12.US2.16, on American participation in the international response, should read the alignment document. The unit covers the history rather than the American response, and that section explains exactly where the line falls.
How scheduling works
A straightforward next step.
One lesson, two, or the full unit. A single class or several sections back to back.
You get in touch
Tell us your school, grade level, subject and roughly when you're looking.
We send materials for review
Slides, sources, the content advisory and the parent opt-out letter go to whoever needs to sign off.
We schedule and present
One lesson, two, or the full unit, on a schedule that fits your calendar.
No charge for schools in the Treasure Valley. Outside the area? Get in touch and we'll work it out.
Suitability & parent notification
Reviewed before
it reaches students.
Nothing is presented to students that your district hasn't seen first.
- A written content advisory describing, lesson by lesson, what students will see.
- A parent notification and opt-out letter your school can send under its own letterhead.
- An alternative assignment covering the same history through written primary sources.
Materials draw on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Yad Vashem and the USC Shoah Foundation.
Let's talk about your classroom
Bring the unit
to your school.
Tell David a little about your classes. He'll follow up with materials and next steps.
Or write directly
david@riverbanklearning.org
Riverbank Learning of Idaho
PO Box 127, Huston, ID 83630
Request a classroom visit
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