In 50 years, kibbutz movement has undergone many changes

During the past few weeks, the sixth graders and I have been studying about Kibbutzim, Jewish agricultural communes in Israel. The first kibbutz (Deganyah) was started at the time of the Second Aliyah, and the movement continued to grow, prosper, and diversify over the following several decades. Today, there are still kibbutzim, but most of them are extremely different from their predecessors.

For a primer on the Kibbutz Movement, check out the following links:

List of kibbutzim - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kibbutz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/kibbutz.html (on how kibbutzim have changed over time)

In 50 years, kibbutz movement has undergone many changes (news article)

Kibbutzim: Past and Present

Check out this list and learn more about Israeli kibbutzim, past and present:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_kibbutzim. You can look up specific kibbutzim--maybe ones that you or your family members have visited.

Also, many kibbutzim have their own sites. Look at:
Kibbutz Yotvata --home of a prominent dairy
Kibbutz Ketura --a religious, non-Orthodox kibbutz
Kibbutz Beit HaShita --home of well-known factory producing olives and pickles
Kibbutz Degania -- the first Kibbutz