Content Area
Text
Grade Level
Target Area
Common Core
State
Standards
Smarter
Balanced
Assessment
Claims
Task
Overview
Module
Components
English Language Arts
“Hope, Despair and Memory,” by Elie Wiesel
Grade 10
Informative/Explanatory Writing, Performance Task
RI 10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI 10.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the
course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by
specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI 10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the
cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
RI 10.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how
an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
W 10.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex
ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the
effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
W 10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,
organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
*SL 10.1Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions
(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on
grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and
expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
Claim 1: Students can read closely and analytically to comprehend a range of
increasingly complex literary and informational texts.
Claim 2: Students can produce effective and well-grounded writing for a range of
purposes and audiences.
This assessment will be completed in two parts. The prewriting/planning in part one
will involve reading, note-taking, speaking and listening, and text-dependent
questions. In part two, students will be asked to draft an informative/explanatory
text.
1) Directions to Teacher
2) Text Passage
3) Tex-Dependent Questions Graphic Organizer
4) Constructed-Response Questions
5) Writing Task
*Standard addressed but not explicitly assessed.
Module Overview
Page 1
Hope, Despair and Memory Directions to Teacher
This Common Core-aligned ELA Performance Task can be given over two days depending on class
schedules. The directions below outline the steps to follow for a two-day administration.
Teacher Preparation: Students should have prior practice with identifying and analyzing how rhetorical
devices such as imagery, allusion, diction (word choice), organization, and syntax affect author’s meaning
and tone. Students should have some background knowledge of World War II and the Holocaust (e.g., the
time period, persecution of the Jewish people, concentration camps).
Text: Wiesel, Elie. “Hope, Despair and Memory.” In Nobel Lectures in Peace 1981–1990. Singapore:
World Scientific, 1997. (1986)
Materials:
“Hope, Despair and Memory” Text Passage
Graphic Organizer
Text-Dependent Questions
Writing Task
Lined paper for writing
Days 1–2
1. Reading:
(Approximately 20 minutes)
Give students the passage “Hope, Despair and Memory” and read the text out loud. Then instruct
students to read the text silently to themselves, underlining/highlighting any statements, words,
and/or phrases that they have questions about or that they believe could be relevant to their
understanding of the text.
2. Note-taking:
(Approximately 15–20 minutes)
Hand out the Graphic Organizer, and ask students to read the passage again (third read) and
complete the “My Response” and “Evidence From the Text” sections as directed in the graphic
organizer. Encourage students to expand their thinking beyond the literal answer to the question.
3. Speaking/Listening Questions:
(Approximately 15–20 minutes)
In pairs or groups of three, give students time to discuss the following questions and add
information to the “My Thoughts Now” section of the graphic organizer.
 What is the purpose of Wiesel’s speech?
 What is a central idea of Wiesel’s speech?
 What are some of the rhetorical strategies Wiesel uses in the speech?
4. Text-Dependent Questions:
(Approximately 20–25 minutes)
Hand out the Constructed-Response Questions and ask students to individually write their
responses to the questions on a separate piece of lined paper.
a. Key Details (RI 9-10.1, RI 9-10.4) In paragraph 1, what does Wiesel mean when he says,
“I know your choice transcends my person”?
ELA Grade 9-10: Hope, Despair and Memory
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b. Key Details (RI 9-10.1, RI 9-10.6) Why does Wiesel refer to himself in both the first and
the third person in paragraphs 4 through 6?
c. Central Ideas (RI 9-10.1, RI 9-10.2) In paragraph 6, what does Wiesel mean when he
says that “if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices”?
d. Central Ideas (RI 9-10.1, RI 9-10.2, RI 9-10.6) Based on paragraph 7, why does Wiesel
believe that people “must take sides” during times of crisis?
e. Craft and Structure (RI 9-10.4) How does Wiesel’s use of rhetoric contribute to the
tone of the speech?
Day 3
5. Performance Task (Writing Prompt)
(Approximately 50 minutes)
Distribute the writing prompt, and let students know the amount of time they have to respond to
the prompt in writing. Encourage students to use their graphic organizer and/or text-dependent
questions to inform their writing.
ELA Grade 9-10: Hope, Despair and Memory
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Student Name ______________________
Hope, Despair and Memory Text Passage
1
It is with a profound sense of humility that I accept the honor—the highest there is—that you have chosen
to bestow upon me. I know your choice transcends my person.
2
Do I have the right to represent the multitudes who have perished? Do I have the right to accept this great
honor on their behalf? I do not. No one may speak for the dead, no one may interpret their mutilated
dreams and visions. And yet, I sense their presence. I always do—and at this moment more than ever.
The presence of my parents, that of my little sister. The presence of my teachers, my friends, my
companions . . .
3
This honor belongs to all the survivors and their children and, through us to the Jewish people with whose
destiny I have always identified.
4
I remember: it happened yesterday, or eternities ago. A young Jewish boy discovered the Kingdom of
Night. I remember his bewilderment, I remember his anguish. It all happened so fast. The ghetto. The
deportation. The sealed cattle car. The fiery altar upon which the history of our people and the future of
mankind were meant to be sacrificed.
5
I remember he asked his father: “Can this be true? This is the twentieth century, not the Middle Ages.
Who would allow such crimes to be committed? How could the world remain silent?”
6
7
And now the boy is turning to me. “Tell me,” he asks, “what have you done with my future, what have
you done with your life?” And I tell him that I have tried. That I have tried to keep memory alive, that I
have tried to fight those who would forget. Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices.
And then I explain to him how naïve we were, that the world did know and remained silent. And that is
why I swore never to be silent whenever wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We
must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never
the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is
in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are
persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must—at that moment—become
the center of the universe.
Wiesel, Elie. “Hope, Despair and Memory.” In Nobel Lectures in Peace 1981–1990. Singapore: World Scientific, 1997. (1986)
ELA Grade 9-10: Hope, Despair and Memory
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Student Name ______________________
Text-Dependent Questions Graphic Organizer
Directions: After rereading the text, write answers to each question below in the “My Response”
section. Support each response by recording textual evidence in the “Evidence From the Text” section.
After you are given time to talk to a classmate and share ideas, complete the “My Thoughts Now” section
based on your conversation.
1. What is the purpose of Wiesel’s speech?
My Response
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now
2. What is a central idea of Wiesel’s speech?
My Response
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now
ELA Grade 9-10: Hope, Despair and Memory
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Student Name ______________________
3. What are some of the rhetorical strategies Wiesel uses in the speech?
My Response
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now
ELA Grade 9-10: Hope, Despair and Memory
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Student Name ______________________
Hope, Despair and Memory Constructed-Response Questions
Directions: Answer the questions below on a separate sheet of lined paper. You may use this sheet to
make any notes or draft your response, but only your complete answers on a separate sheet of paper will
be scored. You may refer to the reading passage and your graphic organizer to help you answer the
questions.
1.
In paragraph 1, what does Wiesel mean when he says, “I know your choice transcends my
person”?
2. Why does Wiesel refer to himself in both the first and the third person in paragraphs 4 through 6?
3. In paragraph 6, what does Wiesel mean when he says that “if we forget, we are guilty, we are
accomplices”?
4. Based on paragraph 7, why does Wiesel believe that people “must take sides” during times of
crisis?
5. How does Wiesel’s use of rhetoric contribute to the tone of the speech?
ELA Grade 9-10: Hope, Despair and Memory
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Student Name ______________________
Hope, Despair and Memory Writing Task
Directions: Please respond to the prompt below in writing. You may use your graphic organizer
and/or constructed-response questions to inform your writing. You may take notes on this paper, but you
should write your entire response on the lined paper provided by your teacher.
Writing Prompt
Analyze how Elie Wiesel develops the central ideas and advances his point of view in his speech. Use
evidence from the speech to support your analysis.
Be Sure To:





Include relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information
Use appropriate transitions
Use precise language and vocabulary to inform or explain your topic
Establish and maintain a formal style
Provide a concluding section that follows from and supports your explanation
ELA Grade 9-10: Hope, Despair and Memory
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