When Social Justice is Missing: Night by Elie Wiesel and the Holocaust with
a Look At Other Incidents of Genocide
Daniel Kliber Jr.
Pittsburgh Allderdice High School
Overview
Rationale
Objectives
Strategies
Classroom Activities
Annotated Bibliography
Appendix-Content Standards
Overview
This unit is intended to be used in the current 9th grade English curriculum in the
Pittsburgh Public Schools. However, the unit can be used in any district where
the book, Night, by Elie Wiesel is being used in the classroom or any other
Holocaust-related texts. The unit is specifically designed for the core curriculum
of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, which focuses on the regular education and the
Pittsburgh Scholars Program students. The unit is intended to focus mainly on the
Jewish population and how they were affected during the time period of the
Holocaust, but to also understand the life of the Jews before and after the time of
the Holocaust as well. The unit will allow students to engage in rich discussions
and identify the roles of different groups and people during this time period as
perpetrators, bystanders and victims. In addition to this focus, students will also
be able to take a look at other groups who were targeted by Nazi Germany as
well. Students will look at supplementary materials to aid in their understanding
of these topics. Assessment of the students during the unit will take place several
times through a research component, which they will transform into a 3 to 5
minute speech to present to their classmates. To bring the students to present day,
they will look at how anti-Semitism still is in effect today and how hate crimes
are prevalent with many minority groups in the world. Also, the students will
look at how there are still areas where genocide is still taking innocent lives at the
hands of ruthless dictators or groups.
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Rationale
For years, I have been teaching Night by Elie Wiesel to 9th grade students thinking
that the approach I was taking was acceptable. Then I was awakened to a totally
different approach because I had the unique opportunity through the American
Jewish League and Tsipy Gur to travel to Israel and study at Yad Vashem, The
International School for Holocaust Studies for an intense, 2-week seminar, led by
some of the most prolific scholars in Holocaust education. In this time, we
examined and discussed many aspects of the Jewish culture and the Holocaust
from many different points of view. In most classrooms, there is a focus on the
number of victims whose lives were taken during the Holocaust, whether it be the
6,000,000 Jews who were persecuted or the near 13,000,000 total people who lost
their lives. The pictures shown to students are the most shocking pictures of the
piles of dead bodies, the emaciated mobs of people standing around starving,
being dehumanized and suffering.
In this seminar, there was a focus on the Jews, not as victims, but the Jews as
survivors and a symbol of hope for the new life after the Holocaust. Students
need to realize that these people were not only people with normal lives and
families before the Holocaust and World War II, but they were also people who
were strong enough not only to withstand the Holocaust, but rebuild their lives
and families, remembering to never forget, but to also show the sense of
community the Jewish people had because their strong sense of beliefs and
community is what pulled them through these horrendous times with art, music
and most importantly, their faith. Students will get the opportunity in this unit to
take a holistic approach to understand the typical Jewish family so there is a focus
on the individual and not a number of 6,000,000 or 13,000,000.
Because this is being written with a focus on the Pittsburgh Public School
curriculum, I have decided to not only focus on the Jewish population, but also
incorporate other groups or people who were victimized by Nazi Germany.
Those groups will include the experiments performed on women and children
(twins), gypsies, homosexuals and mentally and physically challenged persons as
well. Students need to realize how a dictator like Hitler could have had an effect
on their own families and how they need to be change agents for today’s society
so these cruelties come to an end. The unit itself will have a focus of six weeks
because that is what the original unit in the 9th grade curriculum has and if this
would be substituted, I want to make sure it stays on task with the timeline
already in place. In the six weeks, included will be the research time and the
speech schedules as well.
Although the main piece of literature will be Night, by Elie Wiesel, the
classroom instruction is going to be balanced around the speeches of the students
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on their research topics, the discussion of the book and also the other readings and
activities the students will be engaged in to make them critically think about how
morals play a role in the actions of so many people involved in the Holocaust, if
there was any social justice for the victims in this time period or if it was more an
example of life in a world where social justice did not exist and how society on an
international level allowed this to occur. These people who were victimized
really had nothing after their liberation so the struggles they endured after the
Holocaust lasted for years in some cases. The students need to be emerged in the
content in order to understand the life of the typical Jewish family and how their
humanity was strategically taken away from them.
Every year, I field a variety of questions about this unit. The questions go
from one end of the spectrum to the other. For example, in my classroom, I have
students who will ask me, “What is the Holocaust?” and I will also have students
of the Jewish faith who will ask, “Why do we have to read this again? I’ve been
taught this all my life and I have read the book three or four times.” In addressing
the first question, I tell students that it is important they understand and know this
part of history so it does not repeat itself and because there are groups of people
who desperately want us to forget what had happened. For the latter question, I
tell the students they can be very valuable to the first group of students with little
or no knowledge of the subject because they can be resources for those students.
With this unit, I want both groups to have the challenge of learning more and
understanding from a different viewpoint. Even the students who have read the
book over and over again or have been told about the Holocaust from their
ancestors, still are taught with the mindset on the numbers of the victims and not
the celebration of life which occurred after the Holocaust.
At the beginning of the unit, the students will choose a topic they would like to
research dealing with the Holocaust or having some kind of a connection to the
Holocaust. (The list is provided under classroom activities). Because this is
intended for 9th grade students, they will be walked through the process of note
taking on index cards (the 5 parts of the note card), bibliography cards and good
note taking skills to avoid plagiarism. The students will have three class days in
which to find and do the research they need in order to write their research papers
for their respective topics. The students must use a minimum of three sources for
their research, usually consisting of at least one book source. This will vary based
on if the school library has a text on all topics. It is very good to familiarize
yourself with your school’s library access prior to starting the unit. If your
students are not likely to or have little access to a public library, the school library
is going to be their main resource center. Some topics I do approve 3 internet
sources because the topic is important to discuss in class, but we do not have the
book resources in the library.
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Once the students’ papers are written, they will take key points from their
research to provide a three to five minute speech to the students in the class. The
speeches are going to be divided by days, based on where the topic lies in the
Holocaust. I have found this to be more beneficial to the students. For example,
if in Night, Dr. Mengele is introduced, the student who chose Dr. Mengele for his
or her research would present on that particular day, kind of introducing that
person to the class. The speech topic schedule will basically be set up in a
chronological order for the most part, with three to four speeches being given a
day. It makes more sense and also when students give speeches, sometimes the
class time is not effectively used when students stand and present speech after
speech without connecting the information to the content. The book Night, by
Elie Wiesel will be incorporated throughout the entire unit after the research
portion is completed.
On days where there is no direct discussion about the book, there will be
discussions and/or activities focusing on the other groups, art, music, and
lifestyles during the Holocaust. After the book and speeches are completed, there
will be an extension on the Holocaust to focus on modern anti-Semitism and hate
crimes on minority groups throughout the world so students can see that this type
of behavior still occurs, maybe not on the large scale of the Holocaust, but the
same concept of trying to wipe out groups of people based on their differences
from the majority culture of that area. It is similar to Roger Smith’s Civic Ideals
where he discusses the term ascriptive Americanism, where certain or specific
traits make up a good American. These people are being wiped out simply
because they do not have the same traits as the majority group in their region or
country.
Throughout the unit, there are a number of grade level requirements the
students will accomplish. They will have the major projects of writing a research
paper and presenting a speech to the class. Also they will have a number of
writing assignments that will be incorporated into their Reader/Writer Notebooks,
following the Disciplinary Literacy Pattern (DL Pattern) of the core curriculum
for the Pittsburgh Public Schools. These will include: writing to get the gist of
what is read, identifying significant moments, quick writes (warm ups), writelikes where they will mimic the author’s style of writing, step backs, which are
reflections on activities/readings and other small group writing exercises.
The unit will be very structured in order to gear the students on being better
organizers because this is where they struggle immensely coming into high
school. A lot of the stress they encounter comes with the fact that they simply are
not good organizers, which impedes their initial success on being Promise Ready.
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Objectives
Respecting Others’ Opinions
In my classroom from day one, I preach the importance of respect for all people in
the classroom whether it be other peers or adults. This really is important for this
area to be established before coming into a unit of this nature. There are two
reasons: first, students are very reluctant to get up and speak in front of their
classmates for fear of being made fun of or not having the confidence they need
based on self-esteem issues. There must be mutual respect for all speakers in the
classroom from an attentive audience. Secondly, the mature matters that will be
discussed or introduced to the students require a respect by all students as well.
Two items that come to mind right away are the graphic nature of some of the
reading and also the discussion of homosexuals in the Holocaust. Also there are
going to be students who will experience a wide range of emotions with this unit
and there has to be an understanding of how discussions will occur and sometimes
people are going to agree to disagree and that will have to be good enough. They
will have to learn how to express their opinions in a tactful manner, respecting the
diversity within the classroom environment. In my own classroom, I establish
this early on and build on it throughout the year, but it is something that has to be
considered before this unit. If the proper discussion etiquette is not in place
beforehand, it could cause for a lot of students being disrespected and/or hurt. If
comments are made that are inappropriate, then the teacher needs to be able to
step in immediately to address the situations and be sure they do not continually
occur.
Summarizing Literature (Getting the Gist and the Disciplinary Literacy (DL)
Pattern -the teaching model followed by the teachers in the Pittsburgh Public
Schools who teach the core curriculum)
Students need to understand the importance of being able to summarize what they
read and put it into their own words. There is a lot of content knowledge the
students need to have an understanding of in order to be successful in this unit. A
lot of this information they may hear for the first time. This will be extremely
important for students to do for the reading homework they will be doing with the
novel. It is an easy formative assessment to make sure the students are doing the
reading and also understanding it. The summary of the text can sometimes be a
segue into a deeper discussion of specific topics in the text.
Identifying key pieces of text and using it as support (Significant Moments in the
DL Pattern)
Just as summarizing the text is important for students to demonstrate their
understanding of the text read, it is also important to have the students go back
into the text after reading and scan for significant ideas that stick out to them.
The students need to express why that specific line or phrase is so pertinent to the
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text and/or the effect the line has on them personally. This allows the students to
make connections to past units or lessons from this class or others in the past,
which brings about richer discussions and deeper meanings of the text. When
students have this understanding, whether they agree or disagree with items
discussed in the text, they still have the focus of using the text as their support
first, then they can relate that information to that of their own personal
experiences. This will keep the class from getting off topic better and have the
students engaged in more accountable talk. In both the summarizing literature
and identifying key elements processes, the students will be able to achieve this in
a number of ways whether through think-pair-share, where students first work
individually, then pair up with a partner before sharing out to the whole group. It
tends to build their confidence levels to ease the anxiety of being called on to
participate. It can be whole group discussions or put the students in small groups
and make them responsible for specific sections to teach to the rest of the class.
Strategies
Research process
This will be the first research paper the students complete in their high school
English career. The students will be directed as to how to fill out the note cards
properly and also how to fill out bibliography cards. (Normally I make a fill in
the blank bibliography card for the students to help them out later with their
works cited page). Students will also discuss and understand the term plagiarism
because this is the first research-based paper they will be completing. The teacher
will also go over the rubric for the assignment, which is the standard informative
rubric used in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Students will have three days to do
research in the library/computer lab and have two days in the classroom to
organize ideas, create an outline and a rough draft. What they do not finish on the
strict schedule will be finished as homework. Students will also use The Write
Tools process of highlighting their rough drafts to make sure they have all the
parts of the paper included. Being that this unit is at the beginning of the year, I
still use this visual with all the students to make sure they are writing effectively.
(The paper will be highlighted in three colors: green=introductory/ thesis
statement and concluding statement, yellow=topic sentence in each of the body
paragraphs, and pink=supporting details for each topic sentence in the body
paragraphs). The students hang on to their research papers because they will need
them to prepare for their speeches throughout the unit. If a student does not have
a prepared paper on the day of his or her speech, I do not let them present.
Students are expected to also create some sort of visual to go along with their
presentations, whether it be a handout to the class or a power point to aid in their
presentations. Again, the speeches are graded with the standard speaking rubric
used with the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Also, the paper is due on the day he or
she is scheduled to present. This helps out in grading as well because as the
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teacher, you are not bombarded with 125 papers all at once. (Because they are
not turning in the papers right away, they do not receive class time to type up their
papers-they make arrangements during study hall, lunch library time, etc. to get
that portion done.) It is very important that the teacher has knowledge on each of
the topics listed on the choice list. If a student gives a poor speech, the teacher
needs to fill any and all gaps before moving on with the text.
Speech Preparation
Students will talk about proper speech etiquette along with proper audience
etiquette through a teacher-led discussion. The teacher will go over the standard
speech rubric of the Pittsburgh Public Schools. This is when the teacher will also
go over the guidelines for the visual as well. Students are given two class days in
the computer lab to help them work on their power point presentation component
or their handouts.
Reading Aloud and Reading Homework
Because the unit will have more of a focus on the classroom discussions and
activities, it is important that the teacher keeps students on task with the readings
of Night because if the students are not reading closely, they will lose important
content about the Holocaust. By having the students read aloud in class, the
teacher will be able to test comprehension of the reading and also have students
assist other students who are not as familiar with the Holocaust. Students can be
the leaders in explaining what is going on in the novel. Also, reading aloud gives
each student the chance to work on his or her reading skills. There also has to be
reading homework in order to finish the book in a timely manner. Anytime the
reading is done for homework, I would suggest having the students write a
summary (gist) of what they read and who the characters are in that section of the
story. This way, when they come to class, a short discussion can give the teacher
insight as to who did and did not understand the reading homework, explaining
key areas of the text.
Rereading for Significant Moments
After students have read the text for comprehension purposes, students should go
back and skim through key areas of the text to identify significant lines and
phrases. The students should have a specific focus for what they are looking for
when going back into the text. With Night, students can identify significant
moments based on the specific themes of the book and create a 3-column chart.
The three columns would read: significant moment (quote and page #),
explanation as to why the quote is significant, and which theme is represented.
The themes are: motif of Night, dehumanization of Jews, father/son relationship
and loss of faith. This can be a running chart as the students read the book. It is
your choice to tell the students how many of each they need to find.
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Reader/Writer Notebook (R/W Notebook)
As part of the Pittsburgh Public School core curriculum, students are to have a
Reader/Writer Notebook which is organized into specific sections of: Getting the
Gist (in Getting the Gist, students are simply asking themselves What is going on
in this section of the reading?, How do I know? and Who are the characters in this
section of the story? with a brief description of each new character), Significant
Moments, Write Likes/ Write-Abouts, Notes/Vocabulary/ Worksheets. There are
a number of ways to organize this and the sections can be flexible depending on
how teachers want to utilize the R/W Notebook. An easy way to formatively
assess the students is to have students organize their R/W Notebooks with their
summaries (gists) and significant moments chart and the teacher checks them as
needed for each class.
Inquiry-Based Discussions (IBD)
The book’s event will initiate deep conversation with the students. There is a lot
of emotion and feeling tied to the events of the book. Again, in order to have a
successful IBD, teachers need to already have established a comfortable setting
within their classrooms. A suggestion is to have the discussion starters posted on
the desks or somewhere visible in the classroom to hold students to accountable
talk. The starters are: I disagree with (name) because…, I agree with (name)
because…, I noticed…, I’m wondering…, This reminds me of…, In the text on
page #..., and In response to…. It is extremely important that the teacher steps out
of the discussion altogether. The teacher can be a recorder, simply writing
everything down the students say to step back after the IBD, adding/clarifying
information that was stated, praising responses, and re-emphasizing key
comments. There a number of ways to do this. The students can also take roles
in the IBD like recorder, tally person of who is speaking, observer to make sure
everyone participates, etc.
Think-Pair-Share
A great way to build student confidence is to use this concept where students first
work independently recording their answers. After the individual work, the
students share with a partner on either side of them and discuss each other’s
answers. Then, finally, sharing out as a whole group with the rest of the class.
This way students have the ability to share their answers with one another without
being put on the spot in front of the entire classroom and also students are looking
to other students for the answers before the teacher gets involved, helping keep
the lesson student-led.
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Classroom Activities
Days One through Three
Students should be taught the 5 parts of the note card and be walked through
writing sample note cards. Also students will be shown how to write a
bibliography card for the variety of sources they will have access to while doing
their research. Students will also review the MLA process of citing works they
use in their research papers.
Days Four through Six
Students will have these days to work in the computer lab or the library to
complete the research portion of their projects. (A list of research topics can be
found in the appendix A)
Days Seven and Eight
Students will use this time to organize note cards, complete an outline, write a
rough draft, peer edit and utilize The Write Tools highlighting. Anything not
completed in these two classes will be completed outside of class. On day seven,
the students will also receive a schedule of presentation days based on the topics
assigned. The topics in the appendix are grouped together by days to make it
easier for the teachers, but by no means need to be kept in that order.
Overarching questions to focus on with the unit and reading
What happens to a society or group of people where social justice is not evident?
How is a person’s faith tested when faced with a struggle much bigger than
themselves?
How do the choices of one group of people affect the innocent bystanders in
certain situations?
Days Nine and Ten
Introduce the students to a history of genocide. Students can be given a brief
history of genocide along with the explanation of when the term genocide was
coined and where the word comes from. Students can also fill out a timeline of
specific instances of genocide all the way through present day if a teacher would
like.
Days Eleven through Twenty-Four
Students will be introduced to and read the book Night, by Elie Wiesel. The
classroom time on the novel will vary daily based on the presentations given by
the students. This takes a lot of preparation by the teacher because if the students
present very quickly, there will be more time to use in the classroom, but at the
opposite end, if students present very thoroughly, the teacher may have very little
time different days to assess student reading, questioning for comprehension, etc.
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It is very important that the teacher be flexible with these days. Teachers
normally will be able to tell ahead of time which days there will be more time in
the period for whole group discussions, activities, etc.
Activity #1 Incorporating Photography
Before reading Night, the students have to get a sense of what life was like before
the Holocaust took place. Use the photos provided or find your own that really
show the traditions and normality of the Jewish people. Have students do a quick
write about what they notice in each of these pictures. Have them share with
someone close to them and then discuss as a whole group.
http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/wwwimageroot/microsites/hmd07/1.5-happychildhood.jpg
(life before)
http://netfiles.uiuc.edu/alhiggin/www/images/boyswithtorah.gif
(tradition before)
http://multimedia.jta.org/images/multimedia/yiddishvilne08212008/6751-1_1.jpg
(family before)
http://www.judaism.com/gif-bk/57602p.gif
(social events)
In the beginning it is also very important to show students examples of
propaganda used by Hitler and the Nazis in the classrooms of schools, on posters
and advertisements throughout the communities which dehumanized the Jewish
people. He had to convince his followers of the threat the Jewish people posed
towards their society. The propaganda was created as ascriptive barriers or ideas
and covers a variety of media outlets including: art, songs and schoolbooks. The
teacher may also want to show short clips from the film Architecture of Doom
which explores the obsession Adolf Hitler had with his own vision of what was
and was not acceptable and how he brought these notions to fruition while
running the Third Reich.
Chunking of the text:
Chapter 1
Chapters 2 and 3 (Write Like “Never Shall I Forget…”)
Chapter 4 (music activity)
Chapter 5
Chapters 6 and 7
Chapters 8 and 9
Attached in the appendix is a list of chapter comprehension questions to address
formative assessment of each chapter to be sure students are doing the assigned
readings. Again, these can be used as homework outside of class or assigned on
days when the students use more time doing their presentations. Also if these
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questions are used, they will take the place of having the students write a gist to
what they read.
Activity #2 Writing Like the Author
Write Like with Chapter 3 (This can be done as a homework or classwork
assignment) In chapter 3 on page 34, Elie speaks of everything he sees around
him, using the words, “Never Shall I Forget.” Have students write their own
poem titled, “Never Shall I Forget…” and have them follow the same format as
on page 34. Students should pick a very memorable moment or event in their
lives to focus on, applying the 5 senses and concrete details to each line. The
poem doesn’t necessarily have to be a painful experience as Elie’s was. Leave it
open to the students to pick their appropriate events to write about. **The song by
the Wu Tang Klan “Never Again” can be incorporated into this activity if you do
not have time to do the entire activity #3, Incorporating Musical Genres (see
below).
Activity #3 Incorporating Musical Genres
In chapter 4, there is a mention of the musicians in the orchestra block and how
they were not permitted to play music by Beethoven because Beethoven was a
German composer. In this activity, students will listen to a variety of types of
music and with a very brief clip, write down and discuss the adjectives that come
to mind with each sound clip. (Students may need brief reminders of what an
adjective is). It is very important to get a wide variety of music for the students,
but also to get music that may make them hear one thing, but when you tell them
what the song is actually about or who the artist is, they begin to think a little
deeper than just listening to the music, and focus on the words. This will be
important for part two of the activity.
Part One: Tell the students to label their papers numbers one through four and that
they are going to listen to clips of songs and write adjectives that come to mind as
they listen. You will not tell them who the actual groups are or what the songs are
about until after the discussion of what they get out of each song. Have the
students respond directly after listening to each clip so it is fresh in their minds.
Examples of what to play:
Thousand Foot Krutch “Welcome To The Masquerade” (play the instrumental
section in the beginning-hard rock) They are actually a group who has won four
Gospel Music Awards, but students will have a different opinion just hearing the
instrumental section (3 seconds in the beginning).
K’s Choice “Not An Addict” (although there are words in the beginning, the first
45 seconds or so can be played) It’s a very solemn song, but is actually about a
drug addict and the ups and downs of getting his or her high (if time allows, go
back and play the next portion for them to hear)
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K.R.U.N.K. Movement “The Anthem” (play about 15 to 20 seconds) From his
Keystone Church in Hazelwood, Reverend Tim Smith runs the K.R.U.N.K.
(Kreating Realistic Urban New School Knowledge) Movement through his
nonprofit Center for Life. K.R.U.N.K. teaches teens how to write, engineer,
perform and market their hip-hop and jazz music with a message. It was
established in 2005 and has 15 students as members.
Choose 1 romantic melody or ballad to play for the students as well.
After listening to the music, ask the students how they came up with the
adjectives. Most responses will be from listening to the beat, the instruments, etc.
Then talk about actually listening to the words of a song because a lot of times,
there is a very powerful message in the music.
Part 2: Listen to the music with the students and print out or show the lyrics as
well so the students can hear and understand what is being said. There are a
number of songs listed here by modern artists. You can choose to use one or as
many as you wish, depending on how much time is allowed. These are all
modern day pieces reflecting on what happened in the Holocaust, but another
approach would be to use music by survivors of songs that were written about
their experiences because they are willing to tell their stories through the music
and the words they write.
Indigo Girls “This Train”
Bob Dylan “With God On Our Side”
Wu Tang Klan “Never Again” (show the music video with this one as well
because it is all about the Holocaust)
*The Wu Tang Klan is always a class favorite with my students
Again, the music shows the importance of educating ourselves about history so it
does not repeat itself. **This song by the Wu Tang Klan can also be used in
conjunction with the Write Like of “Never Shall I Forget…” if you do not have
time to do the complete music activity.
Activity #4 Incorporating Photography
Again, it is important for students to see how things changed in some areas where
the Jewish people were living normal lives. These examples of photos show how
the Jews no longer had freedom, how they were being dehumanized and treated as
if they were less than human. Again, as in part one of the photos where students
wrote down what they noticed in the pictures, have students repeat this process
and discuss with a partner, then have a whole class discussion on how life has
changed for these people. Remember the grade level you are teaching because
some of the pictures of the Jews being dehumanized may not be appropriate for
younger children. It is important to keep all materials on such a horrific topic age
appropriate when teaching it.
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http://www.ptla.us/Period2/RyanD_files/image007.jpg
(Warsaw during)
http://isurvived.org/Pictures_iSurvived-5/WarsawGhetto.GIF
(Warsaw during)
http://www.sott.net/image/image/15497/full/Stroop_Report?Warsaw_Ghetto_Upr
.jpg
(Warsaw during)
http://www.think-israel.org/mar09pix/peters.holocaust.image2.jpg
(dehumanization-cattle car)
http://shreyvats.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/ebensee-concentration-campprisoners-1945.jpg
(dehumanization-concentration camp)
Activity #5 Incorporating Poetry
With the presentation day of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, an excellent poetry piece
to use is Martin Niemoller’s “First They Came.” Have students read the poem
and answer this quick write in their Reader/Writer Notebooks:
Wiesel said in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, “Neutrality helps the
oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the
tormented. Sometimes we must interfere…Wherever men or women are
persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views.”
This quote by Elie Wiesel and the poem “First They Came” by Martin Niemoller
have a similar message. In your own words, explain what that message is.
Secondly, relate this poem to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the United States.
(This can be used as a separate assignment not incorporated to the speech day on
FDR-teachers can easily tie this into any lesson in dealing with the Holocaust)
As the teacher, it is important to point out the role of the United States as a
bystander. How did that hurt the victims? This can also be used as an inquirybased discussion about the effect the United States had earlier on before they got
involved directly. Students can step back and think about the S.S. St. Louis as
well. There are a lot of connections students will make with this poem, the
United States and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Activity #6 Learning Stations
This activity will last an entire period and is suggested to do after the students are
finished reading the book. My class period is 42 minutes in length. The learning
stations can be adapted as needed and if time only allows for one or two, feel free
to use pieces of these stations. The learning stations will kind of bring everything
together and give closure to this portion of the unit. The students really embrace
these activities and as a teacher I have seen some very shining moments from the
students on this day. Groups should be broken down into four even groups. If
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you have large groups and have enough space to divide the room into five
stations, feel free to create another station for students to move to. Just be sure to
be strict on the time to make sure they make it through all the stations.
There are four learning stations and the students will spend approximately six to
seven minutes at each station. Again, it is extremely important for the stations to
be very organized so that students have clear directions and guidelines, otherwise
there could be a lot of chaos in the classroom. Prior to class, the desks/tables
should be moved around so there is a space between the stations. This was done
in my classroom with 30 students. It was a little tight, but it does work.
Station #1: The power point is attached in the appendix with slides of art done by
David Olere. The directions are on the slides. You could also put them up on the
ELMO for the students to view. (This can be found in Appendix B)
Station #2: Recount the scene where Juliek is playing his last act, a fragment of
Beethoven’s concerto on page 95. Have students re-read that paragraph in the
book while listening to the music clip of Beethoven’s concerto. Students will
write a quick write about how his music makes them feel. Also if the music
activity was used, the teacher can also make mention of what the students
embraced in the music they listened to then.
Station #3: Have a set of Post-Its. Each class should have their own color. Have
students write down one comment about the unit and what they have learned. It
can be as simple as a fact they learned about the Holocaust or it can be feelings
they have. Each student shares his or her comments with the group and then they
post them on a sheet of chart paper to be shared out later in class.
Station #4: Have a bucket with ice and water sitting on the table. Have students
in the group take turns holding their hand in the water for approximately 30
seconds. While they are doing that, have a copy of the text from any of the many
examples showing the frigid environment the victims had to experience. After
students have completed submerging their hands in the ice/water mixture, have
them write a response in their quick write section of the Reader/Writer Notebooks
about how they felt dealing with that for 30 seconds. Then tell them to write
about how they would feel dealing with that for weeks on end, with no escape.
What would they do to cope?
Bring the students together for a whole group closure where they can reflect on
everything they experienced during the learning stations and ask them what they
think was the best and worse station and explain why.
Activity #7 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
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On the day that a student does the presentation on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, show
this short video about remembering the Holocaust in Israel. It shows a very
important message about how he claims the Holocaust never happened. This
video can also lead to an in-depth discussion, quick write, or lead into a lesson
about Holocaust Deniers if a teacher would like to discuss this in class. Although
I do not like to dedicate a lot of time to this group of people, it’s key to educate
students that there are people who whole-heartedly say this massacre never
happened.
http://maoz.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=maoz_holocaust_vidoe
(horn- in remembrance)
Activity #8 Incorporating Photography
It is not only important to show the photos of life immediately after the
Holocaust, but to show the photographs of life renewed. The students need to
understand the struggles the Jewish people went through when they were freed.
They were people who didn’t give up though and rebuilt their families and their
lives.
There is an importance to showing the photos when they were freed because they
didn’t have anywhere to go. They were free, but what was life going to be like
with destroyed homes, disease, starvation, lost family members, etc.
One picture that is important to show is that of the Yad Vashem International
Memorial Museum. The structure was designed to show two sides. One closed
side going into the mountain and the other open-ended side jutting out the other
side. When visitors leave the museum, they come out on the open side of the
mountain which overlooks Jerusalem. It is a beautiful site to show that life goes
on and the Jewish people are a thriving community. The museum is symbolic of a
knife or dagger going into the heart of the Jewish people.
The last section of the unit is focused on modern day topics like Darfur, Uganda’s
anti-homosexuality bill, modern day anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. During this time, the teacher can focus on showing
students how genocide is still an issue and recurs in more recent years and is
ongoing in certain areas of the world. The teacher can pick and choose to touch
on any of these topics with the students. In this section, the teacher can have
students focus on who the perpetrators are in these situations, possible bystanders,
the victims and activists in stopping these instances of genocide as well.
Below is a list of possible articles to use with the final section of the unit.
http://wthrockmorton.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/anti-homosexuality-bill2009.pdf
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(Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill contents) This document is important to review
with the students because this day in age it is almost unrealistic to think
something like this is even being considered anywhere in the world. The LGBT
lifestyle is becoming more mainstream, but students need to realize that in some
parts of the world, people can still lose a lot of their rights and in this case their
lives simply for being gay. How is this similar to the acts of Hitler and the Nazis?
http://www.genocideindarfur.net/
This is one of the modern instances of genocide the students will be most familiar
with. This website is also a very good resource because it discusses the Genocide
Intervention Network, STAND (a student anti-genocide coalition which a lot of
high school students may already be familiar with if they have active STAND
clubs in their schools), and updated news on the situation. It also lists a number
of other organizations and sites with valuable information. The students can
research these organizations and report out to the entire class as to what the latest
updates are in Darfur and what is being done to stop it.
http://www.state.gov/g/dr/rls/40258.htm
U.S. Department of State Diplomacy in Action Reports. This site gives students
the latest actions on anti-Semitism in the world along with speeches/videos done
on human rights.
www.aclu.org/
This website has a wealth of information on this national organization advocating
for individuals’ rights in many different areas. There are testimonials of people’s
stories, up to date information, and history of advocacy on a lot of human rights’
issues.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10139/1059117-455.stm
This is an article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette from May 19, 2010 about a judge
ordering a former Nazi guard to be deported from Mercer County and leave the
country. This is an excellent article to create a discussion about social justice.
Looking at the issue being almost half a century ago, is social justice being done
by having this man leave the United States? Why or why not?
Appendix A (This is the research topic list grouped by presentation day)
Holocaust Research Topics
*These topics are based on what I know we have access to as far as books in our
high school library. If you need to add/delete based on resources, it is
understandable. The topics are broken down by days in the unit. No more than
one student per class should have the same topic.
Armenian Genocide
Final Solution
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FDR
Nuremberg Trials
Judaism
Star of David
Elie Wiesel
Holocaust museum-DC
Yad Vashem
Adolf Hitler
Heinrich Himmler
Eva Braun
Rwanda
Darfur
Uganda
Lodz Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
Holocaust Denial
Antisemitism
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Kristallnacht
SS St. Louis
Buchenwald Concentration Camp
Ravensbruck Concentration Camp
Auschwitz Concentration Camp
Joseph Goebbels
Nazi Propoganda
Anne Frank
Miep Gies
Oskar Schindler
White Rose Gang
Gestapo
SS (Schutzstaffel)
Einzatsgruppen
Experiments on women
Experiments on twins
Dr. Mengele
Gypsies and the Holocaust
Homosexuals and the Holocaust
African Americans and the Holocaust
Learning Stations (Station #1)
Appendix B (This is for learning station number 1 activity)
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David Olere is a well-known artist whose
work testifies to the atrocities of the
Holocaust. He is the only professional
artist among the known survivors of
Jewish Sonderkommando squads who
worked in the gas chambers and
crematoria of the Nazi camps. The horrors
he witnessed are incomprehensible. As
such, his work can be seen as an
expression of eyewitness testimony. He did
not sketch for enjoyment; he sketched in
testimony to all those victims who never
came back. Take a moment to view some of
Olere’s artwork and reflect on what it
must have been like for those who were
victims of the Holocaust. Choose image 1,
2, 3 or 4 as the image that stood out to you
most and explain in 4 to 5 lines.
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UNABLE TO WORK
Inability to work was often an immediate
death sentence. In the background, smoke
rises from the crematorium to form the
letters SS.
Source: David Olère: L'Oeil duTémoin/The Eyes of a Witness. New York: The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation, 1989, p. 31
BURYING THE REMAINS OF CHILDREN
Olere’s first assignment at Auschwitz was as a grave
digger for small children. It must have been one of the
most painful jobs assigned to Olere. His tattoo of his
prisoner number can be seen on his left arm.
Source: David Olère: L'Oeil du Témoin/The Eyes of a Witness. New York: The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation, 1989, p. 38.
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ARRIVAL OF A CONVOY
A new convoy arrives in the background as inmates
struggle with a cart carrying away corpses from a
previous convoy.
Source: David Olère: L'Oeil du Témoin/The Eyes of a Witness. New York: The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation, 1989, p13.
GASSING
The container in the lower right is labeled Zyklon B.
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Olere was occasionally forced to help empty the gas
chambers. The victims were often found half-squatting,
their skin colored pink with red and green spots, some
foaming at the mouth or bleeding from the ears.
Source: David Olère: L'Oeil du Témoin/The Eyes of a Witness. New York: The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation, 1989, p. 54.
Content Standards:
1.1.11.A Locate various texts, media and traditional resources for assigned and
independent projects before reading.
1.1.11.C Use knowledge of root words and words from literary works to
recognize and understand the meaning of new words during reading. Use these
words accurately in speaking and writing.
1.1.11.E Establish a reading vocabulary by identifying and correctly using new
words acquired through the study of their relationships to other words. Use a
dictionary or related reference.
1.1.11.F Understand the meaning of and apply key vocabulary across the various
subject areas.
1.1.11.G Demonstrate after reading understanding and interpretation of both
fiction and all academic areas.
1.2.11.A Read and understand essential content of informational texts and
documents in all academic areas.
1.3.11.A Read and understand works of literature.
1.3.11.B Analyze the relationships, uses and effectiveness of literary elements
used by one or more authors in similar genres including characterization, setting,
plot, theme, point of view, tone and style.
1.3.11.C Analyze the effectiveness, in terms of literary quality, of the author’s use
of literary devices.
1.4.11.A Write short stories, poems and plays.
1.4.11.B Write complex informational pieces (research paper)
1.5.11.A Write with a sharp, distinct focus.
1.5.11.B Write using well-developed content appropriate for the topic.
1.5.11.C Write with controlled and/or subtle organization.
1.6.11.A Listen to others.
1.6.11.B Listen to selections of literature.
1.6.11.C Speak using skills appropriate to formal speech situations.
1.6.11.D Contribute to discussions.
1.6.11.E Participate in small and large group discussions and presentations.
1.8.11.A Select and refine a topic for research.
1.8.11.B Locate information using appropriate sources and strategies.
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1.8.11.C Organize, summarize and present the main ideas from research.
Annotated Bibliography/Resources:
Pedagogic Center, Education Department of Yad Vashem. Everyday Life in the
Warsaw Ghetto-1941. Israel: The Joint Authority For Jewish Zionist
Education, Department of Jewish Education and Culture in the Diaspora,
1993. Print.
This book shows what life was like on a daily basis in the Warsaw ghetto and how
things were changing as the Nazis and Hitler acquired more power.
Steinfeldt, Irena. How Was It Humanly Possible? A Study of Perpetrators and
Bystanders During the Holocaust. Israel: Yad Vashem The International
School For Holocaust Studies, 2002. Print.
This book focuses on the perpetrators and the roles of ordinary people who
became the mass murderers of thousands and thousands of Jews. The book looks
at the people who played the roles as bystanders as well who didn’t necessarily
step in and help when they knew what was going on with Hitler and Nazi
Germany.
Tatelbaum, Itzhak B. Through Our Eyes Children Witness the Holocaust. Israel:
Yad Vashem The International School For Holocaust Studies, 2004. Print.
This text looks at the events leading up to the Holocaust and the events during the
Holocaust through the eyes of children ages 10 to 17. This is a great
supplementary text in the classroom because the students can relate to the
stories/journal entries of students their own ages and what they went through.
Wiesel, Elie, and Marion Wiesel. Night. New York: Hill and Wang, a Division of
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. Print.
The book, Night tells of the struggles Elie and his family endured during the times
of the Holocaust.
Wiesel, Elie, and Marion Wiesel. The Night Trilogy: Night, Dawn and Day. New
York: Hill and Wang, a Division of Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2006.
Print.
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The trilogy offers a look into Elie Wiesel’s life after the Holocaust and the
struggles he endured at different times in his life.
Yad Vashem Educational Kit commemorating the 60th anniversary of the
Kristallnacht pogrom. But the Story Didn’t End that Way…” Israel: The
International School for Holocaust Studies, 1999. Print.
This kit shows students through pictures the destruction which occurred during
Kristallnacht and shows side by side photos to let students compare and contrast
the differences before and after Kristallnacht occurred.
http://yadvashem.org
This site has a lot of lesson plans for teachers to use in their classrooms as well as
show students original documents of people involved in the Holocaust. This
includes documents on the victims in the concentration camps, deportations,
testimonies, etc.
Annotated Reading List For Students:
Bell, Thomas. Out of This Furnace: A Novel of Immigrant Labor in America,
Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, 1976. Originally published in 1941.
The story of an Eastern European family’s immigration to Pittsburgh. The story
connects to the steel industry of Pittsburgh and the steelworker’s family.
Wiesel, Elie, and Marion Wiesel. Night. New York: Hill and Wang, a Division of
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. Print.
The book, Night tells of the struggles Elie and his family endured during the times
of the Holocaust.
Wiesel, Elie, and Marion Wiesel. The Night Trilogy: Night, Dawn and Day. New
York: Hill and Wang, a Division of Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2006.
Print.
The trilogy offers a look into Elie Wiesel’s life after the Holocaust and the
struggles he endured at different times in his life.
Frank, Anne, translated by B.M. Mooyaart. The Diary of Anne Frank, New York:
Pocket Books, 1953, Print.
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(Students may have read this in the 8th grade curriculum in the Pittsburgh Public
Schools.)
http://ushmm.org
This site will be a very valuable source for the students to find information on
virtually any topic they are researching for their presenations. It is the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum website.
http://yadvashem.org
Again, another very valuable site for students to use for research. There are
testimonials, a lot of original copies of records from the concentration camps, etc.
that they can read.
www.aclu.org/
Excellent site for students to learn and understand advocating for individual
rights.
Media to supplement the unit:
Freedom Writers
If teacher can show clips of the scenes where students talk about Miep Gies and
when she talks to them about what a hero is.
Sophie Scholl
This movie shows the final days of Sophie Scholl, a leading activist in the student
resistance group, the White Rose Gang.
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