Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 56876
Elie’s Life through Many Mediums
In this lesson, students will analyze and interpret videos and speeches, both in multimedia and print formats, about and from Holocaust survivor,
author, and professor Elie Wiesel. Students will use an MRIP Strategy (Mode, Relationship, Imagery, Purpose) as an analysis tool. Students will use
the MRIP Strategy to help them develop a paragraph using an A-E-C format (Assertion-Evidence-Commentary) for each of the different accounts
examined in the lesson. In the summative assessment, students will use their notes to write an argumentative essay that requires them to make a
claim as to what central ideas are evidenced across the different accounts of Elie Wiesel examined throughout the lesson.
Subject(s): English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 9, 10
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Document Camera,
Computer for Presenter, Internet Connection, LCD
Projector, Overhead Projector, Speakers/Headphones
Instructional Time: 5 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: Elie Wiesel, multimedia, central idea, author's purpose, video, speech, Night, Nobel Prize, assertion,
evidence, commentary
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
MRIP Handout with Example.docx
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will:
"read" and analyze various multimedia accounts of Elie Wiesel, the written text of a speech about Elie Wiesel, and a written text of a speech by Elie Wiesel.
Students will take this information and compare it to their study of Night to determine which details are emphasized in each account.
use an MRIP Strategy and write a mini-analysis in the form of an A-E-C for each of the accounts in different mediums about Elie Wiesel.
write a synthesis argumentative essay that analyzes the central ideas across the different mediums.
support their assertions with evidence from the print or multimedia used in the lesson.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students should:
have read Night, or at least significant excerpts from it.
be able to establish a claim in writing, support it with evidence from outside sources (beyond their own thoughts), and analyze or comment on it. (Students will
receive practice on this throughout the lesson.)
understand these terms:
Mode - the approach used to convey the message (essay, video, novel, speech, biography, tragedy, comedy, satire, fantasy)
Imagery - appealing to the senses
Purpose - persuade, inform, entertain, etc.
page 1 of 5 Students should have a basic understanding of some different types of rhetorical strategies:
Logical - presents correct evidence that cites commonly held beliefs, uses literature, history, etc.
Emotional - presents information that appeals to the reader's emotions; makes them angry, happy, excited, etc.
Ethical - presents information in a trustworthy manner
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
How does the mode used give insight into the author or speaker?
What relationships exist between Elie Wiesel's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech and Night?
What images are used to achieve the purpose of the video or text being examined?
What is the purpose of the writer or speaker? How do you know?
How does Wiesel impact his audience through his use of details and/or rhetorical strategies?
How does Wiesel use the trials in his life to impact his audience?
What central ideas are evidenced across the different accounts of Elie Wiesel in this lesson?
How important is heroism to Wiesel?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
The "Hook" and Activation of Prior Knowledge:
Ask students to write about one of their heroes.
What is your definition of a hero?
Why is this person a hero?
What did this person do to deserve being labeled a hero?
How did this person change or impact your life?
How did this person change or impact someone else's life?
The teacher models the activity by writing about his/her hero on a transparency, on the board, or on a projected screen.
Have students respond in writing and then share with a partner. The teacher can sweep the class asking for a few volunteers to share aloud.
Teacher prompts students in discussion and/or points out where students have explained how the hero changed their life or someone else's.
Introducing/Modeling the Concept or Skill:
1. After the Hook activity, the teacher will discuss that in this lesson students will be examining author, professor, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel in different
mediums, through his print texts, speeches about him, and videos of him.
2. The teacher will introduce the MRIP Strategy. Give an MRIP handout to each student where they will write the information that the teacher models in showing how
to use the strategy.
3. Play the clip of Oprah Winfrey discussing Wiesel's impact and fill in the MRIP Strategy for this short video and think aloud for students as you do so. Examples to
assist the teacher:
Mode - video to show how Wiesel thinks about his life experiences/to show how Wiesel impacted Winfrey and to show the death camp and its impact on a survivor.
Students should consider how the mode helps to convey information (example: a newspaper vs. a video).
Relationship - He shows how the book Night and his work as an author have touched lives.
Imagery - presented as an eccentric grandfather who has great knowledge and wisdom as shown by his dress, his hair, and his discussion. The camp: Winfrey
discussing it, seeing the cold gives the viewer a better understanding of the issues in the text.
Purpose - to present a short glimpse of Wiesel that gives the view/image and some knowledge of the writer. Also as a means to sell the video (of the Oprah show
when Elie and Oprah visited Auschwitz together) too since it is not shown in its entirety. Also, to show the consequences of the Holocaust, the impact on a survivor
and a person who has read the text Night.
If the teacher wants to model the MRIP Strategy with one more video before moving on, the teacher might wish to use all or part of Wiesel's speech at We
Day.
4. The teacher models how to write A-E-Cs based on the information in each MRIP to share with the students. As the lesson progresses, students will be able to
articulate in writing what is being emphasized in each account. Before writing the A-E-C, the teacher should share the Better Writing Blogspot link with students to
show them how to write in this way. The students may keep a copy of this page to help them each time they write an AEC. The teacher will also review the rubric with
students before and after writing the AEC.
Note: Teachers might also wish to use this PowerPoint with students and this corresponding handout with students if they need additional support on writing A-E-Cs.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
1. The teacher will play Elie Wiesel's speech from 2001 and have students fill in the MRIP worksheet on their own. The teacher will pause the video at crucial points so
that students have time to write down information. For example:
after the joke about getting up early
after he discusses Nelson Mandela
after he discusses his hopes
after he discusses his fears
Note: If teachers do not have enough class time to show the entire 23 minutes of the video, the teacher could stop the video at 13 minutes.
2. After students have filled out the MRIP handout, the teacher will ask the students for the answers and the teacher will provide corrective feedback where needed.
The teacher may wish to use this completed example of an MRIP for this video. Please also refer to the Feedback to Students section for additional suggestions on
providing feedback for this activity.
3. The teacher can also ask any of these questions not addressed in step two which will help the teacher further check for student understanding.
How does the mode used give insight into Elie Wiesel?
What relationships exist between Elie Wiesel's speech and Night?
What is the purpose of his speech? How do you know?
What images are used to achieve his purpose?
page 2 of 5 How does Wiesel impact his audience through his use of details and/or rhetorical strategies?
How does Wiesel use the trials in his life to impact his audience?
What central ideas are evidenced across this speech, Night, and the two video clips watched in the teaching phase?
4. Provide students time to use their MRIP to create their own A-E-C.
5. The teacher will then ask a few students to share their A-E-C and the teacher will provide corrective feedback where needed. Explain why the A-E-Cs are proficient
or not based on the following:
The first sentence is not a thought (assertion) about the video
Lack of evidence
Failure to link the assertion and evidence for the reader
Failure to discuss the purpose
6. The teacher will then have students use the MRIP strategy and write an A-E-C for the 1986 Nobel Prize ceremony introductory speech by the Chairman of the Nobel
committee about Elie Wiesel (who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace that year). The teacher can provide verbal and/or written feedback as needed. Note: Due to
the length of this speech, the teacher may wish to have students just read selected excerpts and use those excerpts for the MRIP.
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
1. Students will independently read the written text of Elie Wiesel's 1986 Nobel Prize acceptance speech. Students will complete an MRIP and an A-E-C for this speech.
Teachers can collect students' work as one part of the summative assessment for this lesson.
2. Then, students will move into the summative assessment essay for the lesson. The students will use their notes from throughout the lesson to write an
argumentative essay using the A-E-C format that requires them to make a claim as to what central ideas are evidenced across the different accounts of Elie Wiesel
examined throughout the lesson (teachers can also have students include Night in this analysis of central ideas).
3. Teachers should review the rubric with students before they begin writing their essays.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
1. The teacher can review the guiding questions orally with students.
2. Ask students to reflect on this question (in writing or orally):
Now that you have read, examined, and analyzed different accounts of Elie Wiesel's life, would you consider Elie Wiesel a hero?
Teachers can give students time to reflect and then share their thoughts. The teacher might wish to discuss that Elie Wiesel could be considered a hero because he
has a cause. He consistently tries to ensure that his voice is heard by using his time spent in a concentration camp as an inmate as an example and a teachable
moment through graphic imagery, use of logical and emotional appeals to get the audience to understand the importance of his argument. He wants to change
people's perspectives, beliefs, or attitudes through sharing his story and what has happened to him in his life, particularly during his experiences in the Holocaust.
Summative Assessment
For the summative assessment for this lesson, the students will use their notes from throughout the lesson to write an argumentative essay using the A-E-C format
that requires them to make a claim as to what central ideas are evidenced across the different accounts of Elie Wiesel examined in this lesson.
Formative Assessment
During the Lesson:
1. MRIP Strategy (Mode, Relationship, Imagery, Purpose). Students and the teacher will use the MRIP Strategy in a gradual release model to analyze various accounts
of the life of Elie Wiesel told in different mediums (two short clips of interviews of Wiesel, a video recording of Elie Wiesel giving a speech in 2001, the written text
of a speech about Wiesel, and the written text of a speech delivered by Wiesel in 1986 when he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo).
2. Students will use an Assertion-Evidence-Commentary (A-E-C) strategy. This strategy will help students synthesize their analysis of the MRIP Strategy into a
paragraph and eventually an analytical essay.
Feedback to Students
Verbal feedback will be given during the guided practice section of the lesson:
1. The feedback will consist of ensuring that the students understand how to use the MRIP and A-E-C Strategy to analyze Elie Wiesel's speech in December 2001. The
teacher will guide students as they fill in each section of the graphic organizer. The teacher will ask students to share their answers and the teacher will deliver verbal
feedback addressing whether or not the students answered the questions fully and appropriately. Teachers may want to use this completed MRIP handout as a guide.
2. Through this discussion, the teacher will want to assess if:
Students understood that the mode (video/speech) is important to see and understand how Wiesel shares his thoughts about the changes that have taken place in
history.
Students understood the relationship of this speech to his book Night.
Does he portray himself in a similar or different way than he does in Night?
How does he address related issues?
Students analyzed the image of Wiesel.
Students should notice his dress, mannerisms, when he pauses, and how his pauses affect the meaning of the speech.
Where is he positioned in the video? Does the camera angle change? Why do you think the camera angle changes? What impact does it have on the audience?
Students analyzed the purpose of this video/speech.
Why does Wiesel present this speech and why is it on this site?
How is his speech a persuasive argument?
What topics are addressed?
3. Students will also receive verbal feedback as the use the MRIP Strategy on the written text of an introductory speech at the 1986 Nobel Prize award ceremony given
by the chairman of the Nobel committee. This speech is about Elie Wiesel and was given before he accepted his award for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Verbal feedback will be given during the guided practice on students' A-E-Cs:
page 3 of 5 1. On the students' assertions (A-E-C) the teacher will check to see that the students understand how to write the assertion-evidence-commentary using the notes
from the MRIP. Students can use this feedback to help them improve their performance as they use the MRIP and A-E-C strategies as they read Elie Wiesel's 1986
Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech and write an essay using these tools in the independent practice section.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
1. The teacher can read all printed text aloud to the students, or have students partner with a strong reader and the two can read aloud together.
2. The teacher could provide a different graphic organizer for students to take notes on as they read each printed text to help them prepare for the MRIP.
3. The teacher could have students text-code as they read the print text. Students could code the text with letters: C (central ideas), D (for details that support the
central ideas), I (use of important images), P (details that reveal the purpose for the text) on the written text.
4. The teacher could provide an essay template or planning frame for the summative essay.
5. Before students begin writing their own essay, the teacher could show a model of the summative assessment essay (using the same prompt students will write on)
and walk students through the organization and structure of the essay along with going over the assertion, evidence, and commentary used in the essay.
6. Teachers could collect the rough drafts of students' essays and provide written feedback to help them know what to revise before turning in their final draft.
Extensions:
Students could write a comparison essay discussing the central ideas, relationships, modes, and purposes of 2-3 of the works of Elie Wiesel. A list of Wiesel's works
can be found here at the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.
Suggested Technology: Document Camera, Computer for Presenter, Internet Connection, LCD Projector, Overhead Projector, Speakers/Headphones
Additional Information/Instructions
By Author/Submitter
The Nobel Prize award ceremony introductory speech by the chairman of the Nobel committee is over 3,000 words. The first 1,000 words have a Lexile of 1240. Elie
Wiesel's Nobel Prize acceptance speech has a Lexile of 770.
Prior to this lesson, students should have read Night, or significant excerpts from it.
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Keisha McIntyre McCullough
Name of Author/Source: Keisha McIntyre McCullough
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Miami-Dade
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
LAFS.910.RI.1.1:
LAFS.910.RI.3.7:
LAFS.910.W.1.1:
LAFS.910.W.2.4:
LAFS.910.W.3.9:
Description
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text.
Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and
multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and
sufficient evidence.
a. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization
that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and
limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the
relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and
counterclaims.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the
discipline in which they are writing.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose,
and audience. (Grade­specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
a. Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source
material in a specific work [e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later
author draws on a play by Shakespeare]”).
b. Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific
claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false
page 4 of 5 statements and fallacious reasoning”).
page 5 of 5