CGearing

Courtney Gearing

** Diverse Text Set For 10th -11th Grade Nazi Germany and Holocaust Lesson **


 * Context for using the text set: ** The focus of this lesson will be on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, which took place during WWII from about 1933-1945. The texts provided are meant for tenth or eleventh grade high school students. The texts are diversified to appeal to a variety of students multiple intelligences. This topic can be particularly hard to teach because of the horrific nature of the event and using a variety of teaching methods may be able to get this emotion across better than using one resource.

· ** Citation ** : Stackelberg, R., & Winkle, S. A. (2002). //The Nazi Germany sourcebook: an anthology of texts//. London: Routledge. · ** Text Summary ** : · ** Rationale ** : This text has a variety of primary and secondary sources relevant to the rise of Nazi Germany and excerpts from people who were involved in the Holocaust either as officers or victims. · ** Use of text ** : I would use this text to give the students some stake in their learning. I would provide a question and then let the students explore the text individually or with partners to find one document they would like to use to help them answer this question. This allows students to make their own meaning and then this activity could lead to great discussion. · ** Attachment: ** This is a full text and could not be attached. · ** Citation ** : Wiesel, E. (1982). //Night// (Bantam ed.). New York: Bantam Books. · ** Text Summary ** : · ** Rationale ** : //Night// is one of my favorite books and one of the best novels I read in High school and college. Night is a very easy read but allows the student feel the emotion and horror of the concentration camps. //Night// gives a first person account of the life of an inmate in the death camps. It is also a story about family, religion and values, which students can relate to. · ** Use of text ** : I would work with this text throughout the semester. By assigning reading every night I think I could create valuable classroom discussion. Also, using //Night// at the end of the unit would provide a great opportunity to involve the students in an interactive group project, which could be presented to the class to further their learning. · ** Attachment: ** This is a full text and could not be attached · ** Citation ** : Goodrich, F., Hackett, A., & Frank, A. (1956). //The diary of Anne Frank,//. New York: Random House. · ** Text Summary ** : · ** Rationale ** : The diary of Anne Frank is a great story to share with a class. Like //Night//, the diary provides a first person account of the atrocities members of the Jewish faith faced during the rule of the Third Reich and Hitler. Students at this age may not completely understand the greatness of the Holocaust and the extent to which it affected people, however //The Diary of Anne Frank// can definitely help strengthen their awareness of the Holocaust and genocide in general. · ** Use of text ** : //The Diary of Anne Frank// is a great tool to show the class how valuable diaries are and their place in history. I could use Anne Frank’s diary to start a project and have the students make their own unique diary and have them pretend they are in the same situation as Anne Frank and her family. This helps students use their creativity and think outside the box. It also allows them to use their emotions and imagine how Anne Frank and others like her might have felt during the Holocaust. · ** Attachment: ** This is a full text and could not be attached · ** Citation ** : Stackelberg, R., & Winkle, S. A. (2002). //The Nazi Germany sourcebook: an anthology of texts//. London: Routledge pg 92-94. · ** Text Summary ** : //Mein Kampf// is a novel and pieces can be seen as an autobiography of Hitler’s life. //Mein Kampf// also looks at early Nazi ideology. · ** Rationale ** : Adolf Hitler is such a key character in WWII, the Rise of the Nazi Party and the Holocaust. These three events are huge for the time period and lesson plan. I think it may be helpful for the students to look at Hitler’s early work to gain insight on Hitler’s early motives and ideas. · ** Use of text ** : I would pick short excerpts from the novel from the Nazi Sourcebook and analyze them with the students. This text can be difficult for students and analyzing as a whole group could be useful. I would also like to lead a discussion based on the book to analyze what implications the text may have had and its overall influence on 1930’s-1940’s culture. · ** Attachment: ** Photocopies of the excerpts are attached. · ** Citation ** : Miller, A., & Fénelon, F. (1985). //Arthur Miller's Playing for time: a full-length stage play//. Chicago, IL: Dramatic Pub. Co.. · ** Text Summary ** : This play by Arthur miller portrays the life of a concentration camp orchestra and the cruelties they faced. · ** Rationale ** : Plays rarely get used within Social Studies classes and students may be able to work hands on with a topic. This play can help show the emotions of camp members and the play may help students relate to the horror of the Holocaust emotionally. · ** Use of text ** : I would read this text within the class and possibly spin it so the students could use their creativity to make up their own play on the Holocaust within groups. This could work as an interdisciplinary approach with another Language Arts teacher to bring in the aspects of a play and how to construct a play of their own. At the end of the unit students would be able to act out the play for the class. · ** Attachment: ** This is a full text and could not be attached
 * A. Print Resources: **
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· ** Citation ** : Herman, M. (Director). (2008). //The boy in the striped pajamas// [Motion picture]. United States: Miramax. · ** Text Summary ** : · ** Rationale ** : Showing movies in the classroom can be extremely useful and it also serves as a reward for students after a unit or particularly hard lesson. The film also shows inside a Nazi family, which is not a dynamic that is usually seen amongst Holocaust studies. Looking at the family dynamic can be useful in determining of every member of the family had the same views as their Nazi officer father or if they what was going on was wrong. · ** Use of text ** : This movie shows two different points of view, which could be a valuable resource for discussion or possibly even a paper. Like I said it is interesting to look at how the members of the Nazi family felt about the situation and it could be helpful to have the students form “I-Wonder” questions before and after to judge their understanding and feelings about the film in reference to the historical context. · ** Attachment: ** This is a film and could not be attached. · ** Citation ** : Veenstra, R. (n.d.). German Propaganda Archive (Guide Page). //Calvin College - Minds In The Making//. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from [] · ** Text Summary ** : The site shows many different categories, all focusing on Nazi Propaganda during the 1930’s and 1940’s. · ** Rationale ** : Nazi Propaganda was a huge part of their campaign and political platform. The Nazi Party would use propaganda to maintain their political following as well as to sway the German people one way or the other. Understanding Nazi propaganda is a big part in understanding their views as a party and the lengths they were willing to take to gain control over the majority. · ** Use of text ** : Deciphering propaganda is a great way to get students involved with working with a text. Not only are they decoding but also they are synthesizing and really working with the text to derive meaning. I would allow the students to explore this site to find a piece of propaganda they would like to work with individually or with a partner. I would provide a graphic organizer to help them find out the meaning behind the text and figure out why this particular platform may be important to the Nazi party. · ** Attachment: ** Not attached. The website is posted in the citation.
 * B. Media Resources **
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· ** Citation ** : United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (n.d.). //United States Holocaust memorial museum//. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from [] · ** Text Summary ** : The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a site for the museum itself. It has many links and learning activities for people who want to learn more about the Holocaust. · ** Rationale ** : A lot of the texts in this set involve getting inside the head of a holocaust victim. I think it would only be appropriate to have them look at the Holocaust museum site to further their knowledge on the topic. · ** Use of text ** : I would like students to use this site in the beginning of my lesson. For students who have never studied the Holocaust before it may be important to go over the term genocide and its implications. So in the beginning of the lesson I would put the link for genocide up on the overhead. I would have the students volunteer to come to the computer and pick something they would like to look at on the site and share it with the class. This way the class is actively engaged, but I still am running this section of the lesson since it is the introduction and students are not ready for independent work yet. After this piece of genocide I would have the students create questions about the holocaust in the “I-Wonder” form and have them fill out their own answers to the questions as we go through the unit. · ** Attachment: ** Not attached. The website is posted in the citation.
 * C. Online interactive resources **
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· ** Citation ** : History.com. (n.d.). //History.com — The Holocaust//. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from [] · ** Text Summary ** : The History.com site is a great interactive website for students and anyone interested in history itself. The website provides great documentaries, videos and background knowledge on many topics. · ** Rationale ** : The History.com website if one of my favorite interactive websites on the Internet. It provides background knowledge on most historical events as well as videos, speeches, pictures and documentaries. The website has something for everyone. It is particularly good for students who struggle with reading or whose first language is not English. · ** Use of text ** : I would let students explore the website, there are pages on the Holocaust, the Nazi Party, Adolf Hitler, WWII and there is even links to particular people involved in the Holocaust and the Nazi Party. I think it would be interesting to have students pick a particular person from the page and gather as much information about them as they can from that website. It would also be interesting from there to have the students explore other websites to make an interactive bibliography (like the one we are doing in this class) about that person and how they fit into the time people. At the end of that project I really enjoy seeing students present their own work and project as their final accomplishment. · ** Attachment: ** Not attached. The website is posted in the citation. · ** Citation ** : Virtual Reality Movies: Auschwitz. (n.d.). //Florida Center for Instructional Technology//. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from [] · ** Text Summary ** : This site is a virtual site for the death camp Auschwitz where Jews were systematically killed. · ** Rationale ** : This site is great because it is virtual so it allows students to see inside the camp and learn about the conditions and type of work the Jews were forced to do. · ** Use of text ** : I would have the students explore the website and take all the different tours of the death camp that were listed. After they were done with that portion I would have the students write a brief reflection, almost like a free write, about what they saw and what they felt about it. · ** Attachment: ** Not attached. The website is posted in the citation.
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· ** Citation ** : Florida Center for Instructional Technology (n.d.). //Holocaust activities//. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from [] · ** Text Summary ** : This site provides many materials for educators who are teaching the holocaust including activities, interactive pieces and other resources. · ** Rationale ** : Nazi propaganda during the time can be confusing and the symbolism may not be always easy to decipher so it is important to take the time to look at the pieces of the propaganda and what it could mean. · ** Use of text ** : I plan on running this lesson with the students to help them grasp their deeper knowledge on the subject. It helps students to break down what they are really looking at to truly synthesize and interact with Nazi propaganda and symbolism. · ** Attachment: ** Not attached. The website is posted in the citation. · ** Citation ** : NYTimes.com. (n.d.). //The Learning network - The learning network blog - Nytimes.com//. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from [] · ** Text Summary ** : The lesson plan helps students look at perceptions that carry on throughout history. · ** Rationale ** : The lesson plan connects history to modern day life. Students like to work with new material, which they can relate to, it is important to excite student’s interest in the topic you are teaching. · ** Use of text ** : I would use this lesson plan to help students make connections to the past. I also want the students to think about their own heritage compared to this lesson. Connecting a students’ life to the current lesson can be very important. This lesson uses discussion, which will deepen student’s knowledge while fully engaging them in the topic. · ** Attachment: ** Not attached. The website is posted in the citation.
 * D. Instructional Resources **
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 * Text #12 **

Within the diverse text set I have lesson plans, interactive sites, primary source documents, types of media, a textbook and novels. Although it may not be reasonable to say that each child would be able to interact with each text during a unit I do think I could incorporate all of the texts into a unit wide project. I would use the Holocaust website and lectures to introduce the topic to the students. As we got farther into the unit I would look at the symbolism lesson plan and Nazi propaganda site to have the students interact with supports from myself as the instructor to introduce the students to more elements of the time period. During the unit I would love each student to read //Night,// along with a number of primary sources out of the Anthology of texts. Throughout the weeks I would incorporate the interactive websites into individual work time so each student could work actively with the material. At the end of the lesson I would love for students to create their own play based on the play written by author Miller and eventually act it out, maybe even to the whole school. This project was extremely interesting to look at the different types of texts that can be used in a unit besides the typical textbook.
 * Using these texts together in the classroom: **

** Standards: GLE R-10-8 ** : Analyze and interpret information text, citing evidence as appropriate by… **R-10.8.2:** Synthesizing and evaluating information within or across text(s) ** Reading Learning Objective: ** Students will be able to actively engage with multiple types of texts to grasp deeper meaning from historical resources.

** Standards: GSE’s HP 3 (9-12)-1: ** Students demonstrate an understanding of how the past frames the present by… **b.** Formulating and presenting a position of course of action on a current issue in a public forum

** History Learning Objective: ** After the unit, students will be able to understand the implications of the Holocaust on the rest of the world through a historical lens.

** Citation: ** RI content Standards. (n.d.). //Rhode Island// // department of elementary and secondary education //. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from []

COMMENT BY ANKE 3/31/11: WHAT GREAT SOURCES! I WAS STRUCK BY HOW MUCH OF THIS HISTORY UNIT LOOKED LIKE A LANGUAGE ARTS UNIT! YOU HAVE AN AMAZING ARRAY OF DIFFERENT SOURCES THAT WOULD ENGAGE STUDENTS IN MULTIPLE WAYS. WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS I WOULD ALWAYS WANT TO TRY AND SEE IF OTHER TEACHERS WOULD BE ABLE TO WORK WITH ME ON AN INTER-DISCIPLINARY UNIT, ESPECIALLY THE LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHERS, THAT WAY IT WOULD TAKE SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL THE WORK OFF YOUR SHOULDERS. NICE JOB!

Comment By Mitch Mello 4/3 Personally i thought this diverse text set was nicely put together with some great sources included. I liked the multimedia source that focused Nazi propaganda not only because there were multiple links but because it was basic and easy to navigate. I also liked that site because although it was basic it had enough information for the grade this text set was aimed at. The only issue i had here was with the history.com website. I find the the history website, although nationally prominent, lacks some information because it has to be conscious of some of its readers and tends not to dwell on some of the darker facts in history. Other than that one little issue i found this text set very useful...GREAT JOB