Unit Overview

Unit Overview “A Holocaust Story” a.

Context: This unit has been designed for an eighth grade class at Dwight Rich Middle School in Lansing (an urban school). It will be implemented in three English classes, all in the Magnet program with a focus on Science and Engineering. Class sizes are around 20-30 students. The students represent fairly diverse backgrounds; 61.9% of the students’ families are economically disadvantaged. It will take place during the third or fourth marking period of the school year, after the students have read and studied realistic and science fiction.

b.

Unit: Historical Fiction: “A Holocaust Story” (4 weeks) This unit will be centered on historical fiction with a strong focus on personal narrative, perspective-taking, and multiple genres.

c.

Themes/Concepts • Historical Fiction and Non-fiction themes within texts • Personal Narrative • Perspective-Taking • Connecting personal knowledge and experiences to historical events • The Effects of War • Good vs. Evil • Courage and Hope i. Essential Questions • What are the major elements of historical narrative? • How do the texts read in class help us understand the historical events of the Holocaust? • What is the difference between primary and secondary sources? How might reading both help us get a better understanding of a particular event in history? • How did the Holocaust change the lives of those affected by it? • How do this era and major historical events connect to our lives in the United States today?

d.

Rationale Students will connect their personal knowledge and experiences to a major historical event. This will help them to better understand worldwide events and see why they are important to learn and how they have affected people’s lives as well as their own. The unit’s first two days will set the historical context before students delve into the text. This will coincide with the students’ American History course unit on WWII and the Holocaust so that they have more background knowledge on the major events and themes of the period. This will scaffold the students’ understanding of the period before they begin reading the play The Diary of Anne Frank, which will

provide a personal account of true Holocaust victims, and is still reader-friendly for the eighth grade level. Students will tap into the character description/analysis and comparison/contrast skills that they have acquired throughout the school year as they read and respond to this text. Studying this piece of drama, some poetry, a graphic novel, and excerpts of film and the real diary of Anne Frank will provide a variety of genres that focus on the Holocaust, its victims, survivors, and ways in which the world was affected by it. This will guide and contribute to students’ overall understanding of the historical event while responding to individuals’ multiple interests and intelligences. The summative assessment, a Multi Genre Portfolio will encompass the elements of historical fiction and personal narrative through multiple genres. Reading, discussing, and experimenting with various genres on this project will scaffold students’ understanding and research process of a particular event and era in history. e.

Goals • Students will explore the events and issues of the Holocaust through the insight of Anne Frank’s story • Students will make connections between the Holocaust and their own lives today • Students will experience both fictional and non-fictional accounts of the Holocaust through different genres, including drama, film, poetry, timelines, graphic novel, and journal entries • Students will use contextual clues to understand and define key vocabulary terms • Students will create their own account of a Holocaust story through the perspective of another character in the play The Diary of Anne Frank or a fictional character of this era, presenting it in a multimedia format f. Standards

Strand Reading

Writing

Domain

Benchmark

Vocabulary

R.WS.08.07

Narrative Text

R.NT.08.02 R.NT.08.03

Informational Text

R.IT.08.01 R.IT.08.02

Comprehension

R.CM.08.01 R.CM.08.03 W.GN.08.01 W.GN.08.02

Writing Genres

g.

Writing Process

W.PR.08.01 W.PR.08.05

Speaking

Discourse

S.DS.08.01 S.DS.08.02

Listening & Viewing

Response

L.RP.08.01

Summative Assessment (See handout) Students will create a 4-5 piece Multi-Genre Portfolio of a fictional character that has experienced the Holocaust, from the perspective of that character. Genres may include poetry, narrative, journal entry, news article, dialogue with another person, comic, etc. (See handout for complete list). Each piece must demonstrate the following: The student’s ability to take on a perspective of a fictional character that has experienced the Holocaust Historical accuracy, including important events, dates, locations, etc. (though these things are not the focus of the project) The student’s understanding of and experimentation with multiple genres and how these mediums can express a personal narrative