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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Creating character: Courage

http://dornsife.usc.edu/vhi/creatingcharacter/lesson/courage/index.html

A lesson plan for grades 6–12 Guidance and Social Studies

Provider: USC Shoah Foundation Institute


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In this lesson, students examine how people develop and define “courage”. Students watch visual history testimony clips given by three people involved in the Holocaust in different roles. The activities in this lesson include small-group work, whole class discussion, creative writing prompts, and independent practice. Joseph Lipshutz, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust speaks of his personal experience with an underground group of prisoners in a concentration camp. Lusia Haberfeld, another Jewish survivor, talks about youth resistance and survival in a Warsaw ghetto. Gys Jansen van Beek speaks from the perspective of rescuer.

Students will:

  • Explore and develop an understanding of the concept of courage
  • Identify their own attitudes and beliefs about courage
  • Isolate examples of courage in current events and in their own lives
  • Evaluate examples of courage in the context in which they occurred
  • Work with visual history testimony
  • Use visual history testimony to examine the courageous actions and deeds of others during the Holocaust

Shoah provides a list of materials necessary for completing the lesson, discussion questions, links to the video archives, graphic organizers, handouts, and step-by-step instructions for how to complete the activities.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Guidance (2001)

Grade 6–8

  • Goal 1: Acquire the attitudes, knowledge and skills that contribute to effective learning in school and across the life span.
  • Goal 7: Acquire the attitudes, knowledge, and interpersonal skills to help understand and respect self and others.
    • Objective 7.11: Respect alternative points of view.
    • Objective 7.12: Recognize, accept, respect, and appreciate ethnic, cultural, and individual diversity.
  • Goal 8: Make decisions, set goals, and take appropriate action to achieve goals.
    • Objective 8.06: Demonstrate a respect and appreciation for individual and cultural differences.
    • Objective 8.10: Use persistence and perseverance in acquiring knowledge and skills.

Grade 9–12

  • Goal 1: Acquire the attitudes, knowledge and skills that contribute to effective learning in school and across the life span.
  • Goal 7: Acquire the attitudes, knowledge and interpersonal skills to help understand and respect self and others.
    • Objective 7.15: Recognize, accept, respect, and appreciate individual differences.
    • Objective 7.16: Recognize, accept, and appreciate ethnic and cultural diversity.
  • Goal 8: Make decisions, set goals, and take appropriate action to achieve goals.
    • Objective 8.07: Demonstrate a respect and appreciation for individual and cultural differences.
    • Objective 8.11: Use persistence and perseverance in acquiring knowledge and skills.

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 8

  • Goal 6: The learner will analyze the immediate and long-term effects of the Great Depression and World War II on North Carolina.
    • Objective 6.03: Examine the significance of key ideas and individuals associated with World War II.

Grade 9

  • Goal 5: Global Wars - The learner will analyze the causes and results of twentieth century conflicts among nations.
    • Objective 5.03: Analyze the causes and course of World War II and evaluate it as the end of one era and the beginning of another.
  • Goal 6: Patterns of Social Order - The learner will investigate social and economic organization in various societies throughout time in order to understand the shifts in power and status that have occurred.
    • Objective 6.03: Trace the changing definitions of citizenship and the expansion of suffrage.
    • Objective 6.06: Trace the development of internal conflicts due to differences in religion, race, culture, and group loyalties in various areas of the world.

Grade 10

  • Goal 10: The learner will develop, defend, and evaluate positions on issues regarding the personal responsibilities of citizens in the American constitutional democracy.
    • Objective 10.01: Explain the distinction between personal and civic responsibilities and the tensions that may arise between them.