Holocaust and resistance
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=275
A lesson plan for Grades 9–10 English Language Arts and Social Studies
In this lesson, students reflect on the Holocaust from the point of view of those who actively resisted Nazi persecution. After reviewing the history of the Holocaust, in order to understand the legal and bureaucratic authority with which the Nazis systematically enforced their policies, students debate the options for resistance and its likely outcomes. Working with the archives of the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and library resources, they gather facts about resistance activities during the Holocaust, preparing reports on incidents of rebellion at the Sobibor, Treblinka, and Auschwitz death camps and in the Warsaw Ghetto. Then, writing as relatives or friends of those involved in these incidents, students consider the value and significance of such actions in the context of the Holocaust and of the larger war against Nazi domination. Finally, students gather facts about non-violent forms of resistance to Nazi persecution, and reflect in a journal format on their own role in keeping this spirit of resistance alive today.
The goals of this lesson are:
- to learn how the Holocaust happened and understand the devastation suffered by its victims
- to examine the evidence of resistance to the Holocaust that has been preserved in official documents and by oral tradition
- to reflect on the responsibilities of individuals when confronted with social policies that violate human rights
- to consider the significance of the Holocaust in society today
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
Social Studies (2003)
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.
English Language Arts (2004)
Grade 10 — English II
- Goal 2: The learner will evaluate problems, examine cause/effect relationships, and answer research questions to inform an audience.
- Objective 2.02: Create responses that examine a cause/effect relationship among events by:
- effectively summarizing situations.
- showing a clear, logical connection among events.
- logically organizing connections by transitioning between points.
- developing appropriate strategies such as graphics, essays, and multi-media presentations to illustrate points.
- Objective 2.03: Pose questions prompted by texts (such as the impact of imperialism on Things Fall Apart) and research answers by:
- accessing cultural information or explanations from print and non-print media sources.
- prioritizing and organizing information to construct a complete and reasonable explanation.
- Objective 2.02: Create responses that examine a cause/effect relationship among events by:
- Goal 3: The learner will defend argumentative positions on literary or nonliterary issues.
- Objective 3.01: Examine controversial issues by:
- sharing and evaluating initial personal response.
- researching and summarizing printed data.
- developing a framework in which to discuss the issue (creating a context).
- compiling personal responses and researched data to organize the argument.
- presenting data in such forms as a graphic, an essay, a speech, or a video.
- Objective 3.03: Respond to issues in literature in such a way that:
- requires gathering of information to prove a particular point.
- effectively uses reason and evidence to prove a given point.
- emphasizes culturally significant events.
- Objective 3.01: Examine controversial issues by:
- Goal 4: The learner will critically interpret and evaluate experiences, literature, language, and ideas.
- Objective 4.03: Analyze the ideas of others by identifying the ways in which writers:
- introduce and develop a main idea.
- choose and incorporate significant, supporting, relevant details.
- relate the structure/organization to the ideas.
- use effective word choice as a basis for coherence.
- achieve a sense of completeness and closure.
- Objective 4.04: Evaluate the information, explanations, or ideas of others by:
- identifying clear, reasonable criteria for evaluation.
- applying those criteria using reasoning and substantiation.
- Objective 4.03: Analyze the ideas of others by identifying the ways in which writers:
- Goal 5: The learner will demonstrate understanding of selected world literature through interpretation and analysis.
- Objective 5.01: Read and analyze selected works of world literature by:
- using effective strategies for preparation, engagement, and reflection.
- building on prior knowledge of the characteristics of literary genres, including fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry, and exploring how those characteristics apply to literature of world cultures.
- analyzing literary devices such as allusion, symbolism, figurative language, flashback, dramatic irony, situational irony, and imagery and explaining their effect on the work of world literature.
- analyzing the importance of tone and mood.
- analyzing archetypal characters, themes, and settings in world literature.
- making comparisons and connections between historical and contemporary issues.
- understanding the importance of cultural and historical impact on literary texts.
- Objective 5.01: Read and analyze selected works of world literature by:
- Goal 6: The learner will apply conventions of grammar and language usage.
- Objective 6.01: Demonstrate an understanding of conventional written and spoken expression by:
- employing varying sentence structures (e.g., inversion, introductory phrases) and sentence types (e.g., simple, compound, complex, compound-complex).
- analyzing authors' choice of words, sentence structure, and use of language.
- using word recognition strategies to understand vocabulary and exact word choice (Greek, Latin roots and affixes, analogies, idioms, denotation, connotation).
- examining textual and classroom language for elements such as idioms, denotation, and connotation to apply effectively in own writing/speaking.
- using correct form/format for essays, business letters, research papers, bibliographies.
- using language effectively to create mood and tone.
- Objective 6.01: Demonstrate an understanding of conventional written and spoken expression by:



