Letter to Parents and Teachers
Welcome Students and Parents!
Unit Goals
This Weebly is designed to outline and provide students with the resources they will be using during their study of the Holocaust during World War II. As English Language Arts should be more than drilling vocabulary and grammar conventions, this unit is designed to give students an opportunity to explore a rather painful part of our collective past and discuss it in a safe and educated manner. Students will have access to each of the artifacts on this website, upon which to look back and reference throughout the unit. We will be investigating who was involved, where the Holocaust took place, how it originated, why it was able to affect so many people, as well as whether or not there have been events similar to the Holocaust throughout history.
This unit will help students to practice and enhance their critical reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills through a variety of classroom practices, assignments, and assessments. These practices and assignments include journal entries, small group discussion, exit slips, and participation in classroom discussion. The primary text of our unit will be Night by Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust surviver of the concentration camp Bukenvald. This text, in addition to the other artifacts included on this Weebly, will provide students with a rich and complete history of the Holocaust.
Prior to the start of our unit, students will take a "pre-test" of sorts, showing me their prior knowledge of the Holocaust and World War II. For many students, this may be the first time they have ever heard the world "Holocaust". We will study the origins of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler before beginning our primary text. In addition, students will be introduced to Anti-Semitism, it's roots, and it's promotion throughout the Nazi state. Students will also
By the end of this unit, students will be able to summarize what the Holocaust was, who it affected, and how it started. This unit will also give students the opportunity to practice critical reading, writing, and listening skills through exposure to a variety of different media. Students will recognize how a unit such as this aids in shaping their views and ideas as they enter young adulthood, and eventually as productive citizens of a democracy. They should be able to criticize and evaluate all sides of the issue, stemming from Anti-Semitism to Anti-Nazi. As our culminating experience, students will produce a research paper on a novel of their choosing by a Holocaust survivor.
Assessment
Prior to the start of our unit, students will take a "pre-test" of sorts, showing me their prior knowledge of the Holocaust and World War II. For many students, this may be the first time they have ever heard the world "Holocaust". The final research paper will serve as a summative assessment, with the majority of their in-class work (i.e. journals, small group work, class discussion) serving as formative assessment.
Progression
We will study the origins of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler before beginning our primary text. In addition, students will be introduced to Anti-Semitism - and the idea of prejudice as a whole - its roots, and its promotion throughout the Nazi state. After setting the context, we will move into the novel Night. Between reading the book and the class discussion of it, the other artifacts will be woven throughout the instruction. Students will complete journal entries and partake in small group discussions when handling each of these artifacts. As classwork and homework, students will read their choice book, annotating and planning for their final comparative paper.
Resources
Students will have access to all of the materials on this Weebly, however the primary use of this Weebly will be presentational. The written artifacts - in other words, non-video/non-photograph artifacts - will be printed out and put into a packet that will also include the journal prompts and other worksheets for the unit.
State Standards and GLCE's
Common Core State Standards
GLCE's
All of the Common Core State Standards and GLCE's above are also listed on the artifact page to which they apply.
Unit Goals
This Weebly is designed to outline and provide students with the resources they will be using during their study of the Holocaust during World War II. As English Language Arts should be more than drilling vocabulary and grammar conventions, this unit is designed to give students an opportunity to explore a rather painful part of our collective past and discuss it in a safe and educated manner. Students will have access to each of the artifacts on this website, upon which to look back and reference throughout the unit. We will be investigating who was involved, where the Holocaust took place, how it originated, why it was able to affect so many people, as well as whether or not there have been events similar to the Holocaust throughout history.
This unit will help students to practice and enhance their critical reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills through a variety of classroom practices, assignments, and assessments. These practices and assignments include journal entries, small group discussion, exit slips, and participation in classroom discussion. The primary text of our unit will be Night by Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust surviver of the concentration camp Bukenvald. This text, in addition to the other artifacts included on this Weebly, will provide students with a rich and complete history of the Holocaust.
Prior to the start of our unit, students will take a "pre-test" of sorts, showing me their prior knowledge of the Holocaust and World War II. For many students, this may be the first time they have ever heard the world "Holocaust". We will study the origins of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler before beginning our primary text. In addition, students will be introduced to Anti-Semitism, it's roots, and it's promotion throughout the Nazi state. Students will also
By the end of this unit, students will be able to summarize what the Holocaust was, who it affected, and how it started. This unit will also give students the opportunity to practice critical reading, writing, and listening skills through exposure to a variety of different media. Students will recognize how a unit such as this aids in shaping their views and ideas as they enter young adulthood, and eventually as productive citizens of a democracy. They should be able to criticize and evaluate all sides of the issue, stemming from Anti-Semitism to Anti-Nazi. As our culminating experience, students will produce a research paper on a novel of their choosing by a Holocaust survivor.
Assessment
Prior to the start of our unit, students will take a "pre-test" of sorts, showing me their prior knowledge of the Holocaust and World War II. For many students, this may be the first time they have ever heard the world "Holocaust". The final research paper will serve as a summative assessment, with the majority of their in-class work (i.e. journals, small group work, class discussion) serving as formative assessment.
Progression
We will study the origins of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler before beginning our primary text. In addition, students will be introduced to Anti-Semitism - and the idea of prejudice as a whole - its roots, and its promotion throughout the Nazi state. After setting the context, we will move into the novel Night. Between reading the book and the class discussion of it, the other artifacts will be woven throughout the instruction. Students will complete journal entries and partake in small group discussions when handling each of these artifacts. As classwork and homework, students will read their choice book, annotating and planning for their final comparative paper.
Resources
Students will have access to all of the materials on this Weebly, however the primary use of this Weebly will be presentational. The written artifacts - in other words, non-video/non-photograph artifacts - will be printed out and put into a packet that will also include the journal prompts and other worksheets for the unit.
State Standards and GLCE's
Common Core State Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.7 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.2b Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1a Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.2 Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
GLCE's
- R.WS.01.08 Use syntactic and semantic cues including picture clues, word chunks, and the structure of book language to determine the meaning of words in grade-appropriate texts.
- R.FL.01.03 Read aloud unfamiliar text with a minimum of 90% accuracy in word recognition at an independent reading level.
- R.NT.01.05 Respond to individual and multiple texts by finding evidence, discussing, illustrating, and/or writing to reflect, make connections, take a position, and/or show
understanding. - R.CM.01.01 Make text-to-self and text-to-text connections and comparisons by activating prior knowledge and connecting personal knowledge and experience to ideas in text through oral and written responses.
All of the Common Core State Standards and GLCE's above are also listed on the artifact page to which they apply.