Goals

 

Details

Duration: 90 minutes

Assessments: Student reflections/journals, Student discussions

 

Description

IN-CLASS:
1. Do Now: Write on whether you think the events of the Holocaust relate to or affect your life in any way. Is it possible to experience this kind of mass genocide in America in our lifetime? Have you known anyone who has experienced oppression or persecution in his/her lifetime?
2. Share: "When We Are Free" poems
3. Small Group Activity: Dissecting Inside Dachau (20 min):
* Each group will get sections of the poem and an analysis questionnaire. Students will analyze their portion of the poem. Student groups will write one sentence that captures 'the heart' or meaning of their section of the poem.
4. Make a metapoem (15 minutes): On big paper, each group's scribe will write their final thematic sentence. Additionally one classroom scribe will type the sentences together on the computer to be printed up and glued into each student's scrapbook.
5. Small Group Discussions about pages 72-80 of Night.
* Consider how Eliezer and his father make a decision that will decide their fate. What choices are open to Eliezer and his father when the camp is evacuated? How is the decision to leave made? Who makes the choice? Is it a "choiceless choice"?
* How does the decision help us understand why many survivors attribute their survival to luck?
* At the beginning of Night, Eliezer describes himself as someone who believes "profoundly." How have his experiences at Auschwitz affected that faith? Be specific and provide 'evidence' to support you claims.

HOMEWORK DUE NEXT CLASS:
1. In your scrapbook, identify and respond (2 paragraphs each!) to 3 quotes from pages 62-80 of Night.
2. Read 81-92 of Night.
3. Write a brief reflection about how Sherman Alexie makes the experience of the Holocaust personal to his own experience as a Native American, while recognizing the unique tragedy suffered by the Jewish population during WWII.

"Inside Dachau" Analysis Handout
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PPT of Activities
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Author Reflections

In the moment on this day, students asked to share their "When We Are Free" poems aloud to the class, and some eventually shared before the entire community. It was an amazing experience for us all.