This is an Integrated Essay Project the students produced for their World History and English Language Arts courses.

Students were asked to consider: How can the examination of the past inform us about our present lives and what our responsibility is toward one another?

They were given the following prompt:

For the last two months you have been examining the tragic events of the Holocaust and their effect on all of humanity. You have spent time studying the historical and social circumstances, as well as personal accounts of experiences surrounding the Holocaust, and have made personal connections through activities, writing and discussion.

You will utilize all of these experiences to write an essay that responds to the central question using historical and literary documents as evidence. To do this you will identify the themes (examples include: Dehumanization, Resistance, Choice, Faith, Hope, Social Responsibility, Identity, Relationships, etc...) that you feel are most worth exploring in greater depth and examines them in detail. Finally, you will take your study one step further and discuss how your study of this theme has informed your thinking about what our responsibility is to one another in this world: are you your brothers'/sisters' keeper?

 

Subject Area(s): Language Arts, Social Studies

 

Teaching Days to Complete: 2 weeks

 

Keywords  What's this?

Humanities, Essay, Writing Process, Drafting, Holocaust, Night, Nazi Germany, Wiesel, World War II, Literary Analysis, Historical Analysis

 

Outcomes  What's this?

 

21st Century Leadership Skills  What's this?

Communicate Effectively and Persuasively, Manage Projects Effectively, Think Critically

 

Graduation Portfolio Tasks  What's this?

History/Social Science Investigation, Literary Analysis