Outline for Collaborative Conference
March 2014
Proposal # 32 ­ "USING COMMON CORE TO TEACH SOCIAL
JUSTICE AND THE HOLOCAUST"
by Karen G. Klaich, NBCT and USHMM Museum Fellow
1. Introduction/Background on program
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Focus: Incorporating the Common Core standards in English to introduce the historical context of
prejudice in North Carolina and to introduce participants to using the lessons of the Holocaust
Essential Question: How do NC educators address difficult topics, (like racism, prejudice,
anti­Semitism, and stereotyping), using the Holocaust and social justice texts with their students to
empower them to make positive changes in the world?
2. Introduction to my background/course background
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Education and Experience
3. Why is this topic Important?
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“ Between 1933 and 1945, the German government, led by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, carried
out the systematic persecution of and murder of Europe’s Jews. This genocide is now known as the
Holocaust. The Nazi regime also persecuted and killed millions of other people it considered
politically, racially, or socially unfit. The Allies’ victory ended World War II, but Nazi Germany and
its collaborators had left millions dead and countless lives shattered.”
Sara Bloomfield, Director, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:
● “I think the important thing to understand about this cataclysmic event is that it happened in the
heart of Europe. Germany was respected around the world for its leading scientists, its physicians,
its theologians. It was a very civilized, advanced country. It was a young democracy, but it was a
democracy. And yet it descended not only into social collapse but world war and eventually mass
murder.”
Stephanie Wilson,Executive Director ,New Jersey Amistad Commission
● “Slavery is a social­economic system under which certain persons – known as slaves – are
deprived of personal freedom and compelled to work. Slaves are held against their will from the
time of their capture, purchase or birth and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work,
or to receive compensation (such as wages) in return for their labor. In the narrowest sense, the
word slave refers to people who are treated as the property of another person, household,
company, corporation or government. This is referred to as chattel slavery.”
● The 1926 Slavery Convention described slavery as “the status and/or condition of a person over
whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised.” Slaves cannot
leave an owner, an employer or a territory without explicit permission (they must have a passport
to leave), and they will be returned if they escape. Therefore a system of slavery ­ as opposed to
the isolated instances found in any society – requires official, legal recognition of ownership, or
widespread tacit arrangements with local authorities, by masters who have some influence by
virtue of their status and their lives. The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines forced
labor as “all work or service which is extracted from any person under the menace of any penalty
and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.”
● “Like most world tragedies, the Atlantic Slave Trade, or the European slave trade, started almost
accidentally. At first, the Europeans did not visit the coast of West Africa looking for peoples to
enslave; they were searching for a route to Asia for the spices and the sweets they had heard
about and were anxious to possess. Europe needed new energy, new land and new resources.
Plagues, famines and internal wars had left Europe partly exhausted and partly under­populated.
In the years between the first European entry into West Africa from about 1438 to the year of
Columbus’s landing in the Caribbean Islands in 1492, there were few Africans taken out of
Africa as slaves because there was no special work outside of Africa for them to do. The creation
of the plantation system in the Americas and the Caribbean Islands set in motion a way of life for
Europeans that they had not previously enjoyed. This was done mainly at the expense of African
people whom they enslaved and transported for the sole purposes of work en masse. It is
important to note that as Africans were enslaved there was no value placed on their lives other
than as replicable and replaceable labor. “As we begin to examine and make alignment in genocide
studies, we must be mindful of the devastating and long­lasting effects of slavery upon African
people and their transplanted descendants throughout the world.”
4. Common Core standards; from Grade 11­12 English
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RIT. 1,2,3,5,6,8,10
SL.1,2,3,4,5,6
W.1,2,3,4,6,7,8
5. Hands­On Projects for Participants
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Prezi presentation to guide participants through the following items:
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“Where I’m From” and “Where I’m Going” poetry writing/sharing
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The World Cafe Discussion Method on Prejudice, using USHMM posters on prejudice and racism;
two YouTube Clips for references on how to set up this discussion method
Video clip, “The Lunch Date” using questions to predict while watching. Use as lead­in to history of
racism in NC
Political Cartoon Analysis, “The 20th Century: 100 Years of Genocide” Source: Auth, Tony.
Cartoon. The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Introduction to the NC Civil Rights Lunch Counter Sit­Ins and Tie­in to the Holocaust; Ink Shedding
writing activity and short clip on the Woolworth Sit­Ins
“Writing with Artifacts” using Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy Tyson and 1970 racial murder
in Oxford, NC
USHMM Guidelines for Teaching the Holocaust, link to website/handout
“The Arrogance and Cruelty of Power” by Robert Jackson and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by
Martin Luther King, Jr. texts plus two writing activities, #1 Narrative Writing for POV Stance (Target,
Bully, Ally, Bystander) and #2 Academic Writing: Commentary
Reflective writing
6. Materials I Will Bring
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Apple computer
Chart paper and markers
Handouts (Texts, Directions for The World Cafe Discussion Method, Writing Activity
directions and samples, political cartoon)
Posters on Racism and Prejudice
** Common Core Standards
RIT. 1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the
text leaves matters uncertain
RIT. 2
Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over
the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to
provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
RIT. 3
Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific
individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
RIT. 5
Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her
exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear,
convincing, and engaging.
RIT. 6
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is
particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power,
persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.
RIT. 8
Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application
of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court
majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in
works of public advocacy
RIT. 10
By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades
11–CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end
of the range
SL. 1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions
(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12
topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly
and persuasively
SL. 2
Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media
(e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve
problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any
discrepancies among the data
SL. 3
Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric,
assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis,
and tone used
SL. 4
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and
distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative
or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development,
substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal
and informal tasks.
SL. 5
Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and
interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings,
reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
SL. 6
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating a command of
formal English when indicated or appropriate
W. 1
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts,
using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence
W. 2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts,
and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization,
and analysis of content.
W. 3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event
sequences.
W. 4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and
style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W. 6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or
shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments
or information
W. 7
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question
(including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the
inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject,
demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
W. 8
Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources,
using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each
source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the
text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance
on any one source and following a standard format for citation.