The Perils of Indifference
A Socratic Seminar Lesson Plan
Amanda Maguire
Lesson Objectives
1) Students will be able to identify, explain and convey to other
students through discussion their understanding and knowledge of the
historical context aspects of the speech.
2) Students will be able to research, summarize and present the
assigned topic they are given. They will develop communication and
presentation skills while learning the historical context of the speech
in depth.
3) Students will connect the past with the present and make
predictions for the future while articulating the problems faced and
solutions being offered. Students will actively participate in the
Socratic Seminar to voice their ideas and opinions and be respectful
listeners to other students' opinions.
4) Students will understand the interconnectivity of events in the
20th century and their relation to each other and the concept of
indifference as described by Wiesel. Students will demonstrate that
understanding through their participation in the Socratic Seminar and
their journal entry.
Materials and Student Activities, cont
Day 2-This day is to discuss the unfamiliar events and the people
that are mentioned in the speech. It will build on the previous day's
assignments and discussions and serve as the basis for the class
discussion allowing the teacher to cater the content to the needs of the
class. Students are developing an understanding of the events and
content knowledge so that they can later discuss and critically think
about their repercussions and consequences. This activity meets the
historical context Objective (1) as well as providing a way to make
connections between the events of the 20th century (Objectives 3 and
4).
The next part of the day introduces a formal assessment checkpoint in
the process leading up to the Socratic Seminar. It also moves the class
on to a more in-depth analysis of events. The first will be about the St.
Louis voyage; a ship of Jewish refugees that was turned away by
President Roosevelt and sent back to Europe. Students will watch two
short videos and read the St. Louis graphic organizer information.
The graphic organizer provides historical context as well as an
opportunity for students to apply the event to the idea of indifference
(Objectives 1 and 4)
Unit
The unit for this lesson plan is World War II. This
lesson focuses on the sociological, historical and
philosophical aspects of the concept of indifference
and how it relates to the Holocaust and genocide as a
whole. The lesson will require an extensive amount of
background content knowledge and will require
students to apply their knowledge of past events by
articulating how the past is relevant to the present
and the future.
Materials and Student Activities, cont
Materials and Student Activities, cont
Day 3+4- These two days, the students will spend working on
Day 5- Socratic Seminar- Students will participate in the Socratic
their group presentations. Each group has a separate topic to
research and explain to the rest of the class. This assignment serves
to a) prepare students for the Socratic seminar and b) allow
students to be the teachers. Students will be given a list of some
sources to use to aid their research.
Seminar using the question sheet provided. By this day, everyone
should have a working knowledge of the events in the speech and be
able to apply that knowledge to the idea of indifference. This will be
evidenced by the level of participation by the students as well as the
journal assignment. (Objective 4)
Materials and Student Activities
Day 1-
Students will be given several materials on day one to build background
content knowledge and context for the lesson. Students will begin
working on expanding their vocab binders, receive information about
Elie Wiesel, a modified copy of the text of his speech, listen to an
audio recording of the speech, and complete the people, places and
events assignment in order to begin the process of analyzing the
events mentioned in the speech. The day will also start off with a brief
PowerPoint slideshow of images encouraging students to think beyond
just WWII when they think of genocide.
Students will then meet with their assigned group members to discuss
the cooperative learning assignment. This assignment has levels of
reciprocal teaching as well as meeting Objective 2. Students will
complete the entry ticket as homework to keep building on the
historical context of the speech and to begin thinking about its
application to Wiesel's idea of indifference.
Goals–
1. One of the many goals of this lesson is building the skill to make
connections of events in history with current and future events using
the broad themes of indifference, genocide and continuity of events
through time.
2. Since writing this lesson plan events are already unfolding that mirror
those discussed in the lesson. My hope is that when I do this lesson
with my future students they will be able to look at events such as the
current Syrian conflict or the less recent Rwandan war and recognize
and connect those events with a broader historical context.
3. The ultimate goal is to get my students to care about what happens
in the world and to know that their opinions, and more importantly
that their actions or inactions matter.
Do they want to be indifferent to injustice or to fight against it?
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