People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
Essential Question or Facing History theme:
How do human relationships shape individual and collective choices?
Brief Overview of Module:
This was written for a 10th grade English class. The unit takes place over 5 weeks. Lessons were
designed for high achieving students but, they can be modified, refined, or reduced based on
student level of instruction and time restrictions.
Through the lens of the Holocaust, students will explore human relationships (how we see
ourselves and others) and the impact of individual and collective choices towards
building/destroying human rights/lives, which in turn shape history.
Performance Task
People make choices, choices make history. Using the Holocaust as the central subject,
write an essay in which you argue one or two of the most important decisions which
shaped this history. Use one of the following articles, as well as evidence we have studied
during this unit to support your claims.
Based on Literacy Design Collaborative Task #5 for Argumentation and Evaluation
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Content:
Texts
- The Holocaust and Human Behavior (Facing History And Ouselves)
- Totally Unofficial: Raphael Lemkin and the Genocide Convention (Facing History And Ouselves)
- Decision Making In Times of Injustice (Facing History And Ouselves)
- The Weimar Republic: The Fragility of Democracy (Facing History And Ouselves)
- “The Night of The Broken Glass” “Kristallnacht:” The Night of Shattered Glass (Jacob Boas
and Joel Neuberg - The Holocaust Center of Northern California)
- Salvaged Pages (Alexandra Zapruder)
- The Holocaust: A Resource Book for Students and Teachers (Jack Weinstein)
- Night (Elie Wiesel)
- Tell The Children: Letters to Miriam (Dora Sorell)
- I Never Saw Another Butterfly: Children’s Drawings and Poems from Terezin Concentration Camp,
1942-1944 (Editor: Hanna Volavkova)
- Friedrich (Han Peter Richter)
- The Courage to Care (Editors: Carol Rittner and Sondra Myers)
- The Sunflower (Simon Wiesenthal)
Survivor Testimonies and/or Videos
- Holocaust Survivor Speaker (Guest speakers vary based on availability)
- Survivor Testimonies from:
- The Shoah Foundation (http://www.youtube.com/user/USCShoahFoundation)
- The 1939 Club (www.1939club.com)
- Facing History And Ourselves (http://www.facinghistory.org/survivor-testimony)
- What Are Human Rights? http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/what-are-human-rights.html
- The Courage to Care (Available at Facing History And Ourselves
http://www.facinghistory.org)
- The Challenge of Memory (Available at Facing History And Ourselves
http://www.facinghistory.org)
- The Path to Nazi Genocide http://www.ushmm.org/learn/introduction-to-theholocaust/path-to-nazi-genocide
- Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation
http://www.jewishpartisans.org/t_switch.php?pageName=educator+films
- Nuremberg Remembered http://www.facinghistory.org/node/498
Internet
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (http://www.ushmm.org)
- Yad Vashem (http://www.yadvashem.org)
- German Propaganda Archive from Calvin College
(http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa)
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Skills students will need to achieve task:
Skills Cluster 1: Preparing For the Task
Task Engagement: Ability to connect the task and new content to existing knowledge, skills,
experiences, interests and concerns.
Task Analysis: Ability to understand and explain the task’s prompt and rubric.
Skills Cluster 2: Reading Process
Reading: Ability to select appropriate texts and understand necessary reading strategies
needed for the task.
Note-taking: Ability to read purposefully and select relevant information to
summarize/paraphrase.
Skills Cluster 3: Transition to Writing
Bridging Conversation: Ability to transition from reading to the writing phase.
Skills Cluster 4: Writing Process
Initiation of Task: Ability to establish a controlling idea and consolidate information relevant
to task.
Planning: Ability to develop a line of thought and a text structure appropriate to an argument
task.
Development: Ability to construct an initial draft with an emerging line of thought and
structure.
Revision: Ability to apply revision strategies to refine development of an argument, including
line of thought, language usage, and tone as appropriate to the audience and purpose.
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN
Week One: What’s In A Name? The Importance of Using Language to Define Human
Membership and Choices.
Weekly Lesson Overview: Students are introduced to historical connections with literature,
academic language, and content centered on human rights, genocide, and the Holocaust.
Facing History themes and content:
The theme this week is:
• The importance of language in defining and establishing universal human
rights/membership, as well as the word, “genocide,” in order to legally address and
respond to crimes against humanity.
• Individual, personal choices can leave an historical legacy and influence future decisions.
Content:
- Making Connections Between Literature and History (teacher created handout)
- Totally Unofficial: Raphael Lemkin and The Genocide Convention
http://www.facinghistory.org/sites/facinghistory.org/files/raphael_lemkin_0.pdf
- Video: What Are Human Rights? http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/what-are-humanrights.html
- Introduction to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
http://www.facinghistory.org/introduction-universal-declaration-human-rights
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
- Audiovisual Library of International Law http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/cppcg/cppcg.html
- The 8 Stages of Genocide http://www.genocidewatch.org/genocide/8stagesofgenocide.html
- Human Rights Violations/Genocide Research Project (Optional assignment with teacher
created handout)
- “Glossary of Key Terms Related to Facing History And Ourselves: Holocaust And
Human Behavior” Decision Making In Times of Injustice.
http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/units/decision-making-times-injustice
- Woolf, Linda M. "Chronology of the Holocaust." Chronology of the Holocaust. Webster
University, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.
<http://www2.webster.edu/~woolflm/chronology.html>.
- Introduction To The Holocaust
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143
- Video: Path to Nazi Genocide http://www.ushmm.org/learn/introduction-to-theholocaust/path-to-nazi-genocide
Skills addressed (Week 1):
Reading
2. Ability to summarize key supporting details and ideas within a text.
4. Ability to interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text.
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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7. Ability to integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media.
9. Ability to analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics to build
knowledge.
10. Ability to write reflective responses to informational texts.
Writing
9. Ability to build on others’ ideas and express their own ideas clearly and persuasively.
Speaking & Listening
1. Ability to apply knowledge of new academic vocabulary to reading, conversation, and
writing.
Language
6. Ability to closely read and comprehend complex informational texts independently and
proficiently
BENCHMARKS (Week 1):
• Effective note-taking followed by a written Reflection utilizing evidence.
• Jigsaw: Small groups formulate questions on the importance of defining genocide; analyze
and argue the strengths and limitations of international law in preventing genocide and
massive human rights violations, followed by class discussion.
• Students work with new academic and content-based vocabulary.
• Student KWL/Anticipation Guide: Students respond to “What do you think?/What do
you want to know?” anticipation questions.
• Think, Pair, Share: Student response to new content-based information.
Activities planned: Week 1: What’s In A Name? The Importance of Using Language to
Define Human Membership and Choices.
Day 1:
- Read/respond and pair-share/discuss: Making Connections Between Literature
andHistory (teacher created handout).
- Read/discuss the Introduction and Overview of Totally Unofficial: Raphael Lemkin and The
Genocide Convention (students might need to complete this reading for homework).
Day 2:
Facing History And Ourselves Educator’s Path Quest: Defining and Understanding Human
Rights, Crimes Against Humanity, and Genocide Part 1 (teacher created educator’s path and
handout).
- Watch and Respond to the Youth for Human Rights video, What are Human Rights?
Educator’s Path Quest: Defining and Understanding Human Rights, Crimes Against
Humanity, and Genocide: https://www.facinghistory.org/paths/defining-and-understanding-humanrights-crimes-against-humanity-and-genocide
Day 3:
Facing History And Ourselves Educator’s Path Quest: Defining and Understanding Human
Rights, Crimes Against Humanity, and Genocide Parts 2 & 3 (teacher created educator’s path
and handout).
Jigsaw Activity: Totally Unofficial: Raphael Lemkin and The Genocide Convention
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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https://www.facinghistory.org/paths/defining-and-understanding-human-rights-crimes-against-humanityand-genocide
-For homework: Students write a reflection, utilizing evidence on the information they
learned related to human rights and the Genocide Convention.
Day 4:
Facing History And Ourselves Educator’s Path Quest: Defining and Understanding Human
Rights, Crimes Against Humanity, and Genocide Part 3
https://www.facinghistory.org/paths/defining-and-understanding-human-rights-crimes-against-humanityand-genocide
- Writer’s Workshop: Students peer review/edit their Human Rights and the Genocide
Convention reflections.
- Introduce collaborative Human Rights Violation/Genocide Research Project Presentation
(Note: this is an optional assignment that will require more class time - teacher created
handout provided).
Day 5:
- Student KWL/Anticipation Guide established (teacher created handout provided).
- Introduction to “Glossary of Key Terms related to Facing History And Ourselves and the
Holocaust,” and a brief overview of the “Chronology of the Holocaust.”
- Watch video (selected segments), Path to Nazi Genocide, followed by think, pair, share
discussions.
Week Two: Choices and Consequences in Weimar Germany and the Rise of Nazi Ideology.
Weekly Lesson Overview: Students are introduced to the history of anti-semitism, the
Weimar Republic, and Nazi ideology and propaganda, which led to the Holocaust.
Facing History Themes and Content:
The theme this week is:
• Choices and consequences in Weimar Germany shaped the history of the Holocaust.
• Race as myth has been used to justify discrimination and violence.
Content:
- “Lesson 5: Us and Them: Confronting Labels and Lies,” Decision Making In Times of
Injustice. http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/units/decision-making-times-injustice
- “Reading 14: Anti-Judaism: A Case Study In Discrimination” The Holocaust And Human
Behavior. 46-51.
- Salmons, Paul. Reflections: The Holocaust Exhibition a cross-curricular resource pack for
teaching about the Holocaust. Imperial War Museum.
- Lesson 7: The Weimar Republic: Historical Context and Decision-Making” Decision Making
In Times of Injustice. http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/units/decision-making-timesinjustice
- “Why Study Weimar Germany?” The Weimar Republic: The Fragility of Democracy.
http://weimar.facinghistory.org/content/why-study-weimar-germany
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- “1929: A Turning Point During the Weimar Republic” The Weimar Republic: The Fragility of
-
Democracy. http://weimar.facinghistory.org/content/1929-turning-point-during-weimarrepublic
“Choices and Consequences in Weimar Germany” The Weimar Republic: The Fragility of
Democracy http://weimar.facinghistory.org/content/choices-and-consequences-weimargermany
“Victims of the Nazi Era: Nazi Racial Ideology.”
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007457
“Reading 8: ‘Race Science’ in a Changing World” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 87-90.
“Reading 11: A Revolt in a Beer Hall” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 137-141.
“Reading 12: Creating the Enemy” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 141-144.
“Reading 3: Propaganda” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 244-247.
“Reading 5: Art and Propaganda” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 223-225.
“Lesson 11: The Nazis in Power: Propaganda and Conformity.” Decision Making In Times of
Injustice. http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/units/decision-making-times-injustice
Keen, Sam. “To Create An Enemy.” wisdompeacepath.org. n.d. 10 October 2013.
http://wisdompeacepath.org/page/23.html
“Paradigm for Othering" (teacher created handout).
State Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda. http://www.ushmm.org/propaganda/
“German Propaganda Archive.” http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/
Skills Addressed (Week 2):
Reading
2. Ability to determine central ideas or themes of a text, and analyze their development; and
to summarize key supporting details and ideas within a text.
3. Ability to analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, and the
connections that are drawn between them.
4. Ability to interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text.
6. Ability to determine an author’s (or artist’s) point of view or purpose in a text; and to
analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
7. Ability to integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media.
9. Ability to analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics to build
knowledge.
10. Ability to closely read and comprehend complex informational texts independently and
proficiently.
Writing
1a-b. Ability to write an argument with a specific claim; and to create an organization that
establishes clear relationships, reasons, and evidence.
1c. Ability to use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text.
6. Ability to use technology to interact and collaborate with others.
9. Ability to write reflective responses to informational texts.
Speaking & Listening
1. Ability to build on others’ ideas, and express their own ideas clearly and persuasively.
2. Ability to integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats
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(visually, quantitatively, orally).
Language
6. Ability to apply knowledge of new academic vocabulary to reading, conversation, and
writing.
BENCHMARKS (Week 2):
• Effective note-taking followed by a written argument utilizing evidence for analytical
support.
• Gallery Walk: Students recognize appearance is not always the reality by examining
individual photos and stories related to identity, membership and the universe of
obligation.
• 3-2-1: Student responses to the reading material.
• Journaling: Students make text to self, text to text, text to world connections.
• Cafe Conversations: Small groups formulate questions and analyze the historical context,
ideologies, and peer influences, which shape human choices; and they examine the
resulting consequences of those choices.
• Jigsaw activity: Students read, discuss, and generate essential questions related to Nazi
ideology and propaganda.
• Media Literacy: Students analyze visual images and propaganda from Nazi Germany.
Activities Planned: Week 2: Choices and Consequences in Weimar Germany and the Rise
of Nazi Ideology.
Day 1:
- Gallery Walk and Follow Up Class Discussion: Using Reflections: The Holocaust Exhibition
and Lesson 5: “Us and Them Confronting Labels and Lies,” Decision Making In Times of
Injustice as a guide, students look at individual photographs and stories of perpetrators,
bystanders, upstanders, and victims of the Holocaust, and explore the concepts of
appearance vs. reality, identity, membership, and the universe of obligation.
For homework: Students read Reading 14: “Anti-Judaism: A Case Study in Discrimination”
The Holocaust and Human Behavior and respond to at least three of the Connections questions
in their journals.
Day 2:
- 3-2-1 discussion strategy related to Reading 14: “Anti-Judaism: A Case Study in
Discrimination” The Holocaust and Human Behavior Connections.
- Evaluating Internet Sources: Genocide Research Collaboration (optional assignment).
Homework Option: Students read/annotate “Why Study Weimar Germany,” “1929: A
Turning Point During the Weimar Republic,” and “Choices and Consequences in Weimar
Germany.”
Optional Additional Challenge Assignment: Student exploration of The Weimar Republic: The
Fragility of Democracy. http://weimar.facinghistory.org/content/1929-turning-point-duringweimar-republic
Day 3:
- Quick Write Reflection: Students reflect on the historical context of individual choice
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(“Lesson 7: The Weimar Republic: Historical Context and Decision-Making” Decision
Making In Times of Injustice can be helpful in formulating questions and lesson plans).
- Cafe Conversations Activity:
- “Why Study Weimar Germany?” The Weimar Republic: The Fragility of Democracy.
- “1929: A Turning Point During the Weimar Republic” The Weimar Republic: The Fragility
of Democracy.
- “Choices and Consequences in Weimar Germany” The Weimar Republic: The Fragility of
Democracy.
For homework: Journal Reflection: Do people make history or does history make people?
Who/what is more responsible for the victory of the Nazi Party? In what ways are you
influenced by the peer culture around you? In what ways do you influence this culture?
Day 4:
- Learn to Listen/Listen to Learn: Students share their journal responses and reflections.
- Read/annotate/discuss “Victims of the Nazi Era: Nazi Racial Ideology.”
- Jigsaw Activity: Students read, discuss, and formulate essential questions related to Nazi
ideology and propaganda.
- Reading 8: “‘Race Science’ in a Changing World.”
- Reading 11: “A Revolt in a Beer Hall.”
- Reading 12: “Creating the Enemy.”
- Reading 3: “Propaganda.”
For homework: Read “Reading 5: ‘Art and Propaganda,’” “Paradigm for Othering,” and “To
Create An Enemy.”
Day 5:
- Use 3-2-1 strategy to ensure student understanding of “Reading 5: ‘Art and Propaganda,’”
“Paradigm for Othering,” and “To Create An Enemy”
- Media Literacy: Students analyze visual images utilizing Lesson 11: “The Nazis in Power:
Propaganda and Conformity,” State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda, and the
German Propaganda Archives as resources.
For homework: Re-read the poem, “To Create An Enemy” by Sam Keen. Based on the
propaganda evidence you saw/read, write in your journal a brief argument analyzing to what
extent Keen’s poem is true.
Week Three: Human Choices in the Face of Injustice.
Weekly Lesson Overview: Students read and respond to a selection of documents, which
deepen their understanding of how individual decisions can perpetuate or prevent injustice
and violence.
Facing History Themes and Content:
The theme this week is:
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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• Conformity and the need to belong influence choices.
• Apathy is a choice which aids the oppressor, never the oppressed.
Content:
- Richter, Hans Peter. “The Jungvolk” Friedrich. New York: Puffin Books, 1970. 32-38
- “Reading 7: School for Barbarians” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 228-231.
- “Reading 9: Changes at School” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 175-176.
- “Reading 8: Taking Over the Universities” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 172-174.
- “Reading 15: No Time To Think” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 189-192.
- “Reading 16: Refusal to Compromise” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 192-193.
- “Reading 20: Do You Take the Oath?” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 198-200.
- “Lesson 13: Kristallnacht: Decision-Making in Times of Injustice” Decision Making in Times
of Injustice. http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/units/decision-making-times-injustice
- Boas, Jacob and Joel Neuberg. “The Night of The Broken Glass” “Kristallnacht:” The Night
of Shattered Glass. San Francisco: The Holocaust Center of Northern California, 1988. 1-13.
- “Reading 7: Taking a Stand” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 268-270.
- “Reading 5: The Night of the Pogrom” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 263-267.
- “Reading 7: World Responses” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 270-272.
- Zapruder, Alexandra. “Klaus’s Diary” Salvaged Pages. New Haven: Yale University Press,
2002. 19-23.
- Weinstein, Jack. The Holocaust: A Resource Book for Students and Teachers. Milpitas: Milpitas
Unified School District, Office of Instruction, 1984. 82-90.
- “Bystanders and Rescuers: Overview” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 363-364.
- “Reading 1: What Did People Know?” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 364-367.
- “Reading 10: The Failure to Help” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 275-278.
- “The Bystanders” published by Yad Vashem (this resource is no longer accessible online;
however, teachers could use “Reading 3: Bystanders at Mauthausen” The Holocaust And
Human Behavior. 370-372).
- “Helen Jacobs” by Vicki Barnett (this resource is no longer accessible; however, teachers
could use “Reading 16: A Refusal to Compromise” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 192193).
- “Lesson 14: The Holocaust” Decision Making in Times of Injustice.
http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/units/decision-making-times-injustice
Skills Addressed (Week 3):
Reading
1. Ability to cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text.
2. Ability to determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; and
to summarize key supporting details and ideas within a text.
3. Ability to analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the
course of a text; and to determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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them.
4. Ability to interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text.
9. Ability to analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics to build
knowledge.
10. Ability to closely read and comprehend complex informational texts independently and
proficiently.
Writing
3d. Ability to use precise words and phrases to convey a vivid picture of an experience.
5. Ability to develop and strengthen writing as needed by revising, editing, and rewriting.
9. Ability to write reflective responses to informational texts; and to draw evidence from
literary and informational texts to support analysis and reflection.
10. Ability to write routinely for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Speaking & Listening
1. Ability to participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse
partners; and to build on others’ ideas and express their own ideas clearly and persuasively.
3. Ability to evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
Language
6. Ability to apply knowledge of new academic vocabulary to reading, conversations, and
writing.
BENCHMARKS (Week 3):
• Effective note-taking followed by a written compare/contrast response utilizing evidence
for analytical support.
• Peer review and revision of analytical argument.
• Socratic Seminar: Students formulate questions and analysis related to the role of
education, identity, membership and human choices.
• Found Poem Activity: Students create poems by selecting words and phrases from existing
texts of bystanders’ and upstanders’ choices and reflections.
• Learn to Listen/Listen to Learn: Students listen and share their journal responses and
reflections.
• Analyze an Event and the Range of Choices: Students utilize note-taking diagrams and
strategies to explore and analyze a range of choices centered around a specific event
(Kristallnacht).
• Exit Card Activity: Students write the key information and concepts they learned during the
lesson.
• Think, Pair, Share: Students analyze, discuss and defend a position based upon textual
evidence; and they define new key terms related to the Holocaust.
Activities Planned: Week 3: Human Choices in The Face of Injustice.
Day 1:
- Peer Review and Discussion: Students peer review and discuss their “To Create An
Enemy” written analytical arguments.
- Socratic Seminar: Students explore the role of education, and identity, membership, and
human choices.
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- “The Jungvolk” Friedrich.
- “Reading 7: School for Barbarians” and Connections The Holocaust and Human Behavior.
- “Reading 9: Changes at School” The Holocaust and Human Behavior.
For homework: Human Rights Violation/Genocide Research Project (Optional assignment)
Optional Reading Challenge: Students deepen their understanding of Nazi thought through
the reading of Hitler’s speeches and Nuremberg Race Laws (see http://www.ushmm.org for
copies of these documents).
Day 2:
- Human Rights Violation/Genocide Research collaboration time (optional assignment).
- Found Poems Activity: Students utilize “Reading 8: Taking Over the Universities,”
“Reading 15: No Time to Think,” “Reading 16: A Refusal to Compromise,” and “Reading
20: Do You Take the Oath” from The Holocaust and Human Behavior for this activity.
- Journal Response: Compare/contrast the choices made by Helen Jacobs with those made
by Peter Drucker in “Taking Over the Universities,” and the German men that Milton
Mayer interviewed in “No Time to Think.” Make sure to provide specific textual
evidence. What conclusions can you draw about the effect of human choices? Does an
individual have the responsibility to take a stand? When? Under what circumstances?
Why?
For homework: Complete Journal Response.
Days 3/4:
- Learn to Listen/Listen to Learn: Students listen and share their journal responses and
reflections.
- Analyzing An Event and the Range of Choices: Use “Lesson 13: Kristallnacht: DecisionMaking in Times Injustice” Decision Making in Times of Injustice Handouts 1-5 to assist
instruction.
- Tree Diagram (Handout 1).
- “The Night of Broken Glass” “Kristallnacht:” The Night of Shattered Glass.
- Alfons Heck (Handout 4, Reading 1).
- “Reading 6: Taking a Stand” The Holocaust and Human Behavior.
- “Reading 5: The Night of the Pogrom” The Holocaust and Human Behavior.
- “Reading 7: World Responses” The Holocaust and Human Behavior.
- Kristallnacht: The Range of Choices: Note-Taking Guide (Handout 5).
- Exit Card Activity 1 (Day 3): Kristallnacht: What happened? When? Where? Who? Why?
- Exit Card Activity 2: (Day 4): Kristallnacht: What were the range of choices/responses?
Why?
For homework: Human Rights Violation/Genocide Research Project (Optional assignment)
Read and annotate Chapter 8 “Bystanders and Rescuers: Overview,” “Reading 1: What Did
People Know?,” and “Reading 10: The Failure to Help,” from The Holocaust and Human
Behavior; and “The Bystanders” from Yad Vashem (or “Reading 3: Bystanders at
Mauthausen” The Holocaust and Human Behavior), and “Helen Jacobs” by Vicki Barnett (or
“Reading 16: A Refusal to Compromise” The Holocaust and Human Behavior).
Optional Reading Challenge: Excerpt from The Holocaust: A Resource Book for Students and Teachers
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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(pages 82-90).
Day 5:
- Think, Pair, Share: Students consider the following quotations: “The world is too
dangerous to live in - not because of the people who do evil, but because of the people
who sit and let it happen” - Albert Einstein, and “When a whole population takes on the
status of bystander, the victims are without allies; the criminals, unchecked, are
strengthened…” -Cynthia Ozick. Based on what you have read, so far, how are these
quotations true? Why?
- Using “Lesson 14: The Holocaust” (Part 1) Decision Making in Times of Injustice as a guide,
write down key terms and ask students to work in pairs to define them.
- Human Rights Violations/Genocide Research project collaboration time (Optional
assignment)
For homework: Human Rights Violation/Genocide Research Project (Optional assignment)
Week Four: Human Choices: Shattered Lives and Living Witnesses
Weekly Lesson Overview: Students expand their understanding of the complexity of
human behavior, and the consequences of inaction and violence on human lives by reading
and responding to interviews and recollections from perpetrators, bystanders, and survivors.
Facing History Themes and Content:
The Theme This Week:
• Human relationships (or lack of relationship) and events can shape/reshape an individual’s
identity, beliefs, and choices.
• Choosing to listen and make connections with survivors’ experiences helps us build a
better understanding of our common humanity and membership; we preserve the memory
of their testimonies, and bear witness to the future.
Content:
- “Lesson 14: The Holocaust” Decision Making in Times of Injustice.
- “Reading 3: Reserve Police Battalion 1010” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 313-317.
- “Reading 17: A Commandant’s View” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 353-355.
- “Reading 18: Rationalizing Genocide” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 355-356.
- Roland, Hans. “A Child Under the Jackboot,”Violence to Non-Violence: Individual Perspectives,
Communal Voices. Editor: William Kelly. Langhorne: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1994.
110-112.
- “Auschwitz: Evil At Play” St. Petersburg Times. Sunday, 07 October 2007.
- Wiesel, Elie. Night. Trans. Marian Wiesel. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2006.
- Sorell, Dora Apsan. Tell The Children: Letters to Miriam. San Rafel: Sighet Publishing, 1998.
- Volavkova, Hana, Ed. I Never Saw Another Butterfly. New York: Schocken Books, 1993.
- Video: The Challenge of Memory (the library at Facing History And Ourselves).
- Video: Survivor testimonies can be found at the following websites:
• The Shoah Foundation (http://www.youtube.com/user/USCShoahFoundation)
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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• The 1939 Club (www.1939club.com)
• Facing History And Ourselves (http://www.facinghistory.org/survivor-testimony)
Skills Addressed (Week 4):
Reading
1. Ability to cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text.
2. Ability to determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development.
3. Ability to analyze how complex characters develop and interact with other characters over
the course of a text.
4. Ability to determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text,
including figurative and connotative meanings; and to analyze the cumulative impact of
specific word choices on meaning and tone.
5. Ability to analyze how an author chooses to structure a text.
6. Ability to analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of
literature.
9. Ability to analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics to build
knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
10. Ability to closely read and comprehend complex literary texts independently and
proficiently.
Writing
3d. Ability to use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a
vivid picture of the experience.
10. Ability to write routinely for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Speaking and Listening
1. Ability to participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse
partners; and to build on others’ ideas and express their own ideas clearly and persuasively.
2. Ability to integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats
(visually, quantitatively, orally).
Language
6. Ability to apply knowledge of new academic vocabulary to reading, conversation, and
writing.
BENCHMARKS (Week 4):
• Read Aloud: Students practice active listening skills as fellow students read passages of a
text aloud followed by class discussion of connection questions.
• Jigsaw Activity: Students read, discuss, and generate essential questions related to
perpetrator choices and behavior
• 3-2-1 Activity: Students respond to reading material.
• Close Reading: Students analyze language, syntax, imagery, and motifs developed within the
text.
• Medial Literacy: Students make visual connections to textual readings.
• Silent Conversation (Big Paper) Activity: Students use writing and silence followed by class
discussion to explore reading topics in depth.
• Reading Annotations & Creative Expression: Students read and annotate a poem/narrative
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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passage, and create a symbol representing the content and/or writer of the poem or
narrative passage.
• Think, Pair, Share: Students explore how human relationships and events shape/reshape a
person’s identity, beliefs, membership, and choices.
• Survivor Testimony: Students meet, interact, and engage with a survivor and his/her
testimony.
Activities Planned: Week 4: Human Choices: Shattered Lives and Living Witnesses.
Day 1:
- Read Aloud Activity: Students read “Reading 3: Reserve Police Battalion 101” The
Holocaust and Human Behavior followed by a class discussion of the connections questions.
- Jigsaw Activity: Students read, discuss, and formulate essential questions related to
perpetrator choices and behavior:
- “Reading 17: A Commandant’s View” The Holocaust and Human Behavior.
- “Reading 18: Rationalizing Genocide” The Holocaust and Human Behavior.
- “A Child Under the Jackboot” Violence to Non-Violence: Individual Perspectives, Communal
Voices.
- “Auschwitz: Evil At Play” St. Petersburg Times.
For homework: Read Night, segments 1-3, and take notes on the human relationships and
human choices mentioned within the text. Do students see examples of how identity and
membership inform human choices?
Day 2:
- 3-2-1 Activity: Night, segments 1-3. What examples of identity, membership, and human
relationships informed human choices within the text?
- Close Reading: Students analyze the use of language, syntax, imagery, and motifs
developed within the text.
- Media Literacy: The Challenge of Memory video clips are connected to the reading of Night.
For homework: Read Night, segments 4-6. Take notes on the human relationships and human
choices mentioned within the text. What happens to human relationships when people make
choices?
Day 3:
- Silent Conversation (Big Paper) Activity: Using “Lesson 14: The Holocaust” (Part 2)
Decision Making in Times of Injustice as a guide, have students respond to the following
questions: What segment of the reading has stood out to you or left you with a question?
What was the Holocaust? How did the choices made by ordinary people contribute to the
death of millions of innocent children, women, and men? What could have prevented
these crimes from taking place?
- Class Discussion: Follow up silent conversation with small groups sharing out one or two
key observations or questions raised during the activity.
- Optional Activity: Using I Never Saw Another Butterfly, students read and annotate one of
the poems, and create a butterfly symbolizing the child who wrote the poem or one of the
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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children mentioned in Night. These butterflies can be suspended from the ceiling in the
classroom or displayed as a collage on the bulletin board.
For homework: Read Night, segments 7-9. Take notes on the human relationships and
human choices mentioned in the text. How do certain events shape/reshape one’s identity,
human relationships, and choices?
Day 4:
- Think, Pair, Share: How do human relationships (or lack of relationship) and events
shape/reshape an individual’s identity, beliefs, sense of membership, and choices?
- Media Literacy: The Challenge of Memory video clips are connected to the reading of Night.
- Close Reading: Students analyze the use of language, syntax, imagery, and motifs
developed within the text.
- Preparation for Holocaust Survivor Visit.
For homework: Read selected chapters (such as “Beatings” and “Tattooed”) from Dora
Sorell’s book, Tell The Children: Letters to Miriam:
Day 5:
- Holocaust Survivor visit - If students are unable to meet a survivor, they can watch a
survivor’s testimony at one of the following websites:
- Facing History And Ourselves http://www.facinghistory.org/survivor-testimony
- The Shoah Foundation (http://www.youtube.com/user/USCShoahFoundation)
- The 1939 Club (www.1939club.com)
For homework: Human Rights Violation/Genocide Research Project (Optional assignment)
Week Five: Standing Up: Choices for Humanity and Justice.
Weekly Lesson Overview: Students explore the importance of an individual’s choice to
stand up and help others in the face of injustice, as well as the need for transitional justice
and restoration after crimes against humanity have occurred.
Facing History Themes and Content:
The Themes This Week:
• A strong sense of identity and moral conviction can expand a person’s definition of
membership and universe of obligation leading him/her to take action and help others.
• The choice to restore justice, by holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes against
humanity, paved the way for future discussions and establishments of international laws to
protect universal human rights.
Content:
- “Lesson 15: The Holocaust: Bystanders and Upstanders” Decision Making In the Time of
Injustice.
- “The Righteous Among The Nation”
http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/righteous/about.asp
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Reading 5: “From Bystanders to Resisters:” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 373-376.
Reading 6: “Protest at Rosenstrasse 2-4” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 376-377.
Reading 8: “Choosing to Rescue” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 380-382.
Reading 9: “Links in a Chain” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 382-385.
Reading 10: “The Courage of Le Chambon” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 385-388.
“Daring Danes” (Original source is out of print. Similar information, “Rescue in
Denmark” can be found at
http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007740).
Wiesel, Elie. “Why Were There So Few?” The Courage to Care. Carol Rittmer and Sondra
Myers, Eds. New York: New York University Press, 1986. 122-125.
“Reading 4: A Matter of Courage” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 372-373.
“Reading 17: Choices” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 463-465.
“Reading 13: The World’s Conscience” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 563-564.
“Reading 2: The Rules of War” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 422-424.
“Reading 3: Humanity’s Aspirations to Do Justice” The Holocaust And Human Behavior. 425427.
Exploring Dimensions of Forgiveness: The Sunflower
http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/lessons/exploring-dimensions-forgiveness
Video: Jewish Partisans Educational Foundation
http://www.jewishpartisans.org/t_switch.php?pageName=student+films
Video: The Courage to Care (library at Facing History And Ourselves).
Video: Nuremberg Remembered http://www.facinghistory.org/node/498
Argument Writing Rubric (Teacher created handout).
Skills Addressed (Week 5):
Reading
1. Ability to cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text.
2. Ability to determine central ideas or themes of a text, and analyze their development.
4. Ability to determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text,
including figurative and connotative meanings; and to analyze the cumulative impact of
specific word choices on the meaning and tone.
6. Ability to compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same
or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective
accounts.
7. Ability to analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums, determining
which details are emphasized in each account.
8. Ability to delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the
validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
9. Ability to analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics to build
knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
10. Ability to use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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vivid picture of the experience.
Writing
1. Ability to write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts,
using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
3d. Ability to use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a
vivid picture of the experience.
4. Ability to produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and
style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. Ability to develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, and
rewriting or trying a new approach.
6. Ability to use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing, and to
interact and collaborate with others.
8. Ability to gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the
credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding
plagiarism.
9. Ability to draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection,
and research.
10. Ability to write routinely for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Speaking and Listening:
1. Ability to participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse
partners; and to build on others’ ideas, and to express their own ideas clearly and
persuasively.
2. Ability to integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats
(visually, quantitatively, orally).
Language
1. Ability to demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and
usage when writing or speaking.
2. Ability to demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling when writing.
6. Ability to apply knowledge of new academic vocabulary to reading, conversation, and
writing.
BENCHMARKS (Week 5):
• Debrief: Students share what they learned from a survivor’s testimony.
• Socratic Seminar: Students compare and contrast survivors’ experiences, discussing similar
motifs developed within each story.
• Creative Expression: Students create an original poem, prose, or piece of art to personally
connect with a part of a survivor’s testimony.
• Effective note taking followed by written journal reflections utilizing evidence.
• Think, Pair, Share: Students assess the motivations of resistance fighters and upstanders.
• Jigsaw Activity: Students read, discuss, and formulate essential questions related to
resistance, and upstanders' choices and behaviors.
• Small Group Discussions: Students evaluate how identity, membership, and the universe of
obligation influence people’s choices, as well as the road to transitional justice and
restoration.
• Text to text, text to self, text to world: Students make deeper connections to selected
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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•
•
•
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readings.
Student KWL/Anticipation Guide: Students review initial reposes they made at the
beginning of the unit, and reflect upon what they have learned and what they still want to
know.
Cafe Conversations: Students consider various points of view retailed to forgiveness.
Peer Review/Edit: Students review a peer’s writing, offering feedback on organization and
clarity of meaning.
Final Performance Task 6 (Argument): Student take a position, write, revise, and
electronically submit a full-process essay based on a specific writing task.
Activities Planned: Week 5: Standing Up: Choices for Humanity and Justice.
Day 1:
- Debrief Survivor Visit and Testimony: Students work with their small groups to share
what they learned and what they still want to know.
- Socratic Seminar: Dora Sorell is from the same home town of Sighet as Elie Wiesel.
Compare/contrast Wiesel’s experiences in Night with Sorell’s experiences in Tell The
Children: Letters to Miriam, and discuss similar motifs developed within the texts. If
applicable, students can also compare/contrast the survivor testimony to Wiesel’s and
Sorell’s experiences.
- Making Deeper Connections through Creative Expression: Students create an original
poem, prose, or piece of art based on a survivor’s testimony, or a narrative or poem
studied within this module. (This assignment can be due at a later date, or students can
choose to enter their work in local or national contests).
For homework: Students read and annotate the following: “Reading 5: From Bystanders to
Resisters” The Holocaust and Human Behavior, “The Righteous Among The Nations,” and
“Daring Danes.”
Day 2:
- Think, Pair, Share: Using as a resource “Lesson 15: The Holocaust: Bystanders and
Upstanders” and handouts 1-3: “Upstanders and Bystanders during the Holocaust” from
Decision Making in Times of Injustice, ask students what might have motivated people to resist,
fight, and/or help individuals targeted by the Nazi regime, especially when there was great
personal risk?
- Show a video clip(s) about resistance from the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation
http://www.jewishpartisans.org/t_switch.php?pageName=student+films. Follow up
with a discussion on what motivated individuals to resist and fight against the Nazi
regime? How did their sense of identity, membership, and universe of obligation shape
the choices they made?
- Jigsaw Activity: Students read, discuss, and formulate essential questions related to
resistance and upstander choices and behaviors:
- Reading 6: “Protest at Rosenstrasse 2-4” The Holocaust and Human Behavior.
- Reading 8: “Choosing to Rescue” The Holocaust and Human Behavior.
- Reading 9: “Links in a Chain” The Holocaust and Human Behavior.
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- Reading 10: “The Courage of Le Chambon” The Holocaust and Human Behavior.
For homework: Prepare students for their final performance task.In order to help students
formulate their thoughts and collect evidence, give them the Performance Task 6 Prompt:
People make choices, choices make history. Using the Holocaust as the central
subject, write an essay in which you argue one or two of the most important decisions
which shaped this history. Use one of the following articles (“Why Were There So
Few?,” “Reading 4: A matter of Courage,” “Reading 17: Choices,” or “Reading 13:
The Word’s Conscience”), as well as evidence we have studied during this unit to
support your claims.
Since this is a full-process essay, students must have a minimum of six pieces of evidence to
support their claim(s). Students should focus on which group of people (perpetrators,
bystanders, and/or upstanders) they believe most shaped the history of the Holocaust, and
provide specific textual support and analysis of the most significant choices made from this
group of people during the Holocaust.
Note: The Performance Task, as it is written, can be used as an exam where the student
argues the most important one or two individual choices which shaped Holocaust history.
However, the task is also designed to be a full-process essay assessment (if modifications are
made), as indicated in the homework assignment described above.
Day 3:
- Video: The Courage To Care followed by small group discussions of identity, membership,
and the universe of obligation which influenced upstanders’ choices.
- Journal Reflection/Class Discussion: In his study of rescuers, Ervin Staub states,
“Goodness, like evil, often begins in small steps. Heroes evolve; they aren’t born. Very
often the rescuers make only a small commitment at the start - to hide someone for a day
or two. But once they have taken that step, they begin to see themselves differently, as
someone who helps. What starts as mere willingness becomes intense involvement.” To
what extent is this true? What evidence from the readings and video, as well as in your life
have you seen to support your claim? Explain.
For homework: Performance Task 6: Argument Essay Assignment (draft due on Day 5).
Day 4:
- Text to text, text to self, text to world: Students respond to “Reading 2: The Rules of
War” and “Reading 3: Humanity’s Aspirations to Do Justice” The Holocaust and Human
Behavior.
- Show Nuremberg Remembered http://www.facinghistory.org/node/498 followed by class
discussion.
- Student KWL/Anticipation Guide Revisited: Students review ideas raised in the film by
returning to their first journal reflections and “What do you think/What do you want to
know” handout, and they discuss with a partner how the film changed or reinforced earlier
ideas and questions they raised about justice and the Holocaust.
- Small Group Discussion: Students read the questions on the “Nuremberg Remembered: A
Search For Justice” handout, and identify the question they want to discuss as a small
group (These questions were taken from Nuremberg Remembered: Reflections and
Legacies http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/lessons/nuremberg-rememberedreflections).
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- Journal Response: Students write one important or interesting idea or question that was
shared during the small group discussion and share their response with the class. When all
students have shared their ideas, students write a summary of what they heard, noting
consistent themes, points of disagreement, or lingering questions.
For homework: Performance Task 6: Argument Essay Assignment (draft due on Day 5)
Day 5:
- Peer Review/Edit Performance Task 6: Argument Essay Assignment.
- Using Exploring Dimensions of Forgiveness: The Sunflower as a guide, read aloud The Sunflower
Synopsis (http://www.facinghistory.org/sunflower-synopsis). Optional Modification:
Teachers can stop reading just before the end of the synopsis, which tells students what
Simon Wiesenthal decided to do, and ask students what they think he did or should have
done and why? After students have shared ideas, teachers can read the end of the synopsis.
- Cafe Conversation: Ask students to consider various points of view for the following
questions: What does it mean to forgive? Is there power in extending forgiveness? Is
there power in withholding forgiveness? Who has the right to forgive? What do you
actually “give” when you grant forgiveness? Are there actions that are unforgivable? What
would the world be like without forgiveness? Students share essential questions and
observations addressed within their groups.
Note: If this students are not doing the optional Human Rights Violation/Genocide
Research Project, then a wrap up activity needs to be prepared for students to reflect upon
what they have learned and what questions they would like to investigate further.
For homework: Final Edit of Performance Task 6: Argument Essay Assignment must be
submitted to turnitin.com. Assessment is based on the Argument Writing Rubric.
Week Six: (Optional Assignment) Human Rights Violation/Genocide Research Project.
Weekly Lesson Overview: (Optional Assignment) Students prepare and present their
findings and evaluations on a human rights violation of the 20th/21st Century.
Facing History Themes and Content:
The Themes This Week:
• Identity, membership, and human relationships influence individual and collective choices
to participate as perpetrator, bystanders, and/or upstanders.
• Transitional justice and restoration and the role of global, local, and individual responses
must work towards promoting human rights and protection.
Content:
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
- Audiovisual Library of International Law http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/cppcg/cppcg.html
- The 8 Stages of Genocide http://www.genocidewatch.org/genocide/8stagesofgenocide.html
- Human Rights Violation/Genocide Research Project Instructions and Rubric (Teacher
created handout).
- Additional content will vary based on student topics and research.
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Skills Addressed:
Reading
1. Ability to cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly, as well as inference drawn from the text.
2. Ability to determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development.
7. Ability to analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums, determining
which details are emphasized in each account.
9. Ability to analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics to build
knowledge.
Speaking and Listening
1. Ability to participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse
partners; and to build on others’ ideas, and to express their own ideas clearly and
persuasively.
2. Ability to integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats.
4. Ability to present information, findings, and supporting evidence so listeners can follow
the line of reasoning; and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to the
task, purpose, and audience.
5. Ability to make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express
information and enhance understanding of presentations.
Language
1. Ability to demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and
usage when writing or speaking.
6. Ability to apply knowledge of new academic vocabulary to reading, conversation, and
writing.
BENCHMARK:
• Human Rights Violation/Genocide Research Presentation: Students effectively present
research findings to the class based on assignment instructions and rubric.
Activities Planned: Week 6: (Optional Assignment) Human Rights Violation/Genocide
Research Project.
Day 1/2/3:
- Human Rights Violation/Genocide Research In-class Work Day for Presentation
Preparations: Students synthesize research information, design and create a visual aid
relevant to their topic, and develop a presentation that will inform and engage their
audience.
Day 4/5:
- Human Rights Violation/Genocide Research Project Presentations.
- Wrap Up Activity: Tie the unit together asking students to reflect upon what they have
learned throughout the unit, and to formulate further questions they would like to
investigate.
Common Core State Standards Addressed throughout module:
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A variety of Common Core State Standards have been addressed throughout this module
with an emphasis on non-fiction informational and historical texts, and the formulation and
development of a variety of writing, speaking, and listening strategies to assist students in
formulating a clearly defined claim(s), with well organized evidence and analysis so they may
successfully complete the Performance Task 6 (Argument Writing).
The Common Core State Standards most implemented in this unit include the following:
Reading: Key Ideas and Detail:
Reading 1. Reading closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical
inference from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support
conclusions drawn from the text.
Reading 2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development;
summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
Reading: Craft and Structure:
Reading 4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining
technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape
meaning or tone.
Reading: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
Reading 7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including
visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
Reading 9: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics to build
knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
Reading: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity:
Reading 10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently
and proficiently.
Writing 1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts,
using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Writing: Production and Distribution of Writing:
Writing 4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and
style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Writing 5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting,
or trying a new approach.
Writing 6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to
interact and collaborate with others.
Writing: Research to Build and Present Knowledge:
Writing 8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the
credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding
plagiarism.
Writing 9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection,
and research.
Writing: Range of Writing:
Writing 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 tasks,
purposes, and audiences.
Speaking and Listening: Comprehension and Collaboration:
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Speaking/Listening 1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and
collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own
clearly and persuasively.
Speaking/Listening 2: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and
formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
Language: Conventions of Standard English:
Language 1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and
usage when writing or speaking.
Language 2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Language: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use:
Language 6: Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific
words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and
career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when
considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
\
Where in the module are students meeting the shifts of the CCSS?
The Common Core State Standards move away from an emphasis on the student’s
memorization of fact-based information, to an emphasis on academic literacy and critical
thinking across the curriculum, which is robust, relevant, and reflects the student’s ability to
apply knowledge and skills needed for college and career readiness.
Shift 1. Building knowledge through content-rich non-fiction: This module focuses on a
variety of content-rich non-fiction texts and media formats. Primary sources, scholarly
analysis, and eyewitness documentation provide students with information on complex
human relationships and choices, which helped shape the history of the Holocaust. Students
are expected to develop cross-curricular academic literacy in history and English language arts
to connect new content to their existing knowledge, skills, experiences, and interests, and to
apply their knowledge and skills to a variety of tasks.
Shift 2. Reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and
informational: Students are asked to read purposely, and to respond orally and in writing to a
variety of prompts utilizing specific textual evidence (fiction and non-fiction). A focus on
argument, instead of persuasion, grounded in text-based evidence is a major shift within the
module. Questions ask students to think deeply, develop opinions, formulate arguments, and
defend their claims, utilizing specific textual evidence, in both informal and formal classroom
activities. Students practice embedding evidence into their writing through a number of
pedagogical classroom discussion strategies, journal reflections, and writing prompts, such as
the reflection exercises during Week 1 (Do people make history, or does history make people?), Week
2 ( Argue to what extent is the poem, “To Create An Enemy” true based on evidence of Nazi ideology and
propaganda), and Week 3 (Compare and contrast, and draw conclusions based on the evidence of human
choices made during the Holocaust). Throughout the module, students engage with non-fiction
and narrative writings by comparing texts, making personal connections to the literature, and
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People Make Choices, Choices Make History
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applying thematic concepts to the local and global community. Students also generate
original creative writings in the form of poetry or prose to focus more deeply on the literary
content, and to personally connect with eyewitness accounts to history.
Shift 3. Regular practice with complex text and academic language: Students expand their
academic literacy in relation to the study of human rights, genocide, and the Holocaust,
paying attention to the use of euphemisms and content-level vocabulary. They are required
to read, annotate, and comprehend the denotative and connotative definitions, as well as
analyze the literal and figurative meanings embedded within a text, by closely reading nonfiction and fiction literature, first-person interviews, academic texts, and primary documents.
An argument writing rubric adapted and modified from “Argumentative Writing Rubric
(Grades 6-11)” Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium: English Language Arts Rubrics
http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2012/05/TaskItemSpecifications/EnglishLanguageArtsLiteracy/ELARubr
ics.pdf is attached.
Student examples, representing different scores on the rubric, are also attached.
Please return all documents to jocelyn_stanton@ facing.org by January 31, 2014