Implementation of ‘Anne Frank Diary’ (SoI-HR-446)
The main teaching topic focuses on the topic of the Holocaust by reading the entire book “The Diary of Anne Frank” and is complemented by watching clips of the documentary film “#Anne Frank – parallel stories” – in order to defend the values of a democratic, free and inclusive society. The goal is not to forget the dangers arising from intolerance, hatred, xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination.
In the teaching scenario, the focus is on the entire documentary film and the book, while in this implementation, the focus is on a complete literary work that was read by eighth grade students (age 14) throughout the entire month of January for the purpose of commemorating the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and in the last analyzed during the week of January at school.
Main text
1.The narrative (Learning process/Stages of implementation)
In Croatian language and literature classes, students have readings every month. They read the assigned literary work in its entirety and do small projects on it in class. In the month of January, we had the goal of commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the 8th grade students (14 years old) were given the book The Diary of Anne Frank to read throughout the month with instructions on what to pay attention to while reading.
They had to independently research given terms such as diary, holocaust, Nazism, Jews, Jewish symbols, etc.
The idea of an interdisciplinary combination of literature and film was adopted from the teaching scenario, as well as bringing the concept of the Holocaust closer to students, as well as education about tolerance, anti-Semitism and racism in any form.
The age of the students is 8th grade (14 years old).
The preparation time includes the students’ reading of the novel during January and the teacher’s preparation of tasks in groups.
The time of the lesson itself, where the topic is covered, is 2 teaching hours.
After creating the teaching materials, we placed them on the learning portfolio on the www.wakelet.com platform so that they would be available to us afterwards.
The supporting materials we used can be found at the following links: https://www.europeana.eu/hr/search?page=1&view=grid&query=ana%20frank
Documentary “#Anne Frank – parallel stories” –
https://www.annefrank.org/en/museum/web-and-digital/
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child –
Europeana resources used are: Material related with Anne Frank Anne Frank; Material related with the World War II Second World War and material related with the Concentration Camp of Auschwitz Auschwitz.
LESSON STRUCTURE:
The students came to class with the entire book The Diary of Anne Frank throughout the month of January.
First lesson
At the beginning, we went through a presentation about Anne Frank together, and the students were divided into four working groups and each group was given its own task. With each task, there were QR codes that led to pages and materials that could help them in the realization of the group task.
1st group – had the task of making a poster about Anne Frank according to the given tasks
2nd group – had the task of creating a timeline with the most important events in Anne Frank’s life
3rd group – had the enigmatic task of finding given words (Holocaust, Jews, Semitism, and the like) in the eight-way and finding and writing down the meaning of those words
4th group – had the task of making a description of the shelter and stating which all the people stayed and hid in it
All groups had time for their work for the whole school hour.
Second lesson
Each group had 7-8 minutes to present their work.
At the end of the school lesson, we watched excerpts from the documentary film that were related to the assignments.
The students made one big poster, combining all their works by group, and then placed them in the Wekelet collection to be digitally presented more permanently.
2. Outcomes (for educator and for the students)
The main learning outcomes in the teaching of literature on the Holocaust by reading The Diary of Anne Frank:
Knowledge about the Holocaust – Students gained a deeper understanding of the Holocaust and its horrors through the testimony of Anne Frank.
They understood the brutality of the Nazi regime and the persecution of Jews.
They learned about the suffering and loss of millions of people during the Holocaust.
Empathy and understanding – Students developed empathy for the victims of the Holocaust, including Anne Frank and her family.
They understood the psychological and emotional impact of persecution and fear.
They learned to develop tolerance and respect for all people, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity.
Critical thinking – Students critically analyzed Anne Frank’s Diary as a historical document. They learned to consider moral and ethical dilemmas related to the Holocaust. They develop the ability to think about complex topics and form their own conclusions.
Personal growth – Students will develop a sense of justice and the fight against injustice. To develop strength and resilience in the face of difficulties. Appreciate the importance of freedom, democracy and human rights.
In addition to the above, learning about the Holocaust through Anne Frank’s Diary can encourage students to actively fight against hatred, prejudice and discrimination in their environment.
As a teacher using Europeana with learning materials, I can enjoy the following benefits:
First of all, I would like to point out the variety, because Europeana offers me a wide range of educational materials, including videos, texts, photos and the like, which allows the use of different teaching methods and easier adaptation to the individual needs of students.
Europeana offers quality because the materials on Europeana are usually peer-reviewed, which guarantees teachers that they are of good quality and reliable.
Constant and easy availability should also be emphasized, because Europeana is available online, which means that it can be used anywhere and anytime.
Europeana offers tools for collaboration and exchange of ideas among teachers, helping them improve and learn from each other.
The platform offers interactive and interesting materials that can encourage students to actively participate in classes and improve their motivation to learn.
Working with this platform saves a lot of time because Europeana offers pre-prepared lessons, lesson plans and activities, which saves teachers time in planning and preparing lessons.
In addition to the above, Europeana can help teachers to more easily integrate new technologies into lessons and to monitor the progress of their students.
Ultimately, the use of Europeana can facilitate the work of teachers, make teaching more varied and of higher quality, and improve student learning.
Link to the learning scenario implemented: Anne Frank Diary (LS-PT-571) – Teaching With Europeana (eun.org)
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CC0 1.0 : the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the Het Utrechts Archief.