Finding Cultural Identity in History: Voices from the Past

Today is the second to the last day of presentations!! The purpose of the culture wheel is for students to identify the five most important aspects of their culture and use five artifacts to demonstrate how each aspect of culture impacts their lives. Students show a logical connection between each aspect of their culture so their audience can see the relationship between their choices and their individual identities (CCSS SL 9-10 4). The students take notes on their peers' presentations. Once the presentations are finished, the students will write an in-class essay about what they have learned about their peers. 

Five students will present their culture wheel from the prior unit. After they finish the presentation, I ask students to share what they learned about their classmates. This presentation talks about relationships.

After the presentations, I double check to make sure that everyone has the vocabulary from yesterday's intro to Maus and the Holocaust. This lesson should have been completed yesterday, however the computer issues prolonged the vocabulary section of the introduction.  Today's goal no computer chaos.  I verify that everyone has the vocabulary from the last lesson.  Now, the class can move from vocabulary relating to Maus to background on the Holocaust.  #feeling positive

First thing I ask...what are some types of nonfiction narratives we read? Answers, biography, autobiography, and memoir...

So, why are we so fascinated by the stories of the past (especially those who suffer great tragedy)?

I want students to begin to access their prior knowledge about the Holocaust and begin to consider why it is important to remember historical events.  I guide them based on their answers to consider our connection to pervious generations and how we honor the dead and reviver the survivors.  Many students have grandparents who are Vietnam vets so I suspect that they will talk about how it is a touchy subject.  Some students also have parents/relatives who are serving or have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Next, I ask my students to write down everything they know about The Holocaust in order to assess prior knowledge.  The majority of my students will most likely have read either the play version of The Diary of Anne Frank or Night.  And most of them will have most likely seen the film, The Boy with the Striped Pajamas.  As a result, I expect most of them to base their Holocaust knowledge on these sources.  

We will then discuss the diversity of victims of the Holocaust.  I will ask the students why these people were singled out by the Nazis.  Finally, I remind them that during this unit even though the characters are mice, pigs, and cats in Maus, in actuality, we are reading about real people.  With that in mind, I request that my students not to make light of these experiences.

Then, I tell my students that all these individual narratives make up the larger Holocaust narrative when I present to them the intro to Maus and the Holocaust 2 powerpoint. 

Now, the class is ready for specifics.  Relying on their prior knowledge of Anne Frank, I ask them, "Who is Meip Gies?"  A few of them may identify her as the person who helped the Frank family.

I tell them we are going to listen to a news broadcast about Meip Gies. By listening to this report, students integrate an audio media source into their understanding of the Anne Frank narrative (SL.9-10.3). Students have to listen and respond to the following questions.