This disciplinary text set is for a unit on the Jewish Holocaust in an eleventh grade global studies class. This is a very diverse group of students in all aspects, from culture to ability. In a pre-assessment I have gathered a basic understanding of what my students already know about the subject. Most students know what the Jewish Holocaust was and the approximate time frame in which it occurred. The majority of the students also knew of Adolf Hitler and some knew that he was the leader of the Nazi regime, the people responsible for carrying out the atrocities of the Holocaust. So for this unit I have chosen texts that will deepen the understanding of the events of the Holocaust and the reasoning behind it. I want the students to be aware of the pure evil of the crimes committed and that as a society we can not allow for this to happen again. This unit will led into the introduction of genocides occurring since this specific time in history including Rwanda and Darfur. In order to reach the needs of all students and differentiate teaching methods I have chosen to use "texts" in the categories of print, multimedia, and cultural relevance. I plan on covering the more complex texts as a whole class and offering graphic organizers as a support to students with disabilities. I am also providing a selection of print books with varying exile levels that will suit the lower reading levels of some of my students. Some texts will be read and discussed as a whole class and at least one print based book will be read through student led initiative. However, there will be a class discussion for analyzing each text to ensure that students are understanding the desired concepts and meeting the appropriate common core standards.
Print
1) Night, a memoir written by Elie Wiesel is a primary source for students to learn about the Holocaust.
Wiesel, Elie. Night, Elie Wiesel. New York, NY, Spark Publishing, 2014.
Summary:Night is a memoir written by Elie Wiesel on his firsthand experiences during the Holocaust as a Romanian Jew. He begins the story with how he grew up and what was happening prior to Hitler taking power. Wiesel recounts the start of anti-Semitism in his village and how his family was forced into a ghetto. He then retells his horrific experience of being shipped off to Auschwitz-Birkenau and what he endured at witnessed at that camp, and how he managed to survive while millions of others did not. He also speaks about his battle with his faith during this time of religious persecution. Wiesel is an amazing writer who uses a lot of vivid detail in retelling his story. He strategically chooses language that impacts the reader's emotions.
Text Complexity:
Quantitative- The book is considered to be around a fifth or sixth grade reading level and a supposed lexile level of 570L. It has around 133 pages. There is a variance in sentence complexity, length, and frequency. I agree with the quantitative measures because it was a very easy read for myself, a person knowledgable on this area in history. What makes the text more difficult for students is the qualitative measures.
Qualitative- I feel that what the book lacks in quantitative measures it makes up for in qualitative properties. There is a presence of intense literary language depth and variety, and deep meaning and theme beneath the words on the page. For instance student readers not versed in literary analysis would have a hard time picking up on the motif of struggle with faith. This is an important feature of this text as well as the Jewish Holocaust in general. Many Jewish victims during the Holocaust lost their religion and faith in God as this was the reason for their persecution. The text also requires a need of prior background knowledge of this time in history and of the Jewish religion. Prior to and during student reading of this text I will need to provide certain background knowledge. Obviously my class will be learning about the Holocaust and will be familiar with what happened during the time and who and how many this tragedy affected, as this information is not directly stated in the book. Prior to this read I will need to provide some information on terms and concepts as well. Especially information on Jewish religious practices. There is some description of certain Jewish holidays, but it would help if my students understood what these terms and occasions mean on a deeper level.
Vocabulary terms-
- Hasidic
- Phylactery
- Ghetto (contextual at the time)
- Penury
- Waif
- Fraught
- Anti-Semitic
- Billet
- Edict
- Surreptitiously
Text Complexity: The purpose for my students to read this text is to strengthen their understanding of the Holocaust. I would not choose this text as an introduction on the topic, I feel that this would be done with a lecture and intense presentation during class prior to reading Night. This text is meant to motivate interest among students. It also acts as a tool to activate background information so student readers can pull from background knowledge and apply it to the text at hand. In a history class taught by myself, the text complexity and accessibility and students prior knowledge and hopefully motivation will sync together seamlessly. I feel that this text is very accessible to high school students, but poses just enough complexity for it to be a read that will increase their comprehension on the subject of the Holocaust. Students will be able to answer guided questions, make inferences, and use their background knowledge to apply a deeper understanding of Wiesel's experiences.
2) The novel Number the Stars will act as a lower lexile option for students with lower reading levels, so that they can also grasp what experiences were like for Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1989. Print.
Multimedia
1) The film Defiance
Defiance. Dir. Edward Zwick. Perf. Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, and George Mackay. Paramount Vantage, 2008. DVD.
Summary: This film is a screen adaptation of the true story of the Bielski brothers. Taking place in Belarus, the brothers Bielski manage to escape Nazi Einsatzgruppen and forced removal to the ghettos by retreating to the Naliboki forest. In the forest they run into other Jews who have taken refuge among the trees. Tuvia and Zus Bielski decide to build a forest community and continue to take in more and more Jewish refugees. They build shelters, scavenge, and commandeer food and weapons. While living in the forests they eventually become discovered by the Gestapo. They fight back and the survivors continue on and build camp further into the forest. They continue to run into obstacles and grow to become a resistance movement as well as a refugee camp. The Bielski community manages to maintain survival until the end of the war (mind you many were lost throughout the journey). Nowadays the decedents of Bielski survivors number in the tens of thousands.
Text Complexity:
Quantitative- This text is a film that runs 2 hours and 17 minutes. The script consists of 5,705 words. According to the Gunning Fog index the script reads at a 3.4 grade level. The average consensus of readability from StoryToolz is that of an elementary level. I would agree with these quantitative aspects and say that this is an extremely accessible "text" for eleventh grade students, especially because it is a film and only involves reading a few subtitles.
Qualitative- I would say that this "text" is very accessible for the students being taught this unit. The film requires some background knowledge such as an understanding of what the Jewish Holocaust was and who was involved. They need to know that the goal of the Nazis was to strategically exterminate the Jews of Europe. My students will already have this knowledge and will just need to activate it. The film begins with actual historical footage of Hitler propaganda and Nazis capturing Jews, the viewer needs to be able to infer that the film they are about to view takes place during this time in history and is about the Jewish Holocaust. Although it is not necessary, it would be helpful for students to know a little geographic information of Europe, as this is where the film takes place. Prior to viewing the film I would show my students on a map where the Nalboki forest and Belarus are located, and where they are in comparison to Germany. I feel that this background knowledge would help the students understand just how large and powerful of a force the Nazis were during WWII. I think it would also help students follow the plot line if they were informed on the position of Soviets during this time. During a portion of the film, Zus Bielski leaves his brothers and the forest community to join Soviet partisans in fighting and killing Nazi enemies. While it would be very helpful to have this background knowledge before viewing the film, especially for my educational purposes in this lesson, it is not necessary to follow the film. There is enough explanation and visual cuing in the film to support an unfamiliar viewer, thus making it an accessible text.
Vocabulary- The film has a few vocabulary terms that I would introduce and explain to my students prior to viewing the film as I believe they require some instructional support. These terms include:
- Partisans
- Auxiliary (Police)
- Otriad
- Einsatzgruppen
- Typhus
- Pogrom
Task Complexity: The purpose of using this "text" is to introduce the topic of Jewish resistance during WWII and the Jewish Holocaust. A common question asked anytime a group of people are persecuted is, "Did they fight back?" By viewing this film students will be able to see a visual retelling of such an instance. I believe that this particular text representation will offer students an accessible avenue to be introduced to the topic, they do not have to read an entire text, instead they are given the opportunity to be immersed into a story through film. The film provides engaging and graphic scenes along with a capturing plot line. What I like about this particular film is how true it stays to the actual experience of the Bielski brothers, allowing use in an educational setting. This type of text offers a sense of ease and a bit of a break from actual word reading.
2) A video of liberation footage. Designed so students can visually see the deplorable conditions of Nazi concentration and death camps.
CoffeeMoron. “First Newsreel Pictures Of The Liberation Of The Nazi Death Camps.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwSGhyI7mVg.
Culturally Relevant
1) "Fragment" is a piece of Holocaust poetry written by Miklos Radnoti, a victim of the Holocaust. His last pieces of poetry were found the the pocket of his coat when his body was exhumed from a mass grave.
Radnoti, Miklos. "Fragment." Art From the Ashes: A Holocaust Anthology. Ed. Lawrence L. Langer. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1995. 630. Print.
Summary: This poem is Radnoti painting the picture of the age of evil during which he writes this piece. He states how this is a time when men [Nazis] have a lust to kill. He writes about how backwards and wrong life is at this time in history. He uses imagery and figurative language to portray how his people have to endure the pain and repression being forced upon them by the Nazi regime. He gives the impression that the only avenue he has for his voice to be heard is through written word, for his people are squandered and squashed, in every aspect of the words, by such a disgraceful and vile force.
Complexity:
Quantitative- The poem is 211 words. The sentence/line length is pretty standard throughout the poem. There is technically a total of five sentences, however the definition of a sentence in the poetic realm is much different than standard writing. Each sentence is broken down into 5 lines in which thoughts are separated by commas. The readability of this poem differs from source to source in Story Tools, ranging from high school to college. The average calculated from the site stands at grade 14.3. From my own analysis I would say this text is quantitatively very accessible for high school students (my intended audience). It is a short read with only a few potential "struggle" words which would be introduced prior and during the reading.
Qualitative- While this text is short and accessible quantitatively, it proves to be a bit more difficult and in depth qualitatively. I would say that it is definitely late high school or college level material. It will provide just the right amount of struggle for my students to be engaged and actually learning, while reading this text. The content and meaning behind the written words of this poem is of an abstract nature. The poem requires analysis of the written words in order to understand the meaning and motive for the author in writing this poem. For example, the line "In such an age I dwelt on earth when the dumb poet must wait and hold his peace, hope for the day when he might find a Voice- for none could here pronounce the dark, demanded, verse but that Isaiah, master of the fitting curse" may cause a bit of difficulty in analyzing. The poetic words and meaning of this line are not direct but instead the reader has to read between the lines in order to apply it to the struggles the author endures. This text would best be read and dissected as a class, and not individually, in order for the students to best make sense of it.
Vocabulary- There are quite a few vocabulary words throughout this poem. Prior to reading the text as a class I will instruct my students on the definitions of these struggle words.
- Unbidden
- Stagger
- Bewildered
- Delusion
- Zeal
- Abhorred
- Pestilence
- Isaiah (contextual)
Task Complexity: I believe that if this text is read as a group with instructional support in analysis, it will meet the task of the student. It is meant to be a supportive text, to better grasp the "feel" of this time in history. The students will need to use any background information about the Holocaust in order to understand this text for its intended purpose. Prior to reading this supportive text, my students will have learned what the Holocaust was, who was affected, where and when it occurred, and how it was carried out. Without having an understanding of those concepts this piece of literature will prove pointless. This background knowledge provides the who, what, when, where, and why of the poem. It would help if students had an understanding about how to analyze poetry, but this can easily be supported by the instructor in class as the text is read aloud. After reading this poem and analyzing it as a class (with student participation and teacher lead instruction) students will come out with a better and more vivid understanding of what this time in history was like for those being persecuted. This text is meant to paint a picture of the Holocaust, to help students understand the persecution and pain that victims had to endure.
2) "Death Fugue" is a piece of Holocaust poetry written by Paul Celan.
Clean, Paul. "Death Fugue." Art From the Ashes: A Holocaust Anthology. Ed. Lawrence L. Langer. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1995. 601-602. Print.
