Curriculum and Personal Connections

As a teacher I know that there are many different lessons that could be planned on the Holocaust. Due to the nature of the topic I feel that it is more appropriate for the older kids, however there are many aspects from the Holocaust that can be taught to all children.

For younger children (grade 4) I would have the children read exerpts from The Diary of Anne Frank. We would have an open class discusion on the story and then I would ask the students to do their own diary entries. Indiana's Academic Reading Standards 4.3.3, 4.3.9, 4.4.2, 4.5.6, 4.5.7, 4.6.4, 4.6.5 are accomplished through this activity.

For the older children (grade 8) I would do more of a project. I would have the children research a specific part of the Holocaust using different types of sources and have them present their findings to the class. Indiana's Academic Social Studies Standards 8.1.27, 8.1.28, 8.1.29, 8.1.30, 8.1.31 are accomplished through this activity.

Before starting this project I thought I am going to find the information I need, put together what needs to be done, and finish the project. I looked more at this project as one more thing to do on my checklist instead of looking at it as a learning experience. I am happy to say that throughout the process of this project I feel that I have grown as a learner. I enjoyed looking for information on this topic and kept thinking of more things that I could be looking for or what else could I do with the information I had found. I hope to share all of my findings with my sister, as she teaches high school history and any other people who are interested in this topic. Thank you for assigning this project Dr. Lamb! It really helped me grow as a student and learner!