Lesson Plan - Surviving the Holocaust

Build Background Knowledge

Before reading the article, create an enlarged KWL chart on a whiteboard or chart paper. Invite students to engage in a collaborative discussion by sharing what they know about the Holocaust (K column), what they want to know about the Holocaust (W column), and, after reading the article, some facts that they learned (L column).

Preview Vocabulary

Use the skill builder Words to Know to preteach the domain-specific terms Allied, atrocity, Axis, barracks, citizenship, concentration camp, ghetto, Holocaust, Nazi, persecute, prejudice, and regime. Have students refer to the skill builder as they read. 

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently or in pairs. As students read, direct them to circle or highlight any words whose meanings they are unsure of. 

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion. 

• Describe the mood of paragraphs 3-9. Identify word choice that helps achieve the mood. Then explain why the author chose to begin the article this way. (Word Choice) 
The mood of paragraphs 3-9 is tense, dangerous, desperate, and suspenseful. Word choice that helps achieve this mood includes: “shoved,” “barely surviving,” “just as dangerous,” “she could be killed,” “tears gushing,” “embraced her mother one last time,” and “not daring to look back.” The author probably chose to begin the article this way to hook readers and to help them imagine some of the emotions that Janine Binder Oberrotman may have been feeling at this life-changing moment.

• Summarize the section “Hitler’s Rise.” (Summarizing) 
Adolf Hitler, head of the Nazi Party, took power in Germany in 1933, when Janine was a child. Hitler gained support by tapping into existing prejudice against Jewish people. His government stripped away many of the rights of Germany’s Jewish citizens. Hitler’s army invaded Poland in 1939, sparking 

World War II. Antisemitism continued to spread as the Nazis took control of much of Europe. The Nazis ordered millions of Jewish people across Europe to be sent to ghettos and concentration camps. The ghettos were a way to isolate and punish Jewish people. Concentration camps were prisons or places of forced labor. Some were set up to systematically murder Jewish people.

• What is antisemitism? Explain how it helped strengthen the Nazi empire. (Key Details) Antisemitism is prejudice against Jewish people. 
Hitler and the Nazis used existing antisemitism to strengthen their influence and grow their empire. They blamed major problems on Jewish people and encouraged non-Jewish people to turn against them. Growing antisemitism eventually led to the Nazis imprisoning and murdering millions of Jewish people.

• Identify similarities and differences between ghettos and concentration camps. (Compare and Contrast) 
Ghettos were built by the Nazis to isolate Jewish people before they were sent to concentration camps. In ghettos, people often lived in cramped apartments in fenced-off sections of cities. In concentration camps, Jewish people were imprisoned and forced to work long hours. Many of them were systematically killed. In both ghettos and concentration camps, Jewish people endured harsh living conditions, had little or no access to food, and faced constant threats of violence and death.

• Use text evidence to support the idea that hiding was a survival strategy used by Jewish people during the Holocaust. (Text Evidence) 
Many Jewish people hid in order to avoid being captured, imprisoned, and killed by Nazis during the Holocaust. Jewish prisoners in ghettos hid from the Nazis during roundups to avoid being sent to concentration camps. The text states, “During the roundups, they hid in attics and closets.” Many Jewish people also hid their true identities by pretending they were not Jewish. The text states, “The papers identified her as a Catholic person, which gave her a better chance of not being rounded up.”

• How does the sidebar “My Friend, Janine” support the article? (Text Features) 
The sidebar supports the article because it describes how Oberrotman shares her story with others at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. She describes her experiences to visitors and emphasizes the dangers of injustice and prejudice. The sidebar also shows how her story has inspired a teen, Dhilan Stanley, to spread awareness about the Holocaust. 

• Paraphrase the quote: “Through her words, the horrors of the war are not forgotten.” (Paraphrasing) 
This quote means that when Oberrotman shares her story with others, she teaches them about a tragic time in history so that it will be remembered. She helps people understand the danger, violence, pain, and suffering that Jewish people endured during the Holocaust. She hopes such understanding will encourage people to help prevent something like the Holocaust from happening again.

Watch and Discuss a Video 

Direct students to view “An Introduction to the Holocaust” at junior.scholastic.com. Then have students answer these questions: Why is it important to learn about the Holocaust? How can prejudice be dangerous? 

Your Turn: Analyze a Photo 

Direct students to the “Your Turn” prompt at the end of the article. Encourage students to select a photograph, analyze the mood of the photograph, and explain how the photograph helps them understand the Holocaust.

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms. You can also use the Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and three others from the issue.