Statement of Faith-based Teaching and Learning

As a person who finds great value in other cultures and others perspectives, I found it
essential to teach my students about the various perspectives surrounding and found within this
play. In each lesson plan, I asked students to consider Annes perspective and to determine how
they think that she felt and saw the world, and I also asked them to explain why they thought
what they did. Students were encouraged to consider and value various characters opinions and
beliefs regardless of whether or not the students beliefs were different than the characters. As a
Christian, I value diversity and I hope to encourage my students to do the same as part of Gods
plan for creation.
In order to help my students to connect to a story that took place during World War II, I
implemented activities that tied in the use of modern technology. I know that many of the
students rely heavily on technology on their day-to-day lives, and they would work smoothly and
be able to relate their lives with Annes well that way. Because The Diary of Anne Frank is a
story that is strongly rooted in historical background, I knew that my students may need
scaffolding that would allow them to connect with the text on a deeper level. By making use of
their love for technology, I was able to help the students to see how Annes self-expression might
look differently in modern-day times and to see how Annes method of self-expression
influenced what readers see when they read the text now.
In creating my unit, I worked to find ways that would encourage the students to see the
past as something that needs to be valued and that we should learn from it. I encouraged students
to see Annes story from varying perspectives in order to help them to see that there are many
different ways that one saw history both as it was happening and as it happened long after.
Because Annes story took place during an intense time (both emotionally and between peoples),

I sought to give my students the opportunity to express how they feel and to imagine how
varying groups of people felt as World War II took place. I think that its important to give
students the chance to develop emotionally while their minds are still forming. Its important to
give students the chance to examine their pasts as well as past historical events in order to
determine how they feel about various events to come both in their lives and in the world around
us.
In my unit, I also wanted to help my students to consider the morals of the people
presented in this story. I wanted to help them to think about whether or not they agreed with the
decisions that were made by both the main characters and the decisions that were made by those
in power above them. In particular, I wanted to focus on the characters desire to serve one
another, which is highlighted in Galatians 5:13, which says, You, my brothers and sisters, were
called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another
humbly in love. The Frank family kept giving to those in need regardless of their circumstances.
Even though this unit was taught at a public school, I found it to be crucial to emphasize how
caring and servant like the characters represented in this story had been because the ability to
care for those around us is an important character trait to develop at any point in history,
particularly in modern society as moral and civil issues continue to arise.