Lesson 3

Instructor: Ann Robertson

Title: The Holocaust
Grade Level: 6th grade

Area: Social Studies

Date: Wednesday Day 3
Estimated Time: 60 minutes

Standards Connection:
Al. 6.) Identify causes and consequences of World War II and reasons for the United
States entry into the way.
Identifying key figures of World War II, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sir
Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Benito
Mussolini, Michinomiya Hirohito, and Hideki Tojo
Describing human costs associated with World War II
Examples: the Holocaust, civilian and military casualties
Learning Objective:
When given an exit slip, students will describe three ways unity among the Nazis has
strengthened under a leader named Adolf Hitler with a green rating.
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
Today, class, you will be filling out another exit slip but this time it will discuss how
unity is strengthened because a leader rises up.
Evaluation of Learning Goal:

The exit slip will need to be completed about the lesson for the day, involving
topics such as Hitler as a leader of Nazis, Hitler Youth, Propoganda, Kristallnacht,
etc
The teacher will decide if they student is green, yellow, or red based on
understanding. Green means they understand, yellow means they have some
misconceptions, and red means they have no understanding at all.
In order to get a green rating, students will need to have 3 accurate statements
about how unification of the Nazis was strengthening. In order to be in the yellow
category, students will have 1-2 accurate statements about how unification of the
Nazis was strengthening under a leader. In order to be in the red category, students
will need to have no accurate statements about how unification of the Nazis was
strengthening under a leader.
Engagement:
All right class. Lets take a seat in our desks. What were some of your predictions of what
the word Aryan means? Any ideas? Teacher will let the students guess some ideas. Hm

those are some good guesses. Teacher will put picture of baby up on the PowerPoint.
Now, what would you observe about this baby? Lets do a See, Think, Wonder activity.
On the board I have written See, Think, and Wonder in big black letters. What do you see
visually in this picture? Dont tell me what you think about it. I just want to know what
you simply see with your eyes. What does the baby look like? Okay, the baby is cute. The
baby has a round head. The baby looks like its happy. Teacher will get about ten or so
observations under the See section. Okay, what does this picture make you think about?
What conclusions do you think you could draw about this baby? Okay, maybe this baby
has parents that are Nazis. Okay what else? Okay, this baby eats well and lives a healthy
lifestyle. I like your thinking. Teacher will write down about ten statements under the
Think category. Lastly, what does this picture make you wonder about? Okay, it makes
you wonder who this baby is. It makes you wonder where this baby is from. Hmm
Teacher will write down about ten statements under the Wonder category. Great
thinking, class. I like how you were thinking out of the box.
Would you think this baby is considered perfect? Why or why not? Teacher will listen to
about 3 students answer the question and explain their thinking. Teacher will transition to
teaching.
Learning Design:
I. Teaching:
So what makes something perfect? Teacher will write the word perfect on the white board
and write student responses on the board underneath. Teacher will let students respond
with all their ideas of what they think makes something perfect and what are some
examples of things that are perfect. Okay, Jenny. You think the word perfect means
without flaw. Anyone else? All right, James. You think perfect means exactly the way
something should be. What are some ideas of things that are perfect? A perfect square.
Okay, what else? Okay, Jimmy you think there really isnt anything thats perfect because
people, places, and things all make mistakes and have things that mess up? Great
thoughts, class.
So we have this word perfect What if I told you there was a man who wanted to
create a race of people that was completely perfect? He wanted them to look a certain
way and be completely perfect. What would you think about that? You would think its
impossible? Hm Lets go ahead and get out our note-taking guides. Teacher will allow
students to get out their note-taking guides. Well, a man named Adolf Hitler wanted to
create the perfect people group. These people were called Aryans. An Aryan according to
Hitler was the purest form of a person. Does anyone want to guess what color hair they
had? No, it wasnt black or brown. It was blonde. Does anyone want to guess what color
eyes they had? Not brown. Actually blue. They had blue eyes and blonde hair. They are
the pure Germans and the pure Northern Europeans. He wanted to wipe out anyone else,
so that he could have his master race. Close your eyes and imagine a world with only
one type of person. Every single person, woman and man has blue eyes and blonde hair.
Imagine how the malls would look. Imagine how the schools would look. Imagine what a
huge football game would look like. Okay now open your eyes. What do you guys think

about that? Turn and talk to your partner about Hitlers plan to make the perfect Aryan
race.
So what about this baby? Some of you said this baby was perfect and some did not?
Well, according to the Nazis it was a perfect Aryan baby. This baby was supposed to
represent the perfect Aryan baby. There was an add put out by the Nazis for a contest to
find the perfect Aryan baby, and this baby won. This baby was published all over to
spread the idea of the perfect Aryan race. Next slide. Lets go ahead and get down some
things about Aryans in our notes. So what do you think this means for everyone else that
wasnt part of the Aryan race? How will he get rid of them all? What are your
predictions? You think he will kill everyone else, Jack? And you think the Nazis will move
everyone out of the country, Carol? Hm.. lets learn a little bit more about Hitler and who
exactly he was. Next Slide.
Hitler started out as a jobless soldier just drifting around Germany. He wasnt born the
leader of the Nazis, and he wasnt born with power. He was simply just a soldier. He
decided to join the National Socialist German Workers Party. Does anyone remember
what that was? Right. Its the Nazis. So he joined them and what do you think happened?
Thats right. People liked him and he had a lot of good ideas. He eventually became their
leader. What do you think it took for Hitler to become their leader? Do you think
everyone agreed with the way he thought? Thats good thinking. Hitler gained a lot of
power and took over Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium,
Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Norway. Lets see if we can find
all those on our world map. Teacher will pull down world map. Jack, will you come try
and find Austria in this general area (teacher will show a general area near Austria).
Good job. Put this little sticky note on Austria. You can tear it if you need to make it
smaller. Fred, will you come do the same for Czechoslovakia. Nicely done. Carol, will
you come put a sticky note on Poland. Teacher will do this for all the countries that Hitler
is taking over. So lets look at all of this area. That is a lot of area that Hitler took over by
the end of the entire Holocaust. Do you think someone could take over this much land
today? Do you think there is a leader today that is capable of that much power? Teacher
will listen to a few answers. So remember yesterday when we talked about the Nazis
blaming the Jews for Germanys defeat in World War I and for the economic problems
that followed? Well, Adolf Hitler agreed with this idea and took it to the extreme. He
spearheaded that idea and wanted to spread it farther. Why do you think people might
turn to Hitler as their leader? Really think about this. Why would so many Germans
choose to follow a man like this? Maybe because he was nice on the outside so people
liked him, Carol? Okay. Maybe because they wanted someone to blame too, Jack? Next
slide. A lot of people turned to Hitler because they were desperate. They needed someone
to lead them and get them out of their economic problems. Hitler promised that he would
help them, and they believed him. People also had prejudices towards the Jews, so it was
easier to listen to Hitler and follow him. A third reason people followed him was simply
his charm. He was an accomplished speaker, he presented himself well, made his
speeches a spectacle with banners, costumes, and scenery. People were attracted to the
power and the way he handled the power. Do you think people do that today? Follow a
leader because he is charming and a good speaker? Do you think that happens in our
presidential races? Turn and talk to your table about that. Teacher will give students
about two minutes to talk. So we have this weird word lebensraum. Everyone say

lebensraum. That is living space. It kind of sounds the same doesnt it? Make sure you
are getting this down in your notes, class. It is very important. So Hitler believed in
creating this living space, lebensraum, to make room for his perfect race. What did we
say the perfect race was again? Thats right. Aryan. Hitler promoted all kinds of
Germans to follow his ideas. He even believed that children should join the Nazis as
young as 10 years old. Thats younger than you all! Can you imagine joining something
like this as young as 10 years old? What do you all think about that? That would be
pretty crazy, Sam. So lets play true or false. Im going to have some quotes up on the
screen. You tell me if Hitler said these quotes or not. If you believe he did then give me a
thumbs up for true. If you dont think Hitler said these quotes, then give me a thumbs
down. Any questions? If you dont know then just take a guess! Next Slide. Okay, Great
liars are also great magicians. Give me your thumbs. Okay that was Hitler! What do
you think this quote means? Okay, James. Yeah it could mean that in order to lie you
have to make things not appear as they seem. Thats a great way to put it. I think it means
that too. Like if you lie to someone, you have to pull out all the tricks to make them
believe what you are doing is real. Do you think Hitler was doing that? Yes, I think he
was. Okay next quote. Next Slide. The best way to predict the future is to create it.
Give me your thumbs. Okay, this quote was actually said by Abraham Lincoln! Next
Slide. The future belongs to those who prepare for it today. Give me your thumbs.
Okay, everyone ready? This quote was actually said by Malcolm X. Interesting. Why did
you guys with your thumbs up think it was Hitler? Oh because he was doing a lot by
taking over countries to prepare for the future and create space for his perfect race? I
like your thinking. Next Slide. If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough,
it will be believed. Thumbs! This was said by Hitler! Someone explain why you think he
said this? Maybe he was getting people to believe his crazy ideas and that was the way
he thought of it? Okay, maybe. All right last quote. Next Slide. Those who want to live,
let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not
deserve to live. Thumbs! Hmm Hitler said this one too. What do you think he might by
this? Someone explain this quote. Okay, you think maybe he was talking about the Jews?
Anyone else? Maybe he was talking about people in general should fight for their lives?
Okay good thinking. So this was a little insight into Hitler and who he was. What do you
all think about Hitler so far? Do you think he was a good person? Do you think he was a
good leader? Its interesting to think about. Students will debrief with teacher about
Hitler for a minute.
So all this hatred came together under this leader named Hitler, and it started turning
into small actions that limited the Jews. Little by little they started taking things away
from them. Does anyone have any ideas what Hitler took away at the beginning stages of
the Holocaust? Jack? Their cars? Any other ideas? Their houses, Carol? Next slide.
They started off with their businesses. The Nazis boycotted any shops that were owned by
Jews. Who knows what boycott means? Thats right, Carol. It means to protest something
to prove a point. Good thinking. Fred, will you go look up the word boycott in the
dictionary and read the definition out loud to the class? While Fred is doing that are
there any questions about the notes? Things that you didnt get down? Okay, read it for
us Fred. Student will read the definition of boycott out loud to the class. Imagine if all of
a sudden people started boycotting your shop that you owned for no reason other than
you were Jewish. The Nazis spread bad rumors about the shops and refused to get

services from anyone that was Jewish. So after the boycotts, the Nazis actually took away
the rights for any Jewish workers or managers to work in their jobs. Ownership of
Jewish businesses fell to the hands of Non-Jewish Germans. Just like that, the rights of
the Jews began to be taken away. Also, Jewish Doctors couldnt treat non-Jews and
Jewish Lawyers were not allowed to practice law. How would you feel if that happened to
you? If someone walked into where your parents worked and told them they couldnt
work there simply because of who they were. How would it make you feel? Jack? Sad?
Angry, Carol? Those are good words to describe it. Next slide. Here are some pictures of
the boycotting of shops. Lets look back at our big idea of the day. So unification of the
Nazis strengthened because they now had a leader. They could make things like
boycotting Jewish shops happen. They had more power to do these things now that they
had a leader.
Nazis would right Jude with the Star of David on the windows and walls of shops owned
by Jews. What do you think Jude means? Any guesses? Thats right, Teresa. It means Jew.
Next slide. Next came the Nuremberg Laws. Everyone say Nuremberg Laws. These laws
stripped the Jews from two rights. How many? Thats right two. The first was they
werent allowed to have a citizenship anymore. The Reich was the government at the
time, and the Jews werent allowed to call themselves citizens of it. Thats like someone
telling you that you werent allowed to be a citizen of The United States anymore! The
second right it took away was, Carol will you read that last bullet for me? Yes, it said that
Jews couldnt marry Non-Jews. Wow! How do you think that made them feel now that
more of their rights are taken away? A lot more angry, Franklin? Yes, I bet. I would be
angry, too. Has anyone heard of the Star of David? Raise your hand if you have. Next
slide. The Star of David had to be worn by every Jews. It was a yellow star with the word
Jude on it. What did we say the word Jude meant? Thats right. It means Jew. So they had
to wear this star in order to label themselves as Jews. Next Slide. Here is a picture of an
example of the yellow star that Jews wore. I have with me an actual star worn by an
actual Jew during this time. We have to be very careful when we pass it around because it
is delicate. A man I met at a conference donated this to me. He knew I was a teacher, and
he wanted to share a piece of history with me and all my classes. Get a good look at the
star. Imagine having to wear that all the time to label who you are. You all might have a
different label for who you are, but you would have to wear a star all the time on your
clothes. Students will pass around star. Are there any questions? Why didnt they just take
them off? If they got caught not wearing the star and they were a Jew, then they got in big
trouble with the Nazis.
So do you think all of these little rules and regulations strengthened the Nazis power?
Turn and talk to your partner about why you think it did or not. Teacher will give
students a couple minutes to talk. Share some of your thoughts. You do think that it
strengthened their power, Jimmy? Why? Because it made the Jewish people seem lower
than the Nazis? Good thinking. Any other ideas? Because they came together to make
these rules, and they were powerful over the Jews, Carol. I like your thinking. So lets go
back to our essential question for this unit. Teacher points to the board. During the
Holocaust, how does unity strengthen through prejudice by a shared view, a leader, and
action? Does anyone see the connection? So, youre saying Franklin, that the Nazis
came together and unified to be prejudice against the Jews? I like that thinking. Any
other ideas? So they are wrongly accusing the Jews for something they didnt do and

because of that the Nazis feel strength together? Wow, you are really making some good
ideas flow in this classroom, class.
Do you think the Nazis would have been as powerful without their leader? I want to do
an activity with you all to show you how the Nazis were further unified because of their
leader. They could get a lot more done because they had a leader. I want you to get in
your reading groups. I am giving you a pack of 100 index cards and a strip of tape. Your
goal is to build something that will support this heavy block for at least ten seconds.
Whatever you build has to at least be as tall as this meter stick. You will have 10 minutes
to complete the activity. You cannot test the block out though, only I can have the block.
You may use the meter stick to measure during your 15 minutes though. Teacher will pass
out all the necessary tools. You may begin. The teacher will join one group and tell them
that their group is special and that they get the inside scoop of how this can be done. She
will show them exactly how to build the tower tall enough and with enough support. She
will even get to test it because the teacher is allowed to have the block. She will also get
to use extra supports like books that the other children dont get to use. Once the time is
complete. All right lets test everyones towers. The teacher will test each tower with her
heavy block to see if it balances for at least ten seconds. Most towers should fall down.
Some might stay up. The group who had the teachers help should definitely stand up
because they have tested it and have other supports and had the teacher telling them
exactly how it was supposed to be done. The children should be talking about how it isnt
fair that the teacher helped their group.
All right, class. Lets come to the carpet and debrief. What did you notice about this
activity? That I helped Kates group? Is that why we won was because I helped them and
we came together to make it happen? Do you think they could have done it without me?
What else did you notice? That I had extra supports that you werent allowed to use?
That I got to test the block out and the rest of you didnt? Let me ask you something. Did
that make you want to be in my group, so that you could win and get the piece of candy at
the end? It did? How do you think these ideas connect with Hitler? Maybe he was the
leader who had all the answers and supports and knew what he was doing? Do you think
people wanted to be part of that? Do you think people were desperate and were looking
for a leader to help them? Do you think they believed everything he said because he
helped them? Hmm What about the unification of the Nazis? Do you think their bond
was stronger because they now had a leader who represented them and helped them do
something about their hatred for Jews? Turn and talk to your buddy about this idea.
Teacher will give students a few minutes to discuss these ideas with their partners.
Lets go ahead and head back to our desks to finish up our note packets for the day.
Teacher lets students return to seats and get settled. So who can tell me what the word
Propaganda means? Any ideas? Lets see if we can figure it out by this quote. Next slide.
So Adolf Hitler said Propaganda works on the general public from the standpoint of an
idea and makes them ripe for the victory of this idea. What do we think this might
mean? Lets see what propaganda is first, and then we can return back to this quote. Next
slide. So propaganda is information that is misleading used to promote and publicize a
political cause or point of view. Can anyone explain this in their own words? Good job,
Teresa. So it is something used to get a point across to people that might be really biased.
Make sure you get that down in your notes. How do you think the Nazis did this? Any
ideas? Hmm Do you think they used art, music, theater, films, books, etc to spread the

message that they were powerful. Do you think people believed this? Do you think that
made them stronger? Hitler and the Nazis lied about a lot of things concerning the Jews,
but a lot of people believed them because the propaganda was so believable. The hatred
of Jews spread even further because of this propaganda. So lets go back to the quote. Go
back a slide. Lets turn and talk to our partners about what we think this quote might
mean. Teacher allows students to discuss with their partners. All right what are some
ideas? Maybe that propaganda opens up the door for an idea to get across? Thats good
thinking. Who else? Jack? Okay, so a message of hatred for the Jews is spread and more
people believe it because of the propaganda? I like the way you are thinking. So lets look
at some examples of propaganda. Change slide. Change slide. What do you see? Who is
that man? What does he look like he is doing? Does he look powerful? What do you think
he is feeling? Teacher asks questions about the poster and lets the children respond
accordingly. Next slide. What about this picture? What is the man? What race do you
think he is? How is he depicted? What does it make you wonder? We are going to listen
to a song that spread the ideas of Nazis. Songs were a form of propaganda as well. Next
slide. Teacher will play song along with video, which has visuals of propaganda. Do you
think this propaganda is effective for spreading the ideas of the Nazis? Do you think the
Nazis unity grew stronger because of this propaganda? Wow, these are some great
thoughts. Teacher will transition to practice.

I.

Opportunity for Practice:

Now that we have learned more about the Holocaust, Hitler, and the rights that are
being taken away from the Jews, we are going to make our very own newspaper articles
for the times. You are a writer for a newspaper. You will need to pick something we have
learned today and create a catchy headline for it. You will then need to write a
newspaper article about the event or an issue that is going on. You can take any side you
want. Lets make an example together before we do them individually. My headline is
Put a Stop to Jewish Shops! I am going to take the stance of a newspaper writer who
has just heard news about the boycotting of the Jewish shops. I am not a Nazi. I am just a
reporter. I am not biased. What are some of things I will say in my article? Okay, Jimmy.
I would talk about how Nazis are refusing to go to shops owned by Jewish people. All
right. I am going to write my newspaper article on the board. Help me right it as we go.
Teacher will write on the board, prompting the children to add on. So let me start with the
beginning. Breaking News! Nazis are no longer going to shops that are owned by Jews.
It doesnt matter if they need to service or want to go there, they are boycotting it.
Boycotting is when you refuse to take part in something in order to prove a point. The
Nazis have decided to boycott the Jewish shops. The whole town wants to know what will
happen next? Will they do something more like take away the shops completely from
them? We will have to find out tomorrow. You are just picking something that we talked
about today. Pick one topic that happened and report on that topic. You need to make
sure there are facts in there. Are there any questions? You may go ahead and start.

Teacher will allow for time to complete then transition to Assessment.

III. Assessment:
Okay, class. Come on to the carpet so we can fill out our exit slips. We have learned a lot
today, and I would like for you to show all that you have learned on your exit slip. We
talked about how the unification of the Nazis strengthened because they now have a
leader named Hitler. I want you to write down three ways you know their unification of
their prejudice towards Jews has strengthened since what we talked about yesterday.
Think of all the events we discussed today and what the Nazis were doing. Think about
their leader. We want to do our best to answer our essential question, and having a
leader is one part of answering that question. Teacher will point to essential question.
Teacher will allow children time to fill out exit slip. All right, lets pass up our exit slips.
IV. Closure
Who can tell me what they learned today? Jack, you learned that Hitler was the leader of
the Nazis? Who else? What else did we learn? Carol, you learned that propaganda can
come in all different forms including art and music? What else? Teresa you learned that
the Nazis grew stronger and they put rules that took away the rights of the Jews? These
are all really great thoughts. So what did you write on your exit slips? How did unity
occur through prejudice when a leader took over? The Nazis unified even more and grew
in numbers because of Hitler and propaganda? Thats great thinking. You all are
amazing listeners. Thank you for listening all day long. The following questions are
going to be for homework tonight on our blog. Dont forge to reflect online tonight! What
are your thoughts from the day? What do you think about Hitler? Do you think he is a
good leader or not? Do you think propaganda has a lot to do with how the Holocaust
spread? How did unification occur through prejudice during this time? All right. Thank
you for being such great listeners, you may head out to recess!
Content and Resources:
Index cards
Tape
Heavy Block
Timer
World Map
Jude Star
Propaganda Song
Hitler Quotes
Propaganda song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZBqwaB_FY0
Graphic Organizer Note Packet
Poster Worksheet
Newspaper Writer Worksheet
Holocaust Reflection Journals

Extensions and /or Accommodations:

Extension:
Choose from a choice board of extension activities.
Re-teaching
Students will have a filled out copy of note-taking graphic organizer with further
explained details. The teacher will go over the packet with the student that needs
to be taught again.
Individual Learning Plans
Will be followed as it is written for the specific needs of that child.