Teacher:

Erin Beals

Subject: 8th Grade Social Studies

Lesson Topic: Genocide and the Holocaust

Common Core State Standards:

• Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence (CCSS.ELA-

Literacy.W.8.1)

Objective:

• Given definitions and examples of the eight stages of genocide throughout classroom

instruction, students will be able to identify the stage or stages of genocide unfolding

during specific historical events and justify their reasoning using evidence in 3-4 written

sentences.

Materials Needed:

-For the Instructor:

• PowerPoint Presentation for reminders, key components of the lesson and

pacing

• A projector to display a modified version of the PowerPoint

• Access to the internet to play video clips related to the content

-For the Students:

• A copy of Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night

• Pens/paper with which to take notes during instruction

• A copy of the lesson’s main assessment, a worksheet to be completed at the end

of the lesson
Instruction:

I. Introductory Activity/Anticipatory Set:

To begin the lesson, the instructor will open a PowerPoint presentation

designed for the lesson. The first few slides aid in the anticipatory set: An agree or

disagree activity. Each of the beginning slides will contain an intentionally vague

statement with which students will be asked to agree or disagree. Examples of these

statements to subtly introduce the content of the day’s lesson include “The law

should always be respected” and “When your boss asks you to do something, it is

your responsibility to make sure you always do it”. They will then turn to the person

sitting next to them and do a variation of the think-pair-share exercise and discuss

whether they agree or disagree with the statement on the projected PowerPoint

slide. This activity serves three purposes: Firstly, it eases students into the mindset

of the lesson in an engaging way that they can connect to personally because they

are being asked their opinion. Secondly, it makes steps toward meeting the standard

and objective of the lesson, as students will be asked to explain why they responded

the way they did when conversing with their peers about each statement, setting

the precedent that strong, acceptable responses must be coupled with justification.

Finally, it grabs students’ attention by engaging their curiosity as to why they are

doing this exercise and how it could be relevant to the day’s lesson.

II. Instructional Input:

• The instructor will then ask students to come to a stopping point after the last

statement is projected and announce that today’s lesson will cover genocide and
 the Holocaust. The instructor will hold off on explaining the introductory

exercise, as the goal is for students to reach the relevance of the activity to the

day’s lesson independently.

• The instructor will verbally present the agenda and the objective in addition to

then writing both on the board.

• The instructor will then briefly review information covered in past lessons

related to the social, political and cultural implications of World War II that is

essential for students to know before moving on to and understanding the

current day’s lesson.

• The instructor will then transition into a lecture of genocide and the Holocaust,

with the expectation that students are following along with the instructor’s

PowerPoint and taking notes that can be used later in guided and independent

practice.

• In the lecture, the instructor will cover the material needed to conduct guided

and independent practice: Etymology of the word genocide, when it was coined

and by whom, what the Evian Conference was advertised as versus what it

actually was and why it is critical to understanding how the progression of

genocide was allowed to continue to unfold and the eight recognized stages of

genocide (classification, symbolization, dehumanization, organization,

polarization, preparation, extermination and denial) with examples and

explanation of why each example is categorized the way it is to model what is

expected of the students.

 • The instructor will take any questions before moving on to the guided practice

portion of the lesson.

III. Guided Practice:

• Now that the students have the information needed to classify certain historical

events into stages of genocide, the instructor will practice this with them, with

an emphasis on encouraging students to justify their answers.

• The instructor will ask the students to read a short section of Night where

Wiesel’s family is experiencing life in the ghettos. Once given ample time to do

so, the students will be asked to discuss the section they have just read and what

stage or stages of genocide are present in the passage. The instructor will call on

several students and prompt them to provide reasoning and evidence as to why

they answered the way they did.

• The instructor will then play several short video clips of other personal accounts

of the Holocaust (one from the perspective of a Jewish person who is reacting to

the Nuremburg laws, one from the perspective of an individual recounting what

it was like being transported to the concentration camps in a cattle car and two

from the perspectives of two different individuals recounting different aspects of

life in the concentration camps). The decision to include personal accounts

rather than historical documents/videos was made to illustrate the victims and

survivors of the Holocaust as actual humans—something that is sadly done

poorly in most informational material on the subject—to instill the severity and

reality of the Holocaust to the students. After playing each clip, the class will
 again have a discussion on what stages of genocide are represented in each

personal account, again with an emphasis on explanation and evidence.

IV. Independent Practice:

• Now equipped with background information, several examples, and guided

practice, students are ready for independent practice. For independent practice,

students will complete a worksheet asking them to label different aspects of Nazi

Germany with the stage or stages of genocide that is or are perceptible. They will

then be prompted to write an evidence-based explanation of their reasoning in

3-4 sentences. As this is a lesson that has built off a prior Holocaust lesson,

students will also be asked to complete an exit ticket worksheet assessing their

comprehension of material covered during the two Holocaust lessons.

V. Closure:

• With a few minutes of class remaining, the instructor will:

o Review what was covered in the lesson

o Explain that if civilians can recognize the stages of genocide, it can be

stopped in its early stages before the perpetrators become too powerful

to stop, avoiding massive losses of life

o Re-emphasize the importance of backing up claims with reasoning (and

evidence, if possible)

o Take any questions as needed

Assessments:
• The instructor will informally assess students’ understanding based on the

questions they ask and the responses they give during instructional input and

guided practice. The instructor will formally assess students’ understanding and

abilities through the worksheets provided for independent practice. The

students will be assessed based on their ability to distinguish and identify stages

of genocide and persuasively defend their answer with logic and evidence.

Included at the bottom of this lesson plan are copies of the worksheets.






Name:



Check for Understanding Activity

Instructions: For each of the aspects listed that were characteristic of society in Nazi Germany,
name the stage of genocide in which it belongs. For reference and a reminder, the eight stages
of genocide are classification, symbolization, dehumanization, organization, polarization,
preparation, extermination and denial. Then, explain why you listed the stage/stages you did in
3-4 sentences using information covered in class to strengthen your argument. Note: As the
stages of genocide are not linear and can sometimes occur simultaneously, there may be more
than one acceptable answer.



 Aspect of Nazi Germany Stage of Genocide 3-4 Sentence Explanation

Nuremburg Laws

Mandatory Display of the

Star of David on Clothing
Kristallnacht

The Final Solution Plan

 Anti-Jewish Propaganda


Name:
Recap Activity


1.) Who coined the term “genocide”?
a. Elie Wiesel
b. Oskar Schindler
c. Raphael Lemkin
d. Eva Kor


2.) True or False: Genocide happens too quickly before anything can be done to stop it.



3.) True or False: Civilians can help prevent genocide from simply treating everyone with
respect and as though they are worthy of basic human rights to protesting government
actions.



4.) What was the purpose of the Evian Conference? What was the actual result?













5.) What surprised you the most from today’s lesson that you didn’t already know
previously?