Night



Essential Questions //How does interaction with text provoke thinking and response?// //How does the use of figurative language and rhetorical devices work to create author purpose?// //What does it mean to bear witness?//

Bearing Witness // To bear witness means to testify to a truth. In the context of the Holocaust in Europe during WWII, bearing witness means to assert or testify to the events of the Jewish Holocaust to honor the memory of those who died as well as those who survived and to ensure it does not happen again. //

Throughout the coming weeks, we are going to bear witness to those events through research and through the eyes of a survivor: Elie Wiesel.

**Pre-Reading** 1. Each of you will choose one of the following topics to conduct research. Topics can only be researched by one person in the class and will be first-come, first-serve, so once you know what you want, ask quickly.
 * Step 1: Research **


 * = Adolf Hitler ||= Nazism ||= Joseph Goebbles ||
 * = Heinrich Hindler ||= Treaty of Versailles ||= Nuremberg Race Laws ||
 * = Dictators in Europe during WWII ||=  ||= Propaganda used in Nazi Germany ||
 * = SS ( Schutzstaffel)  ||= Kristallnacht ||= Final Solution ||
 * = Concentration Camps in Nazi Germany ||= Global Depression of the 1930s ||= liberation of concentration camps at the end of WWII ||
 * = Hitler Youth ||= Judaism ||= Third Reich ||
 * = ghettos in Nazi Germany ||= medical experiments in Nazi Germany ||= Creation of United Nations and the state of Israel ||
 * = anti-semitism ||= Nuremberg Trials ||= Holocaust denial ||
 * =  ||= Pop culture references to the Holocaust ||=   ||

2. As you research, fill out the form below: Pages format Word format

With your research, we are going to create an interactive timeline. In order for this to be successful for the entire class, everyone must submit their research in the following format:
 * Step 2: Timeline **

1. Click on the Interactive Timeline link FOR YOUR CLASS PERIOD. This will take you to a form for you to enter your research. YOU WILL NEED TO SUBMIT THIS FORM ONCE FOR EVERY DATE OF IMPORTANCE. 1st period 3rd period

Reading the Book In this unit, we will be studying the Holocaust through Elie Wiesel's memoir, __Night__. Study Guide:

Culminating Activity

// Working in groups no larger than five, you will create the following: //

__A slideshow presentation__ (using Keynote, PowerPoint, Prezi, or some other slideshow application) that explores contributing factors to the events of the Holocaust.
 * use your individual research to discuss and formulate a thesis.
 * use your individual research (timelines) to support your thesis.
 * find graphics, visual or audio, to illustrate your evidence.
 * create a bibliography of your sources following the MLA format.
 * deliver the speech as a group.

__A newspaper__ that reviews Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night.
 * discuss whether or not it is a good book and why. Give specific reasons and evidence from the book.
 * compose a 4 paragraph article that explains your group’s opinion in an organized, eloquent way.
 * use a template from Word or Pages to publish your article in a newspaper format.
 * add appropriate pictures with the article.
 * include extras like the weather, sports, other headlines, etc. that you would normally find in a newspaper.
 * you may wish to set the newspaper in the present day or during WWII.

__A creative component__ that bears witness to the Holocaust. Using the strengths of members in your group, create a visual or audio representation of the Holocaust. Past students have chosen types of the following:
 * videos that re-enact important scenes from the memoir.
 * picture montages set to music of pictures from the Holocaust.
 * self-written poetry
 * recreations of journals of Holocaust victims/survivors.
 * recreations of meals of camp prisoners.
 * hand-drawn or painted posters of important historical events or scenes from the memoir.
 * self-composed songs that focus on a theme or story from the Holocaust.
 * a diaroma of an important scene from the memoir or historic event.

You do not have to choose from this list; if you have another idea, ask for permission before working on it.