Photo Lesson Plans

I'm most excited about using this blog for these types of assignments.  This isn't just one "lesson plan."  I've been using Gerda Weissmann Klein's Academy Award Winning documentary short film for several years, which is sent out free of charge to teachers from Teaching Tolerance.  With the video comes a packet of "Primary Documents" which are reproduced pictures, patches, and posters and two books full of reproducible lesson extensions and teaching ideas with no copywright.  Because the primary documents are so small-  I haven't been able to use them in the past.  With between 30 to 40 kids in a class and 5 classes a day, I knew I'd be bound to lose one... or that I'd simply "lose" my class as they waited for the artifacts to make it around to their desks!

I took pictures of the artifacts I most wanted to share and either created, modified or used the lessons that came with the Teaching Tolerance "One Survivor Remembers" unit, and because of the blog, all the students will be able to get a closer glimpse into Gerda Weissmann Klein's life.

The first step in using these posts would be that as a class, we would watch "One Survivor Remembers."  Then, as we progress, I would assign these blog posts to the students for homework, or for work during class in the computer lab.   Right now, I only have 2 pages, one for my honors class and one for my general class.  As the school year gets closer and I find out my teaching assignments and hours, I plan on making a blog page for each hour I teach, which will make it easier for me to keep records of and score who has posted a comment.  I obviously wouldn't assign them all at once, but perhaps a few at a time for extensions that allow the students to make meaning and connections with the material they are learning about the Holocaust.

Some of the blog posts allow for students to complete the assignment by making a comment in the comment section.  Others allow the option of writing and turning in a "private" reflection. The following posts and assignments are the extensions and the primary documents I plan to use after viewing the movie.