This is an 8th grade cross curricular (Language Arts and Social Studies) unit that focuses on the Holocaust and the personal account of Anne Frank as told through the play adaptation of her diary.   The use of Anne Frank’s story provides the students with her personal account of what life was like during the Nazi occupation of Holland during World War II.  Students are further encouraged to think about and examine other aspects of the Holocaust including the concentration camps, geography, and life after the war.  This is a four-week project that culminates with a Remembrance Wall and Socratic Seminar to bring all of the pieces of this project together.

Every Language Arts Standard of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards is used (reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing) along with several Social Studies Standards (civics, world history, and geography), and a Technology Standard (computer and information literacy). 

This unit is critical in building feelings of sensitivity, respect, and understanding for people of the Holocaust as well as those different from us.  Through examination of different aspects (railway cars, concentration camps, hiding, etc.) students are able to gain a better sense of what the Holocaust represents and why it must never be forgotten.

While the theme of this unit is mature in content, it is a part of the state of New Jersey’s Holocaust and Genocide curriculum.