Notes: All documents are separate files. Their titles are boldfaced in the plans to make them easier to locate. In most cases you will need to refer to The Core Six for background information and directions about how to complete activities. Information about using double-entry diaries can be found in the Tovani texts.
Surviving Hitler = SH.
Tell Them We Remember = TTWR.
A class period is approximately 50 minutes. Time requirements are estimates.

Before starting to read Surviving Hitler or even learning the title of the book…

Learners will work in small groups to complete Ch.1 Inductive Learning Exercise:
1) Sort terms from SH Ch.1 into categories.
2) Make predictions about the book based on the terms and categories. Consider: genre, setting, characters, conflict.

(See Ch. 3 and Sample Lesson 1 on pp.10-11 of The Core Six.)

Learners will read the “Introduction” and chapter one “Rumors of War, 1939” of Surviving Hitler by Andrea Warren.
Learners will complete the Ch.1 Support-Refute Table, gathering evidence from the book that both substantiates and discredits the predictions they made during the inductive learning exercise.

Teacher choice whether students work alone, in pairs, or in small groups. Or you may choose to construct this table as a class with input from the students. I often allow students to work in pairs or triads, especially when the learning is unfamiliar or particularly rigorous. As students become more practiced at discerning evidence from the text, they ought to be held accountable for performing this skill with greater independence. Scaffold the activity as needed for your learners. Provide feedback./Allow students to check their work.

Note: Although I have provided a Ch.1 Support-Refute Table KEY, my advice is to use it as an example. Structure your table with the predictions that your students generate from their work in the Inductive Learning Exercise and adapt your answer key as needed.

Learners will read Chapters 2 & 3 of SH.
Learners will complete the Chs.2&3 Support-Refute Table, gathering evidence from the book that both substantiates and discredits the statements on the table. Scaffold as needed. Provide feedback./Allow students to check their work. See Chs.2&3 Support-Refute Table KEY.

Note: I provided the statements on this table because these were ideas that I wanted students to investigate. Feel free to change these however you wish.

Teach a lesson that compares & contrasts the lives of Jews in Europe before WWI. Use Chs.1-3 East v West European Jews KEY as your guide. Working with students, create a “Top Hat” graphic organizer using notebook paper. (See The Core Six, p.18, Figure 2.1.)

Use these texts to gather details to compare & contrast:
1) Read “Jewish Life in Europe Before the Holocaust” from TTWR pp.2-5.
2) Review Chs.1-3 SH looking for descriptions of Jack’s family’s life in Gdynia v how Jack’s grandfather and uncle (and their neighbors) lived in eastern Poland.

When students tables are finished, pose this question for pondering, discussion, and further consideration while reading:
How might the differences between the lifestyles of Western and Eastern Jews matter once the Nazis target them for murder?

Every time I teach the Holocaust a student asks, “Why did Hitler (or the Nazis) hate the Jews?”
This is an important question. The Holocaust would not have happened in an environment free of pervasive antisemitism. Hitler—and the Nazi Party—could not have carried out their goal to make Germany “Judenrein” without the support of the general public and the help of many collaborators.

Therefore, it is important to address two big questions:
1) What is antisemitism and why is it wrong?
2) Can we learn about Jews and their religious traditions, cultivating attitudes of respect and appreciation?

I have not written a lesson plan to address these questions. I leave it to you to know your community and develop your own approach to this topic. Instruction about Jewish culture and religious observance can be woven into instruction of SH. But addressing antisemitism is worthy of its own lesson.

Antisemitism resources:
US Department of State. Definition of Antisemitism.  https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism/.
USHMM. What Is Antisemitism. https://www.ushmm.org/antisemitism/what-is-antisemitism.
Facing History & Ourselves. https://www.facinghistory.org/search?keys=antisemitism.
ADL (Anti-Defamation League). https://www.adl.org/what-we-do/fight-antisemitism. See also the “Resources” tab.

Resources on Jewish traditions:
American Jewish Committee (AJC). A Short Guide to Jewish Religion and Culture.
https://www.ajc.org/news/a-short-guide-to-jewish-religion-and-culture
CEPOL. A Practical Guide to Judaism.
https://www.cepol.europa.eu/api/assets/Guide_to_Judaism_EN.pdf
Pew Research Center. Jewish Americans in 2020.
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/jewish-americans-in-2020/

Learners will read Chapters 4 & 5 of SH.
Suggested companion text: Chapters from TTWR: pp. 38-40 and 46-61.

Learners will complete the Chs.4&5 Process Chart, gathering evidence from the book.

The goal of this lesson is 1) to have students identify a series of events that happened to Jack’s family, and 2) to learn that these events were typical. The Nazis used a common process—with variations for particular circumstances—to consolidate Jews, sort or separate them, transport them, then murder them immediately or kill them slowly through slave labor. Scaffold the assignment as needed. Provide feedback./Allow students to check their work. See Chs.4&5 Process Chart KEY.

Learners will read Chapters 6 & 7 of SH.

By this point, my students were generally hooked by the book. They really just wanted to be left alone to read. However, there were important ideas that I wanted to make sure they understood. Therefore, I constructed a Double-Entry Diary (DED) called Chs.6&7 Reading Guide that has questions on the left side and note-taking space on the right side. The answers can be found in SH, but students will need to read carefully, looking for evidence and making inferences as they read. When finished, provide feedback./Allow students to check their work. See Chs.6&7 Reading Guide KEY.

To help students get started, I asked them to create a set of sticky notes. (See Chs.6&7 SH Sticky Notes.) These sticky notes allowed the students to mark the places where they found info about the prompts on the DED and then keep on reading. This made it easier for them to go back into the text to make their notes.

Before reading Chapters 8-11 of SH.

Another question that students usually ask during a study of the Holocaust is, “Why didn’t the Jews fight back?” This portion of SH provides an opportunity to teach about Jewish resistance and to examine examples of resistance performed by Jack and his friends.

First, teach a brief lesson about resistance and the obstacles to resistance. See the file titled Resistance Notes.

Also refer to the following sources:
ADL. “Resistance During the Holocaust.”
https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/Resistance-During-the-Holocaust-NYLM-Guide.pdf
USHMM. Holocaust Encyclopedia. “Jewish Resistance.”
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/jewish-resistance
Jewish Partisans Educational Foundation. “What is a Jewish Partisan?”
https://www.jewishpartisans.org/what-is-a-jewish-partisan

You will notice that there are many terms used to classify types of resistance: armed, unarmed, active, physical, spiritual, cultural. I don’t think these classifications are the most important point. I generally only use two: armed and unarmed. The most important ideas—from my point of view—are 1) that resistance was anything that helped maintain Jewish life, and 2) the Nazis used multiple and significant methods to deter resistance.

Second, after teaching the students about resistance and the obstacles to resistance, read SH Chapters 8-11.

Hand out Chs.8-11 Support-Refute Table and sticky notes. Ask the students to use sticky notes as they read to mark evidence of the claim: Jack and his fellow inmates did not resist against their Nazi persecutors.

After finishing their first read, they should re-read and record evidence on their tables. Decide if students should work on this task alone or in small groups. I generally assign them to pairs for this activity. When finished, provide feedback./Allow students to check their work.

In Ch.11 of SH, there are clues that Germany is losing WWII. This provides an excellent opportunity to help students practice making inferences. See the notes at the bottom of Chs.8-11 Support-Refute Table KEY.

Learners will read Chapters 12-14 of SH.

The title of Ch.12 is “Liberation”—such a joyful and hopeful word. A critical idea of this lesson is that liberation for the Holocaust survivors was an experience of mixed feelings. Of course, they were happy to no longer be prisoners of the Nazis. However, their health was in jeopardy; many who saw liberation day died soon after. They were often far from home and had to face the fact that “home” would never exist again in its previous form. And they had no idea if any of their family members had survived. In addition, most of the survivors were young—in their late teens or early 20s—their educations had been interrupted. They needed to figure out a way to support themselves in the post-war world.

The reading guide I created for these last chapters of the book is a combination Support-Refute Table and note-taking guide. Hand out Chs.12-14 Support-Refute Table and sticky notes. Preview the claim on Part One of the table and the information the students will be asked to note in Part Two of the assignment. Ask students to complete a first read, using sticky notes to mark text that they want to take notes about.

After finishing their first read, they should re-read and record evidence on their tables. Decide if students should work on this task alone or in small groups. I generally assign them to pairs for this activity. When finished, provide feedback./Allow students to check their work. See Chs.12-14 Support-Refute Table KEY.

Note: The start of Ch.12 describes Jack’s experience on a death march. The reasons for these marches are worth a few moments of class time. See the following sources for more information:
USHMM. Holocaust Encyclopedia. “Death Marches.”
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/death-marches
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/death-marches-1

Teaching students to write is teaching students to think—so important, but so difficult!

In addition to helping middle school students create intelligible sentences, my primary focus was on teaching them how to write a thesis statement and defend that thesis with evidence. SH provides plentiful opportunities to practice thesis construction. And all of those Support-Refute Tables and Double-Entry Diaries have helped the students record evidence the students can use to compose a well-supported essay. (You might want to tip the students off that their hard work along the way will pay off for them in the end!)

I can’t take credit for the thesis-writing frame you will see at the top of all the Thesis Statement files. This idea came from Sarah Brown Wessling, the 2010 National Teacher of the Year (and fellow Iowa State University alumna). I tweaked the frame a bit as I used it with students, but the idea is Sarah’s. Using this frame made everything about teaching thesis statements easier.

Although it is not reflected in these plans, I first introduced the thesis-writing frame to students after SH Ch.3. That is all we did at that point; just practiced writing thesis statements as a whole-class activity. Thesis Statements – Construction has models on the front side and blanks for practice on the back side. Thesis Statements – Blank Frame is a one-sided, empty graphic organizer for student practice. Thesis Statements – Exs Chs.1-3 shows several examples of thesis statements constructed in cooperation with my 8^th grade students.

The file Thesis Statements – Student Exs Chs.8-11 shows a variety of thesis statements created by my 8^th grade students. I think some of these statements are flat out incorrect. I left them on the table because I wanted you to see what students really produced. I also think it can be worthwhile for a student to work with an inaccurate thesis. If they put that statement on a Support-Refute Table and search for the evidence, what do they find? Can they discover for themselves that a thesis is problematic? That is valuable learning!

The file Writing Frame for SH is a “3 x 3 Writing Frame” from Chapter 5 of The Core Six. This is a brilliant graphic organizer that I wish I’d had early in my teaching career.

The pre-writing (graphic organizer) and essay-drafting steps of this writing process was completed during class.

I shaded the second column to emphasize that those parts of the graphic organizer represent the only ideas in the essay that may come from the text. The other three columns represent the thinking of the student. The hardest part for students (once they have a grip on constructing thesis statements) is column three. This is the part where the student has to elaborate/explain/make the connection between the thesis and the evidence from the text. Often, students want to fill up the body of their essay with evidence (i.e. quotes) then leave it to the reader to make the connections between the thesis and the evidence. The blank boxes in column three of this writing frame help make it clear that the students need to do the job of explaining how the evidence from the text supports their thesis.

The other tricky part to teach is the closing argument. I will confess that I did not spend a lot of time on that part of the essay while I was teaching SH. I worked for a functional closing rather than a pithy conclusion sparkling with insight and creativity. I saved work on stunning conclusions for another set of lessons.

For this set of lessons, I was content if I saw significant improvement in students’ ability to craft thesis statements, choose powerful supporting evidence from the text, and explain how the evidence they chose proved the thesis. A solid ending—even if not brilliant—was satisfactory.

I have included a file titled Rubric for SH Final Essay. This is the rubric I used with my students. I always explain the rubric to students before they begin planning their essays, so they know exactly what is expected.

If you wish to give an end-of-book objective test, I have included one along with an answer key. Look for the files Surviving Hitler Test and Surviving Hitler Test KEY.

The Core Six has a wonderful chapter titled “Circle of Knowledge” about fostering higher level thinking skills via class discussions. The last time I taught SH, The Core Six was a new publication and I had just obtained a copy. As you can see by now, it influenced my teaching methods for SH.

Also at that time, Socratic Seminars were popular in my school district. I knew my students would be expected to skillfully participate in Socratic Seminars in their high school ELA and social studies courses. Therefore, I wanted to provide practice (and—for some—an introduction) to this instructional method.

Although the Circle of Knowledge techniques described in The Core Six are not strictly the same as the methods used in Socratic Seminar, there certainly is overlap and the opportunity for one strategy to benefit the other. I leave it to you to decide whether to include class discussion among your SH lessons and exactly how to structure the lesson. I will provide the documents I created as a place to start.

Although the Circle of Knowledge techniques described in The Core Six are not strictly the same as the methods used in Socratic Seminar, there certainly is overlap and the opportunity for one strategy to benefit the other. I leave it to you to decide whether to include class discussion among your SH lessons and exactly how to structure the lesson. I will provide the documents I created as a place to start.

If you want students to practice annotating text, change out one or more of the activities described above and use a Double-Entry Diary (DED). Provide as much or as little structure on these as your students need. The file Double-Entry Diary for SH is a blank form with directions aligned to the Beers & Probst book Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading.

If you want students to practice using context clues to figure out the meanings of unfamiliar words, SH provides many opportunities. See the files Context Clues PPT and Context Clues Overview for instructional tools. See the vocabulary list above for potential words with which to practice.

In The Author’s Guide to Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps and Its Alignment with the Common Core and State Standards, Andrea Warren shares the story of writing and publishing the book. In the section titled “Why I Wrote About the Holocaust,” Warren shares an anecdote about her last interview with Jack Mandelbaum. I made sure to relate this to my students. I thought it was important for them to know the price Jack was willing to pay to share his story with them. I hope you will share this story with your students.

Jack died on 6 August 2023. He is buried in Kansas City, MO.

Lesson Plans for Surviving Hitler by Andrea Warren.
Zip File of all documents needed for lesson plans.