Teaching the Holocaust

The Holocaust is such a touchy subject. I have always approached this topic with caution. I first begin by establishing ground rules and building background knowledge. With every year I add to my teaching experience, I find that my students are even further removed from the horrors that took place in Europe in 1930s and 1940s.

When my students enter my class on the first day of this unit, they walk in to find a display of related literature.

All around the room, the students see fiction and nonfiction books connected to the time period that we are about to delve into. This, right away sets something off in their brains. They know that we are about to create a experience.

On this day, we begin discussing what we THINK we know about the Holocaust. I like to have this discussion with the students before reading any materials because I like to see where their thinking is. It also allows them an opportunity to hear what their peers have to say and eventually it will lead to self assessment. I say eventually because during and after reading, students are either confirming, adjusting, or correcting what they originally thought and/or said. 

I like for my students to generate questions during this lesson. They first put them them on sticky notes. I then collect and tally them. The most common ones go to the class "Question Corner." This is a place in my room where the students can respond to a classmate's question. All they have to do is write their response on a sticky and stick it next to the question they are answering. I DO NOT ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ON THIS BOARD. The students must find these themselves. Either they do the research or maybe it comes up in the materials that we are reading in class.

These are just two strategies that I utilize in my classroom. Below are some online resources that I have found very useful when teaching the Holocaust. 

from the Holocaust Museum: Resources for Educators

A Narrated PowerPoint: The Holocaust

WWII Project Idea:  Compare and Contrast Novels