Unit Introduction
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This focus for this unit is “breaking the silence.” Students will look closely at both past and present-day societies to understand how silence is and has been imposed on individuals in order to take away their power. The students will be guided through this topic by thinking about the following questions:
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1. What prevents people from intervening when witnessing injustice?
2. How does society perpetuate silence?
3. How can one break the silence and be a voice for themselves and others?
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The diary of Anne Frank is known globally because it provides vivid details of the life of a young Jewish girl during the Nazi occupation. When Anne is given her diary it provided her with an outlet to express her deepest thoughts while she was in hiding in the secret Annex during the Holocaust. Although Anne and her family were to remain silent so that they would not be caught by the Nazis, Anne is able to break her silence through her diary. This unit will focus on the theme of breaking the silence because, throughout history, society has tried to silence and marginalize various groups of people who do not conform to its rules. This unit focuses on the exclusion of Jews during WWII, African Americans plight for equality in the US, and female rights.
However, this unit is not trying to replace the story of Anne Frank and the horrors of the Holocaust, but rather show how we can learn from her story so that students can recognize when others are being silenced and break the silence of injustice in our society.
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Goals- The students will
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Contemplate how society has influenced injustice throughout history.
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Recognize how individuals are silenced in and through Literature.
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Articulate how they can resist the silence that is often imposed on society by society.
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Objectives​:
Students will be able to...
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13.3 “Read and respond to grade level text to become self-directed, critical readers and thinkers (E2-R.13.3).”
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1.2 “Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners; build on the ideas of others and express own ideas clearly and persuasively. (E2-C.1.2).”
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2.1 Write informative/explanatory texts that: a. introduce a topic; b. use relevant information from multiple print and multimedia sources (E2-W.2.1).
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