OF THE

HOLOCAUST

A WebQuest for 6th Grade (Social Studies)

Debi Hille and Anthony Merlo
dhille@niu.edu amerlo@niu.edu

Introduction

During World War II the Nazi Germans committed the biggest act of genocide in what was called the Holocaust. They singled out men, women, and children just because they were not a part of the "Aryan" race. The greatest numbers of casualties were that of the Jewish religion. Many went into hiding to escape the tragic experience of the concentration camps. Some survived and others were not as lucky.

Many adults who were children at the time this all took place are now sharing their stories so that we can better understand what hardships they overcame. Can you even imagine walking a day in their shoes?

The Task

Your task will be to research stories written about children during the times of the Holocaust. Also, you will be expected to learn about the children from all over Europe that were subjected to Hitler's power. You will use what you learned from the various websites to form your own perspective of what it was like for children during this time period. Each person in your group will be responsible for creating his/her own account of what you think it may have been like if you were hiding from the Gestapo. These narratives will be complied into a published classroom book.

The Process

1. First you will be assigned to groups of four or five students.

2. Each group member will be responsible for researching children from all over Europe that were affected by the Holocaust.

3. You will click on the links below (the names of the children), read about each of their lives, and then use the “back” button to return to this page.

4. Each person in your group will need to research at least six stories. While you are visiting the sites, you will be responsible for taking notes so that you can share the information with your other group members.

5. After you have completed your research and sharing, you will then each be held accountable for a one-page narrative of your own. Before writing anything, you will need to brainstorm what you are going to write about. (This list will also be turned in with your notes from the sites.)

6. In this narrative, you will write as if you are telling your own story of growing up during Hitler’s reign. You will include:

q What area of Europe you are from.

q What life was like before your family was living in the ghetto.

q How the Nazis changed your life.

q Give specific examples of how you and the people around you were affected.

q Describe activities you did to keep yourself busy.

q Explain what you had to do in order to survive.

7. Before you start your research, visit the following sites so you can get a feel for what was going on during this time.

· What it was like in the Krakow Ghetto.

· Some statistics about the Holocaust.

· Some more descriptions of the Holocaust.

8. After all of the narratives have been written, you will type them up and get them ready to be published.

Edzia Abbe Alfred Ament Inge Auerbacher Chaim Blachman

Lore Baer Alinka Lilka Simcha Frumkin Samuel Hiller

Ebi Gruenblatt Marga Frank Hanna Frank Lillyan Cohn

Noach Szejniuk Samuel Oliner Lutz Posener Wolfgang Krautwirth

Evaluation

Each person in your group will be graded using the following criteria. The section on “Use of Time” will show how well you worked with your group members. The rest of the criteria will be used to grade each person individually.

Beginning

Developing

Accomplished

Exemplary

Score

Originality

Uses other people’s ideas (not giving them correct credit), with little evidence of original thinking.

Uses other people's ideas (giving them credit), but there is little evidence of original thinking.

Product shows some original thought. Work shows new ideas and insights.

Product shows a large amount of original thought. Ideas are creative and inventive.

Content

Content is typically confusing or contains more than one factual error.

The content is generally accurate, but one piece of information is clearly flawed or inaccurate.

Most of the content is accurate but there is one piece of information that might be inaccurate.

All content throughout the narrative is accurate. There are no factual errors.

Mechanics

More than 6 errors in spelling or grammar.

Six misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

Three or fewer misspellings and/or mechanical errors.

No misspellings or grammatical errors.

Use of time

Used time poorly (as shown by observation by teacher and documentation of progress in journal) in spite of several adult reminders to do so.

Used time well (as shown by observation by teacher and documentation of progress in journal) but required adult reminders on one or more occasions to do so.

Used time well during most class periods (as shown by observation by teacher and documentation of progress in journal) with no adult reminders.

Used time well during each class period (as shown by observation by teacher and documentation of progress in journal) with no adult reminders.

Requirements

More than one requirement from #6 in the process section was not completely met.

One requirement from #6 in the process section was not completely met.

All requirements from #6 in the process section are met.

All requirements from #6 in the process section are met and exceeded.

Conclusion

At the completion of this project, you will have taken the time to learn about different people that lived during the Holocaust. Instead of just reading about them, you will actually put yourself into their shoes to understand what they went through.

Here are some additional questions to consider to further you learning:

· How do you think your life would be different if the Holocaust took place in the U.S.?

· What types of things do you need to survive?

· If these elements were taken away from you, how would you cope?

· Have your views changed of the Holocaust? How? Why?

Credits & References

Anti-Defamation League. [Online]. Children of the Holocaust. Available: http://www.adl.org/children_holocaust/children_main1.asp [2002, November 05].

Florida Center for Instructional Technology. [Online]. A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust. Available: http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/default.htm [2002, November 04]

Museum of Tolerance. [Online]. Children of the Holocaust: Stories of children caught up in the holocaust from the Museum of Tolerance’s photo passport cards. Available: http://www.museumoftolerance.com/mot/children/list1.cfmv [2002, November 05].

Rubistar. [Online]. Creative Rubrics for your Project-Based-Learning Activity. Available: http://rubistar.4teachers.org [2002, November 05].

The History Place. [Online]. Holocaust Timeline: The Kradow Ghetto. Available: http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-krak-beg.htm [2002, November 09].

The History Place. [Online]. Statistics of the Holocaust. Available: http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-statistics.htm [2002, November 10].

United State Memorial Holocaust Musuem. [Online]. The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students. Available: http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/nrule.htm [2002, November 09].

Standards:

-2.B.2b: Identify and explain themes that have been explored in literature from different societies and eras.

-16.A.2b: Compare different stories about a historical figure or event and analyze differences in the portrayals and perspectives they present.

The students will use the information they researched on the survivors of the Holocaust to write their own narrative from their own perspective.

-16.A.2c: Ask questions and seek answers by collecting and analyzing data from historic documents, images and other literary and nonliterary sources.

The students will use the internet and other books we are reading in class to help them write their narratives.

Last updated on November 11, 2002. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page