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Encountering Evil: Night
Students explore human nature through the memoir of Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor who vividly describes the horrors he experienced.
ELA
Unit 2
8th Grade
Unit Summary
The stories of Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel taught the world about the Holocaust. Their stories have profoundly changed the way that we understand one of the darkest moments in human history—and the way we understand our own present and future.
Students will begin this unit by reading the Pulitzer Prize-winning stage adaptation of Anne Frank's famous diary. The Diary of Anne Frank, written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hacket, tells the story of the two years that Anne spent in hiding with her family in a desperate attempt to avoid capture by the Nazis.
Students will then read Night, often considered among the most important memoirs of the 20th century. Written by Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, the text recounts the author's experience as a teenager in a Nazi concentration camp.
While both stories speak to all readers, they are particularly evocative for young adults. Anne was thirteen when she entered the Secret Annex, and Wiesel was just sixteen when he and his family were transported to Auschwitz. Both texts center the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of a young person living through unimaginable circumstances. Through their stories, students will begin to make connections between individual lives, historical events, and larger truths about what it means to be human.
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Texts and Materials
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Core Materials
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Book: Night by Elie Wiesel (Hill and Wang, 2006) — 590L
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Play: The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett (Snowballpublishing)
Supporting Materials
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Book: Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (Bantam Dell, 1994)
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Resource: Anticipation Guide (G8, U2)
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Speech: “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel (American Rhetoric)
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Video: “The Path to Nazi Genocide” by United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Assessment
The following assessments accompany Unit 2.
Content Assessment
The Content Assessment tests students' ability to read a "cold" or unfamiliar passage and answer multiple choice and short answer questions. Additionally, a longer writing prompt pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions in writing. The Content Assessment should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards.
Vocabulary Assessment
The Vocabulary Assessment tests student's knowledge and usage of the unit's of text-based vocabulary.
Fluency Assessment
The Fluency Assessment measures students' ability to read a grade-level text with accuracy and prosody, at a proficient rate, with a reading passage drawn from one of the unit's core texts. Find guidance for using this assessment and supporting reading fluency in Teacher Tools.
Unit Prep
Intellectual Prep
Essential Questions
- Are human beings really good at heart?
- How do human beings respond when subjected to unthinkable horror? What do these responses reveal about human nature?
- Why is it important to tell and listen to stories about the Holocaust?
Enduring Understandings
- People are capable of tremendous violence and evil; to be indifferent to the suffering of others is a kind of violence.
- People can show remarkable generosity and kindness toward one another, even when it puts them at risk.
- The Holocaust is one of the darkest chapters in human history. Fully understanding what happened during that time—through testimonies of those who lived through it—is a powerful way to prevent such tragedies from occurring again.
Vocabulary
Text-based
annihilateapathycamaraderieconspicuousconflagrationdeportdelusiondignifiedeludeexodusforebodinggenocidehysteriaideologyimprudentinsufferableindifferenceindignantlyjubilationliberatedmagnitudeobligationpoignantpropagandaresentveritable
Literary Terms
actanalogyauthor's purposecentral ideacharacterizationdialoguedramatic ironyflash-forwardforeshadowingjuxtapositionmemoirmonologuemoodmotifprefacescenesetstage directionstructuresymbolvoice-over
Root/Affix
mono-
To see all the vocabulary for Unit 2, view our 8th Grade Vocabulary Glossary.
Supporting All Students
In order to ensure that all students are able to access the texts and tasks in this unit, it is incredibly important to intellectually prepare to teach the unit prior to launching the unit. Use the guidance provided under 'Notes for Teachers' below in addition to the Unit Launch to determine which supports students will need at the unit and lesson level. To learn more, visit the Supporting All Students Teacher Tool.
Notes for Teachers
- There are references to sexuality, physical punishment, war, and genocide in both text. Night is an intense, deeply troubling text. Some of Wiesel's descriptions of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis are graphic and may be upsetting to students. While The Diary of Anne Frank does not include graphic depictions of violence, students may have strong emotions in response to Anne's ordeal. Guidance on how to intellectually prepare for lessons including these topics are included under "Note for Teachers" within designated lessons. Be mindful of your students' experiences when planning.
- Be mindful that your students may have very different levels of knowledge and experience around the history of the Holocaust and Judaism more generally. As always, establish expectations around respectful conversations, especially when discussing cultures or religions different from one's own. Address stereotypes, bias, or prejudice directly.
- There are many resources available to support teachers in talking with their students about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism. As a part of intellectual preparation, consider the following:
- Guidelines for Teaching About the Holocaust by United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Q&A: How to Teach the Holocaust by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Addressing Antisemitic Hate With Students by Learning for Justice
- A Teacher's Resource for Night by Facing History and Ourselves
- Holocaust and Human Behavior by Facing History and Ourselves
Fishtank ELA Connections
Previous Fishtank ELA Connections
Future Fishtank ELA Connections
- 8th Grade ELA - Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History
- 8th Grade ELA - Surviving Repression: Persepolis
- 9th Grade ELA - ¡Viva Las Mariposas! Voice and Agency in In the Time of the Butterflies
- 10th Grade ELA - Reading as Resistance: Reading Lolita in Tehran
- 10th Grade ELA - "If This Goes On..." Technology, Truth, and Happiness in Fahrenheit 451
Lesson Map
Common Core Standards
Core Standards
Supporting Standards
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