Encountering Evil: Night

Lesson 11
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ELA

Unit 2

8th Grade

Lesson 11 of 28

Objective


Evaluate and analyze how being imprisoned in concentration camps impacts characters' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Analyze what these changes reveal about human nature.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Night by Elie Wiesel  pp. 47 – 58 — end at "...to say yes for all eternity."

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A Note for Teachers


  • Today's lesson contains sensitive content that may be upsetting or triggering for students. Emphasize respectful communication, critical thinking, and context understanding prior to engaging in today's reading. Name for students resources they can leverage within the classroom or school day to process their emotions.
    • Eliezer witnesses Idek the Kapo and a young Polish girl having sex on page 57. If needed, summarize this scene for students. 
  • On page 48, Wiesel writes that "homosexuals" (which is generally considered an outdated/offensive term for members of the LGBT community) trafficked children in the camps. Be mindful that this passage perpetuates a harmful (and false) stereotype that many queer people (particularly gay men) are child molesters. Students should understand that these men abused children not because they were gay, but because they were monstrously cruel. Stories from survivors indicate that children of all genders were victims of sexual abuse during the Holocaust.
  • As a part of intellectual preparation, revisit student answers in the Lesson 1 Anticipation Guide (G8, U2), paying particular attention to questions 5, 6, and 10 to prepare for the Target Task and Key Questions. Based on student responses, determine how to guide students through the conversations related to today's lesson.

Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

How does Wiesel's use of flash-forward on pages 53–54 connect to the events taking place in the narrative's present? How does the flash-forward impact the reader's understanding of how Wiesel was affected by these events?

Sample Response

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Key Questions


Key Questions

  • What does Eliezer mean when he says, "I was nothing but a body" on page 52? What does this reveal about how much Eliezer has changed since he arrived at the camp? Provide evidence from the text to support your thinking. 

  • How does the incident on page 54 where Eliezer's father is beaten reveal that Eliezer has changed significantly since arriving in the concentration camp? Provide evidence from the text to support your thinking. 

  • What does the incident with Idek and the French girl on pages 52–53 reveal about human nature? Provide evidence from the text to support your thinking. 

  • What does the change in Franek's behavior from page 50 to page 56 reveal about the way the Holocaust impacted some people? Provide evidence from the text to support your thinking. 

Exit Ticket

Assess student understanding and monitor progress toward this lesson's objective with an Exit Ticket.

Vocabulary


Literary Terms

flash-forward

a jump in time used by authors to show events as they are imagined by characters or to reveal the result of an action or event in the future

Text-based

imprudent

adj.

(p. 54)

unwise; done without good judgment

Homework


Note: Tonight's reading contains sensitive content that may be upsetting or triggering for students. It contains a scene in which a young boy is hanged; the event of his dying is described in detail.

To ensure that students are prepared for the next lesson, have students complete the following reading for homework. Use guidance from the next lesson to identify any additional language or background support students may need while independently engaging with the text.

  • Book: Night by Elie Wiesel  pp. 58 – 65 — from "One Sunday, as half of our group…" through the end of chapter

While reading, answer the following questions.

  • Why do the sirens go off in the camp?

  • Why does the prisoner try to sneak to the cauldron of soup? What happens?

  • Why are the prisoners made to gather in the Appelplatz?

  • How do the prisoners respond to the hanging of the pipel?

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Common Core Standards


  • RI.8.3 — Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
  • RI.8.5 — Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept.

Supporting Standards

L.8.6
RI.8.1
RI.8.2
RI.8.4
RI.8.10
SL.8.1
SL.8.6
W.8.1
W.8.1.a
W.8.1.b
W.8.4
W.8.9
W.8.9.b
W.8.10

Next

Explain how specific words and phrases develop meaning and tone in Night, and how they affect the reader.

Lesson 12
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