Curriculum / ELA / 8th Grade / Unit 2: Encountering Evil: Night / Lesson 7
ELA
Unit 2
8th Grade
Lesson 7 of 28
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Explain how events in Night reveal aspects of characters and suggest larger truths about human nature.
Book: Night by Elie Wiesel pp. 3 – 11 — end after "Then came the ghettos."
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Prior to the start of class, print out the quotes in the Hamlet Quote Card resource and glue/tape them to a notecard in order to be prepared for the opening activity. If possible, move the student desks/tables to the side of the room so that there is room for students to walk around. Alternatively, take students to a space outside the classroom where they will have more room to engage in the activity.
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.
Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved.
What does the community's reaction to Moishe the Beadle's warning, the news about the invasion of Hungary, and the arrival of German soldiers reveal about them? What does it reveal about human nature more generally? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from pages 3–11 to support your answer.
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Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding
Describe Eliezer. What have you learned about him so far? What kind of person is he?
Why did Moishe the Beadle return to Sighet after being deported, and how do the residents of the town respond to him and his message to them? Provide specific evidence from the text to support your answer.
Compare Eliezer's relationship to Moishe the Beadle before he is deported to their relationship after Moishe returns to Sighet. Provide specific evidence from pages 3–7 to support your answer.
How do the Jewish residents of Sighet respond to the threat of a Nazi invasion and to the eventual arrival of Germans in their town? Provide specific evidence from pages 8–10 to support your answer.
Assess student understanding and monitor progress toward this lesson's objective with an Exit Ticket.
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
memoir
a narrative, written from the perspective of the author, about an important part of their life
deport
v.
(p. 6)
to force to leave a country
annihilate
(p. 8)
to destroy completely
Reading and/or task to be completed at home in preparation for the next lesson.
Tonight's reading contains sensitive content that may be upsetting or triggering for students.
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. 11 – 22
While reading, answer the following questions.
Where do Eliezer and his family live when the two ghettos are created?
How do Eliezer, his family, and the other Jewish residents feel about the creation of the ghettos?
What rumor does Eliezer's father hear at the meeting with the Council?
Where do Eliezer's family go when they are forced out of their home?
Where are Eliezer and his family at the end of this chapter?
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RI.8.3 — Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
L.8.6 — Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
RI.8.1 — Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.8.2 — Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI.8.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
RI.8.10 — By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 6—8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
SL.8.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.8.6 — Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
W.8.1 — Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
W.8.1.a — Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
W.8.1.b — Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
W.8.9 — Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
W.8.9.a — Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new").
W.8.10 — Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Next
Analyze the meaning and impact of specific words, phrases, punctuation, and symbols in Wiesel's writing.
Explain what happened during the Holocaust and analyze the major events and ideas in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s that led to it.
Standards
RI.8.2RI.8.3
Apply background knowledge about the Holocaust and the features of plays/dramatic performances to cite evidence from the text that establishes the setting of The Diary of Anne Frank.
RI.8.3RL.8.3
Explain how the playwrights develop the reader's understanding of Anne as a character in The Diary of Anne Frank.
Explain how text features and structures specific to dramatic works develop the reader's understanding of characters, plot, and setting in The Diary of Anne Frank.
RL.8.5
Explain how specific events and lines of text reveal aspects of characters and character relationships in The Diary of Anne Frank.
RL.8.3
Explain how the playwrights use specific words and phrases to develop mood, tone, and meaning in The Diary of Anne Frank.
RL.8.4RL.8.6
RI.8.3
L.8.5RI.8.4
Draw conclusions about the passengers in the cattle car—and human nature more generally—based on the incident with Mrs. Schächter.
Analyze how Wiesel makes connections between individuals, ideas, and events to convey the dehumanization he endured in the concentration camps during the Holocaust.
RI.8.3RI.8.4
Evaluate and analyze how being imprisoned in concentration camps impacts characters' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Analyze what these changes reveal about human nature.
RI.8.3RI.8.5
Explain how specific words and phrases develop meaning and tone in Night, and how they affect the reader.
RI.8.4
Unpack a prompt, gather evidence, and outline a two-paragraph response.
RI.8.3W.8.1W.8.1.aW.8.5
Draft and revise a two-paragraph response, including a transition sentence between paragraphs.
RL.8.3W.8.1W.8.1.aW.8.1.bW.8.1.c
Explain how specific plot events in Night influence characters' thoughts, feelings, and decisions.
Explain how Wiesel uses figurative language and specific word choice to develop mood and meaning in Night.
Explain how specific incidents in Night reveal aspects of characters, as well as larger truths about human nature.
Analyze the preface to Night to determine Wiesel’s purpose for writing.
RI.8.6
Explain how Wiesel develops central ideas in his speech, The Perils of Indifference.
RI.8.2
Demonstrate a deep understanding of the texts and topics in a Socratic Seminar by posing and responding to questions and providing evidence to support ideas.
SL.8.1SL.8.1.aSL.8.1.cSL.8.4
Unpack the prompt, study a Mentor Text, develop guiding questions, and begin to gather evidence for a research-based writing task.
W.8.7W.8.8
Use search terms effectively, assess the credibility of online research sources, and continue gathering evidence in preparation for writing an informational essay.
Gather evidence from multiple sources, draft a claim statement, and create an outline for a multi-paragraph informational essay.
W.8.2W.8.2.aW.8.7W.8.8
Outline an introduction and conclusion and determine the difference between passive and active voice.
L.8.1L.8.1.bW.8.2W.8.2.aW.8.2.b
Draft strong introduction and conclusion paragraphs.
W.8.2W.8.2.aW.8.2.cW.8.2.f
Create a bibliography and add at least one appositive to an informational essay.
W.8.2W.8.2.cW.8.5W.8.8
Give and receive peer feedback, self-assess using a rubric, and make final revisions to an informational essay.
W.8.2W.8.5
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