Digging into the Holocaust Supplementing Maus: A Survivor’s Tale July 12, 2011 Mr. Kington’s 7 th Grade Classes1

Introduction  Before we read Maus: A Survivor’s Tale we are going to take a closer look at the Holocaust so we are better able to understand the book.  Some of the questions we will be trying to answer:  What was the Holocaust?  Who were the Nazis?  What are concentration camps?  How did people survive the Holocaust? July 12,

Your Task  Students will work in groups of four and each group will examine the website that is assigned to your group. Each student’s task is to become an expert on the information from your group’s website! Students will then be broken into groups that contain one member from each group, and each member of the new group is responsible for “teaching” the other group members about the information from your website. July 12,

The Websites  Group 1 What was the holocaust? Holocaust Timeline  Group 2 Who were the Nazi's?  Group 3 What are concentration camps?  Group 4 How did people survive the Holocaust? July 12,

Disclaimer  Some of the content is gruesome and graphic in nature. It’s hard to imagine the atrocities that took place in Nazi Germany during this time, and as much as we might not want to, it’s important to know about for two reasons: 1) It provides us with crucial background information for Maus. 2) Glossing over parts of history that are disturbing doesn’t make them any less true, and only makes us more liable to repeat the mistakes of others throughout history. July 12,

Evaluation  (15 pts.) Each group will be responsible for coming up with 15 relevant pieces of information from their website, which they are then responsible for conveying in their “expert” groups. Every group member will be responsible for turning in a separate list. (15 pts. – 1pt. for each piece of relevant information)  (25 pts.) Every group member will be responsible for filling out a self-evaluation form Self Evaluation Self Evaluation July 12,

Evaluation, cont.  (25 pts.) Each group will write a 2 paragraph journal entry that answers the following prompt: Incorporate the information from all four groups to describe what you think it would have been like to be a 12 year old Jewish person living through the Holocaust. Is your family on the run? Are your friends and family being taken to concentration camps? What is your family’s plan for escaping persecution? Groups will need to work together and show evidence of collaboration on Google Docs. July 12,

Conclusion  (15 pts.) Once we have completed Maus: A Survivor’s Tale we are going to revisit the journal entries. Each group will write at least 2 more paragraphs comparing and contrasting their interpretation of the Holocaust after the WebQuest and after completion of the graphic novel, once again showing evidence of collaboration via Google Docs. July 12,