"Finding Light in the Darkness" is the theme of an upcoming unit that focuses on literature about the Holocaust. Students will be exploring a novel with a small group of their peers in preparation for a culminating Panel Discussion that they will present in front of their classmates.
My school is a magnet school in a large, Midwestern, urban district that serves the gifted and talented.
The population is quite diverse both racially and socio-economically. My 90 students have been blessed with above-average intelligence and are intellectually curious. Having such a bright group of students keeps me hopping to provide them with stimulating materials and lessons! It's a challenge I love!
My Project
Students will be able to choose one of the seven titles to read with a small group of their peers in what we refer to as a Literature Circle. Each of them will be assigned a role to play in their group. Literature Circles provide students the opportunity to hone both their communication skills and their ability to collaborate with a group. Once the novel is complete, each group will prepare a panel discussion, to be presented for their classmates, about how the book develops the theme of "finding light in the darkness." The last title on my list will be used for a different activity in the unit in which students will have the opportunity to analyze an allegory. They will also be asked to plan and perform a dramatic interpretation of an assigned passage.
Through all of this students will be learning about the Holocaust - the immeasurable horror of it all, but also how individuals can make a difference in big and small ways even in the worst of situations.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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