Understanding By Design Unit Template

Title of Unit
Curriculum Area
Developed By

Holocaust
History/Social Studies
Shannon Thomas

Grade Level
Time Frame

6
3 weeks

Identify Desired Results (Stage 1)

Established Goals: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the Holocaust of the 20th century

Understanding(s)
Students will understand that
Conditions in Germany after WWI allowed the rise of Nazi
power.
Life inside a concentration camp.
Circumstances that allowed people to survive.

Essential Questions
Overarching
How did Hitler come to power?

Why were Jewish people the targets of Nazi persecution?

Why did some people risk their lives to help the Jewish
people?
During the holocaust, what strategies were used to create
distinctions between us and them. what were the
consequences of these distinctions

Related Misconceptions

Knowledge

Skills

Students will know

Students will be able to

How the Nazis were able to rise to power in post-WWI

Germany.
What the Kristallnacht was, and how it was used to force

Identify the events that led to Hitler's rise in Germany

Explain how Hitler was able to use terror to silence opponents to
the Nazi regime, and encourage loyalty.
Describe how propaganda was used to win the loyalty and
cooperation of the German people.
Explain how racism contributed to the Holocaust.
Describe life in the camps, and how some people were able to
survive

Jews out of Germany

The purpose of concentration camps
Some citizens risked their lives to help the Jews

Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)

Performance Tasks:
-Create a class KWL chart regarding the Holocaust, Nazis, and relevant topics.
-Create a timeline including Rise of the Nazi rule, the "Nazification" of Germany, the Jewish Ghettos, The Camps, Resistance,
Rescue and Liberation, and the Aftermath.
-Participate in literature circles using books about the Holocaust. Students will participate in group discussion, short response,
and questions. Differentiation will be in the form of flexible groupings, roles, and collaborative learning.
-Analyze Nazi propaganda. Students will create their own propaganda promote the opposite of Nazi values.
-Learn about Holocaust rescuers - people who helped the victims of the Holocaust, the risks they faced, consequences of their
choice. Students will choose a person and present to the class. Students may choose the format for their presentation
(differentiation).

Other Evidence
Participation in group discussion and classroom activities.

Student self assessment & reflection:

Journals
Short responses
Group discussions
KWL chart

Learning Plan (Stage 3)

Throughout the unit:

Lesson one: Introduction

(2 days)
Lesson two: History

Students will read novels about the Holocaust. Several novels of differing levels will be offered
for differentiation: The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss, The Girl Who Survived by Bronia
Brandman and Carol Bierman, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, and The Boy in the Striped
Pajamas by John Boyne. Outcome of Literature Circles will be group discussions, short
responses, and questions.
Students will read the article From Terror to Tolerance, and watch the video One Survivor
Remembers. Students will discuss, complete a KWL chart and journal about them.
Students will interact with 7 stations to learn about the events leading up to, during, and after
2

the Holocaust. These stations will have articles, images, and video about events from the
United States Holocaust Me from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website. The
seven stations will be: : Nazi Rule, Nazi Propaganda, The Nuremberg Laws, Kristallnacht and the

(3 days)

Pyramid of Hate, The Jewish Ghettos, Deportation and Transfer of Jews, Concentration Camp Life,
Liberation/Nuremberg Trials
Students will create a classroom timeline of events.
Lesson three: Nazi Propaganda
(1 day)
Lesson four: Concentration
Camps (2 days)
Lesson five: Holocaust
Rescuers (2 days)
Culminating project:

Students will study different forms of propaganda used by the Nazis to win the loyalty and
cooperation of the German people. Use the provided instructions and forms to analyze several
examples of propaganda
Students will learn about concentration camps, and will complete the I Never Saw Another
Butterfly webquest.
Students will learn about people who helped the Jews in WWII. From the Righteous Among the
Nations website,
Students will choose from one of areas studied, and create a project in their chosen format.
Areas are: History (Rise of Hitler, Escalation of Hatred, Deportation, Transfer of Jews,
Liberation), Propaganda, Concentration Camps, Holocaust Rescuers.

Adapted from: Wiggins, G. and Mc Tighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design 2nd Ed., Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Alexandria, VA.