You were each given a quote to write a response to. Please click on the "add comment" section below this post and type your quote as well as your response. Include your name so I can give you credit. Don't worry if you don't see it immediately. I will have to approve all comments before they show up on the blog. :) Thanks!
I cannot believe it's over, y'all. This has probably been the absolute most enjoyable semester I have ever had in Holocaust Lit. I love your interest in the subjects, the incredible questions you ask, and your passion for humanity. I am going to miss you SOOOOO much.
Monday, 12/15
What Now?
Tuesday, 12/16
Final Project Presentations
Wednesday, 12/17
Final Project Presentations
Honors Research Paper due
Thursday, 12/18
Final Exam
Honors Book or Memorial research due
{A lesson from the Library of Congress}
The above picture is a Japanese-American child being transferred from a train to a bus with his parents to Owens Valley.
Questions to Consider:
Describe what you see. What did you notice first? Why do you think this image was made? Who do you think the audience was for this picture? What do you wonder about?
For the three photographs below, brainstorm the connection you see between them. Write a one sentence explanation of the connection between them.
Dispatch announcing the bombing of Pearl Harbor
![[President Roosevelt signing the declaration of war against Germany, Dec. 11, 1941]](http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3a10000/3a17000/3a17400/3a17434r.jpg)
FDR signing the Declaration of War
Prelude to the Japanese Exodus, Dorothea Lange, Women Come to the Front, Library of Congress on-line exhibit
For the photo below, consider the below questions:
Los Angeles, California. Japanese-American evacuation from West Coast areas under U.S. Army war emergency order. Photographers at the train taking Japanese-Americans to Owens Valley
Consider:
What can you learn from examining this image? What's missing from this image? What do you notice first? What people are shown and how are they arranged? Why do you think it was made?
At the link below, you can listen to FDR's speech (which, ironically, yesterday was the anniversary of Pearl Harbor). I am giving you the text of the speech as well. As you read through FDR's speech, you should highlight phrases that might explain why the US government chose to imprison Japanese-Americans.
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/day-of-infamy/
The links below contain information about two different Japanese-American soldiers. You can access their documents, memoirs, and full length interviews with them. You will have to click the full length and not the clips because the clips don't seem to work. However, if there is a clip you are particularly interested in, you can always skip to the times listed for that clip and watch that specific part. As you listen to the selected interviews, you should note phrases that explain what internment was really like from the perspective of a former camp internee.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.02153/
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.10680/
Last of all, take some time to peruse Ansel Adams's photo collection of Internment at Manzanar.
http://www.loc.gov/collections/ansel-adams-manzanar/
The last link is jarring, shocking, and chilling, having just spent a semester on the Holocaust and the German propaganda machine. I think we will watch it together, but I wanted you to have the link here in case time doesn't permit.
US Government Propaganda Film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OiPldKsM5w&safe=active
This week is going to be a wild schedule. Be ready! :)
Monday - 1, 3, 2
Tuesday - 1, 2, 4
Wednesday - 1, 3, 4
Thursday - 2, 3, 4
Friday - regular schedule
Monday, 12/8
Japanese American Internment camps
Tuesday, 12/9
Manzanar
Connections
Wednesday, 12/10
No Class
Thursday, 12/11
Other genocides
Friday, 12/12
Darfur Film
We are wrapping it all up this week!
Monday, 12/1
The Cage
Tuesday, 12/2
DP Camps and America's Response
Wednesday, 12/3
Personal Responsibility
Thursday, 12/4
Library for research
Notes check for honors
Friday, 12/5
Library for research
Although I am looking forward to a break, I am sad that time is wearing down for this class. I can't believe we are already to liberation.
This week may change a little as we go, so stay flexible.
Monday, 11/17
Rescue
Tuesday, 11/18
Liberation
BOB
Wednesday, 11/19
Liberation
Thursday, 11/20
The Cage
Friday, 11/21
The Sunflower
I can't believe we are already to resistance this week with rescue and liberation only a week away! I'm really sad to see this semester ending.
Monday, 11/10
Camp Lesson, finish ABML
Tuesday, 11/11
The Children
Wednesday, 11/12
Resistance
Thursday, 11/13
"Escape from Sobibor"
Friday, 11/14
"Escape from Sobibor"
Be reading The Cage!!!
I really hope you all have finished All But My Life. It's a wonderful book and I am anxious to discuss it with you!
Monday, 11/3
Edited "Europa! Europa!"
Tuesday, 11/4
Off
Wednesday, 11/5
Finish "Europa! Europa!'
Thursday, 11/6
Letter
ABML doc
Friday, 11/14
All But My Life
Letter
Book Circles
November 19, 1:00 PM is the time for the Esther Bauer presentation. You can register at the link below. :)
http://www.clevelandstatecc.edu/events/program-series/esther-bauer
TIME, SLOW DOWN!!! I can't believe we are over halfway through this semester. This week is going to be beyond once in a lifetime for you and I am feeling blessed that you all have this opportunity.
Monday, 10/27
Relief Day
Tuesday, 10/28
Conference
Wednesday, 10/29
Stations
Thursday, 10/30
Round Table Discussion and Maus II
Friday, 10/31
Memorial Finalization
Ecphrastic Poems Due
This week is the end result of the ghettos, deportation. It's a tough week, as many of them are going to be.
Monday, 10/20
Wannsee Conference clip
Tuesday, 10/21
Deportations
Wednesday, 10/22
Finish Deportations
Ecphrastic poems due
Thursday, 10/23
Mobile Killing Squads
T-4 Euthanasia Program
Friday, 10/24
Camps E and R
Monday, 9/29
The Book Thief
Tuesday, 9/30
The Book Thief
Wednesday, 10/1
"Sarah's Key"
Thursday, 10/2
"Sarah's Key"
Book Thief Projects due
Friday, 10/3
Memorial Planning
I still feel like we are playing a little bit of catchup, since we have yet to talk much about Salvaged Pages. I will just work it in whenever I can, so have it read and be ready to talk. As I stated before, make SURE you have read The Book Thief by Friday. You will want to be certain to have read it!
Monday, 9/22
Presentations
Tuesday, 9/23
"Swing Kids"
Wednesday, 9/24
"Swing Kids"
Thursday, 9/25
Maus Discussion
Friday, 9/26
The Book Thief
In 1821, Heinrich Heine wrote, "Where one burns books, one will, in the end, burn people." Consider what Heine meant by this statement. In your opinion, what is the danger of burning books? How, if at all, does burning books jeopardize human life?
[Note: Somewhat ironically, Heine was a noted German author who converted to Christianity from Judaism in the nineteenth century. According to the Nuremberg Laws, Heine would have been considered a Jew; therefore, his books were also burned and forbidden.]
Here is a link to some of the books/authors as well.
This week is kind of a hodgepodge of various topics, so just bear with me. :) It will all come together.
Monday, 9/15
Kristallnacht
Salvaged Pages if time
Tuesday, 9/16
Library/Lab for research
Wedneday, 9/17
Library/Lab for research
Thursday, 9/18
Maus Reading Day
Friday, 9/19
SUB
Maus Reading Day
I hope you are beginning to see how propaganda was used by the Nazis to manipulate the views of ordinary German citizens. This week we will start to look at some of the immediate effects of that propaganda.
It was a great week this past week! We will start propaganda and such this week and it's a fascinating study.
Monday, 9/1
OFF!
Tuesday, 9/2
Judaism activity
Memorial Planning
Wednesday, 9/3
Propaganda, E and R
Thursday, 9/4
Propaganda
Assign Salvaged Pages
Friday, 9/5
SUB
Watch "I'm Still Here"
Carryover from Friday:
Assignment #1 Photo Research
Look up each town from your two photographs. You need to write a well-researched paragraph for each in which you will note the following:
How large was the town/city's Jewish population and how long had Jews been living there?
What was the Jewish life/culture in that town/city like prior to the Nazi invasion?
Where is or was that town/city located?
When and how did the town/city come under Nazi rule?
What was the fate of this particular town's/city's Jews during the Holocaust? What about the country?
You need to complete your research and write your two paragraphs about the towns your photos originated from. In addition, try and locate the towns on the map I will give you.
Assignment #2- Photo Response:
You brought a photograph from your own collection that in some way matches one of your researched photographs. Please write an organized, well thought out response in paragraph form that addresses the following questions. Don't just answer the questions, but rather use them to help you form a personal reflection paragraph.
In examining your researched photos, identify evidence that suggests that life was normal for Jews prior to the Nazis.
What did you discover as you looked through your own family's photos in comparison to those you had researched? Which photo of your family did you choose that relates and why?
How do the photos show the similarities between you, your family, or your community to those in European Jewish life prior to WWII?
What conclusions can you draw from this activity? What is your emotional response to this?
Assignment #3- Living On and Biography
Click on the Living On link that can be found here and select a Survivor, Refugee, or Hidden Child to research. Come tell me which person you have selected because each student will need to select a different member of Living On. Read the biography for that person and look at artifacts, etc. If there is a video available, watch it. Complete a rough timeline for the life of the person you have chosen. You will then complete another researched paragraph about the town where the Living On person you have chosen lived during the Holocaust.
All of this information is due in class tomorrow.
We will dig into the study of Judaism this week, as well as presenting some research on pre-WWII European towns.
Monday, 8/25
Research towns, etc
Tuesday, 8/26
Share photos and research
Wednesday, 8/27
"An Image Before My Eyes"
Thursday, 8/28
Judaism activity/discussion
OR
speaker
Friday, 8/29
Judaism activity/discussion
OR
speaker
In order to better understand what Jewish cultural and communal life was like in Europe prior to WWII, you will be finding photographs from that time period and analyzing them, as well as researching the town(s) where the photos were taken. Follow the assigments below in order, working at your own pace.
Sidenote: Spend a few minutes looking around the Holocaust Museum website. That link is here.
Assignment #1 Photo Collection
Think of two words that symbolize "everyday life". Ex: shopping, school, family time, sports, etc. Go to the USHMM Photo archives collection and type your word into the search engine. Don't pick the very first picture you find. Instead, browse the pictures. Spend some time looking at what is available and thinking about them. Your photo cannot be dated AFTER Nazi occupation, which varied by country. Below is a list of Nazi occupation dates:
Austria March 1938
Poland Sept 1939
Czech March 1939
Denmark 1944 but not really
Norway April 1940
Holland May 1940
Belgium, Luxembourg, France June 1940
Transylvania 1940
Greece April 1941
Yugoslavia April 1941
Russia June 1941
Hungary 1944
Slovakia, Romania 1940
Italy-->Albania April 1939
Sov Union -->Poland 1939
Sov U --> Finland 1940
Sov U --> Romania June 1940
The link to the archives is here.
Once you have found a photo for each key word that you really like, right click on it, copy it, and paste it into a word doc. Also copy and paste ONLY the date and locale (no other info like captions). Print it.
Photo requirements are that it must have people in it, cannot be what is classified as a portrait, and must be prior to German occupation.
Assignment #2 Photo Analysis
Use the worksheet provided to answer questions about ONE of the photos.
Assignment #3 Photo Research
Look up each town from your two photographs. You need to write a well-researched paragraph for each in which you will note the following:
How large was the town/city's Jewish population and how long had Jews been living there?
What was the Jewish life/culture in that town/city like prior to the Nazi invasion?
Where is or was that town/city located?
When and how did the town/city come under Nazi rule?
What was the fate of this particular town's/city's Jews during the Holocaust? What about the country?
Absolutely awesome first full week! I really really enjoyed all of our discussions. I think you are a excellent group of students.
Monday, 8/18
Unit 1 test
Tuesday, 8/19
Elements of Drama
Intro to "Fiddler"
Wednesday, 8/20
"Fiddler on the Roof"
Thursday, 8/21
Finish "Fiddler", discussion
Friday, 8/22
Research photos
(Pre WWII Jewish life)
After spending some time thinking about how we characterize ourselves and what we identify with and as (some of mine were learner/thinker, working mom), we came up with ways in which we were sometimes stereotyped because of those characteristics but that aren't consistent with who we are. Below is a pretty powerful list from this year's group. We did it in Quaker Read form, so it was a neat experience to sit in silence and hear these sentences spoken by different voices.
I am a skateboarder, but I am not lazy.
I am black, but I am not ghetto.
I am a friend, but I am not a therapist.
I am a kind person, but I am not an everlasting fuse.
I am a shy person, but I am not antisocial.
I am really awkward, but I am not remotely shy.
I am Mexican, but I am not illegal.
I am a member of the hip-hop culture, but I am not a keeper of the beliefs and ideas.
I am Catholic, but I am not a statue worshiper.
I am a gamer, but I am not a lazy person.
I am a Northerner, but I am not pushy, rude, self-centered.
I am a CrossFitter, but I am not a cocky person.
I am a hippie, but I am not a pot head.
I am outgoing, but I am not loud.
I am shy, but I am not awkward.
I am a Southern bell, but I am not a hillbilly.
I am a Christian, but I am not judgmental.
I am a sensitive person, but I am not a cry baby.
I am compassionate, but I am not weak.
I am open-minded, but I am not naive.
I am funny, but I am not mean.
I am a shopper, but I am not materialistic.
I am an athlete, but I am not a dumb jock.
To be clear, the point was not to list stereotypes or even to identify them, but for them to think of stereotypes that they personally have confronted associated with their own identifying traits.
I should have said this Friday, but our discussion in class really made me excited about the coming semester. You all were active, involved, perceptive, intelligent, and respectful. I am so looking forward to getting to know you better and learning about such an important topic with you...
Monday, 8/11
Stereotyping
Tuesday, 8/12
GATTACA
Wednesday, 8/13
GATTACA
Thursday, 8/14
Racism
Friday, 8/15
Holocaust/Shoah, anti-Semitism, genocide
*Unit 1 test is Monday!!!
So, I feel a little awkward posting this BUT..... it IS a trip to NYC, a place I've never been, so here goes. :) Somehow (and rather miraculously) this happened today and I am in the top 12 semifinalists for Live with Kelly and Mike Top Teacher Contest. If you would, please go to the link below and vote!!!
http://livekellyandmichael.dadt.com/uncategorized/top-teacher/
