Diary of Anne Frank
edited
Reference
Frank, A. (1993). Anne Frank:the Diary of a Young Girl. New York: Bantam.
Summary
Thi…
Reference
Frank, A. (1993). Anne Frank:the Diary of a Young Girl. New York: Bantam.
Summary
This is the story of a young Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied Holland during 1942-1944. Anne andher family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding in an office building, also known as the “Secret Annex”. She began writing the diary on her 13th birthday and continued to write entries until her family was discovered two years later. The group that worked in the office did their best to conceal Anne’s family and provide them with the best possible living conditions. At the time they were discovered by the Nazis, there were eight people living in a set of rooms at the top of the warehouse that was hidden by a bookcase that was really a secret door. During the two years they stayed in this building they had to keep very quiet during the day and could not turn on lights at night. Struggling to live life in constant hiding, Anne turns to her diary and imagination to get her through.
Relating to Adolescents
As a young adolescent herself, Anne gives a powerful first-person view of the terrors war and constant fear she and her family were living in. She also opens up and talks about a number of subjects that typical adolescents are interested in, including movie stars and boys. Anne also talks about the relationships with the people around her in such close quarters. She has a strong bond with her sister, Margot, but does not get along with Mrs. Van Dann, the wife of one of Anne’s father’s business associates who is also in hiding. Throughout the diary, Anne conveys a variety of emotions. She talks about the frustration of not begin able to go outside or see her friends. At other times Anne uses humor and is able to make the best of the situation she is in. Anne is a typical teenage girl of the time and her diary is well-recognized as one of the lasting pieces of the Holocaust. This work does a great job of relating the history and magnitude of World War II and the Holocaust to today’s middle schoolers because it was written by a typical adolescent of the time.
Different Content Area Ideas
Math
-Calculate the percentage of Jews in Holland that survived the Holocaust.
-Discuss the size of the armies/forces of the different nations involved in World War II.
-Calculate the total area occupied by the Axis powers at different times throughout the war.
Science
-Discuss the physical terrain of the Netherlands and Europe in general.
-Discuss the effect of the different seasons and their effect on World War II.
Language Arts
-Have the students keep a diary for a week/month.
-Describe the different characters throughout the story and their relationships with one another.
-Investigate and write about the lives of significant leaders of World War II (Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Hitler, and Mussolini).
-Pass out a series of significant World War II events to the class and have them create a timeline.
Social Studies
-Learn the causes, consequences, and overall historical impact of World War II and how it changed history.
-Discuss the ethnicities and cultures of the people which the Nazis were opposed to and attempted eliminate.
-Study the importance of American/Allied invasion of Normandy and the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany.
-Take a field trip to the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C.
-Discuss the geography and politics of Europe in the 1930s and 1940s.
P.E. and Health
-Discuss the consequences of an inactive lifestyle which Anne Frank and her family were forced to live.
-Brainstorm what Anne and her family could have done in their confined space to exercise regularly.
-Talk about the importance of nutrition and eating healthy. In hiding, Anne and her family did not have access to all of the food groups and essential nutrients that are needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
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