The Diary of Anne Frank - The Context of the Holocaust

This engaging and informative lesson helps students to understand the key features of the social and historical context of Anne Frank’s Diary, through learning about The Holocaust and Nazi-occupied Europe in the 1940s. Furthermore, students learn to identify and analyse features of context within specific sections of Anne Frank’s Diary - making appropriate links between text and context.

The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through:
-Understanding the key features of the Holocaust through watching and comprehending an informative (and age-appropriate) video;
- Reading and understanding extracts from the opening section of Anne Frank’s Diary;
- Linking their understanding of social and historical context to what they read in the text;
- Analysing how the horrors of the Holocaust are evident through Anne’s account of her family’s experiences;
- Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts.

Included is:
- Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive;
- Linking Text to Context Worksheet (and answer sheet);
- Selected extracts - The Diary of Anne Frank;
- Link to an engaging and informative video (you will need internet access to view);
- Essay Template
- Comprehensive lesson plan.

There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with a mixed-ability year 8 class, however colleagues have used them for between years 5 and 9 with minimal adaptations. Please note that internet access/ use of research mechanisms is required for the introduction task.

All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.