The Diary of Anne Frank - The Secret Annex

This engaging and informative lesson helps students to demonstrate a clear understanding of the setting in ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ - The Secret Annex. Students explore the language used by Anne Frank in her description, explore the annex for themselves on a virtual tour, and then write imaginative and original descriptions based on what they have seen and read.

The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through:
-Empathising with the Frank family's situation by discussing the idea of displacement;
- Reading and understanding extracts from the opening section of Anne Frank's Diary, in which Anne describes the annex;
- Information gathering on each of the rooms in the annex through observing a virtual tour;
- Linking information and using imaginative thoughts to produce detailed, original, and imaginative descriptions of rooms in the annex;
- Self assessing their own learning attempts.

Included is:
- Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive;
- Information Gathering Template;
- Selected extracts - The Diary of Anne Frank;
- Link to a virtual tour video (you will need internet access to view);
- Writing to Describe Helpsheet;
- 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.