June 12 is
Anne Frank Day, the date that marks what would have been her birthday, this year her 82nd.
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned Holocaust victims due to her diary which she got on her 13th birthday and where she wrote about her life in the secret annex.While many of her early entries relate the mundane aspects of her life, she also discusses some of the changes that had taken place in the Netherlands since the German occupation. Indeed,
The Diary of a Young Girl posthumously published in 1947 by her father is, for many young readers (as it was for myself), their first contact with the cruelty and antisemitism of Nazi Germany in the 2nd WW but it became such a popular book that it has already been translated in over 50 languages. That's exactly why there is so much stuff available in the internet...
History Channel as usual has loads of information on WW II and on Anne Frank;
Channel One has a great interactive which includes Anne Frank's house, Frank's movements and the Camps of Auschwitz; there is a also a timeline with key events in Anne Frank's life.
http://www.annefrank.org.uk/node/5 has just published materials for teachers under the topic "
Educational resources" where we can find a Lesson plan, a PPt presentation and
Anne Frank Declaration.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum , as the name says, has a lot of information on the Holocaust and is now hosting an
online exhibition on Anne Frank including a complete transcript of her diary divided into parts as well as other writings and even a "share your thoughts" link where viewers can leave their messages. This site also has specific materials for
teachers that are really worth our time.
The house that became Anne's hiding place - the secret annex - has become a museum since the 60's and is also worth visiting when in Amsterdam :)
But for thorough information a not-to-be missed site is
http://www.annefrank.org/en/ - exactly the museum's!!!): you have a fantastic short
video with a summary of events that lead eight Jews to go into hiding, a
great timeline and a
Who is Who in the annex as well as the role of each one of their helpers - it's really good! Besides all the infos, there's a comprehensive
Education topic with useful tips and ideas to incorporate in our classes!
Common to all these sites is the importance of teaching tolerance and this is also a prevailing idea in one of my favourite movies,
Freedom Writers, a film in which a young teacher, Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank), has to deal with an all "at-risk" high school students, also known as "unteachables". Students assimilate into racial groups in the classroom and fights break out; taking advantage of intercepting a racist drawing by one of her high school students, Gruwell uses it to teach them about the Holocaust. Following this, the teacher invites various Holocaust survivors to talk with her class about their experiences and requires the students to attend a field trip to the
Museum of Tolerance (also has
resources for educators); all this learning process goes even further, when reading
The Diary of a Young Girl, they invite
Miep Gies, the woman who sheltered Anne Frank from the German soldiers to talk to them. After they raise the money to bring her over, Miep shares her experiences hiding Anne Frank... No doubt a great film for teachers but also for students of all ages. From the
official site we can even download resource materials / lesson plans including the games :)
Enjoy:
Though my favourite is "Freedom Writers", other films we could also use for classes with this topic are:
Schindller's List
The Pianist
Life is Beautiful
Have you ever read Anne Frank diary? Share your thoughts!
What about movies? Besides the ones mentioned above, can you suggest any others? As usual, feedback is welcome :)
This time though there was a challenge that surely boosted the group's commitment and that was a free summer course sponsored by International House Coimbra. Believe me it was a difficult decision to make because all worked hard in class and at home, many always did their homework and extra worksheets and besides all that, all READ at least 1 book! Stella even brought her own (and thick) book in English - no doubt; Raquel, Cátia, Paulo and Catarina read more than one book... the lucky one was Catarina Flórido, who not only read several books but also summarised them. Ah: she didn't miss a single class either!!! So, congrats, Catarina :) and many, many thanks to IH Coimbra for the generous offer.
