Online Discussion of Night

Don't forget to review the general blogging expectations before posting (no full names, use the text, acknowledge your colleagues, etc). Keep your response in the range of 200 words, as we'll be writing more than once. Don't try to answer every question I've suggested, these are just places you could consider starting. All questions are adapted from the Facing History study guide to Night.

• Explore the relationship between knowing, madness, and belief.
• Explore the relationship between Eliezer and his father.
• Consider how Eliezer struggles with his faith.
• Consider how prisoners struggle to maintain their identity under extraordinary conditions.
• Discuss why Wiesel titled his autobiographical story “Night.”

As always, let me know if you have any problems posting.

Absences During Presentations

If you are absent on the day of a research presentation, it is your responsibility to read and take notes in your journal on the information you missed. I will have copies of articles from the Modern World History database available, or you can find references of comparable depth and authority.

As always, it is your responsibility to ask me for missed work (in this case, to ask for a copy of the appropriate article). I will expect you to be caught up within one to two days of your absence and will deduct points for classwork if your journal is not complete.

Class Calendar: March 30th to April 6th

Monday, March 30th (M)
• Due: Work on group lessons.
• Class: First lesson on the Iraq case study; debrief on Cambodia lesson; brief introduction to Night.

Tuesday, March 31st (T)
• Class does not meet.

Wednesday, April 1st (W)
• Due: Work on group lessons; begin reading Night.
• Class: First lesson on the Bosnia case study.

Thursday, April 2nd (H)
• Due: Work on group lessons; continue reading Night.
• Class: Class discussion on Armenia project planning; group work on second set of lessons. Remember to submit lesson plans to me in advance; see the blog for samples.

Friday, April 3rd (F)
• Due: You should finish reading Night by today.
• Class: Second lesson on next case study (order to be determined).

Monday, April 6th (S)
• Due: Reader response to Night.
• Class: Second lesson on next case study (order to be determined).

Reminder: If you went to see Of Thee I Sing and would like to earn extra credit from me, write a one page, typed reflection on the experience, due on or before Friday, April 10th, the last day of the term.

Another Reminder: Please get those field trip permission slips signed and back to me as soon as possible. I need to get a final count to the museum this week!

Sample Lesson Plans

As promised, I’ve pulled together a couple of lesson plans to give you a sense of the type of content and level of detail I’m looking for. Feel free to imitate the structure of either of these:

This lesson plan is from PBS’s Frontline on an experiment that teacher Jane Elliot did with her third graders.

This lesson from the Densho project about the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII is another good model.

Class Calendar: March 23rd to March 30th

Monday, March 23rd (W)
• Due: Continue work on research papers.
• Class: Group work on lessons.

Tuesday, March 23rd (H)
• Due: Almost final draft (hard copy, five or more pages, citations, works cited page).
• Class: Peer review of drafts; group work on lessons.

Wednesday, March 24th (F)
• Due: Continue work on research papers; work on lessons.
• Class: Group work on lessons.

Thursday, March 25th (S)
• Due: Final draft of research papers (yes, you may use a late day but must guarantee that I receive your work on Friday; i.e., personally place it in my hands or receive an email confirming receipt).
• Class: First lesson on the Armenia case study.

Friday, March 26th (U)
• Due: Work on group lessons.
• Class: First lesson on the Cambodia case study.

Monday, March 30th (M)
• Due: Work on group lessons.
• Class: First lesson on the Iraq case study.

Armenian Genocide Resource Book

Facing History has a fantastic resource book on the Armenian genocide. Click here to download the study guide.

Class Calendar: March 16th to March 23rd

Monday, March 16th (F)
• Due: Continue work on research papers.
• Class: Jigsaw readings on rescue; “town hall” style discussion; “Denmark 1943.”

Tuesday, March 17th (S)
• Due: Continue work on research papers.
• Class: Blessed Is the Match; discussion of the life and death of Hannah Senesh.

Assignment: Email me at least one interesting question about your paper to workshop with the class before 9.00p on Tuesday night. Ideal would be to attach a document with the relevant paragraph from your draft, with your question(s) at the top. We’ll want to talk about MLA citations, synthesizing and integrating sources, paraphrasing, etc.

Wednesday, March 18th (U)
• Due: Continue work on research papers.
• Class: Wrap up from yesterday; answering your research and citation questions.

Thursday, March 19th (M)
• Due: Rough draft of research paper. For full credit, you should have a minimum of four complete pages and full citation information, including a works cited page.
• Class: Group work on lessons; peer review of drafts.

Friday, March 20th (T)
• Class does not meet.

Monday, March 23rd (W)
• Due: Continue work on research papers.
• Class: Group work on lessons.