Nonfiction Article of the Week · Article: Surviving the Holocaust 10-11 *Modified Article: Surviving the Holocaust 12-13 Activity 1: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Multiple Choice

©2018 erin cobb imlovinlit.com

Nonfiction Article of the Week8-11: Surviving the Holocaust

Table of Contents

Terms of Use 2

Table of Contents 3

List of Activities, Difficulty Levels, Common Core Alignment, & TEKS 4

Digital Components/Google Classroom Guide 5

Teaching Guide, Rationale, Lesson Plans, Links, and Procedures: EVERYTHING 6-9

Article: Surviving the Holocaust 10-11

*Modified Article: Surviving the Holocaust 12-13

Activity 1: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Multiple Choice w/Key 14-15

Activity 2: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Open-Ended Questions w/Key 16-17

Activity 3: Text Evidence Activity w/Annotation Guide for Article 18-20

Activity 4: Text Evidence Activity & Answer Bank w/Key 21-23

Activity 5: Skill Focus – RI.8.6 Author’s Purpose and POV; Conflicting Viewpoints 24-27

Activity 6: Integrate Sources –Video Clip & Questions w/Key 28-29

Activity 7: Skills Test Regular w/Key 30-33

Activity 8: Skills Test *Modified w/Key 34-37

List of Activities & Standards Difficulty Level: *Easy **Moderate ***Challenge

Activity 1: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Multiple Choice*

Activity 2: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Open-Ended Questions*

Activity 3: Text Evidence Activity w/Annotation Guide for Article**

Activity 4: Text Evidence Activity w/Answer Bank**

Activity 5: Skill Focus – Purpose and POV; Conflicting Viewpoints**

Activity 6: Integrate Sources – Video Clip***

Activity 7: Skills Test Regular w/Key**

Activity 8: Skills Test *Modified w/Key**

ELAR.5(F)

ELAR.5(F)

ELAR.5(F), 6(C)

ELAR.5(F), 6(C)

ELAR.9(A)(B)(C)(E)

ELAR.12(D)(F)

ELAR.9(A)(B)(C)(E)

ELAR.9(A)(B)(C)(E)

RI.8.1

RI.8.1

RI.8.1

RI.8.1

RI.8.6

RI.8.7, RI.8.9

RI.8.1, RI.8.6

RI.8.1, RI.8.6

List of Activities & Standards Difficulty Level: *Easy **Moderate ***Challenge

Activity 1: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Multiple Choice*

Activity 2: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Open-Ended Questions*

Activity 3: Text Evidence Activity w/Annotation Guide for Article**

Activity 4: Text Evidence Activity w/Answer Bank**

Activity 5: Skill Focus – Purpose and POV; Conflicting Viewpoints**

Activity 6: Integrate Sources – Video Clip***

Activity 7: Skills Test Regular w/Key**

Activity 8: Skills Test *Modified w/Key**



Teacher’s Guide

Activities, Difficulty Levels, and Common Core Alignment

Activities, Difficulty Levels, and TEKS Alignment



Teacher’s Guide

Instructions for Google Classroom Digital ComponentsAll student activities are available in digital format compatible with Google Classroom. They are available in two formats: Google Slides and Google Forms.

Google SlidesFirst, I have made all student pages (excluding assessments) in Google Slides format. Students can simply add text boxes to any area they wish to type on. To access the Google Slides for this article, copy and paste the link below into your browser. *Note that you’ll need to make a copy of the folder or slide before you can use it.*

link omitted in preview

Google FormsI have made the assessments available in Google Forms. Here, they are self-grading, and I have set them all up with answer keys so they are ready to go for you. You’ll need to find these two files in your download folder to use Google Forms. The first file contains the links to the Forms, and the second file is explicit instructions for use. Look inside the Google Forms folder.



Teacher’s Guide

A Couple of Options for Teaching Article of the Week UnitsHere are my favorite suggestions for organizing these units with your schedule.*Please note that thumbnails show article 6.1 and activities.

Option A: Quickie UnitSimply complete all lesson activities in order OR pickand choose the activities you want to complete in order.

Time Needed: 2-3 fifty-minute class periodsPros: Super flexible; perfect filler around your other units; makes it easy to assign easier components for homework; ideal no prep sub plans if you have to be out for 2-3 days in a row.Cons: Fitting them all in around everything else you’ve got to do.

Option B: Daily ModelUse as a class starter or specific routine in yourclassroom everyday at the same time.

Time Needed: 15-20 minutes/day, 5 days/weekPros: IDEAL for block scheduling when you need to always change it up; Great way to fit nonfiction articles in with what you’re already doing.Cons: There are 25 total articles for each grade level, so some weeks you’ll need to skip the articles (I’d skip when doing projects, novels, during short weeks, and plan to finish up right before testing); May be difficult to commit to something rigid like this if you’re a type B teacher like myself ;)

Here’s how the daily model works:

Monday: Read article & complete basic comprehension activityTuesday: Text evidence activityWednesday: Skills focus activity (based on one key skill for each article)Thursday: Integrate information (other sources)Friday: Assessment

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday



Teacher’s Guide

WalkthroughI have discussed here how I use each activity and included hints and links to help you, too. Feel free to take or leave what you like. Even if you don’t plan to do every activity, I still recommend reading through this section to get the most out of these activities. Looking for a schedule to follow? Check the previous page for two suggested scheduling options.

These lessons and activities were designed to meet the needs of eighth graders during the middle part of the school year. The articles, activities, questions, and assessments will become increasingly rigorous and challenging as we progress through the year.

Activities 1-2• *There are no higher order thinking questions

included here – only basic, literal comprehension.• These activities are designed to be completed on

an either/or basis, meaning your students should only complete one of them, not both.

• Use Activity 1 for a quick cold-read assessment or after you’ve read the article together. I use these to hold students accountable for reading carefully. I recommend having students complete activity 1 without the article as long as they’ve just read the article (so not the next day), unless you’re providing a testing accommodation.

• Use Activity 2 for an open-ended option for the same exact questions. Students may have a harder time answering this one without the article, so choose this one if you want students to use the article but still prove that they’ve understood the content.

Article Modified Article

Activity 1

Activity 2



Activities 3-4• Again, these activities are either/or, so choose

one or the other but not both.• Activity 3 requires students to annotate text

evidence in the article and includes an article annotation key.

• Activity 4 requires students to choose text evidence from a bank at the bottom. This format prepares students to choose from and distinguish between pieces of text evidence on a state assessment. I recommend mixing it up and going back and forth between these among units until your students are proficient at both methods.

Activity 5• This activity is focused around the main

skill for this article: RI.8.6 – Analyze Purpose and Point of View, primarily conflicting viewpoints

• Complete answer keys included, as always.

Activity 6• This activity requires students to integrate

information from another source or media. • Here, students view a video clip from the

Educator Video Toolbox aligned to Echoes & Reflections about Liberators and Survivors.

• Youtube: https://youtu.be/kOIHRQlQqwU• Backup: https://goo.gl/FFdJoJ

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5

Activity 6



Teacher’s Guide

Activities 7-8• Skills assessments should ALWAYS be given

with access to the text. ALWAYS. This is always the case on standardized tests, and hey, in real life too, right?!

• What’s the best way to make sure your students are prepared for the state assessment? Assess them regularly with that format. I always let my students practice for the first few before I start counting them for a grade, and I always use the basic comprehension assessment (activity 1 or 2) as an easy grade so it levels the playing field.

• Activity 7 is the regular assessment.• Activity 8 is the modified assessment. The

modified assessment offer students only two answer choices instead of four. Note that only the multiple choice portion of the modified test is different from the original. Simply put, only page one is different. Complete keys included as always (not shown).

• In a hurry? I always include only multiple choice questions on the first page in case you’re in a hurry and need to skip the open-ended portion of the test. I don’t recommend skipping regularly but every now and then, I need a grading break.

Self-grading Google Forms assessment always included for: • Activity 1 (Comprehension Quiz)• Activity 7 (Skills Test)• Activity 8 (Modified Skills Test)

Google Forms assessments always included!

Activity 7

Activity 8


talk about their ordeals.Other noteworthy findings include that

survivors had more successful careers andearned higher incomes, despite being less educated overall than the Jews already living in the U.S. And strikingly, almost no survivors have been convicted of crimes. Studies have also found that survivors are more likely to do volunteer work than other people.

It is theorized that enduring the terrors of the Holocaust caused survivors to become more adaptable and resilient, more likely to take action, and perhaps to have gained perspective on what matters most in life. But some also theorize that people who already had traits like resilience, adaptability, and tenacity were simply more likely to survive in the first place. Complicating these theories, many survivors themselves credit their survival to sheer luck.

It should also be noted that other research has shown that many Holocaust survivors displayed symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder throughout their whole lives. So while they may have succeeded based on external markers of success, they still dealt and continue to deal with internal pain that is not visible to the outside world. For example, 80% of survivors reported having frequent nightmares.

Another trait that has been noted in survivors is that of psychic numbing. This is the ability to shut off one’s emotions and memories during a challenging situation. This skill may have made it possible for survivors to endure the horrors inside the camps as well as move on with their lives afterwards. But researchers are not sure if this is a positive or negative trait. It may be a helpful survival mechanism, or it may be a part of posttraumatic stress disorder that survivors developed after the events.

Hidden Stress?

It is hard to say for sure if Holocaust survivors had built-in traits that helped them survive, or if they developed these traits as a result of their experiences. But it is clear that living through unspeakable suffering greatly impacted the direction of their lives and shaped who they became.

Shachnow was imprisoned in the Kovno Ghetto because his family was Jewish. Enduring three years of heavy manual labor under harsh conditions, he lost almost all of his extended family members before narrowly escaping death himself. Shachnow escaped the ghetto days before the children’s death march, living in hiding for months and almost dying of starvation and malnutrition.

At the age of fifteen, Shachnow immigrated to Salem, Massachusetts. There, he attended school for the first time in his life and enlisted in the U.S. Army just before graduation. After seven years, he volunteered for the U.S. Army Special Forces known as the Green Berets, widely regarded as the smartest, most lethal fighters in the world. Shachnow fought in Vietnam and twice received the Silver Star for valor. He later served as the Army’s commanding officer in Berlin, Germany, where his headquarters had formerly been occupied by the very Nazi leaders who had put his family in the camp and killed many of his family members.

General Shachnow has stated publicly that flexibility, tenacity, and assertiveness were among the qualities that helped him survive the Holocaust. “Unavoidable suffering can give you meaning in life. For me, my military experience, my experience in a concentration camp, and my relationship with my wife gave me meaning.”

Shachnow died in 2018 at the age of 83.

Major General Sidney ShachnowMaj. Gen. Sidney

Shachnow was a Lithuanian who survived the Holocaust and went on to attain the rank of Major General in the United States Army, serving for 39 years.

At the age of seven,



Informational Text

Finding Text EvidenceFind each piece of text evidence in the article and highlight OR underline it with the color specified. Be sure to choose the piece or pieces of evidence that most strongly support the statement.

Skill: Text Evidence

Activity 3

For items 1-4, you’ll be citing textual evidence to support what the text says explicitly.

1. Find the sentence that explains why many concentration camp prisoners died after

liberation. Highlight it in blue.

2. Find the 3 sentences that reveal some horrors experienced by concentration camp

survivors. Highlight them in green.

3. Find the sentence that tells when Mauthausen concentration camp was liberated.

Highlight it in purple.

4. Find the sentence that tells where Sidney Shachnow was imprisoned. Highlight it in gray.

For items 5-8, you’ll be citing one piece or multiple pieces of textual evidence to support

inferences drawn from the text.

5. Find a piece of text evidence that explains why psychic numbing might be a negative trait

and highlight it in orange.

6. Find one piece of text evidence that supports the idea that many Holocaust survivors had

difficulty sleeping. Highlight it in yellow.

7. Find one piece of text evidence that supports the idea that many Holocaust survivors did

not take the time to go to college. Highlight it in pink.

8. Find a piece of text evidence to support the statement below and highlight it in red:

Holocaust survivors care deeply about the well-being of others.



Informational TextSkill: Text Evidence

Activity 3



Informational Text

Activity 5

A. Conflicting ViewpointsRead each point of view from the article in the left column. Then, look back at the article for a conflicting viewpoints. If there’s a conflicting point of view in the article, write it in the space to the right of the original point of view. If there is not a conflicting point of view, write NONE in the space provided. You may use NONE for an answer only twice.

Skill: Analyze Point of View & Purpose

Point of View Conflicting Point of View

1. Holocaust survivors were less likely to seek mental health care because they have a remarkable ability to adjust.

2. After liberation from camps, survivors first had to physically recover before beginning to rebuild their lives.

3. People who had traits like resilience and adaptability were more likely to survive the Holocaust.

4. Psychic numbing is a positive trait that allowed survivors to endure horrors of the Holocaust and move on with their lives afterward.

5. Holocaust survivors are more likely to do volunteer work than other people.

6. Holocaust survivors appear successful, and studies show that overall they’ve been very successful in life.



Informational Text

Activity 5

B. Purpose and Point of ViewRead the text excerpt from the article in the left column. Then, read the inferences made about the author’s point of view in the right column. Circle the two inferences for each excerpt that can be made about the author’s point of view based on the text excerpt in the left column only.

Skill: Analyze Point of View & Purpose

Text From Article Inferences Made About Author’s POV

7. The Holocaust of World War II was one of the most extreme and horrifying events in our shared history. Many millions of lives were lost during this indescribable event. Among the horrors experienced by concentration camp survivors was constant terror. Many witnessed the deaths of their loved ones. Survivors endured months or years of semi-starvation, forced to live and work in filthy, disease-ridden conditions. Prisoners who were not murdered in mass shootings or gas chambers often died of some combination of physical exhaustion, starvation, and disease.

A. Those who orchestrated the horrors of the Holocaust deserve harsh punishment.

B. 6 million Jewish people were killed during the Holocaust of World War II.

C. Hitler bears the most responsibility for what happened during the Holocaust.

D. It is difficult to describe how terrifying the Holocaust was for those who experienced it to those who didn’t.

8. The author’s main purpose in the article is to _____________.

a. persuade b. entertain c. inform d. describe

9. What is the author’s purpose for including the photograph near the bottom of the first

page of the article?

10. What is the author’s purpose for including the profile of Maj. General Shachnow on the

second page of the article?

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Documents

Nonfiction Article of the Week · Article: Surviving the Holocaust 10-11 *Modified Article: Surviving the Holocaust 12-13 Activity 1: Basic Comprehension Quiz/Check – Multiple Choice