Interdisciplinary Holocaust curriculum guide for the middle school

Includes bibliographical references.The object of any curriculum guide is to present educators with a working tool. The Interdisciplinary Holocaust Curriculum Guide for the Middle School provides a framework for teaching the Holocaust. The rationale for developing this curriculum guide is to offer educators a resource from which they can create their own lesson plans. I developed the guide on the premise that the goal of Holocaust education is to empower students with the knowledge to prevent another Holocaust from occurring. My philosophy, as well as the activities presented in this guide, reflect this. In keeping with the philosophy of the National Middle School Association, I have kept the focus on the student as an active participant in the learning process. The study of the Holocaust incorporates the needs of adolescents through a challenging, integrative, and exploratory curriculum. Students will be expected to go beyond the facts of the Holocaust and to examine the people, attitudes, and events that were the backdrop to this atrocity. The study of the Holocaust introduces students to the necessity of civil rights and to the consequences of racism and prejudice which are part of their everyday world. This guide provides suggestions for individual and group work at varying levels, as well as offering the students choices in the depth of their study of the various aspects of the Holocaust. Students are encouraged to ask questions and address issues such as prejudice, intolerance, and indifference. These issues will lead to civil responsibility, if not civil action. The format is designed to allow educators to determine which Content goals and objectives are relevant to their classroom objectives, as well as numerous Activities from which to choose. The Context section offers educators various curricular areas in which lessons on the Holocaust can be incorporated. The Annotated Bibliographies present a wide variety of sources for both educators and students to use for reference and research. All books and sources mentioned in the curricular guide are included in the Annotated Bibliographies. The Appendices offer survivor testimony, additional informational sources, and further explanation of the state goals regarding the teaching of the Holocaust, the philosophy of the NMSA, and literature circles. As the number of survivors continues to decline, the necessity of educating the younger generations takes on a greater importance. The better informed our children are, the more likely they are to continue to remember the dangers of indifference