Unit Overview
This unit focuses on The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, as well as other texts related to the Holocaust and the prejudice that was exposed. These additional texts can be found in the "Supplemental Texts" tab at the top of the screen. Students will read a variety of literary works that relate to the World War II era in order to gain a better understanding of the historical period and to better understand literary concepts. The key concepts are point of view, voice, and annotation. In addition to this, students will practice written responses to the text, in preparation for the final assignment: A narrative writing assignment from the perspective of a person who experienced the Holocaust.
Unit Rationale
This unit will use the anchor text The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to look at the tragic events of World War II and the Holocaust. One major aspect discussed in texts about this topic is the issue of prejudice. This unit will revolve around that theme in order to teach the students about the prejudices from the war and the prejudice issues in today's society. Designed for an English 7 class, this unit will take four and a half weeks to complete. The students come from a variety of racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds, which will allow for a range in perspectives of the text. Although there are no IEP or 504 accommodated students in the class, several of the students are struggling readers or ELLs. I selected this text because it addresses difficult topics in a new perspective, that of a child who is experiencing the tragedies of the Holocaust for the first time. This perspective allows the students to work through the events side-by-side with Bruno, the young protagonist. Because it is a grade level 7 English course, there will be days in class that I will allow them to read along as I read out loud. By reading sections of the text out loud, students can learn to develop character voices while they read, which is a skill of good readers.
In this unit, students will analyze the central idea, as well as track the plot’s development, over the course of the novel. In this analysis of the plot, students will also be able to follow the characters, and observe how they change with the events of the text. In addition to addressing these literary analyses, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas also provides an uncommon perspective of the events of the Second World War, which ties into a discussion on the point of view used within the text. This novel pairs well with the large assortment of informational texts about WWII and the Holocaust. It essential to introduce the students to both fictional and informational texts, and this anchor text allows students to delve deeper into the historical context. In any study of literature, context is key. Discussing the contents of this novel and comparing them with the historical facts is an important task that is made easier due to the surplus of information on the subject. Because this novel is so versatile in both a historical and Literary study, I have selected it to be the anchor text for this unit.
In this unit, students will analyze the central idea, as well as track the plot’s development, over the course of the novel. In this analysis of the plot, students will also be able to follow the characters, and observe how they change with the events of the text. In addition to addressing these literary analyses, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas also provides an uncommon perspective of the events of the Second World War, which ties into a discussion on the point of view used within the text. This novel pairs well with the large assortment of informational texts about WWII and the Holocaust. It essential to introduce the students to both fictional and informational texts, and this anchor text allows students to delve deeper into the historical context. In any study of literature, context is key. Discussing the contents of this novel and comparing them with the historical facts is an important task that is made easier due to the surplus of information on the subject. Because this novel is so versatile in both a historical and Literary study, I have selected it to be the anchor text for this unit.