The Diary of Anne Frank Writing Activity

Overview

Students learn about the Holocaust in seventh grade, but are then as eighth-graders are given the opportunity to experience it on a more personal level as they read the play The Diary of Anne Frank . Acting the play out in class provides them an almost firsthand knowledge of Anne and the other characters, especially as they witness typical teenage issues unfolding between Anne and her mother. They are then better able to identify with Anne as a person, and therefore allow the Holocaust experience to almost come alive. It is at this point that it is valuable for them to write on the subject in order to further synthesize their feelings and reactions.

Concepts

• Students apply knowledge of the Holocaust in general and The Diary of Anne Frank in particular to their writing.
  
  
• Students learn to express an opinion in a concise manner.
  
  
• Students learn to use different types of word processing within ClarisWorks.
  

Indicators

• Students produce a ClarisWorks document in a format alternative to straight word processing.
  
  
• Students demonstrate an understanding of the emotional effects of the Holocaust.
  
  
• Students gain practice in persuasive writing.
  
  
• Students learn proper format for the business letter, a newspaper article, or a legal brief.
  

Precomputer

• Students will choose roles and act out in class the play The Diary of Anne Frank.
  
  
• Students will be given the writing assignment (See attachment) and select which topic they choose to write on.
  
  
• Still in the classroom, students will plan their writing using the writing process, then put it in draft form.
  
  
• Students will revise and edit their drafts.
  

On the computer

• Students who have selected topic A will produce their writing as if it were an editorial in a newspaper.
  
  
• Students who have selected topic B will produce their writing in business letter format.
  
  
• Students who have selected topic C will produce their writing as a legal document, using Outline.
  

Postcomputer

• Students will share their work with others who have chosen the same topic to write on.
  
  
• Students in each group will then choose the persuasive writing which they feel is the most convincing in the group.
  
  
• Each group will present this writing orally to the entire class.
  
  
• The class will then vote on: A. Miep’s fate; B. Hitler’s decision; C. the jury’s decision to demonstrate how effectively the writer was able to persuade an audience.
  

Related resources

• The Diary of Anne Frank (the play)
  
  
• ClarisWorks manual