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Harnett County High School ELA Integrated Unit
Circle One
Course:
English II
Timeframe: 3 weeks
Pacing Guide: Weeks 10-12
Title of Unit: Being Human in an Inhumane World
Primary Text: Night by Elie Wiesel
Essential Questions:
1. How can hatred, prejudice, and discrimination be destructive to both individuals and groups?
2. How do individuals cope with inhumanity, injustice, and loss?
3. What are my obligations to my fellow man as a member of the human race?
Circle Two
Reading (Informational) Standard(s): RL 6, 7
Reading (Literature) Standard(s): RI 6, 7, 8, 9
Writing Standard(s): W1a-e, W9
Speaking and Listening Standard(s): SL 3, 6
Language Standard(s): L1a, L5a, b
Math Practice(s): MP 3, MP 4
Technology Standard(s):
HS.SI
Evaluate resources needed to solve a given problem
HS.TT.1 Use technology and other resources for assigned tasks
HS.SE.1 Analyze issues and practices of responsible behavior when using resources.
Harnett County High School ELA Integrated Unit
Circle Three
Learning Experiences/Activities:
READING LITERATURE
 Read Elie Wiesel’s Night. Suggested individual, group, and teacher readings (RL 10)
 Write Bio Poems to capture the characterization of Elie Wiesel (various forms available at
http://www.tlcinstitute.org/Biopoem.pdf) (RL 3) (bio poem forms are also provided at the
bottom of this unit)
 Create a flow-chart to sequence the major events of Elie’s journey from home to concentration
camp to freedom (RL5)
 Create a Double T-chart (what does it say, what does it mean, what does it matter) to catalog
figurative language (similes, metaphors) in Night (L5a,b) (example provided at bottom of this
unit)
 Create an unfamiliar vocabulary list; have students compare lists and work together to use
context clues to determine the meanings of unknown words. Use resources such as the
dictionary to check their understanding (L4)
 Have students complete a context clue graphic organizer; teacher will give words and page
reference numbers. Students will list context clues provided in the text, write their own
definition, and check their understanding by finding the actual definition of the word (L4)
 Students create a connotation/denotation mini-presentation using Animoto. Teacher will assign
words such as house, suitcase, cattle car, camp, hungry, etc. that have a different meaning for
Jewish victims like Elie. In short 30 sec. video, students will provide the denotation of the word
and its various connotations, highlighting the differences in meaning to them compared to
Jewish victims of the Holocaust (RL 4) (L4) (SL 4, 5) (pre-video graphic organizer provided at
bottom of unit)
 Gather a collection of concentration camp photographs. Have these available to students in a
large format (printed 8 ½ by 11). Photos available at
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/ccphototoc.html . Students create a
Venn-diagram or double-bubble Thinking Map to compare and contrast how the experiences
are portrayed in photo and in text-form (using Night as the comparing text) (RL7)
 Watch Swing Kids (movie) and have students create a double-bubble Thinking Map (or Venn
diagram) comparing and contrasting the experiences of Peter Mueller, a German teenager, to
those of Elie Wiesel, a Jewish teenager. (RL6)
 Write a mini-essay in respose to this prompt: Compare the cultural experiences of Peter Mueller
and Elie Wiesel. Delineate the similarities in their situations despite their cultural differences.
What doe these two experiences cause you to infer about the atmosphere of countries ruled by
the Nazi Regime? (RL6)
READING INFORMATIONAL
 Read the “Declaration of Independence”
(www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html) and create an MLA style outline to
delineate colonists’ argument and claims supporting that argument (RI 6, 8, 9)


Students will record specific accusations against King George that correlate to Hitler’s actions
against the Jews that are apparent in Night (RI 8, 9)
Have students read Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor
(http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/nurmlaw2.html) and compare these
Harnett County High School ELA Integrated Unit
laws to Wiesel’s account in chapter one about the rights of Jews being taken away. (RI7)
Read Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize Speech
(http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1986/wiesel-acceptance.html).
Identify the purpose of his speech and cite specific passages that support that purpose. Create a
doublet-T chart (what does it say, what does it mean, what does it matter) to identify examples
of rhetorical devices in Wiesel’s speech and the effect of those devices) (RI 6)
 Analyze different mediums of anti-Semitic propaganda
(http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwsySS2EzgU
or http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005274). Compare which medium
has the greatest effect on a viewer and why. (RI 7)
WRITING
 Have students write an argumentative essay in response to the following prompt: In his Nobel
acceptance speech, Elie Wiesel says, “When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is
in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are
persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment –
become the center of the universe.” Create an argument that agrees or disagrees with this.
Argue for or against U.S. involvement in current human atrocities. Dispute/refute the
opposition’s potential arguments. Use readings and viewings from the unit and your own
additional research and findings. Cite in MLA format as needed. (W1a-e) (SL 6)
 Write a mini-essay on the propaganda medium that has the greatest impact on a population.
Support argument with specifics from viewings. (W1a-e) (SL 6)
LANGUAGE
 Identify parallelism in Night, Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize speech, and/or FDR’s speech. Have
students identify the role of the parallel parts (nouns, verbs, prepositional phrases) (L1a) (SL 6)
 Students create responses in demonstrating parallel structure. (L1a) (SL 6)
 Write/Rewrite character bio poem (of Elie Wiesel) implementing parallel structure. (L1a) (SL 6)
 Write bio poem for themselves implementing parallel structure. (L1a) (SL 6)
SPEAKING AND LISTENING
 Have students listen to FDR’s “Arsenal of Democracy” Speech (available at
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrarsenalofdemocracy.html in audio). Have
students delineate FDR’s argument and supporting claims for assisting Great Britain in World
War II. (RI 8, 9) (SL 3)

Domain Specific Vocabulary:
 characterization
 figurative language
 rhetoric
 connotation
 denotation
 culture
 point of view
 parallelism
 nuance
Academic Vocabulary:
 argument
 claim
 counter claim
Harnett County High School ELA Integrated Unit



purpose
analyze
medium
Instructional Resources (print materials, technology, websites, etc.):
 Night
 Swing Kids
 “Declaration of Independence”
 Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize speech
 FDR’s “Arsenal of Democracy” Speech
 Print Propaganda (posters, flyers)
 Video Propaganda
 Children’s Books Propaganda
 Animoto
 Concentration camp photographs
Formative Assessment(s) (both pre-unit and during unit):
 Discussion (whole group, collaborative groups)
 Student-generated responses
 Biography Poems
 Flow map
 Double-bubble or Venn Diagrams
 Essay drafts
 Evidence of research/ understanding of topic/ argument
 Rough drafts
 Peer reviews
 Teacher feedback
 SAS Writing Reviser
 Animoto presentation
Summative Assessment(s):
 Final argumentative essay
Notes & Additional Information:
There are a lot of activities and learning experiences listed in the above sections. It is unfeasible to
believe all of this can be done in a three week span; however, there are multiple texts and activities that
can be used to meet the standards, so as the teacher you can take your pick of the activities.
This unit also provides activities that meet standards that are not explicitly taught in this section of the
pacing guide but can provide valuable review of standards previously taught.
Harnett County High School ELA Integrated Unit
Figurative
Language
and page
number
Metaphor
Figurative Language Graphic Organizer
Chapter_____________________________________________
What does it say?
What does it mean?
What does it matter?
“we were so many dried up
trees in a desert…”
The concentration camp
prisoners were withered, at
the end of their ropes,
malnurished
It provides imagery for the
reader that depicts just how
skinny, emaciated, and
beaten the prisoners were.
Harnett County High School ELA Integrated Unit
Night: English II
Redefining Words and Examining Connotation
Most words have a single definition; however, these same words can have different CONNOTATIONS or the
cultural and emotional feelings associated with a word. For example, the real definition of mob is “a group of
people”; however, when one hears mob, one normally thinks of an angry group of people or people out for
revenge or justice. This emotional association is the CONNOTATION of the word.
Think about these words; they have the same dictionary definition, but we associate different emotional
definitions. Write down your connotations for these words.
House: ____________________________ Home: _____________________________________
Curious: ____________________________Nosy: __________________________________
Thrifty: ____________________________Cheap: ____________________________________
During the Holocaust, many every day words took on new connotations because of their circumstances. In the
activity below, you will examine the new connotations of these words and compare them to your own.
Directions: Complete the chart below by comparing and contrasting what words mean to us (in our 21 st century,
democratic society) to what they meant to the Jewish people during the Holocaust.
Word
tired
camp
skinny
shower
work
winter
hungry
railroad
moving
prayer
fire
What it means to us
ready to go home after working at school for 8
hours, ready to relax, eat dinner, and watch TV.
What it meant to Jewish people during the Holocaust
totally exhausted from forced labor, going back to a barrack
with an empty stomach, sleeping on wooden bunks
Harnett County High School ELA Integrated Unit
Night: Connections through Poetry
Bio Poem Forms
Form #1
I am…(use two words that describe you).
I wonder… (what do you wonder or want to know about life?)
I hear…(what sounds do you hear in your mind?)
I see…(what sights do you see in your mind?)
I want…
I am…(same as the first line)
I pretend…(what do you pretend to be or do?)
I believe…
I touch… (what do you reach out and touch, literally or figuratively? )
I feel…
I worry…(that, about, over, when, etc)
I cry.
I am…(same as first line)
I understand…(what do you understand about your life?)
I say…(what do you have to say?)
I dream…
I am…(same as first line)
Form #2
(first name)
(four words that describe you)
Relative of (list close family members)
Lover of (list three things, activities, people, or places)
Who feels (list three different feelings, when and where you feel them)
Who has been (list three places or special events)
Who wishes (three things)
Who admires (list three things)
Who fears (list three things that scare you the most)
Who needs (list three things you need)
Who aspires to (at least two aspirations)
Resident of (city and state)
(last name)
Harnett County High School ELA Integrated Unit