Introduction
The inspiration for this story of implementation has been drawn from the learning scenario “Letters to Anne Frank” by Nadina Nicolici. By implementing it, students gained an understanding of Anne Frank’s life and the meaning of discrimination, prejudice, tolerance, and human rights. It raised awareness of the absurdity of wars and the historical context of the Holocaust. However, this lesson was not only about Anne Frank and the Holocaust. It was about any child, boy or girl, living in a war-torn country, who is the real victim of the absurdity of wars that unfortunately still keep breaking out.
This version of the learning scenario was implemented during a 90-minute lesson period with students aged thirteen and fourteen. It encompasses subject areas such as literature, history, social studies, citizenship, ethics and similar.
During this lesson, students had the chance to listen, read, speak, answer questions, write, summarize, reflect on, express their opinions and share their thoughts. They were able to do the activities as a class, as smaller groups and individually. Technology was involved: YouTube video watching, writing texts and sending them to the teacher digitally through MS Teams platform, chatting with imaginary Anne Frank using SchoolAI platform, getting feedback and corrections by the artificial intelligence tool.
WARM UP ACTIVITY (5 minutes)
At the beginning of the lesson, I initiated the class discussion and enabled students to share their pre-knowledge about the Second World War, the Holocaust, and Anne Frank. Since this topic is already incorporated into the Croatian National Curriculum, students were able to state some facts about the historical context, causes, and consequences of WWII. Furthermore, students expressed their opinions on the topic of hatred, human rights, (in)tolerance, and discrimination. In addition, they got the chance to speak about their feelings, ask questions, and share their thoughts on this emotionally charged topic.
WATCHING THE YOUTUBE VIDEO (15 minutes)
Students watched a short YouTube documentary about Anne Frank’s life titled Who Was Anne Frank? After that, I asked them listening comprehension questions. During the second watching, students made notes and created a timeline with the most important events that occurred between 1929 to 1945. The most digitally smart students created the timeline using the SmartDraw tool. At the same time, I asked the students who are good at drawing to creatively express their vision of the story.
READING ANNE’S DIARY (25 minutes) I divided students into groups of 4 and provided them with excerpts from Anne Frank’s diary to read, discuss and analyze. Each group in turn presented verbally their findings in front of the class. I asked them to write short keep-your-head-up messages to Anne and attach them to the class pinboard.
WRITING ABOUT ANNE FRANK’S LIFE (20 minutes)
I asked students to write short texts of up to 100 words about Anne Frank’s life and send them digitally to me through MS Teams. I copied their texts and had them assessed by the Essay Grading Assistant, a functionality of SchoolAI. Students were presented with the feedback from SchoolAI and asked to review their work making necessary improvements and corrections.
CHATTING WITH THE CHATBOT (20 minutes)
Using SchoolAI platform, I created a Space (chatbot) and asked students to have a chat with it about Anne Frank, ask questions, give comments, share opinions and feelings with the bot. Thanks to the technology, I was able to follow their chats in my account and read feedback written by the artificial intelligence. At the end, students had the chance to comment on their opinions and share their thoughts about the results of the activity.
ASSESSMENT (5 minutes)
At the end of the lesson, I asked students to fill in the 3,2,1 exit ticket that encouraged students to reflect on and summarize their learning, while identifying areas that require more attention.
3 – facts about Anne Frank’s life that affected you most;
2 – questions you would like to ask Anne Frank;
1 – one more question you would like to know more about.
OUTCOMES
The teacher is now able to assess the students’ understanding on Anne Frank’s life, the historical context of the Holocause, as well as the wider topic of discrimination, hatred, tolerance and human rights though class discussions, group activities and other reflective assignments.
The teacher has developed moderator’s skills in guiding sensitive discussions about challenging historical topics. This includes encouraging student participation, managing diverse perspectives, and fostering a respectful classroom environment
The teacher has developed skills in evaluationg students’ critical thinking skills as they analyze Anne Frank’s diary, engage in discussions, and make connections between historical events and contemporary issues.
The teacher has developed their digital competences by using new technology of artificial intelligence.
Students have developed critical thinking skills by analyzing specific diary entries, participating in group activities, and engaging in discussions that require them to think critically about historical events and their consequences.
Through the study of Anne Frank’s experiences, students have developed empathy and the ability to take different perspectives, fostering a deeper understanding of the human impact of historical events.
The students have been instilled with a respect for diversity and an understanding of the consequences of discrimination, contributing to the development of responsible and compassionate citizens.
Through class discussions, group activities, and other individual activities, students have improved their communication skills, learning to articulate their thoughts and listen to the perspectives of their peers. They have strengthened their key competences and 21st century skills.
Link to the learning scenario implemented: Letters to Anne Frank (LS-RO-305) – Teaching With Europeana (eun.org)
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PDM 1.0: the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the Jewish Historical Museum.
