Update on the Holocaust Lesson

A few days back I posted about teaching the Holocaust. My plan to get the kids hooked on the subject matter seems to have worked.  Most kids did the assignment and some even told me how it was so cool!  I think I'll post a few of the poems soon or take pictures and post them (with student names blocked out of course). I already have them up on the walls and graded. Oh, and a hint for easy grading, have the kids recite the poems in front of the class and enter grades as they go. NO PAPERWORK! Yippee.

Oh, and I feel like a good teacher because two fellow blogging teachers have linked to that post and that makes me feel validated. Now if only my coworkers could see that. I'll for sure share with my mentor how this lesson went.

I am going to do a similar lesson with my 11th grade classes because we're discussing the American Dream and new immigrants. We just read a piece by Anzia Yesierwska. I have a book called "Ellis Island Interviews" that has testimonies from immigrants from all different countries. I copied a bunch and will do the same style assignment. If it works, use it!