Royal Wootton Bassett Academy
As many of us appreciate, the provision of Holocaust education is not an area of work designated only to History/Humanities departments. In this vein, we are delighted to showcase examples of work carried out by the RWBA English Department when teaching the Holocaust through two KS3 texts:
At RWBA, our English curriculum for Year 7 in Term Three is based around the play The Diary of Anne Frank. By the end of the scheme, students will be able to write analytically about themes such as tension, character and religion in order to gain an understanding of the realities of Anne Frank’s real experience during the Holocaust. Students are given the opportunity to create set designs, watch performances and write monologues in order to creatively engage with these themes. By using the Holocaust as a lens for our learning, Year 7 are able to articulate their own empathy for the victims of the Holocaust and understand how literature can be born out of great suffering. As a teacher, I have found that this scheme of work has enabled young people to recognise the humanity in history by giving a voice to a real child of the Holocaust: Anne Frank. They have shown particular strength in identifying and inferring meaning from the tension that arises in the play between the Van Daans and Anne. I too have a learn a lot as the creator of this scheme of work; I now have a more sympathetic acknowledgement of the sacrifices these people had to endure in order to survive. This is particularly evident in the symbol of Mrs Van Daan’s coat that represents her youth, family and the better days of the past.
The challenge increases in Year 8 where English students will study a play named Dr Korczak’s Example. This particular scheme of work supports students in identifying the journey of a young boy who lives in the orphanage of Dr Korczak before it is disbanded, and the children are sent to a camp. Students are expected to recognise that Adzio, the young boy, begins the play as aggressive and selfish, but turns into a brave and selfless character as he builds friendships with those around him. By connecting literature to history, students are given an imagined perspective on life in the Warsaw Ghetto which supports their empathy for those who lived there. It seems as though the cold, hard facts become more human. In my own teaching experience, many of the boys in my class connected to Adzio’s anger as a coping mechanism for the injustice that they too have faced. This often led to illuminating discussions surrounding morality and appearances vs reality. In my own learning, I believe that I can better link the UN Rights of the Child with the integral story of Dr Korczak and his orphanage. Thus, I am better equipped to answer questions from young people about their rights.
In this particular example, they have written a paragraph about Adzio in Scene Two and highlighted where they have hit their success criteria.
Yasmine Dean and Alexa Weeks (English Teachers)
