Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education
Fifth Annual Holocaust Writing and Art Contest
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Lesson Plan Ideas

I.  A Teen Makes Choices of Heroism

Literature Connection:
Forging Freedom:  A True Story of Heroism during the Holocaust by Hudson Talbott

The story of Jaap Penratt, a teenager in Amsterdam, captures the courageous actions of a young man who saved more than four hundred Jewish people.  Penratt was recognized by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous among the Nations.
 
Lesson Outcomes
Students will
• Read the story of a hero of the Holocaust
• Analyze the ethical dilemmas and complex choices Jaap Penratt faced
• Create a storyboard or outline of the hero’s choices and actions
• Analyze the ethical dilemmas and complex choices the student faces in his/her life
• Review the prompt for the Fifth Annual Holocaust Writing and Art Contest
• Write to the prompt, using the story of Jaap Penratt as the individual who embodied heroism during the times of the Holocaust, projecting these actions onto the choices the student will face in his/her life.  Students could write an essay, a poem or create a work of art in response to the prompt.
• Share work with teacher, peer, and/or parent
• Revise and Edit the work (if it is poetry or prose)
• Submit work  to contest

Lesson Process
1.  After reading Forging Freedom:  A True Story of Heroism during the Holocaust by Hudson Talbott, students will analyze the ethical dilemmas and complex choices the teen faced. Their goal is to become aware of the specific choices Penratt had to make.  (May use attached graphic organizer to assist students in documenting these choices.)

2.  After completing the graphic organizer for Jaap’s choices, students will share their results in small groups of three or four students.  Together, they will discuss the result of this teen’s actions, thinking about the situation, the choices, the result.  Discuss as whole class.

3.  As a class, brainstorm situations that the students face in contemporary times, situations that demand choices.  Leave the record of this brainstorming session on the board while students consider individual choices.

4.  Students use the attached graphic organizer to document the situations with which they are faced and the choices they make (or would like to make).

5. Review the Writing Prompt for the Fifth Annual Holocaust Writing and Art Contest.  Have students circle key words.  Write these on the board and discuss interpretations and how these words will impact student writing.

6.  Students compose a draft in response to the writing contest prompt.  (Students in an art class could create in their medium of choice, having discussed the same ideas.)

7.  Students read their drafts to a partner, eliciting comments, suggestions for improvement.

8.  Students work in small groups to revise and edit their drafts. Teacher may be involved at this stage.

9.  Students submit their work to the Fifth Annual Holocaust Writing and Art Contest.

Forging Freedom:  A True Story of Heroism during the Holocaust by Hudson Talbott

Analyzing Choices

Directions:  Use the text to find details about the specific choices Jaap Penratt had to make as he became an “ordinary hero” during the times of the Holocaust.  When you can, use direct quotations from the book.

What was the result of Jaap’s choices? 

Student Name __________________________________   Date  __________________

Analyzing Choices

Directions:  A contemporary teen is faced with choices that impact others’ lives.  After brainstorming such situations as a class, think about the very real situations you face and the choices you make.  In the space below, describe those circumstances in the left-hand column, then discuss your choices (or the choices you will make in the future) in the right-hand column.  The more specific you are, the better your writing will be.