1.

Introduction/General Information
Unit Title: Night
Areas of Interdisciplinary Integration: English and History
Grade Level: 12
Introduction/Unit Summary and Rational:
Night, a memoir by Elie Wiesel is a novel frequently taught in public schools. I believe it
is important to teach this novel to students because it offers a uniquely personal perspective
of this tragic event and allows students access to experiences of the Holocaust not found in
their general history classes. This first-person account provides students with more than
factual evidence of the Holocaust. It allows readers to come to a deeper understanding of
what Wiesel, and through him the Jewish people, suffered. In connecting this personal
account with the impersonal information of WWII and the Holocaust, students will come to a
greater understanding of the magnitude and the reality of the Holocaust.
As Wiesel states in his memoir, students need to learn about the Holocaust so that we
keep alive and honor the memory of those who perished, and, to prevent events like this from
occurring in the future. Teaching and learning about the Holocaust is a means of attempting
to prevent people from committing those atrocities again.
Furthermore, teaching about the hatred prevalent throughout the Holocaust and WWII is
to teach about our social responsibility and to emphasize our role in speaking out against
social injustice. It is p our responsibility as educators to ensure that future generations do not
remain silent in the face of similar horrors. We must train our children to never stand by and
watch. They must speak out against and fight against injustice and cruelty in our world.
Through this unit, I hope to open students eyes and inspire their compassion and desire to
take action against hate.
2. Academic Standards/Assessment Anchors
1.2 Reading Informational Text
Students read and respond, understand, and respond to informational text - with an emphasis on
comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, and making connections among ideas and between texts
with a focus on textual evidence
Key Ideas and Details
Text Analysis
CC.1.2.11-12.C
Analyze the interaction and development of a complex set of ideas, sequence of events, or
specific individuals over the course of the text

1.3 Reading Literature

Students read and respond to works of literature - with an emphasis on comprehension,
vocabulary acquisition, and making connections among ideas and between texts with a focus on
textual evidence.
Range of Reading
CC.1.3.1112.K
Read and comprehend literary fiction on grade level, reading independently and proficiently.
Key Ideas and Details
Text Analysis
CC.1.3.11-12.B
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly, as
well as inferences and conclusions based on and related to an authors implicit and explicit
assumptions and beliefs.
1.4 Writing
Students write for different purposes and audiences. Students write clear and focused text to
convey a well-defined perspective and appropriate content.
Technology and Publication
CC.1.4.11-12.U
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared
writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments and information
Response to Literature
CC.1.4.11-12.S
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research,
applying grade-level reading standards for literature and literary nonfiction
1.5 Speaking and Listening
Students present appropriately in formal speaking situations, listen critically, and respond
intelligently as individuals or in group discussions.
Comprehension and Collaboration
Collaborative Discussion
CC.1.5.11-12.A
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions on grade-level topics,
texts, and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
Context
CC.1.5.11-12.E
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks.

3. Unit Goals
Students will be able to read and discuss the text and share their thoughts and
opinions on the novel with the class.
Students will be able to answer guided reading questions for each chapter of the text.
Students will be able to reflect on what theyve read and apply it to acts of hatred and
terrorism in the world today.
Students will be able to research the Holocaust and WWII, present their findings, and
reflect on how this research strengthens their understanding of the novel.
Students will be able to complete a final project on the novel, incorporating text and
images both from the novel and their original thoughts, connecting hatred in the novel
to hatred expressed today, and explain how they are affected and what they will do to
combat hatred.
4. Pre-Assessment
Students will be pre-assessed on their knowledge of the Holocaust and WWII through a
think-pair-share activity. Students will work individually to think about and list all the facts
they know about the Holocaust and WWII. Students will then be paired in groups and
instructed to discuss each others facts/knowledge with each other. They will also generate 12 questions they have about the Holocaust/WWII. Finally, each student group will write/draw
their information and questions on large pieces of poster paper with markers, and will share
their facts/knowledge and questions with the rest of the class.
The teacher will take the information students know about the Holocaust/WWII and they
questions they have and will put it into two charts on google drive. Students will be
encouraged to find high quality links to websites, videos, blogs, etc. where the
facts/knowledge can be proven, and where their questions can be answered. Students will be
encouraged to post links and sign their name on the charts and will receive extra-credit points
(up to 5) for providing links.
5. Motivational Device
Students will be shown a personal/introductory page of Elie Wiesel, the author of Night.
Students will read about the author and learn facts about him. Students will then use his page
as a model for their own. This allows them to learn about the author and will help the teacher
learn a bit about each student.
Students will read the preface to the novel Night, by Robert McAfee Brown. They will read
the preface in class and answer questions on a handout about the purpose of Wiesel in writing
the novel, and what they as readers, are supposed to take from the text. These questions will
be discussed in class before students will be instructed to begin reading chapter 1.
6. Content
Individual lesson plans in accompanying folder, attached with this unit plan
7. Differentiated Learning Activities

Within both sections of English 12, there are a total of seven students with IEPs requiring
accommodations/modifications and two ELL students.
For those students with IEPs assignments were modified: they were required to answer a
smaller number of questions on each chapter reading guide. They received extra time on
written assignments. They were not required to share their answers out loud in class. They
received modified tests, taken separately from their classmates. They received extra help
from a co-teacher in the classroom.
For those ELL students: they received extended time on writing assignments and time to
revise and resubmit writing assignments. One of the ELL students, whose first language was
Spanish and who required extra support from the ESL teacher, would take her tests with the
ESL teacher, was allowed access to notes on all tests, and was not required to read aloud in
class. Had an audio version of the text to listen to as she read. Was not required to write as
much in all writing assignments. And had a majority of assignments graded orally, rather than
written.
8. Instructional Resources and Technology
This unit requires copies of the novel Night, by Elie Wiesel. Computers with access to the
internet, google drive, and google classroom. A SMART Board or projector.
9. Summative Assessment/Post Assessment
The final assessment for this unit is a 3-paragraph writing assignment on hatred expressed in
the novel and found in the world today. Students will be instructed to write a paragraph on
hatred from the Germans toward the Jews in the novel, using at least one quote as support.
One paragraph on the Jews developing hatred throughout the novel toward their captors,
including at least one quote as support, and, a final paragraph connecting the hatred
expressed in the novel to hatred found in the world today in a current event.
After students have received their graded 3-paragraph writing back from the teacher they will
use those paragraphs to create a booklet showcasing their writing. The front will include a
quote from the novel and images relating to the novel/Holocaust/WWII. The inside will
include their paragraph on the Germans hatred toward the Jews with supporting images, and
a paragraph connecting that hatred to the hatred expressed in current events in the world
today and images to support. The back page will include the final paragraph on how students
are affected by the hatred they are seeing and what steps they will take to combat hatred.
These final booklet projects will be displayed in a bulletin board showcasing acts of terrorism
and genocide in the world today and from history and urging students to end hatred in the
world today.
10. Reflection
Throughout class discussions, the students explored Eliezers dynamic transformation from
an idealistic adolescent to an anguishing survivor. Working with a co-teacher for learning
support students in the class, I modified formative and summative assessments. Using my

studio art background, I modeled ways to synthesize their thematic insights with concrete or
abstract images creating compelling posters and designing booklets. This strategy served as a
catalyst for a typically introverted autistic student. After creating his abstract image, he wrote
this reflection: The red represents the blood of the Jewish people that was spilled, and
caused most to question their Gods judgement. The black symbolizes darkness
overwhelming Gods image with the death of his followers, fading into Night. For a student
who rarely speaks in class and who struggles to complete his daily assignments, he revealed
that he was inspired to complete this project independently. We saw this project as a key to
unlock more of this young mans potential. Working with the ELL students, we allowed them
to explore their own struggles with injustice based on misconceptions regarding their
immigration status. At the culmination of this unit, many students realized that they must
begin to speak out against injustice to stop this cycle of violence.