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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Learning With Anne Frank's DiaryIntroductionThis page contains a series of twenty activities related to Anne Frank's diary. The activities are suitable for pupils and teachers working on literacy and history in Key Stages 2 and 3. The work has been planned around twenty entries (letters to Kitty) in the diary. They are a representative selection of key events in Anne's life so they follow a chronological order. These activities will not only link into the QCA guidelines for History but also link to Literacy objectives. They are adapted for this site from an original document written by Jill Stubbs and Adrian Chrismas of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council's School Improvement Service. For most of these activities, you will need copies of Anne Frank's diary (we cannot put this on the Web site, as the copyright laws do not alllow this) and other documents, such as Samuel Pepys' diary. Pepys' diary is available as a text file to open or download from this site. If you wish to do this, click on the link below (left or right mouse click depending on your browser): Warning: Please note that this is a large file (approx 2 Mb) and may take some time to open or download. All the activities (which follow this paragraph) are written for pupils - using the second person pronoun you. We hope teachers will encourage children to work independently, and support them as you always do, where they need help and guidance. The activities can mostly be done using computer software or traditional writing equipment. Introducing DiariesTalk about keeping diaries. Here are some ideas for doing this - but you will think of many more:
Analysing DiariesAnalyse how a diary is written or use examples taken from own diaries. For example, look at an extract from Samuel Pepys' diary and compare it to one from Anne's - are there any similarities or differences? Make a list of these. To get you started, do you know whom Anne writes for - that is, the reader she imagines she will have? Click here to find out. Studying a Specific Diary EntryFor this activity you will use Anne's diary entry for Saturday, 20th June, 1942. Compare Samuel Pepys' diary with Anne Frank's. Think about:
When you have done this you can make a list of the main differences and similarities - you can write these down, or present them by speaking and listening. Looking at Differences Between DiariesFor this activity you will again use Anne's diary entry for Saturday, 20th June, 1942. Name: ----write your name here---- Deciding What is ImportantThis activity will require you to evaluate the relative importance of different things and try to organize them into a list. You should read Anne Frank's diary entry for Wednesday, 8th July 1942. What would you pack and why? Do memories mean more to Anne than dresses? In Anne's situation, which, in your view, would be more important? Try to give reasons for your answer. MemoriesMemories mean more to me than dresses. For this activity, you should think about the importance of memories. You might, for example, try to recall any of these things:
If you have more time, you can look at home for photographs which your parents/guardians will allow them to take to school - these are often very good for prompting memories. The school may have old class photographs, too. You can respond to this in lots of ways - writing and performing a poem or piece of drama, making a comic strip or timeline of your lives, with pictures, or writing a list of memories to go into a personal treasure chest. Looking at Tension or Suspense in the diaryThis activity also uses the diary entry for 8th July 1942. You should read the letter together, in pairs or small groups. You will need a print copy or photocopy on which you are allowed to write and make marks. Suspense and tension are the names we use for what writers do, when they make us read on to find out the answer to specific questions which they have asked or suggested. It is used in lots of soap-operas, which end with a cliff-hanger - so you watch the next episode, to find out the result. Look at how Anne builds suspense into her letter. For example, she writes, Years seem to have passed between Sunday and now. The reader wonders why such a short time seems like years. Does Anne Frank tell the reader why years seem to have passed? Look for sentences to highlight - you should choose sentences which create suspense or tension, by:
Highlight the sentences which build suspense. When you have done so, write down the best six examples. As an extension activity, you should write down how these sentences create suspense in you as the reader.
Studying DescriptionFor this activity you should read the diary entry for Wednesday, 11th July 1942. Read the passage in pairs or small groups. Now answer these questions:
Now write a description of your own bedroom, explaining how you personalize it. Write your name on the description. In a group mix the descriptions up. One or more people (or your teacher) should read the descriptions out - the rest listen, and guess whose bedroom matches each description. Describing a PersonFirst of all think of (and write down) adjectives to describe yourself and a friend. Adjectives are describing words or qualifiers which tell you more about something - words like big, daft, silly and cautious. Lots of the adjectives that describe character end in -ful, -ous, or -some (beautiful, curious and fearsome, for example). You can also use abstract nouns to show parts of your character or your friend's. When you have made your lists, discuss them with your friend, and try to agree. You may wish to use a dictionary to check that you have used words with the meaning you intended them to have. Next, you should try to draft a description, using some complex sentences. You may have to ask your teacher for help here - a complex sentence is one with subordinate or relative clauses in it. You can display your descriptions and use photographs to illustrate them. You could extend the activity by describing moods and feelings - how does a person change, when he or she is happy, angry, frightened or excited, for example. For a further extension, you can discuss how (you think) others see you or fail to see you - are you invisible sometimes, as Anne Frank feared she was? Studying an Attitude or BeliefIt is quite easy to show attitudes or beliefs at work or in action - for example, saying what Nazis did to Jews in the war. It is quite a lot harder to explain the beliefs, as you need to use abstract nouns to do this - words like hate, prejudice, and all the nouns that end in -ism. Read Anne Frank's diary entries for Friday, 9th October 1942 and Thursday 19th November 1942. Anti-Semitism is the name given to prejudice against or hatred of Jews. Develop a concept map related to the treatment of the Jews, using information from the diary or other sources. How, according to Anne, were Jewish people in the Netherlands treated by the Gestapo (the Nazi secret police)? Now write a non chronological report on anti-Semitism in the Netherlands during World War Two. Use your concept map to plan the report. Talking About Yourself and Your Personal SpaceSpeaking and Listening Activity. For this activity you should read the diary entry for Thursday, 19th November, 1942. Is it better to have a room to yourself or share with others? (You don't have to tell people which of these you do, if you don't want to.) Try to think of good things (advantages) and bad things (disadvantages) of either arrangement? Who is the best person to share with?. Discuss which of these you would most or least like:
How would sharing help you or hinder you (make it hard) in personalizing your own bedroom, and creating your own space? You can present this as a role-play activity. Improvise or write a script for one or more of these scenarios:
Studying the Writer's ChoicesFor this activity you should read the diary entry for Wednesday, 13th January 1943. As you read the letter see if you can find any of the following things (your teacher might want you to write them down, or you could type them on a word-processor, and highlight them):
You can also do this as a Cloze (gap-filling) exercise. Copy the text below (select it, then use the edit menu, or simply hold down the CTRL key and press C on the keyboard). Open a new document in a word processor or text-editor, then paste the text into it (use the edit menu, or hold down CTRL and press V). When you have finished, you can compare your version to those of your friends, and to Anne Frank's. Sometimes, you may have chosen a word with a different meaning. Sometimes you may have chosen a different word with the same meaning. Sometimes you may have chosen the same word. Note that Anne wrote in Dutch - the language of the Netherlands. You are probably reading an English translation. Your version is not necessarily wrong - discuss why you chose different words, and ask your teacher's opinions of your choices. Wednesday, 13th January, 1943 Dear Kitty, Reading With UnderstandingFor this activity you should read the diary entry for Friday, 2nd April 1943. When you have read the passage, you should answer the questions below. First give your answer, then give your reason for thinking this - use evidence in the passage.
Finding Things OutFor this activity you should use the diary entry for Monday, 26th July 1943. If this (the information in the passage) is what you have found out about the War, now what do you want to know? Use the QUADS (Question, Answer, Detail, Source) method to help you do this.
Relating a Day in Anne's Life and Your OwnFor this activity you will use the diary entry for Wednesday, 4th August, 1943. Read the diary in pairs or small groups. When you have finished you can try to retell what this day was like - you can do this as a speaking activity or you can write it down. To extend this activity give an account of a typical day in your own life. Finally, you can compare Anne's day with yours - try to look beyond the obvious difference (that you are probably able to go out, while she wasn't). You may like to use the prompts below for your speaking or writing. You may think of others - ; the list in the middle can be rearranged (the order is not important): First... Understanding FeelingsFor this activity you should read the diary entry for Thursday, 16th September 1943. Speaking and Listening TaskAfter a year in the annexe how do you think Anne is feeling? How would you be feeling if you have been imprisoned for a year? In small groups you should talk about these things for five to ten minutes. Each group can report back to the teacher and the rest of the class what they thought. Text Marking TaskUsing a photocopy of the text, use a highlighter pen to mark key phrases which describe how Anne is feeling. How far do her feelings here match what you thought yours would be? How do you think the occupants in the annexe will be feeling after a year? Talk about this, then look at evidence from the letter - does this confirm what you thought? HappinessFor this activity you will read the diary entry for 23rd February 1944. Read the letter. When you have read it, try to find what makes Anne happy. You can make a list to show all the answers you can find. Now think of what makes you happy. To extend this activity you can talk (or write) about any of these things:
Understanding and Explaining the Effects of WarFor this activity you should read the diary entry for 29th March 1944. Effects are what follow causes (if the cause is a hammer hitting your finger, the effects may include pain, bleeding and some time off school - the pain and bleeding are direct effects, while the time off school is an indirect effect). You can illustrate this by using the image of ripples in a pond. You can draw these using a pair of compasses and gradually increasing the radius (distance from the centre) or by using paint or drawing software on a computer. Place the biggest effects nearest the centre and the smallest effects furthest away. (War is right in the middle of the pond - like the thing which caused all the ripples to start rippling!) It's probably a good idea to do a rough draft, then talk in groups about what you have placed where. You can move things until you are satisfied you have got the diagram right. Now you can make a much bigger and neater diagram for your class or group. A Scary ExperienceFor this activity you should read the diary entry for Tuesday, 11th April (an extract from Anne's letter about burglars). Have you ever had a frightening experience like Anne's? In pairs or small groups, tell each other of a frightening thing that has happened to you (you don't need to talk about things which are so bad you don't want to think about them - but you should always be able to tell a teacher or responsible adult, if you think that what happened is wrong). You might think about some of these things:
Finally, you might, as a class, try to make a list of the ten (or twenty) most scary things in the world - not including your teacher, of course! D-day and FreedomFor this activity you should read Anne's diary entry for Thursday, 6th June 1944 - "This is D-day". Unlike many dates in the diary, this is one which many people all over the world can remember. Use a map of the area to locate the places mentioned. You might have a suitable map in an atlas in your school - but you can find detailed maps on the World Wide Web, for example at:
Your task is to produce an article about D-day for a reference book or encyclopaedia written for young people. You can do this using appropriate computer software, if possible. Here are some things you might wish to do:
You will find images on this site, in the gallery area. Copyright in teaching resources and materials on this site belongs to the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
Please acknowledge intellectual property rights by giving the URL of any pages you use, and/or include
the © copyright symbol. Thank you.
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EAST RIDING of YORKSHIRE COUNCIL School Improvement Service, County Hall, Beverley, East Yorks. HU17 9BA.
Tel: +44(0)1482 887700 Fax: +44(0)1482 887700 Website: www.eastriding.gov.uk |