Summary
In this lesson, students will explore how personal writing captures human experience by examining "The Diary of Anne Frank." Students will analyze excerpts from Anne’s diary to uncover emotional themes through a sorting activity. Then, students will learn about types of nonfiction writing and compare a historical article to Anne Frank’s diary to understand how purpose and perspective shape content. Finally, students apply this understanding by writing their own diary entries from the perspective of someone living through a challenging time, then reflect on how audience and purpose affect writing choices.
Essential Question(s)
How could personal writing, such as a diary, help people express and preserve their experiences during difficult times?
Learning Objectives
Analyze different nonfiction texts, including personal diaries, to compare author’s purposes.
Apply understanding of perspective and context in nonfiction writing by writing a diary entry.
Snapshot
Engage
Students connect personal experiences to the topic of the lesson through a Quick Write activity.
Explore
In pairs, students sort diary quotes from The Diary of Anne Frank into emotional and thematic categories.
Explain
Students compare the purpose and characteristics of different types of nonfiction writing forms then make comparisons between an encyclopedia article on Amsterdam and Anne Frank’s diary.
Extend
Students use the RAFT strategy to write an original diary entry from the perspective of a person experiencing struggle or conflict.
Evaluate
Students reflect on how changing the role or audience would alter their diary entry and share insights.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Card Sort cards (attached; one set per pair; print one-sided)
Nonfiction Writing handout (attached; one per student; print two-sided)
RAFT handout (attached; one half page per student; print one-sided)
Plastic bags (optional)
Paperclips (optional)
Notebook paper
Preparation
Before you begin, print the attached Card Sort cards and cut them out. The attachment has a set of five category cards and 14 quote cards. Create enough sets so that each pair has one set of cards.
Consider laminating the cards for durability and multiple uses. Also, consider placing each set in a plastic zip-top bag or paper-clipping them together.
Engage
15 Minute(s)
Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the instruction. Begin the lesson by displaying the title on slide 2. Then, transition through slides 3–4, reviewing the essential question and learning objectives in as much detail as you feel necessary.
Show slide 5 and introduce the Quick Write strategy. Have students take out a piece of notebook paper and answer the prompt on the slide: "Imagine you had to hide or go silent for weeks or months—no posting, talking freely, or seeing your friends. What would be the most difficult part for you? How would you try to keep your sense of identity and hope?"
Transition through slides 6–7 and have students continue using the Quick Write strategy as they respond to the prompts:
"Why do you think people choose to write, even when it is dangerous or forbidden?"
“If you were living through a major event, what kinds of things would you write about that might never appear in a textbook?”
Give students approximately 3–4 minutes for each prompt.
Explore
20 Minute(s)
Move to slide 8 and assign partners or have students pair up on their own. Introduce the Card Sort activity and distribute a set of Card Sort cards to each pair. Each pair will have five category cards (Fear, Hope, Loneliness, Courage, and Daily Life) and 14 cards with quotes from The Diary of Anne Frank. Direct students to sort the quote cards into the category that best describes the quote. Tell students they have 5 minutes to sort their cards, then play the 5-minute timer on the slide.
When the timer expires, transition through slides 9–11 to show how the quotes are intended to be sorted. Facilitate a discussion and encourage students to share their thoughts on why they may have sorted differently.
Explain
30 Minute(s)
Pass out the attached Nonfiction Writing handout to each student and display slide 12. Explain to students that diary entries like the ones they have been exploring are examples of nonfiction writing. Use slide 12 to review nonfiction writing and a few different examples: diary, newspaper/magazine article, textbook, encyclopedia entry.
Transition through slides 13–14 and prompt students to record information from the slides in the “Notes” portion of their handouts. Use the slides to discuss the purpose and characteristics of different types of nonfiction writing. Elaborate as needed, and answer any questions that students may have.
After students have had time to take notes and understand the different types of nonfiction writing, move to slide 15. Hand out a highlighter to each student and direct their attention to the “Amsterdam” portion of the Nonfiction Writing handout. Tell students that they will read an encyclopedia entry about what was happening in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, during the time period when Anne Frank’s family was in hiding there. Explain to students that this activity aims to demonstrate how different types of writing related to the same topic can serve distinct purposes and contain varying content. Tell students that they will use the Why-Lighting strategy as they read by highlighting details in the article that connect to either Anne Frank’s diary or the story of Anne Frank and her family and writing a brief note in the margin near their highlighted detail that explains the connection. Read the article aloud as a class or have students read it independently, and give them time to make their own highlights and annotations.
After students have finished reading and completing their Why-Lighting activity, ask them to share some of the connections they found between the article and the details from Anne Frank’s diary.
Extend
20 Minute(s)
Display slide 16. Discuss The Diary of Anne Frank and how Anne Frank’s diary gives us a personal, emotional insight into her life during a difficult time. Explain how diaries capture personal thoughts and feelings, often revealing struggles and conflicts.
Show slide 17 and use it to introduce the RAFT strategy. Then, move to slide 18 and explain that students are to use the RAFT strategy to write a diary entry:
Role: As the person writing the diary entry, have students assume the role of a historical or fictional character living through a challenging time. For students struggling to think of a role, consider giving suggestions: a refugee fleeing war, a soldier in a war zone, a person experiencing homelessness, etc.
Audience: Remind students to think of who the diary entry is written for. This is often the writer herself/himself or a close confidant.
Format: Let students know that they are to write a diary entry, which is personal, reflective, and dated. Let students know of any other expectations you have of their final product.
Topic: Have students focus their writing on the struggle or conflict the writer (the character of their assumed role) is experiencing. Encourage students to think about the Card Sort activity from earlier in the lesson and also include any fears, hopes, etc. that they would be experiencing.
Give each student a half-page of the attached RAFT handout and discuss the RAFT strategy, as listed on the slide. Then, review the example from The Diary of Anne Frank using slide 19.
Give students approximately 15 minutes to write their diary entry, which is from the perspective of their character and contains their character’s struggles, hopes, dreams, and so on.
Evaluate
15 Minute(s)
Display slide 20. Have students reflect on the diary entries they just wrote and how specific changes might impact their writing by asking them to answer one of the following prompts:
Imagine you had a different role for your diary entry. Identify a different role and describe how that would have changed your diary entry.
Imagine you were writing to a different audience. Identify a different audience and describe how that would have changed your diary entry.
Have students record their responses on the back of their diary entries or on a piece of notebook paper. If time allows, have students share their responses with the class.
Resources
K20 Center. (n.d.). Card sort. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/147
K20 Center. (n.d.). Quick write. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1127
K20 Center. (n.d.). RAFT. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/158
K20 Center. (n.d.). Why-lighting. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/128
K20 Center. (2021, September 21). K20 Center 5 minute timer [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVS_yYQoLJg