Project Exchange

The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)

By Kyle Hartung | City Arts and Tech High School

Driving Question  What's this?

Am I My Brother or Sister's Keeper?

What does it mean to Search for Meaning? This study asks students to look deeply into our humanity and come to understand events that are unthinkable. To assist them in their own search for meaning, they engage in a long inquiry that not only includes reading Night, but also poetry, interviews, and films that explore multiple points of view, current and past, about Humanity, Holocaust and Genocide. They are asked to consider: What would you do? How do you find meaning in a world that seems so horrid and unjust?

Students were asked to BECOME A WITNESS.

Elie Wiesel, the author on Night, believes that: “True writers want to tell the story simply because they believe they can do something with it—their lives are not fruitless and are not spent in vain. True listeners want to listen to stories to enrich their own lives and to understand them. What is happening to me happens to you. Both the listener and the reader are participants in the same story and both make it the story it is.”

What does he mean? As a writer, Elie is a Messenger and he needs you to bear Witness to the story of his experience. How did he find meaning in life through telling his own story? Can you do the same? He needs you to be a true listener and to hear his story. You need to hear his story as a way to think more deeply about your own life. Together, a different possibility can surface.

 

Subject Area(s): Language Arts

 

Teaching Days to Complete: 6 weeks

 

Keywords  What's this?

Holocaust, Night, Elie Weisel, Genocide, Humanity, Life is Beautiful, Inside Dachau, Witness, Scrapbook, Fathers, Religion, Hope

 

Outcomes  What's this?

 

21st Century Leadership Skills  What's this?

Manage Projects Effectively, Think Critically, Express Creatively

 

Graduation Portfolio Tasks  What's this?

Literary Analysis


PROJECT GENERAL RESOURCES

 

Project Overview
This is the entire project overview and includes the outline for the "Testimony of a Witness" Scrapbook project that stu...
Download (Other, 517K)

 

Facing History and Ourselves Resource Book
This is the "Holocaust and Human Behavior" Resource Book that is filled with resources, supplemental readings, activitie...
http://www.facinghistory.org/c...

"After We Are Free" HW Template
Kyle Hartung

“In the depths of my heart, I felt a great void.” (week4 : day2)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
PDF

"Inside Dachau" Analysis Handout
Kyle Hartung

When We Are Free (week4 : day3)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Word

"Inside Dachau" by Sherman Alexie
Kyle Hartung

“In the depths of my heart, I felt a great void.” (week4 : day2)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Word

"Let's Take a Trip Together"
Kyle Hartung

The Launch
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Powerpoint

'Life is Beautiful' student viewing handout
Kyle Hartung

Life is Beautiful (the film)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Word

2 Circles Discussion Questions Presentation
Kyle Hartung

Not Feeling The Blows That Harm You (week5 : day1)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Powerpoint

4 Corners PPT Presentation
Kyle Hartung

4 Corners Discussion Activity
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Powerpoint

Essay Assignment Overview
Kyle Hartung

Humanities Essay: Am I My Brother or Sister's Keeper?
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
PDF

Holocaust Memorial Quotation Activity
Kyle Hartung

Night's Memorial (week5 : day3)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Word

Memorializing 'Night' Activities
Kyle Hartung

Night's Memorial (week5 : day3)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Powerpoint

Metaphor Analysis
Kyle Hartung

Metaphor and Night (Week3 : Day2)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
PDF

PPT of Activities
Kyle Hartung

When We Are Free (week4 : day3)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Powerpoint

PPT of activities
Kyle Hartung

Becoming a Witness: The Project (week2 : day1)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Powerpoint

PPT of Activities
Kyle Hartung

The Word "Night" (week2 : day2)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Powerpoint

PPT of Activities
Kyle Hartung

Metaphor and Night (Week3 : Day2)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Powerpoint

PPT of Activities
Kyle Hartung

Where is God Now? (week3 : day3)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Powerpoint

PPT of Activities
Kyle Hartung

Hateful Messages, Humanity & Choice (week4 : day1)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Powerpoint

Reading (Letter): Naked and Barefoot
Kyle Hartung

Hateful Messages, Humanity & Choice (week4 : day1)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Word

The End of 'Night'
Kyle Hartung

From The Depths Of The Mirror... (week5 : day2)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Powerpoint

Week One Activies
Kyle Hartung

The Initiation (Week1 Activities)
The Search for Meaning (A Holocaust Project)
MS Word