The diary of Anne Frank in the class

Even though decades and thousands of miles separated them from Anne Frank, my students were able to discover the commonalities in their lives. They found ways to not only unite themselves with Anne, but also to fuse together as a family.�
The most remarkable thing about my students’ reaction to the project was their desire to […]

At www.annefrank.org/diarylessons you will find lessons and quizzes about Anne Frank and her diary. The diary lessons stimulate students to think about Anne Frank’s world and their own. The quizzes test their knowledge about Anne Frank and her diary.
The diary lessons are both suited to give as homework and to do in class. Students answer […]

In last month’s posting I talked about my holistic approach to the Freedom Writers project. There has been, however, another crucial element in my lessons, and that is history.
I believe that if you don’t learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it. That is why I deliberately infused historical lessons into my literature projects. […]

After I had decided to use the diary of Anne Frank, one question sprung to my mind: how could I bring Anne’s story to life? In my view, when approaching any text, teachers must engage, enlighten and empower their students to make literature relevant to their lives. They must activate their students’ prior knowledge, and […]

I started teaching at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California in the fall of 1994. It was just after the Rodney King riots and racial tensions had spilled over into the school. After one of my student’s said, “I feel like I live in an undeclared war,” I decided to share Anne Frank’s diary […]

The students in the film ‘Freedom Writers’ are asked to keep a diary. This makes them think about their own lives.
Students answer questions about Anne Frank’s life. In this way, they get to know Anne and her dairy better. Besides this, they capture their own lives in a collage.
Download the lesson

The students in the film ‘Freedom Writers’ discover that they have more in common that they thought.
Students read texts about Anne Frank and passages from her diary. What are the differences and what do they have in common? What do they find important?
Download the lesson