Students will: 
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.

I am a Holocaust trained educator who has taught the Holocaust through literature and primary source documents to students in grades 7 through 10.  I have studied at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, as well as a 3-week seminar at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem with 36 other educators from around the world. Additionally I have hosted an educator workshop on Holocaust Education and collaborated with the creators of the Echoes and Reflections curriculum. 

Homework Offered
Students will be expected to read assigned texts outside of class, complete some of their writing assignments on their own. 
Reading assignments will include 4 to 10 pages per class
Total time spent completing work outside of class should be approximately 2 to 3 hours a week.
2 - 4 hours per week outside of class
Assessments Offered
Informal assessment is the primary source of determining a student's knowledge and progress.  However, the completion of their in class and independent assignments will be assessed as well.  Students who need a letter grade can be assessed more formally.  
Grades Offered

US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Israel
Echoes and Reflections 
Facing History
Final Letters: From Victims of the Holocaust
We Are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl
Night
Our Crime Was Being Jewish: Hundreds of Holocaust Survivors Tell Their Stories