Life is Beautiful: Teaching the Holocaust through Film with Complementary Texts

Student Interactives

Printouts

Websites

Preparation

 

STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades   K – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Writing & Publishing Prose

Letter Generator

The Letter Generator is a useful tool for students to learn the parts of a business or friendly letter and then compose and print letters for both styles of correspondence.

 

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PRINTOUTS

• Permission to View Film/Video form
• Exit Slips
• World War Two Background Questions
• World War Two Background Answers
• Life is Beautiful Discussion Questions
• Letter to the Director Rubric
• Suggested Holocaust Literature

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WEBSITES

• Center for Media Literacy
  

  This organization’s website features resources for teachers that focus on strengthening students’ ability to interact with 21st century media.

• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  

  The Museum website has many resources for teachers striving to help students learn the history of the Holocaust and reflect upon the moral and ethical questions raised by that history.

• Holocaust History – About.com
  

  This website offers a comprehensive list of Holocaust resources.

• Internet Movie Datebase – IMDB.com
  

  This website has information on the time period, events, characters, and context of the film.

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PREPARATION

1. Have the students read a book about the Holocaust, such as The Diary of Anne Frank or Night. See the Suggested Holocaust Literature.
2. Students may need a little background on World War II and the concentration camps if they have no prior knowledge.  It would also be important to discuss Italy’s role in the war.  The students could visit the following websites and complete the World War Two Background Questions (see the answers here). To make access easier for students, bookmark these websites on the appropriate computers.
   • History Channel
     • http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii
   • World War Two Timeline
     • http://www.worldwar-2.net/
   • National World War Two Memorial
     • http://www.wwiimemorial.com/
   • Italy in World War Two
     • http://www.comandosupremo.com/
3. If your students struggle with reading subtitles, practice the skill before viewing the movie.  Choose any scene from a foreign film (perhaps a high-interest martial arts film that the students would enjoy like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), play a few minutes of it, and ask the students only to look at the pictures and listen to the sounds.  Rewind the scene, play it again, and ask them to concentrate only on the words that are written below the images.  Play the scene one final time as they watch for all the elements of the film.
4. Make the appropriate amount of copies of the Life is Beautiful Discussion Questions, Exit Slips, and Letter to the Director Rubric.
5. Send home a Movie Permission Slip or the forms required by your local school to families announcing details about the movie before showing it in class.
6. Make appropriate arrangements to have computer access for all students when they begin the closing activity and appropriate equipment to view the film.  Be sure to test out the Letter Generator and websites before you begin the lesson.

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