Where Shall I Begin

After searching several websites, I have determined that the best place to start the introduction of the Holocaust with 6th graders would be through the children's poem "I Never Saw Another Butterfly." The poem written by 20 year old Pavel Friedman while interned at the Terezin Concentration Camp is a true testament to the spirit and pain of the more than 12,000 children who were imprisioned in the camp between 1942 and 1944. More than 90% of these children died. I think is very important to help my students see the Holocaust through the eyes of those close to their ages. There is significance in the empathy that can grow between today's children and those in history. I have developed a short writing prompt that incorporates the words of the poem and visuals that I feel would prove stimulating and moving to my 6th graders. I do not plan to go "overboard" with graphic visual images, rather focus on the individuals in this horrific time in the history of our world. Students will also be reading Number the Stars in their literature classes while I am leading some historic research on the children.