Lesson Topics: genocide, Israel, Palestine, political activism
Skill Focus: Reading, Speaking, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: holocaust-survivor-israel-advanced-052024.docx
Lesson Overview:
- Note to teachers: This is a controversial conflict. Overall, the lesson and video show sympathy for the plight of Palestinians. I feel this is an important topic (hence the lesson) but be sure your students are comfortable discussing it.
- After warm-up questions, students do a vocabulary-matching exercise. Afterward, they watch a short two-minute YouTube video from a Holocaust survivor who compares her experiences as a child to what she believes Palestinians are facing today.
- After the video, students complete comprehension questions. Finally, students match vocabulary from the video to definitions and then form discussion questions using the target vocabulary.
- There are two debate topics. These are followed by two roleplays. The first is between a protestor and dean on a college campus; the second relates to a political activist and her somewhat nihilistic boyfriend.
- The next activity has students in groups think of possible actions they could take to help end the killing in Palestine.
- The lesson ends with a review of vocabulary and collocations before presenting some final discussion questions.
ADVANCED (C1/C2) Lesson on Genocide in Palestine
Warm-up-Questions
- What do you know about the lives of your grandparents? Did they encounter war?
- Have you ever been involved in a protest?
- What do you know about the current situation in Palestine?
- All of my Jewish family was murdered, and it is not in their name that Israel is killing children. (0:08)
- As a Jew, I find it horrific. (0:21)
- I am actually ashamed sometimes to acknowledge that I belong to the tribe that is killing innocent people. (0:31)
- It’s an empty slogan. (0:59)
- … at the beginning of the Nazi reign of terror… (1:08)
- My grandmother and my Jewish relatives were shot upon arrival and then dumped into a mass grave. (1:31)
- I relate to physically and mentally. (1:35)
Vocabulary: Write the bolded phrase above on the line that matches its definition.
1. ____________ (n): a short, memorable phrase used in advertising or promotion
2. ____________ (n): a social group or community with similar values, interests, etc.
3. ____________ (phrase): a burial site containing multiple human bodies
4. ____________ (adj): extremely bad and shocking
5. ____________ (v): to understand and sympathize with someone/something
6. ____________ (phrase): representing; on behalf of them
7. ____________ (v): to accept the truth of something
8. ____________ (phrase): a period during which a government uses violence/fear to control people
Video: Holocaust survivor says Israel is committing Holocaust in Gaza
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IN45zIiRBw (2:06 / European Accent)
Listen, Recall, Retell: Retell the video’s main ideas to a partner using your own words.
Comprehension & Follow-Up Questions
1) What is your impression of the video?
2) What emotions is the speaker trying to evoke in the audience by sharing their personal history?
3) What does the phrase “Never again” represent and what is Ingrim’s opinion of it?
4) What comparisons does Ingrim make between the Nazi Holocaust and the situation in Gaza?
5) What broader message about humanity is Ingrim trying to convey through her speech?
Replace the underlined phrase with one of the words below. Some questions need to be formed. Then ask them to a partner.
in your name / horrific / acknowledge / tribe / slogan / reign of terror / mass grave / relate
- Would you rather know about extremely shocking events or live in ignorance?
- Is there something about your country’s past that you find difficult to accept as true?
- you / sympathize with / the woman in the video?
- What / social groups / you / belong?
- When / you / think / memorable phrases, what / comes to mind?
Speaking Activity: Debate (Pick a topic)
- The political leaders of my country should oppose Israel’s war in Palestine.
- The leaders of my country should not get involved in conflicts abroad.
Pick a side (FOR or AGAINST). Spend a few minutes preparing. The FOR side will present first.
Speaking Activity: Roleplay
Situation: Hundreds of students have gathered on campus to protest the war in Palestine. The Dean of the college has stepped out of her office to speak with the protestors.
| Student Protestor | Talk to the Dean. Explain that the college has investments in several companies that do business with Israel. This means the college supports Israel. You demand that the college divests (sell) these investments. You also want your college to end its academic relationships with Israeli universities. Optional expression: Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest. |
| College Dean | Talk to the student. Ask her what she would like to accomplish with her protests. Try to convince them to stop their protests if possible. (Some students have complained that the loud protests are making it hard to study.) Optional expression: Students have complained that the protests are negatively affecting their learning experience. |
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Situation: Reyna and John are dating. Reyna follows politics closely. John does not.
| Reyna | You follow politics closely. When there is something in your community, city, or country that you do not agree with, you go to protests, write letters, and donate money. Your partner, John, is a great guy but shows no interest in helping others.Task: Talk to John. Try to motivate him attend some of the events you go to. Explain how one person can make a big difference in the world. Optional expression: John F. Kenny said, “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.” |
| John | Your girlfriend, Reyna, follows politics very closely. You do not, and you’d rather not. You are happy. Life is short. You want to enjoy it, and not worry about all the suffering happening around the world. Reyna has said she wants to talk with you. Optional expression: Why bother? We’re all going to die anyway. |
Speaking Activity: Doing Something (Group Work)
You and your partners have decided that you need to do something to stop the killing in Palestine. What can you do? Brainstorm ideas with your group and then present them to the class.
Vocabulary: Insert one of the below vocabulary items into the appropriate blank.
slogan / in their name / relate / reign of terror / horrific / tribe / acknowledge / mass grave
1. All of my Jewish family was murdered, and it is not __________ that Israel is killing children.
2. As a Jew, I find it __________.
3. I am actually ashamed sometimes to __________ that I belong to the __________ that is killing innocent people.
4. It’s an empty __________.
5. … at the beginning of the Nazi __________ …
6. My grandmother and my Jewish relatives were shot upon arrival and then dumped into a __________.
7. I __________ to physically and mentally.
Related Famous Quotations
- "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." — George Santayana
- "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." — Edmund Burke
- "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." — Mahatma Gandhi
Collocation Review
| 1. What the children in Gaza are 2. in terms 3. against 4. shot | a. of hunger and bombs falling on us b. the law c. upon arrival d. going through |
Final Discussion Questions
- What were your ancestors doing at the time of the Holocaust?
- Why are people hesitant to discuss political topics like the Israel-Palestine conflict in public?
- What are the major peace-related issues that your country is facing currently?
- What media sources do you use to get unbiased news coverage?
- Over time, is the world become more or less peaceful?
This lesson plan was created by Matthew Barton of EnglishCurrent.com (copyright). Site members may photocopy and edit the file for their classes. Permission is not given to rebrand the lesson, redistribute it on another platform, or sell it as part of commercial course curriculum. ChatGPT was used to generate answer keys and some famous quotations. For questions, contact the author.
Comprehension Question Answer Key
- …
- The speaker is trying to evoke emotions of empathy, sorrow, and outrage. By sharing their personal history and comparing it to the situation in Gaza, the speaker aims to make the audience feel the pain and injustice of the current events.
- The phrase “Never again” is meant to represent a commitment to preventing future atrocities like the Holocaust. Ingrim believes that this phrase has become an empty slogan, as similar atrocities are happening again, particularly in Gaza.
- The phrase “Never again” is meant to represent a commitment to preventing future atrocities like the Holocaust. Ingrim believes that this phrase has become an empty slogan, as similar atrocities are happening again, particularly in Gaza.
- Ingrim is trying to convey that humanity has not learned from past atrocities and continues to repeat the same mistakes. They emphasize the need for empathy, action, and a genuine commitment to preventing such violence and suffering in the future.
Vocabulary 1-slogan, 2-tribe, 3-mass grave, 4-horrific, 5-relate, 6-in their name, 7-acknowledge, 9-reign of terror
Collocations 1-d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c
The conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis will never come to a solution. The reason is Palestinians will never accept a Jewish State.
Yes, you may be right.
Amazing lesson! Thank you. I will definitely be using this in my classes.