Common Core

With the transition to common core curriculum, teaching the Holocaust in an English/Language Arts classroom becomes even more justifiable.  There are a multitude of resources for teaching the Holocaust that can be used within the format of the common core curriculum.  First, there is more of an emphasis on non-fiction writing.  The resources for teaching the Holocaust have many non-fiction pieces; in fact, some of the best pieces for teaching the Holocaust are non-fiction.  There are memoirs, journal entries, historical documents, and so much more that could be used to teach the Holocaust and meet the requirements of the common core for English/Language Arts.  Second, the common core curriculum suggests teaching shorter pieces in more depth.  Teachers could take excerpts from those same memoirs, journal entries and documents to teach non-fiction.  Some of the documents are short enough to be used in their entirety.  The Midwest Center for Holocaust Education’s resource center has many of these resources that teachers in the Kansas City area can check out for free.  If a teacher is outside the area, many local libraries have some of the resources available to check out as well.