This unit is devoted to a summary of the book, and its main aim is to allow students to express themselves in creative ways and to make room for the experience of encountering Hannah and the story of her life. The time should be divided equally, half on creative work and have on discussion. It is important to ensure a calm atmosphere in the classroom, and appropriate pieces of music can be used during the first half of the lesson, while the students are working independently.
Part 1: Creative Work
The teacher should prepare a number of work corners in the room with paints, colored paper, pencils, scissors and newspaper cuttings. The students will spread out among the work corners and choose one of the three suggested activities:
- Writing a letter to Hannah Gofrit.
- Drawing or making a collage expressing their feelings after reading the book. It is worth guiding them towards drawing a single event which speaks to them more than any other.
- "Collecting" the pictures scattered in every direction in Chapter 6, when the Jews were deported to the east. In this work corner the children will create these pictures from their imagination and build up a memory of those people of whom no trace remains. It is possible to give them pictures of children and families and allow them to use them as raw material for their work (pictures can be found in the Yad Vashem archives or on the website).
Part 2: Discussion
The students will distribute their letters and art work around the classroom. Afterwards, they will look at and study their friends' work. Each student will choose one work that speaks to him or her, and think of one question to ask. The teacher will encourage dialogue on the subject of the creative work, by raising questions about the works and the creative process: Why did you choose these colors? Why did you choose this particular event? How does your letter or drawing express your feelings? etc.
It is worthwhile to encourage students also to ask each other questions, and to point out common points or differences between the work of different students, such as: I see that you have both chosen to draw the same event, or the same event has produced different feelings in each of you, and so on. The teacher should also encourage students to ask each other questions and talk to each other about the pictures they "collected" at the third work corner. The students should be guided towards questions related to the objects the figure is holding, the people with the figure, and the background in which the figure is drawn. From here, it is worth returning to Hannah's identity card at the beginning of the book and point out the similarities and differences between the children who were Hannah's friends and were killed in the Holocaust and the students themselves.
At the end of the lesson the work can be collected and used in a ceremony or exhibition to be held in the school on Holocaust Memorial Day. The work can also be sent to Hannah Gofrit, at the address given at the end of the book.
Outline:
