Introducing the Course

About This Lesson

The purpose of this first lesson is to help the class develop an environment that is conducive to learning and sharing: a reflective classroom community.

Throughout this course, students will examine primary source documents, engage in impartial instruction on the historical oppression of particular groups of people based on race, ethnicity, class, nationality, religion, and/or geographic region, and be invited to participate in impartial discussions on controversial aspects of history and how those concepts have impacted historical events and students’ own lives—all of which may spark powerful emotions and reflective questions. Facing History provides ongoing support and professional development for educators who are implementing this curriculum. When students feel empowered to contribute honestly and wrestle with multiple perspectives besides their own, such discussions can be positive and even life-changing.

At the beginning of this course, which includes an examination of the Armenian Genocide, the collapse of democracy in Germany, and the steps leading up to the Holocaust, it is important that students and teachers spend some time establishing and nurturing classroom rules and expectations of mutual respect. These “habits of behavior” will equip students with the skills to engage each other in courageous and reflective conversations.

In this lesson, you will review the classroom rules you may have already established and also create new norms and expectations generated by the students themselves. While we urge you to consider the language and expectations that are most appropriate for your classroom context, the handout Sample Facing History Classroom Expectations provides examples of the kinds of classroom norms Facing History teachers have used to support a reflective classroom community. Remember that supportive classroom environments begin with supportive, self-aware educators. Refer to the “Preparing to Teach” section of this course for more resources on teacher self-reflection before beginning the course with students, as well as strategies for setting up nurturing classroom communities from day one.

Course Essential Question

How can learning about the choices people made during past episodes of injustice, mass violence, or genocide help guide our choices today?

Guiding Questions

•  How can we create a class that is both safe and challenging? 
• How can we create an environment in which everyone is willing to take risks, test ideas, and ask questions?

Lesson Plan

Activity 1: Introduce the Course

Begin by explaining to students that they are about to begin a course called Holocaust and Human Behavior. Write this title on the board.

Pass out printed copies or digitally access My Facing History Journey to read aloud as a group. Invite students to highlight any words or phrases that stand out to them. Ask students to share anything they noticed or wonder about this course based on Dayauna B.’s reflection.

Now pass out the handout Letter to Students. You might choose to adapt this letter to become your own version instead of using the one we have provided. Either way, read aloud the letter as a group, as students highlight any words or phrases that stand out to them.

Pass out a journal to each student. This is an appropriate time to establish the expectation that journal responses do not have to be shared publicly. Ask students to react to the letter (or your own letter) in their journals. Specific questions you can use to prompt students’ writing and prepare them for the contracting activity include:

• What does it mean to have to use both your head and your heart while learning?
• What does it mean for a classroom to be a “community of learners”? In what ways does your classroom feel like a community of learners? What might help it feel more like a community of learners?

​Debrief the journal prompts. To help students understand the idea of using both head and heart while learning, draw a blank head and blank heart on the board. Ask students to brainstorm what words might fill the diagram for “head learning” and the one for “heart learning.” For example, students might suggest words like events, facts, or vocabulary for head learning and relationships, morals, or connections for heart learning.

Transition to the class contract by explaining that in this class, you will ask students to think about history both from an intellectual (“head”) angle and from a more emotional or ethical (“heart”) angle.

Activity 2: Create a Class Contract

Explain that before students begin exploring new material, the class needs to agree on some rules, norms, or expectations. You can strengthen students’ vocabulary by spending a few moments asking them to define one or more of these terms. Students can record definitions in their journals.

When a community agrees on norms or expectations for behavior, these are often articulated in a contract. Students can define the term contract in their journals. A contract implies that all parties have a responsibility in upholding the agreement.

To prepare students to develop a class contract, ask them to reflect on their experiences as students in a classroom community. Pass out the handout Classroom Experience Checklist, and ask students to complete it individually.

Ask small groups of students to work together to write rules or expectations for the classroom community. Distribute the handout Sample Facing History Classroom Expectations to help them get started. Students will discuss each of the sample items on the handout and decide whether they should adopt it in their class contract, modify it, or omit it. Have each group select three items from the list (or create their own) to share with the class.

We suggest keeping the final list brief (e.g., three to five items) so that the norms can be easily published in a visible place in the classroom and remembered. As groups present, organize their ideas by theme. If there are any tensions or contradictions in the expectations that have been suggested, discuss them as a class. While the process is inclusive of students’ ideas, ultimately it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure that the ideas that make it into the final contract are those that will best nurture a safe learning environment. 

Finally, discuss with students what they think should happen when someone violates one of the norms in the contract. It may be useful to help students distinguish between school and classroom rules and the community norms outlined in the class contract. When rules are broken, adults will often need to respond. But the students themselves should outline potential responses for rebuilding the community after an individual breaks with the norms in the class contract.

After the class has completed its contract, reaching consensus about rules, norms, and expectations, it is important for each student to signal agreement. Students can do so by copying the contract into their journals and signing the page. If there is no time, the teacher can create printed contracts or a poster to be signed in the next class period.