Overview

Lesson Plan

Goals

• Students will be able to use theoretical frameworks to analyze group dynamics and motivations for participation in mass murder

Objectives

Students will be able to 

• identify major events of the Gardelegen massacre

• compare and contrast basic theoretical approaches to the understanding of the causes of genocide

• compare and contrast several important organizations operating to support the government and wartime goals of Nazi Germany

• use basic theories of genocide to analyze group participation in the Gardelegen massacre 

There are three lessons in this package. These can be used one after the other, in which case the full lesson will take more than one day. But each lesson can stand on its own, depending on the goals of the individual teacher. Or, parts of lessons 2 and 3 can be combined into a single activity.

Lesson 1: Talking about Genocide: A Discussion Activity 

This is a discussion activity that introduces students to basic theories about why genocide can take place

Lesson 2: Reading and Timeline

This activity requires students to exercise reading comprehension skills to develop a timeline of the events leading to the Gardelegen massacre.

Lesson 3: The Gardelegen Massacre

This is a guided exploration of the Gardelegen massacre that leads students to in-class research and discussion and analysis of the motivations for perpetrators. Teachers will need to read the Study Guide to provide the essential background for students as they make use of the slide presentation.