Mursion Scenario Lesson Plan

Objective: Students will analyze Elie Wiesel’s first night in Birkenau in order to
examine the mental torture and containment used by the Nazis in the concentration
camps.
Reading (chapter excerpt):
THE BARRACK we had been assigned to was very long. On the roof, a few bluish
skylights. I thought: This is what the antechamber of hell must look like. So many
crazed men, so much shouting, so much brutality.

Dozens of inmates were there to receive us, sticks in hand, striking anywhere, anyone,
without reason. The orders came:

"Strip! Hurry up! Raus! Hold on only to your belt and your shoes…"

Our clothes were to be thrown on the floor at the back of the barrack. There was a pile
there already. New suits, old ones, torn overcoats, rags. For us it meant true equality:
nakedness. We trembled in the cold.

A few SS officers wandered through the room, looking for strong men. If vigor was
that appreciated, perhaps one should try to appear sturdy? My father thought the
opposite. Better not to draw attention. (We later found out that he had been right.
Those who were selected that day were incorporated into the Sonder-Kommando, the
Kommando working in the crematoria. Béla Katz, the son of an important merchant of
my town, had arrived in Birkenau with the first transport, one week ahead of us. When
he found out that we were there, he succeeded in slipping us a note. He told us that
having been chosen because of his strength, he had been forced to place his own
father's body into the furnace.)

The blows continued to rain on us:

"To the barber!"

Belt and shoes in hand, I let myself be dragged along to the barbers. Their clippers
tore out our hair, shaved every hair on our bodies. My head was buzzing; the same
thought surfacing over and over: not to be separated from my father.

Freed from the barbers' clutches, we began to wander about the crowd, finding friends,
acquaintances. Every encounter filled us with joy—yes, joy: Thank God! You are still
alive!

Some were crying. They used whatever strength they had left to cry. Why had they let
themselves be brought here? Why didn't they die in their beds? Their words were
interspersed with sobs.
Suddenly someone threw his arms around me in a hug: Yehiel, the Sigheter rebbe's
brother. He was weeping bitterly. I thought he was crying with joy at still being alive.

"Don't cry, Yehiel," I said. "Don't waste your tears…"

"Not cry? We're on the threshold of death. Soon, we shall be inside…Do you
understand? Inside. How could I not cry?"

I watched darkness fade through the bluish skylights in the roof. I no longer was
afraid. I was overcome by fatigue.

The absent no longer entered our thoughts. One spoke of them—who knows what
happened to them?—but their fate was not on our minds. We were incapable of
thinking. Our senses were numbed, everything was fading into a fog. We no longer
clung to anything. The instincts of self-preservation, of self-defense, of pride, had all
deserted us. In one terrifying moment of lucidity, I thought of us as damned souls
wandering through the void, souls condemned to wander through space until the end
of time, seeking redemption, seeking oblivion, without any hope of finding either.
Discussion Questions (3 -5):
1. Why do the camps require that the prisoners lose their clothes and wear a
uniform?
Take any weapons. Make everyone equal to one another. Make sure they are in
working clothes.
2. Why do you believe the camps require the prisoners to shave their heads?
Make everyone equal. Remove individuality. (this is one of the main torture
talking points) Make so no one recognizes each other. Less chance to rise up.
Easier for guards to hurt if they all look the same.
3. Are Elie and his father immoral for not being able to worry about their friends
they have not seen? (the absent)
Yes they should be looking for their friends. No, they have enough to worry
about like surviving.
4. In addition to their joy of seeing some of their friends again, do you think Elie
and his father feel any guilt for their friends who are not present? Use evidence
to support your claims.
Yes, thoughts of self-preservation/defense/pride have left them. Seems like a
void. Seeking redemption. (this is the other main torture taking point)
5. Predict: do you think we will begin to see some of the effects of this mental
torture later in the novel?
It may show up as he tries to recall the events. No he is far removed and
editors may not let those thoughts slip through.
Assessment (Quick; formative) - How Will You Collect Evidence That Your Students
(individually) Grasped The Intended Learning in Today’s Lesson?

At the end of the lesson I will ask students to write a short paragraph (3-5 sentences)
describing which of the mental tortures we have described they feel would affect them
the most.
This not only shows that they understand the effects of the mental torture of the camp
inmates, but it also shows that they can judge which the level of torture and relate to
how Elie and his father may feel.
Building relationships components - List 3 – 4 you hope to utilize during your lesson
& discuss in a short description how you plan to implement each one
1. Asking: “What is one thing you heard someone say today that really resonated
with you?” at the end of my lesson.
This is a technique saw used extensively during my SCED 341. Students don’t
only need to build rapport with their teacher, but each other as well. When
students encourage one another it can students feel more comfortable speaking
in class. Building that respect from day 1 is incredibly important to me.
2. Express confidence in every student’s capacity to work hard and be successful.
I plan to encourage every student to either answer a question or ask a new
question at least once throughout the discussion at the beginning in hopes of
getting every student to speak at least once. I feel this should not be too
difficult as the questions are largely open for discussion and do not have a
right or wrong answer. I also plan to keep track of who as spoken in order to
know which students I should encourage to speak throughout the discussion.
3. Use body language (e.g. nodding), eye contact (as appropriate to the student),
and conversation moves (e.g. “Let me repeat back what I think you said”) to
signal to students that you are listening to and taking their ideas seriously
Students want to be heard when they have an excellent idea or a question. One
of the best ways you can help students is to simply listen to them and show you
are listening through appropriate eye contact and gestures. Students should be
more prone to ask and answer questions if they feel what they are saying is
being considered important by the teacher and their peers, and the teacher
should lead by example in this respect.
4. Engage in occasional light-hearted exchanges with students to demonstrate
warmth and openness
This is a HUGE MAYBE but, this is a rather dark lesson and some kind of
relief may be needed. I do however need to watch what I say very carefully,
because it can be incredibly easy to offend or hurt a student with comments in
such a heavy lesson.
 For our mursion scenario, I felt that my classroom management went very well. This was a very

strange and new environment to be teaching in (simulated teaching) however I feel that I adapted quickly.

I felt that I did a good job of encouraging the students with the really though questions at hand. I also felt

that I did a good job of handling answers and making sure that every student knew that their answers were

welcome, right or wrong.

I did not expect for my questions to stump the students as much as they did. I had asked some

really tough questions during this discussion that I would have asked a high school class, however these

AI were middle schoolers, and at that were AI’s. The questions were very good but needed to be brought

down to a level that the class could comprehend in order to get them to understand the discussion. This

showed as many of my peers noted that Jasmine seemed to shut down after I used the word philosophical.

As far as feedback goes, my peers all concurred that I was far too ambitious in my questioning for

AI’s of middle schoolers. They were very good questions, however were not appropriate for the age of

students. The students really struggled with the questions and it even shut some of them down at points or

caused them to check out of the discussion.

If I was to run this lesson again, I would re-evaluate my questions. I would add more recall

questions that would lead into a deeper discussion of the text in order to get students thinking more,

instead of quickly diving into critical thinking questions. I think this would help to get students more

involved and into the mindset that is required to answer higher level thinking questions. I also would re-

word the questions I asked to make sure that my students do not get shut down by questions that are

beyond their level.

I feel that I excelled in InTASC #3, learning environments. I feel that they way that I presented

myself and spoke to the students really showed that I cared about them and that we were creating a safe

environment for all their ideas to be welcome, whether they have the “right” answer or not. I think I did a

good job of making sure that every student was included and that their thoughts were well represented in
the discussion. I also feel I did a good job of handling behavior issues while maintaining a good

relationship with students by asking for their respect rather than their obedience.