2 HOURS OF CONTENT - A detailed and well differentiated editable history lesson all about what went on during the Holocaust and how each of the camps operated as well as what daily life was like for the different inmates. There is a lot of content here, so you may want to teach this over 2 lessons.
The lesson is very easy to just pick up and use and includes a detailed PowerPoint, a variety of activities, source questions, clip tasks, exam-styles practice questions, active tasks and more.
The aim of this lesson is to explore why the Holocaust must be remembered and why its legacy remains so important today.
The lesson begins by challenging common misconceptions about the Holocaust, including what the term actually means and the important differences between concentration camps and extermination camps. Students develop their understanding of these key concepts before considering why accurate historical knowledge is essential when studying the Holocaust.
A numeracy activity challenges students to interpret and discuss the significance of key figures connected to the Holocaust. Numbers ranging from 6 million to 2 minutes and 2 seconds, and 90cm by 90cm, are used to help students consider the scale, human impact and significance of the Holocaust in different ways.
The lesson concludes with the deeply moving story of Erica, a baby thrown from a train by her parents before reaching Auschwitz. This provides an opportunity for students to reflect on identity, memory, survival and why individual stories remain such an important part of remembering the Holocaust.
A reflective plenary uses odd one out activities and references to more recent genocides to reinforce the importance of remembrance and historical awareness today. Video footage is also used throughout to enhance engagement, discussion and understanding.
The lesson is enquiry based, with the key question introduced using a lightbulb activity at the beginning and revisited at the end, allowing students to demonstrate how their thinking and understanding have developed.
The resource includes suggested teaching and learning strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials, video footage and a range of activities designed to encourage discussion, reflection and critical thinking.
Included in this lesson:
Fully editable PowerPoint
The legacy of the Holocaust
Holocaust misconceptions
Holocaust numeracy activity
The story of Erica
Odd one out activities
More recent genocides
Retrieval practice
Suggested teaching strategies
Differentiated materials
Please leave a review, which would be gratefully received.
This bundle contains:
L1 - What was the Holocaust?
L2 - Who Did the Nazis Persecute?
L3 - What Are the Roots of Antisemitism?
L4 - How Did Jewish Lives Change After 1933?
L5 - Kristallnacht
L6 - Children’s Kindtertransport Experiences
L7 - What Was Life Like in the Ghettos?
L8 - Did Jewish People Resist?
L9 - The Final Solution
L10 - How Did the Holocaust Affect British Soil?
The individual lessons would normally cost £22.50, so this bundle would save you 30%.
This lesson contains:
A starter with a ‘math’ question from Nazi Germany to get students thinking about the effect that such messages would have had on the acceptance of violence towards Jews.
An activity to complete a knowledge organiser worksheet as you lead them through the powerpoint, covering:
* The Prophecy speech
* Increased number of Jews under Nazi control
* Madagascar Plan
* The Wannsee Conference (with 2 videos from YouTube that shows what happened and what was decided).
* Where the Holocaust took place
* What happened at the camps
* Death through work and gas chambers
* Auschwitz as a short study.
* A final plenary to consider the human impact of Auschwitz.
Attachments:
1 x Powerpoint Presentation
1 x Publisher File
This lesson contains:
A starter that asks students to study a source image of Jews cleaning the streets. they are asked analytical questions about it and will return to the image later.
An overview of the key words for the lesson, which are ‘perpetrators’, ‘collaborators’, ‘bystanders’ and ‘resisters’. There is then a chance for students to make notes on each as you go through the next 4 slides with images.
A task to return to the source and judge who they believe in the picture fall into each of the categories. The extension is to consider why it’s sometimes hard to decide on the difference between those doing and those collaborating.
A colour-coding activity to look at a series of scenarios and judge what category of guilt they are to be placed in.
An extension of this task to then map the numbers of each scenario on a plot graph to note the impact of each and the level of ‘active’ or ‘non active’ each scenario showed. this can lead to greater analysis of the consequences of different peoples’ actions.
A review of the learning.
Attachments:
1 x Powerpoint Presentation
1 x Word File
This fully resourced KS3 unit has been designed to support the History National Curriculum topic: “Challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world, 1901 to the present day.”
The lessons also work extremely well alongside GCSE Germany courses, where there is often limited curriculum time to explore the Holocaust in real depth despite the strong interest and engagement it generates from students.
At the heart of the unit is one central historical enquiry: Who was to blame for the Holocaust?
Across the 11 lessons, students continuously revisit and develop their ideas using a recurring lightbulb activity, allowing them to track and reflect on their thinking throughout the enquiry. This can be colour-coded or dated to clearly demonstrate progress over time.
Students explore the causes, consequences and wider impact of the Holocaust, tracing the roots of anti-Semitism from the Middle Ages through to Nazi Germany and genocide during the Second World War. Along the way, they encounter key historical concepts including discrimination, persecution, propaganda, resistance and genocide, while also learning the difference between concentration camps and extermination camps.
The enquiry is built around a wide range of engaging and challenging historical sources, including extracts from The Diary of a Young Girl, anti-Semitic taxation records from Medieval Norwich, eyewitness testimony, propaganda material and post-war evidence from the Nuremberg Trials.
Students are encouraged to analyse evidence, make historical inferences, evaluate interpretations and construct structured written arguments about responsibility for the Holocaust.
The unit explores the roles played by individuals and groups including Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, the SS, camp guards, the Einsatzgruppen and Josef Mengele, while also considering the responsibility of ordinary people and wider society.
Included Lessons
L1 Introduction to the Holocaust
L2 Anti-Semitism in Britain
L3 Anti-Semitism in Europe (Free Resource)
L4 From Extremism to Extermination
L5 How Was the Holocaust Organised?
L6 Who Was to Blame?
L7 Jewish Resistance
L8 Liberation of the Camps
L9 The Diary of Anne Frank (Free Resource)
L10 The Nuremberg Trials
L11 The Hunt for Josef Mengele
Each lesson includes suggested teaching and learning strategies, engaging activities, differentiated tasks and carefully selected historical interpretations designed to encourage discussion, enquiry and critical thinking.
All resources are fully editable in PowerPoint format, making them easy to adapt to suit different classes and teaching styles. A number of free lessons are also included to showcase the style and quality of the unit.
The enquiry works particularly well when combined with GCSE-style assessment questions and mark schemes from your chosen exam board, helping students develop analytical and evaluative skills alongside their historical knowledge.
This Genocide lesson investigates what happened in the concentration/death camps during the Holocaust. 6 different camps are looked at to show how people experienced different things. Camps looked at include Theresienstadt, Sobibor, Dachau, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Ravensbruck and Bergen-Belsen.
This download includes a fully editable powerpoint with all activities, instructions, clip links and worksheets/information sheets you need. It is differentiated 2/3 ways where possible with scaffolding and challenge options and is fully planned with plenty of activities for your students to complete including a starter, all clips and related tasks, groupwork information learning activity, picture information extraction activity, a consolidation explain question and a plenary.
Activities are planned to encourage thinking and discussion.
This lesson can be used alongside my lessons on ‘ghettos & separation’ and ‘Nazi laws’, which can be found as a bundle at the bottom of this page.
This lesson can also be used as a part of a growing bundle on ‘Genocide’ which also includes Nazi laws, ghettos and separation, as well as genocide in Rwanda, Cambodia and Bosnia: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/genocide-12925147
Please take a look at my growing TES shop where you can find free or inexpensive lessons:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/DiscoveringHistory
CUSTOMER SERVICE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME - If, by any chance, you encounter any issues with the resource, please email me at discoveringhistoryuk@gmail.com and I’ll try to solve them for you. I really appreciate being given the chance to make things right.
Please support my small business by leaving a review.
There are more KS3 & GCSE History lessons on the way - follow my social media pages for freebies, new resources and interesting facts!
Got a lesson suggestion? Or looking for something in particular? Email me!
This lesson contains:
A ‘do it now’ starter based on previous learning on the course, but this can be edited to suit what you have taught.
An overview of the situation n 1939 after Hitler had invaded Poland and started WW2. Students then find out that Jews were forced to move into ghettos. Students define the word in their books. There is then a short video from YouTube to reinforce this idea.
A closer look, in particular, at the Warsaw Ghetto. Students find out where it was, how many went there and how it looked. This is a video from YouTube that reinforced this information and gives some insight into life in the ghettos, as well as an optional clip from Schlinder’s list which I have edited with questions across the screen to consider as it’s playing.
The main activity for the students to study 4 source ‘packs’. Each info card has 2-3 pieces of information and images, as well as ‘prompts’ for them to consider and help them make notes about what life was like in their worksheet tables. There is an extension activity on the board.
A slide which goes over the major consequences of the ghettos for students to add to their notes if they didn’t get them.
A plenary to get students to consolidate their learning with some simple questions.
Attachments:
1 x Powerpoint Presentation
2 x Publisher Files
The aim of this lesson is to investigate how leading figures of the Nazi regime were identified, prosecuted and judged following the end of the Second World War.
Students begin by examining Denazification and the Allied attempts to remove Nazi influence from Germany after 1945. They explore why the Allies believed this process was necessary and consider how the growing tensions of the Cold War began to change priorities. Students also investigate why Nuremberg was chosen as the location for the trials.
The main activity challenges students to investigate a range of leading figures from the Nazi regime and examine their actions during the Second World War. They use historical evidence to identify the crimes associated with each individual and categorise them according to their level of responsibility, from major offenders to those who played more limited roles within the Nazi system.
Students then consider the question of appropriate punishment, deciding what sentences they believe should have been given to the different individuals. They consider imprisonment, life sentences and execution before comparing their decisions with the actual outcomes of the Nuremberg Trials.
A video activity provides additional context by examining the legacy of the Nuremberg Trials 80 years on. Survivor testimony and perspectives from descendants, including the son of Hans Frank, provide a more personal insight into the continuing impact of the trials and the search for justice.
The lesson forms part of the wider enquiry running throughout the unit: “Who was to blame for the Holocaust?” Students continue to develop and refine their ideas using a structured lightbulb activity, allowing them to track how their thinking changes as they encounter new evidence. This helps students recognise the complexity of responsibility within the Nazi regime.
The lesson concludes by revisiting the evidence and encouraging students to develop a more nuanced understanding of justice, responsibility and accountability after the Holocaust.
Fully planned and ready to teach, this lesson develops historical enquiry, source analysis, interpretation, evaluation, responsibility and evidence-based judgement.
Included in this lesson:
Fully editable PowerPoint
Denazification and the post-war settlement
Nuremberg Trials and Nazi war crimes
Key Nazi figures and their roles
Responsibility and war crimes activity
Historical outcomes of the trials
Survivor testimony and video resources
Hans Frank case study
Retrieval practice
Differentiated resources
Suggested teaching strategies
Please leave a review if you find this resource useful. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
Are you teaching the Holocaust from home or in class?
This pack introduces the class to The Holocaust explaining what it was and why it happened. It includes key vocabulary and fully adaptable sheets as well as a PowerPoint and thinking activities aimed at KS2. I used it for Year 5 and the class loved it, the questions kept flying in and the children were fully engaged and really enjoyed the thinking activities.
There is a comprehension sheet that relates to the PowerPoint to make sure the children fully understand what has been taught.
There is a brief introduction to Anne Frank and who she was which is useful to introduce the next lesson to be linked for English lessons where they will start reading The Diary of Anne Frank.
This lesson contains:
A starter to consider what students already know about the Holocaust. Students then draw a mind map to gather ideas about why they study it, what happened and when and to whom.
A video from YouTube which consolidates this and allows students to add to their knowledge. A slide then has suggested responses for some green pen work.
An activity to study 3 interpretations of the word ‘Holocaust’ and students find common factors between them, making their own definition at the bottom of the worksheet.
An introduction to stereotypes and students can annotate the picture of a Jewish stereotype. This will allow later study of German propaganda against the Jews. Students also have some slides to see on modern stereotypes which may interest them, before looking at how the Nazis then portrayed them.
A plenary to describe two features of the Jewish stereotype.
Attachments:
1 x Powerpoint Presentation
1 x Word File
1 x Publisher File
This lesson contains:
A ‘do it now’ starter based on previous learning on the course, but this can be edited to suit what you have taught.
An introduction to the idea of resistance and how it manifests. Students can explore types of resistance that can be done other than force. They then get introduced to some images of resistance in the ghettos, then discuss a ‘word wall’ with different ways the Jews resisted. Students categorise them as giving hope, morale or those preserving values and beliefs.
An overview of the difficulties faced when trying to escape from concentration camps. Students examine an excerpt and write down 3 reasons escape was hard. They then give specific examples from the next slide.
A guided reading task on the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising with questions around the outsides, differentiated to show where the information can be found.
A plenary to explain what resistance meant to Jewish people and what it means to them also.
Attachments:
1 x Powerpoint Presentation
1 x Publisher File
This great value Holocaust bundle includes the following lessons/resources:
Nazi Laws
Life in Ghettos
Concentration and death camps
documentary questions
This download includes everything you need to teach these lessons - all powerpoints, clips, activities, instructions, worksheets and information sheets. Scaffolding and challenge activities are included where possible. All lessons last at least one hour and are fully editable. Activities have been designed to promote thinking and discussion.
Please take a look at my growing TES shop where you can find free or inexpensive lessons:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/DiscoveringHistory
SAVE £££ BY BUYING GREAT VALUE BUNDLES!
CUSTOMER SERVICE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME - If, by any chance, you encounter any issues with the resource, please email me at discoveringhistoryuk@gmail.com and I’ll try to solve them for you. I really appreciate being given the chance to make things right.
Please support my small business by leaving a review.
There are more KS3 & GCSE History lessons on the way - follow my social media pages for freebies, new resources and interesting facts!
Got a lesson suggestion? Or looking for something in particular? Email me!
This lesson contains:
A ‘do it now’ starter which can be amended to fit whatever you have recently been studying.
A background into the emigration of Jews after the changes ot the laws in the 1930’s. it introduced Herschel Grunszpan and his murder of Ernst Von Rath. There is then a video from YouTube to back this up and tells the whole story of Kristallnacht. Students complete a series of questions as the video plays.
A small task for students to use the stats on the board to write down the 5 facts that go with them.
An additional task to read 3 sources from eye witnesses and to write down what we can learn from them about people’s experiences of the night.
A plenary to review an interpretation and what it might mean.
Attachments:
1 x Powerpoint Presentation
1 x Word File
1 x Publisher File
This lesson has been created with KS3 secondary history students in mind and is the first lesson in my Holocaust unit of work. This lesson has been created on Microsoft Powerpoint and the accompanying student handout and worksheet has been created on Powerpoint also. . Teacher Notes & Answers have been added to the notes section underneath each relevant slide on the Powerpoint.
This resource slowly introduces students to the topic of the Holocaust using skills of inference on a historical artefact and through controlled classroom discussion. Students work on a single historical artefact individually/in pairs/as a class - whichever you feel suits your class best and build a picture of a person - they then have this put into greater perspective for them. The utmost care has been taken to ensure this resource has been created with the utmost respect to the victims of the holocaust and to ensure that students have the opportunity to connect and empathise to the human beings to whom the attrocities of the holocaust were committed. There a no images or corpses in this resource - however the murder of victims is discussed.
This lesson includes suggested learning objectives and outcomes and has been designed to be taught over the course of one hour.
I really hope you enjoy teaching this lesson as much as I do! If you are able to leave a review once you have taught it, I would be really grateful.
Looking for more Holocaust resources? Explore more from my shop below
Lesson 2: Challenging stereotypes
Holocaust Memorial Day Assembly
Interactive PowerPoint designed to deepen knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust with information adn visual prompts. There are activities to check this comprehension on each slide.
A lesson for UKS2 focussing on The Holocaust with information and resources included. Information available for children to go and research one particular aspect- children to then come back and teach their group what they have learnt. A lesson praised for the speaking and listening aspects as well as ensuring that the children had an independent approach towards their learning.
Differentiated questions at the end for children to apply their knowledge.
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