The Diary of Anne Frank: A Play

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. The play takes place in Amsterdam between 1942 and 1944 during World War II and the Holocaust. What do you know or think you know about the Holocaust? How and why did it happen? Why is it important to continue learning about it?

Teaching Suggestion: Students will likely come to this topic with varying degrees of information and misinformation. You might consider having a class discussion to gauge their knowledge, then share or utilize the following links to provide a foundation in understanding the play. Alternatively, you might ask them to research or explore these resources as prereading work.

• The website for the “United States Holocaust Memorial Museum” in Washington, D.C. provides a large library of media, articles, and primary resources about the history of the Holocaust. Depending on student age and knowledge level, you may want to start with the “Introduction to the Holocaust” section. The site also includes a “Resources for Educators” section that gives tips for teaching this difficult history to young people.
• For an overview of World War II and the Holocaust, Crash Course European History offers four videos that might be useful for explaining the period: “#37 – Economic Depression and Dictators” explains how mass economic hardships created dictatorships, including how and why Hitler began targeting Jewish people; “#38 – World War II" gives a bird’s eye view of the war itself; “#39 – WWII Civilians and Soldiers” talks about what it was like to fight on the ground and live in war-torn Europe, including a discussion of the rise of Nazi ideology and how average civilians were swept into the movement; and “#40 – The Holocaust, Genocides, and Mass Murder of WWII” speaks specifically about the atrocities of Nazi Germany.

2. Who was Anne Frank? What do you know or think you know about her, and how did you learn it? What references to Anne Frank exist in popular culture? Why do we still talk about her? 

Teaching Suggestion: As with the Holocaust, students will likely have widely varying levels of familiarity with Anne Frank’s life. You might use this question to lead a prereading discussion, then explore these resources together or ask students to conduct their own research as a prereading activity.

• The website for the “Anne Frank House,” a museum in Amsterdam, offers a comprehensive collection of reader-friendly articles, multimedia, and primary resources about the life of Anne Frank. You may wish to continue to refer to this site throughout the unit for images of material artifacts. One particularly useful feature is the interactive diagram of the Secret Annex and the connected office building.
• This article in National Geographic, “Who Was Anne Frank? Why Her Legacy Is Still Fought Over Today” discusses Anne Frank’s significance and the complex issues surrounding the way she is studied and represented.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the play.

Imagine that a sudden threat or war is forcing you to go into hiding with your immediate family or guardians. This means no contact with other people, no social media, and no going outside of your shared hiding space; you are not permitted to even look out the windows. Write a letter to a friend (real or imaginary) or a journal entry to yourself about what you are experiencing in your first day in hiding. Incorporate the answers to these questions:

• Where would you hide?
• Who do you think would help you?
• What would you take with you if you could only take a backpack?
• What or who would you miss?
• What would be frustrating?

Teaching Suggestion: From the prereading activities, students will likely know that Anne Frank went into hiding and kept a diary that became famous after she died. This assignment can help them to see Anne as a normal, relatable girl who was no more equipped than they are to handle this situation. Imagining themselves in a similar position in relation to their own lives can lead them to develop empathy toward the real girl behind the character.

Differentiation Suggestion: Since this is a creative assignment, some students may feel more comfortable expressing themselves with a more visual, verbal, or kinesthetic approach. Consider giving those students the opportunity to respond creatively by drawing pictures or cartoons, writing and performing a monologue, or building a model out of materials on hand.