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LESSON PLAN (Grades 8-10) – TEN STAGES OF GENOCIDE

This activity is designed to introduce students to the stages of genocide and help them to make application to the Rwandan genocide.

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will be able to:

  • Create an understanding of genocide, not as an isolated event, but as a recurring repression of human rights.

  • Identify the warnings, signals, attitudes, and steps that lead up to genocide.

RATIONALE

Identifying and discussing the stages of genocide helps provide a framework for students to understand that genocide is a non linear occurrence.

TIME EXPECTATIONS

These will vary widely depending on how you decide to approach this activity.

LESSON

1.     Give each student a copy of “Ten Stages of Genocide Worksheet.”

2.     Look at Stage One: Classification. Explain that this is something that always happens leading up to genocide. People begin to separate themselves into categories of “us” and “them.” Remind them that these stages don’t necessarily occur in this order. They may move around, occur simultaneously, or even move back through stages leading up to actual genocide.

3.     Ask students to look at the stages and find textual evidence of each stage from No Greater Love. You may want to put them in small groups and assign each group one or two of the stages to look for in the reading. You may, instead, have students use the “Ten Stages of Genocide Worksheet” to record evidence of each stage while they read the story. It might be beneficial to assign specific students to search for specific stages rather than search for evidence of all stages.

4.     Then you can have them report their findings to the whole class

This would be a great activity to use leading up to the Stop Hate Speech Poster Activity. You could ask them which stage or stages they see hate speech falling into.

If you would like to reinforce the learning of these stages, you can have students examine what they see in their own culture and identify steps that may be precursors to genocide.

COMMON CORE STANDARDS

English Language Arts Standards » History/Social Studies » Grade 8

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.8.7
Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.8
Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.

English Language Arts Standards » Speaking & Listening » Grade 8

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.2
Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.3
Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence and identifying when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

English Language Arts Standards » History/Social Studies » Grade 9-10

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.7
Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.8
Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claims.

English Language Arts Standards » Speaking & Listening » Grade 9-10

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2
Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.3
Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.

Answer Key available. Please e-mail sandra@alst.org