Kyle Farnworth / Fenway High School / 1

MODEL LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Topic, class, and level: The July 1932 Reichstag Elections, Senior Humanities
Date for implementation: Monday, October 27th, 2014
Conceptual Framework:
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How do we do right in the face of injustice?

How were German voters persuaded to vote for the Nazi Party in 1932?
What factors led to Hitlers rise to power?

Standards: MA, Common Core, WIDA, or other Standards for this lesson or unit:
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RH.11-12.9. Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into
a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
WHST.11-12.9. Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection,
and research
RI.11-12.3. Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how
specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text

Knowledge/Understandings
Students will understand the factors that led to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Partys rise to
power, including the Treaty of Versailles, the countrys desire for a strong leader, the economic
disaster the country was in, propaganda, and an overall manipulation of the German people by
Hitler and the NSDAP.

Skills:
Students will be able to analyze information presented from primary sources, construct
propaganda posters which show an understanding of political parties and what propaganda is,
and explain their work. Students will analyze, criticize, and evaluate the work of others.

Assessment:

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I will be able to check for this understanding by observing their propaganda posters,
political cartoons, presentations, speeches, and voting strategy.

Instructional Approach:

Materials, preparation, and/or online resources to be used:

We will be using readings and handouts from Crisis, Conscience, and

Choices: Weimar Germany and the Rise of Hitler, which was developed
by the Choices for the 21st Century Education Project Staff and scholars

from Brown University

Teacher created handouts
We will also use poster boards and markers to create propaganda posters
for the four political parties

Hook:

I will use a Do Now activity using an image of Hitler that shows him in
a light that students may not have seen before.

Activities:
*note this is a double block, which will run from 8:45-11:05 (140 minutes)
To start, students will work on a Do Now, which will be projected on the board as they
walk into the room. They will journal quietly to themselves and share responses aloud about their
thoughts behind the image I have shown them. I would hope that students can see Hitlers
depiction in Germany as a savior figure, full of strength and charisma, ready to reignite the
country of Germany and bring them back to where they wish to be. This will initiate a discussion

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as to what qualities the German people saw in a young Adolf Hitler and why they would vote for
him and the Nazi party in the 1932 elections.

The students and I will read an article titled The July 1932 Reichstag Elections, which
sets the scene for the activity. We will read this out loud together as a class, stopping
occasionally in order to explain ideas, terms, people, and most importantly, political parties. Page
two of the article provides information on the four major political parties in Germany at the time,
the KPD, the SPD, the Center Party, and the Nazi Party.

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As we read, I will advise them to box key names, circle key terms, and underline
important ideas. I think this is especially important in this lesson considering how much
information is condensed into this small article. It is an easy way for the students to group what
they read categorically in order to make sense of it and keep it from appearing so dense and word
heavy. We will go through this slowly and meticulously, making sure students fully grasp the
ideas presenting in the article and are prepared to branch out on their own to tangle with these
ideas.
After this reading, students should understand the political climate of Germany at this
time, the current economical state of the country as a whole, and who the four major political
parties were in Germany at this time. They should be aware of who these parties were comprised
of, who they targeted, and who they were influenced by.
I will divide the class evenly into 5 groups. They will be grouped by me and not at
random. I can manipulate the groups to ensure production and eliminate variables. The four
political parties will have four students each, and those remaining (7-9 students) will be
designated as German citizens. They will be given materials depending on which group they
were placed in. Political parties will be given the handout Weimar Republic Presentation as
well as further information about their party, while citizens will be given the handout Citizens
of Germany and a voter profile that outlines who they are in German society. These handouts
outline their further instructions for this project. Students will then be given a 15 minute break as
they usually are during a double block.
In groups, the four political parties will prepare speeches to give to the rest of the class as
to why they should vote for their particular party. They should use the ideas that they have
learned about their party from the article and the handout they received. This speech should be 3-

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5 minutes long. Not all students need to speak during the speech, but the work should be
distributed evenly amongst group members.
Along with preparing these speeches, political parties will need to create a propaganda
poster to hold up in front of the class during their speech. They will be provided poster boards
and markers. This poster should use ideas that we have learned about propaganda in the previous
week and reflect the views, beliefs, and attitudes of the party itself.
Citizens, on the other hand, will be responsible for reading up on their voter profile,
which will be provided to them by me. They should investigate each political party and try and
decide who fits their needs and what they wish to see the future of Germany look like. They
should write a one to two page response that explains why they feel the way they do. They are
responsible for coming up with a question they would like to ask each party after they give their
speech, as well as creating a political cartoon that shows their vision for the future of Germany.
If students dont feel comfortable with their artistic skills, they will also have the option of
creating a radio advertisement or speech of their own.
After the parties present their speeches and posters, citizens will decide who they wish to
vote for. They will reveal their vote in a short presentation in which they give their reasoning for
their vote and unveil their political cartoon or radio advertisement. Both the groups and the
citizens will work on their speech and poster for the rest of the class period and get ready to
present it the following day.

Differentiation:
For this lesson, I will differentiate the process and product students will undergo in this
lesson. Some of my students dont work well in groups and prefer to work alone. Some students

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struggle artistically and may not enjoy creating propaganda posters to show their understanding.
These students will be German citizens and informed that they will be playing the most
important role of all -- voting for the political party of their choice. Instead of being responsible
for one political party, they will investigate all four and create either a political cartoon or a radio
advertisement showing their hopes for the future of Germany. These students will not be required
to participate in debate, but will need to come up with questions to ask during the debate. Instead
of speaking, they will demonstrate their understanding in a one to two page response. Students
who are designated as German citizens will be learning the same content about the Reichstag
election in 1932, but they will be doing so in a much different, more personal way.

Grouping:
We will be grouping during this lesson and groups will be assigned by me. I will
manipulate the political parties so that each party has a student who is comfortable speaking in
front of the class, as well as a student who is artistically talented to help design the poster. The
citizens will be students who feel more comfortable working by themselves than with others.

Sponge Activity:
I dont believe we will be needing a sponge activity because students will be working on
their presentations for the duration of the class period.

Wrap Up:
Students will be working on their projects until the period is over, so there wont
necessarily be time for a formal wrap up activity. However, I will be walking around the room

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and conversing with students about why they have gone in the direction they chose and what
they believe they are trying to say about their political party or German citizen. This way, I will
be able to individually gauge student involvement, understanding, and make sure key concepts
are clear in their minds before they even present.