MAKING MEANING

Comparing Text to Media

In this lesson, you will examine a timeline
showing how events in the Frank family
correspond to events in history. You will then
The Diary of Anne Frank Frank Family and World
compare the information in the timeline and War II Timeline
the play The Diary of Anne Frank.

About the Frank Family

Otto and Edith Frank were
born in Germany, where they
were married and had two
daughters—Margot in 1926
and Anne in 1929. The Franks
began to worry about the
increasing persecution of the
Jews under the Nazis. In 1933,
when Anne was four, the family
emigrated to the Netherlands.
There, at least for a while,
they felt safe and free. On
May 10, 1940, Germany
invaded the Netherlands, and
the Franks—along with all the
other Jews of Holland—were in
danger once more.
Frank Family and World War II
Timeline
Media Vocabulary
The following words or concepts will be useful to you as you analyze,
discuss, and write about timelines.
annotated: containing explanatory
notes
chronological: arranged in a
sequence that follows the time
order of events
parallel: similar and happening at
the same time
• An annotated timeline lists events
and the dates on which they
occurred.
• It may also include brief descriptions
or explanations.
The events in a timeline appear in
chronological order, with the earliest
events on the left and more recent
events on the right.
Parallel timelines show events that
are related to each other and happen
during the same time period.

First Read NONFICTION

Apply these strategies as you conduct your first read. You will have an

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opportunity to complete a close read after your first read.

NOTICE new information or ANNOTATE by marking

ideas you learn about the unit vocabulary and key passages
topic as you first read this text. you want to revisit.

 STANDARDS CONNECT ideas within RESPOND by completing the

Reading Informational Text the selection to other Comprehension Check.
By the end of the year, read and
comprehend literary nonfiction at
knowledge and the selections
the high end of the grades 6–8 text you have read.
complexity band independently and
proficiently.

194  UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST

 MEDIA | TIMELINE

Frank Family and

World War II Timeline
BACKGROUND
When you study historical events, it is important to consult a wide variety of
text types. There are two broad categories of text type: primary sources and
secondary sources.

A primary source offers a firsthand, eyewitness view of an event. Primary

sources include a wide variety of text types, such as diaries, speeches, and
official records. Photographs, maps, and artifacts are also types of primary
sources.

• A secondary source interprets or analyzes a primary source. Secondary

sources are one or more steps removed from an event. Such sources
include textbooks, commentaries, encyclopedias, and histories.
Interestingly, the play The Diary of Anne Frank is a secondary source.
However, it is based closely on a primary source—Anne Frank’s
actual diary.
The annotated timeline on these pages is a secondary source because it
pulls together and interprets other texts and images. Some of those texts
and images are primary sources. As you read the annotations and look at
the images, consider how the various types of texts help you build a deeper
understanding of the Frank family, World War II, and the Holocaust. Think
about how the events depicted here continue to shape the world today. Use
the Notes boxes to make connections and to capture your observations.
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NOTES

Frank Family and World War II Timeline  195

 1941: Growing Nazi
restrictions on the daily
lives of Dutch Jews force
the Frank girls to attend an
all-Jewish school.

Frank Family June 12, 1942: Otto

gives Anne a diary

and World War II for her thirteenth

birthday.

Timeline
July 6, 1942: The Franks
go into hiding after
TIMELINE OF THE FRANK FAMILY

receiving an order for

Margot to report to
a forced labor camp.
They hide in the attic
rooms above Mr. Frank’s
1934: Anne starts workplace with the help
Summer 1933: kindergarten at the of close friends. Another
Alarmed by Nazi Montessori school in family, the Van Pels
actions in Germany, Amsterdam. (called the “Van Daans”
Otto Frank begins
in her diary), joins them,
the process of
followed by Fritz Pfeffer
1929: Anne Frank is moving his family
(“Dussel”), months later.
born in Frankfurt, to safety in the
Germany. Netherlands.

1930 1935 1940

TIMELINE OF World War II EVENTS

January 1933: 1935: The September 1, 1939: May 1940: The

Adolf Hitler Nuremberg Germany invades Nazis invade the
comes to power Laws are passed Poland, triggering Netherlands. Once
in Germany. in Germany, the beginning of in control, they set
Over the next stripping Jews World War II. up a brutal police
few months, all of their rights as force, the Gestapo,
political parties, German citizens. to administer laws
except the Laws passed over to isolate Dutch Jews
Nazi Party, are the next several from the rest of the
banned. Jews are years further Dutch population.
dismissed from isolate Jews,
medical, legal, including the
government, requirement to
and teaching wear a yellow
positions. Star of David.

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NOTES

196  UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST

 August 4, 1944: 1947: Anne’s diary
The hiding place is published in
of the Franks is Dutch. Over the
discovered and next few years
the families are it is translated
arrested. and published in
September 3, France, Germany,
1944: All eight the United States,
of those who hid Japan, and
in the attic are Great Britain.
deported from the
Netherlands to
Auschwitz death
camp.

March 1945:*
Anne and Margo 1960: The hiding
die of the disease place of the Franks
typhus in the is converted into a
Bergen-Belsen permanent museum
concentration that tells the story
camp. of Anne and those
who hid with her.

1945 1950 1955 1960

May 1945: The Allies 1960: Adolf Eichmann, one of

win as the war in the last major Nazi figures to
January 1943: Europe ends. be tried, is captured and put on
The Battle of
trial in Israel. He is convicted
Stalingrad marks
and executed for his role in
the turning of the
arranging the transport of Jews
tide against the
to concentration camps and
Nazis.
ghettoes, where an estimated
six million Jews died.
June 1944: The
Allies carry out a
successful invasion
of France. Their
success gives many
who live under
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Nazi occupation
hope that the end
of the war is near.

* Estimate.  Exact date unknown.

NOTES

Frank Family and World War II Timeline  197

Comprehension Check
Complete the following items after you finish your first read.

1. What was happening to Jews in Germany around the time the Frank family fled to
the Netherlands?

2. What happens to Jews when the Nuremberg Laws are passed in 1935?

3. What event prompted the Franks to go into hiding in 1942?

4. What was the cause of death of Anne and her sister Margot?

5. How long after Anne’s death did the war in Europe end?

6.   Notebook  Describe the situation for Dutch Jews at the time the Frank family
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RESEARCH
Research to Clarify  Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from the timeline. Briefly
research that detail. In what way does the information you learned shed light on an
aspect of the Holocaust?

Research to Explore  Choose something that interested you from the timeline, and
formulate a research question you might use to find out more about it.

198  UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST

 MAKING MEANING

Close Read
Read the timeline again. Write down any new
observations that seem important. What questions do
you have? What can you conclude?
FRANK FAMILY AND WORLD
WAR II TIMELINE
Cite textual evidence
Analyze the Media to support your answers.

Notebook  Respond to these questions.

1. (a) What events in the lives of Anne and her family are recorded in the
timeline? (b) Connect How do these events relate to the World War II
events in the timeline?

2. Analyze Describe the organization of the timeline.

3. The timeline entry for July 6, 1942, notes that Anne Frank changed
the names of the Van Daans and Dussel in her diary. Why might she
have made this choice? Explain your thinking.

4. Essential Question: How do we remember the past? Consider the

two timeline entries from 1960. What do these two events suggest
about the ways in which we remember the past?

language development

Media Vocabulary
annotated chronological parallel
  WORD NETWORK
1. Choose one of the timeline entries with an illustration. How do the Add words related to the
text and illustration combine to express the significance of the entry? Holocaust from the timeline
to your Word Network.
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2. (a) Which timeline entries identify the beginning of the end for the
Nazi war effort? (b) What is happening to the Frank family around the
same time?

3. Choose a year that is represented with an entry in both timelines.

What do the entries suggest about the relationship between the
experiences of the Frank family and the events of World War II?

Frank Family and World War II Timeline  199

 eFFECTIVE EXPreSSION

Writing to Compare
Both the play The Diary of Anne Frank and the Frank Family and World
War II Timeline describe aspects of the same topic, the Holocaust.
Deepen your understanding of the topic by comparing what you learn
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
from literature with what you learn from factual information and
pictures.

Assignment
Goodrich and Hackett’s play The Diary of Anne Frank is a dramatic
adaptation of the events described in Anne Frank’s real-life diary.
The play and the timeline use different strategies to combine
information about historical events and personal family issues. Write
FRANK FAMILY AND WORLD a comparison-and-contrast essay in which you explain similar and
WAR II TIMELINE
different information you learned from the two texts. Explain how
each text might be useful for different reading purposes.

Planning and Prewriting

Compare Play and Timeline Techniques  Think about the kinds of
information you learned from reading the play and from reading and
looking at the timeline. Use the chart to capture your thoughts.

WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT... FROM THE PLAY FROM THE TIMELINE

Historical Events

Causes of Events

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Effects of Events

Notebook  Respond to these questions.

1. Which medium presents historical details more accurately and
effectively? Explain.
2. Which medium is better at revealing motivations, the reasons for
people’s actions? Explain.

200  UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST

 essential question: How do we remember the past?

Drafting
Outline  Decide the order in which you will present details in your essay.
Block organization will work well for this task, allowing you to explain   EVIDENCE LOG
what you learned and did not learn from one text and then the other. Before moving on to a
Complete the outline to organize your ideas. new selection, go to your
Evidence Log and record
I. Introduction  State your central idea and the two works you will compare. what you have learned
     from the play The Diary of
Anne Frank and the Frank
II. Play: The Diary of Anne Frank Family and World War II
A. What I learned from the play Timeline.
  

B. What I did or could not learn from the play

  

III. Timeline: Frank Family and World War II Timeline

A. What I learned from the timeline
  

B. What I did or could not learn from the timeline

  

IV. Conclusion  Explain how each type of text offers information that is
useful in different ways.
    

    

Choose Strong Examples  Scan or reread both sources to make sure

you have chosen passages and details that clearly support your ideas.
You should have at least one strong supporting detail for every point
you make.
 STANDARDS
Support Your Conclusion  In the final paragraph, present a broad Reading Informational Text
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Evaluate the advantages and

statement about the advantages and disadvantages of using different disadvantages of using different
types of texts for different purposes. mediums to present a particular
topic or idea.
Reviewing and Revising  After drafting your essay, review the Writing
Write informative/explanatory texts
assignment, and then reread your essay. Make sure you have met the to examine a topic and convey ideas,
requirements of the assignment. Ask yourself the following questions: concepts, and information through
the selection, organization, and
• Do I clearly explain what I learned from each text? analysis of relevant content.
a. Introduce a topic clearly,
• Do I present information in a clear and logical order? previewing what is to follow;
organize ideas, concepts, and
• Do I clearly explain how the two types of texts are useful in
information into broader categories;
different ways? include formatting, graphics, and
multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with relevant,
well-chosen facts, definitions,
concrete details, quotations, or other
information and examples.

The Diary of Anne Frank • Frank Family and World War II Timeline  201