The Diary of Anne Frank Drama Unit: 14 Days of Lessons (Goodrich & Hackett Play)

Curriculum unit · Grades 7–9 · PDF, 39 pages · $10

Teach the Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett play in 14 class periods with a unit built for middle schoolers. Students work like a theater crew: they design the Secret Annex set from the stage directions, track tension scene by scene, map conflict, catch dramatic irony, measure tone and plot a hope vs. fear meter across Act 2.

Every reading day ends with a short, focused task instead of one giant packet, and every skill is anchored in the grade 8 standards, especially RL.8.3: how lines of dialogue and events reveal character, propel the action and provoke decisions. Original background reading and a paired informational text (From Diary to Stage) connect the play to the real history of Anne, Otto Frank, Miep Gies and the diary itself.

A Teaching with Care page gives practical guidance for teaching the Holocaust respectfully (no simulations). The play itself is not included: use the version in your literature anthology. All questions are written by act and scene, so they work with any edition.

What's included

• 14-day pacing calendar and daily lesson plans
• Teaching with Care: Holocaust education guidance
• Original background reading (Before the Annex) with questions, and an anticipation guide
• Drama toolkit notes, You Are the Set Designer map and character tracker
• Scene trackers for Act 1 and Act 2, Rules of the Annex, conflict map and dramatic irony tracker
• Tone tracker, Analyze an Event, Dialogue Detective, Hope vs. Fear Meter, Character Change and Theme Builder
• Act 1 and Act 2 check-in quizzes with SCRs, a 14-question unit test, and answer keys
• Vocabulary page, paired informational text, Socratic seminar prep, ECR planner
• Final project menu (museum exhibit card, director's notebook, letter across time, podcast) with rubric
• CCSS and TEKS alignment chart

How teachers use it

• Grade 8 ELA drama unit (also works for grades 7 and 9)
• Teaching elements of drama, dramatic irony and tone with any play
• Holocaust literature and Holocaust Remembrance units

Topics: ecr, essay, writing, literature, reading, ela, middle, school, high, grade, 7, 8, 9