The Diary of Anne Frank

Published: 13th January 2009

Wanted to tell you about the new free resources from the Anne Frank Trust designed to complement the BBC drama "The Diary of Anne Frank". The resources are designed for KS2 and 3, focusing on History, English and Citizenship and are available for download from our website from the 9th of January.   

The series starring Ellie Kendrick, Iain Glen and Tamsin Greig is screened on BBC One in January.  A DVD will also be available for purchase from the Anne Frank Trust with the resources on CD following the airing.

Each of the five thirty minute episodes have an accompanying set of resources, available free online, from the Anne Frank Trust UK. Episodes 1 to 5 each have a lesson plan, PowerPoint for use with the interactive whiteboard and pupil worksheets.  Lessons have been designed for Citizenship, English and History and include links to the English and Scottish curricula.

A whiteboard brainstorm template, with questions included, is provided to stimulate thought during the viewing of the each episode followed by an activity to target the deeper issues arising from viewing. 

Information and images are provided as a combination of PDF and PowerPoint documents, (historical, religious or thought-provoking - such as Yellow Stars, identity papers, call-up notices or diagrams of the hiding place), further illustrate focal points of each episode.

Both explorations of the historical period and relating contemporary issues are addressed, as per the mission of the Anne Frank Trust. We look at what happened to Jews in the Holocaust, to gain an understanding of the setting. Anne's ambitions and ideals are explored through combined analysis of her diary as well as the dramatic representation provided in the BBC drama. 

In the course of the work, KS2 pupils will come across such topics as how the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Rights of the Child came to be, diary writing, exploring family relationships and empathy.

Older learners are encouraged to develop more complex thinking. One exercise requires them to consider the dilemmas faced by Otto Frank upon his return from the camps. Should he publish his daughter's diary? What list of pros and cons might he have drawn up? In a bullying themed lesson, KS3 pupils will be asked to consider the Jewish child's experience in Nazi Europe. Playground bullying was often their first indication of the burgeoning anti-Semitism in the 1930s. In this way, Anne's experience can be compared and contrasted with other children of the time.

The resource site will also include relevant background information to enable teachers to provide the backstory to the BBC drama, which begins at the point Anne receives her diary.

Downloads available here>>>