Character Exploration: Anne Frank

Unit Context

This lesson is Lesson 2 of 30 within the "Voices of Courage and Resilience" unit for Year 10 English. The focus is on exploring key characters from texts that highlight themes of courage and resilience, specifically Anne Frank from The Diary of a Young Girl.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this 45-minute lesson, students will be able to:

Analyse and discuss Anne Frank’s character development, motivations, and perspectives as portrayed in her diary.
Explain how Anne’s experiences and resilience are reflected through her writing.
Use textual evidence to support interpretations of character growth and voice.
Develop empathy and critical awareness of historical and personal contexts influencing Anne Frank’s diary.

NSW Curriculum Alignment:

EN4-1A: Interact with others and discuss ideas and responses to texts, supporting their views with evidence.
EN4-2A: Analyse and evaluate texts, including the use of language, perspectives and context.
EN4-4B: Create imaginative, informative, and persuasive texts that express ideas, voices and experiences.
ACELY1745: Analyse and explain how text structures and language features shape meaning and influence responses.
ACELT1620: Analyse how characterisation, events, and settings are depicted in literary texts to explore human experience.

Lesson Duration

45 minutes

Class Size

26 students

Materials Needed

Copies or excerpts of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (relevant diary entries)
Whiteboard and markers
Character analysis worksheet (prepared)
Projector or interactive whiteboard for displaying quotes and images
Emotion cards or character voice prompt cards

Lesson Outline

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

Begin by briefly recapping the unit theme: Voices of Courage and Resilience.
Introduce Anne Frank as a historical figure and writer whose diary provides a personal voice from a time of profound hardship.
Show a brief visual or quote from Anne’s diary to focus student attention on her voice and perspective.
Pose an opening question: “What qualities do you think make someone resilient?”

Teacher tip: Connect students' prior knowledge or experiences with resilience to the context of Anne Frank.

2. Reading and Reflecting on Diary Entries (10 minutes)

Students read selected diary entries (either silently or aloud in pairs) that highlight key moments of Anne’s emotional and psychological growth.
Focus on passages evidencing hope, fear, optimism, and maturity.
Encourage annotation of text for words or phrases that show changes in Anne’s thinking and feelings.

Prompt questions for students:

What is Anne feeling or thinking in this section?
How does her perspective on her situation change or stay the same?
What do these feelings tell us about her character?

3. Character Exploration Activity (15 minutes)

Distribute character analysis worksheets structured to guide students through:
Identifying key traits
Highlighting evidence of resilience and courage
Noting changes in Anne’s perspectives over time
In small groups (3-4 students), share their observations and discuss how Anne’s character evolves.
Use emotion cards or voice prompts to role-play: each group reads a diary excerpt aloud in Anne’s voice, embodying her emotional state.

Integration tip: Encourage multimodal expression using tone of voice and body language to deepen understanding.

4. Class Discussion (10 minutes)

Facilitate a whole-class discussion focusing on how Anne’s character represents courage and resilience.
Explore questions such as:
How does Anne’s writing help us understand her inner strength?
How does knowing the historical context influence our empathy for her?
In what ways does Anne inspire us as readers today?
Emphasise connections between text and students’ real-life challenges or moments of growth to personalise learning.

5. Independent Reflection and Exit Task (5 minutes)

Students write a short paragraph reflecting on Anne’s growth and what personal qualities they admire in her.
Prompt: "Describe one way Anne Frank’s courage is shown through her diary and explain why this is important."
Collect reflections to inform future formative assessment.

Assessment and Feedback

Formative assessment through worksheet completion and participation in group discussion and role-play.
Exit task writing will be reviewed for understanding of character analysis and ability to cite textual evidence.
Teacher notes observational feedback on oral contributions and empathy expressed during discussions.

Differentiation Strategies

Provide scaffolded worksheets with sentence starters for students who need support.
Offer advanced students the challenge of connecting Anne’s resilience to other texts or historical figures studied.
Use paired reading and discussion to engage reluctant readers.
Include visual and oral learning activities to cater to diverse learning styles.

Reflection and Follow-Up

Use student reflections to inform content emphasis in subsequent lessons exploring other voices of courage and resilience.
Plan to revisit Anne Frank’s character in later lessons with a focus on writing styles and themes.
Encourage students to keep journals of their own reflections on resilience throughout the unit.

This detailed plan aims to blend NSW Curriculum requirements with engaging, reflective, and empathetic learning experiences appropriate for Year 10 students, fostering both analytical and emotional connections to a historically significant text and character. The multimodal and collaborative activities cater to diverse learners while promoting deep literary analysis and interpretative skills.