Exploring Anne's Relationships

Context and Curriculum Alignment

This lesson is part 19 of 30 in the Year 10 English unit "Voices of Courage and Resilience," focusing on Anne Frank's friendships and how these relationships shape her experiences and resilience. The unit aligns with the NSW English syllabus outcomes for Year 10, specifically targeting students’ abilities to respond to and interpret literary texts, analyse representations, and create well-structured responses.

Learning Area: English (Year 10) Unit: Voices of Courage and Resilience Lesson Duration: 45 minutes Class Size: 26 students

NSW Curriculum Focus

This lesson supports the following NSW English Stage 5 outcomes:

EN5-2A: Responds to and composes texts for understanding, interpretation, critical analysis, imaginative expression and pleasure.
EN5-3B: Effectively uses a widening range of processes, skills, strategies and knowledge for responding to and composing texts in different modes, media and technologies.
EN5-7D: Thinks imaginatively, creatively, interpretively and critically about information and ideas and identifies connections between texts.

The lesson also aligns with the NSW Stage 5 English achievement standard by promoting students’ skills in discussing ideas and responses to literary texts, making connections, and substantiating opinions with evidence.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

Analyse Anne Frank’s friendships and the role they play in her story and resilience.
Discuss how relationships impact character development and thematic messages in literary texts.
Connect Anne's relationships to broader themes of courage, trust, and resilience.
Reflect on their own understanding of friendship and resilience in challenging situations.

Lesson Outline

1. Introduction and Context (5 minutes)

Briefly revisit the historical context and Anne Frank’s story within the unit.
Introduce today’s focus: exploring the friendships Anne builds and how these relationships contribute to her courage and resilience while in hiding.
Explain the learning objectives clearly to the students.

Engagement strategy: Pose a quick warm-up question to the class: "Why do you think friendships might be important to someone in a difficult or dangerous situation?" Encourage a few brief responses.

2. Textual Exploration and Group Discussion (15 minutes)

Activity: Students will be split into small groups (4-5 per group) and provided with selected excerpts from Anne Frank’s diary focusing on interactions with key friends or relationships (e.g., friendships with Peter van Pels, or reflections on other people in the Secret Annex).
Each group will:
Identify key qualities of Anne’s friendships from the text.
Discuss how these friendships influence Anne’s emotions, attitudes, and survival.
Consider what these relationships reveal about compassion, trust, and resilience.

Teacher support: Circulate and scaffold discussions by asking guiding questions such as:

What words or phrases show Anne’s feelings toward her friends?
How might these friendships help Anne cope with her situation?
Do these relationships change over time? How?

3. Whole-Class Sharing and Synthesis (10 minutes)

Groups share their findings and insights through a quick "gallery walk" style or short presentations (2-3 minutes per group).
Facilitate a class discussion linking these insights to the broader theme of courage and resilience in the unit.
Draw attention to how literature uses relationships to develop characters and communicate messages.

Focus questions for class discussion:

How do Anne’s friendships demonstrate resilience?
What can we learn about human connection in challenging times?
How can recognising these relationships deepen our understanding of Anne’s story?

4. Reflection Activity: Personal Connections (10 minutes)

Ask students to reflect individually (in their exercise books or on a worksheet) on the question: “Think about a time when a friendship or relationship helped you or someone you know through a tough time. How did that relationship show courage or resilience?”
Encourage students to write a short personal response connecting their reflection to Anne’s experiences.
Invite volunteers to share their reflections if comfortable.

5. Summary and Exit Ticket (5 minutes)

Summarise the lesson’s key insights: the importance of relationships in fostering courage and resilience and enhancing character development in texts.
Exit ticket prompt: In one or two sentences, students write down: “One way Anne’s friendships helped her be courageous is...”
Collect these as formative assessment to gauge understanding.

Resources Needed

Copies of selected extracts from Anne Frank’s diary for group work (printed or digital).
Writing materials (exercise books, pens).
Reflection worksheets (optional).
Whiteboard or chart paper for class discussion notes.

Assessment

Formative: Observation of group discussions and participation.
Written reflection: Personal connection activity to assess depth of understanding and ability to apply themes personally.
Exit ticket: Quick formative assessment of key takeaways.

Differentiation and Inclusion

Provide excerpts with glossaries or guided questions for students who may need additional support.
Encourage all students to participate in reflective writing and group discussion, offering oral sharing as an alternative to written response.
Use groupings strategically to mix abilities for peer support.

Extension Ideas

Students create a multimodal presentation (e.g., digital story, video diary) representing different perspectives of Anne’s friendships and resilience.
Research and compare Anne’s experiences with another historical or contemporary figure known for resilience in adversity, focusing on their relationships.

This lesson balances textual analysis and personal reflection promoting deep engagement with Anne Frank’s story while addressing NSW syllabus outcomes on comprehension, critical thinking, and personal response to texts. The use of group work and individual reflection caters to different learning styles for maximum impact in 45 minutes.

Teaching Instructions