Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl Activity Bundle - Creative Assignments

This resource includes 15 ready-to-use activities and assignments designed to help students engage deeply with The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. These activities are interactive and thought-provoking, providing opportunities for students to connect with Anne Frank’s personal story while analyzing the historical context, themes, and literary elements of the diary. The assignments are both creative and educational, allowing students to develop critical thinking skills and meet various ELA standards.

This is included in a unit plan:

>>> Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Unit Plan

Included in the Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl Activity Bundle:

Section 1: June 12, 1942 – October 14, 1942

➡️ Diary Writing Assignment: Just like Anne Frank, students will keep their own diary during this unit. The diary will be a space for students to write honestly about their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This provides an opportunity for self-expression and reflection. At the end of the unit, students will reflect on how keeping a diary helped them gain new insights or perspectives. Whether or not the teacher reads the diary will be left up to the student.

➡️ Anne Frank Characterization Activity: This activity encourages students to track the key people in Anne's life. As they read, they will fill out a chart with descriptions and key characteristics of the people Anne mentions, helping them understand the dynamics in the annex.

➡️ The Secret Annex Layout: Students will learn about the physical space where Anne Frank and her family hid. They will label a diagram of the annex, identifying its rooms and their uses by different members of the annex, which helps students visualize Anne's daily environment.

➡️ Anne Frank Idioms: Anne uses many idioms in her writing. In this game, students will match idioms she uses to their definitions, gaining a deeper understanding of her language and the time period.

Section 2: October 20, 1942 – July 19, 1943

➡️ Anne Frank Conflict: In this assignment, students will explore both the internal and external conflicts Anne faces during this time. Using presentation slides and an assignment, students will analyze specific moments in the diary and examine how these conflicts impact Anne's personal journey.

➡️ Radio Lesson: The radio plays a pivotal role in Anne’s story. After learning about the historical importance of radio during WWII, students will listen to Winston Churchill’s "The End of the Beginning" speech (mentioned in the diary). They will analyze it with reading questions and follow up by writing their own radio broadcast about the Battle of Stalingrad (also mentioned in the diary) using a nonfiction text, even performing or recording it for extra engagement.

Section 3: July 23, 1943 – January 12, 1944

➡️ Anne Frank Figurative Language: This activity focuses on identifying and analyzing figurative language in Anne’s writing. Students will label metaphors, idioms, personification, and more using quotes from this section. An answer key is provided to help guide students’ analysis.

➡️ Maya Angelou Caged Bird Poetry Lesson and Connection: Anne compares herself to a caged bird in this section. After reading Maya Angelou’s poem "Caged Bird," students will explore connections between the poem and Anne’s diary. They will analyze the shared themes of confinement and longing, then write a journal response after listening to Angelou read the poem.

Section 4: January 15, 1944 – March 19, 1944

➡️ Anne's Advice: Anne offers wisdom throughout this section. Students will read quotes from her advice, participate in a discussion activity, and choose one to reflect upon in a one-page assignment. This activity helps students analyze Anne's evolving perspectives on life and humanity.

➡️ The WWII Helpers Nonfiction Jigsaw Activity: In this lesson, students will learn about the people who helped Anne and others during the Holocaust, including Miep, Bep, Jan, Johan, Victor, and Johannes. They will then learn about new WWII helpers like Sir Nicholas Winton and Corrie ten Boom in this creative jigsaw activity. Each group will learn about one person (Sir Nicholas Winton, Carl Lutz, Corrie ten Boom, Henriette Henriquez Pimentel, Geertruida Wijsmuller-Meijer). Then, students will complete a jigsaw activity, moving to a group with a person from each expert group, teaching their peers about these real-life heroes.

Section 5: March 20, 1944 – May 3, 1944

➡️ Dear Anne Writing Activity: Students will imagine writing a letter from Anne to herself, reflecting on her growth and offering advice. This assignment allows students to explore Anne’s evolving perspective, offering insights into her character development and how she might have viewed her younger self as she faced the challenges of living in hiding.

➡️ Peter’s Diary: Since we only hear Anne’s perspective in the text, this activity asks students to imagine Peter also keeping a diary. They will create an entry from his point of view, helping students better understand his character and relationship with Anne

Section 6: May 5, 1944 – August 1, 1944

➡️ Anne Frank Historical Timeline Activity: In this assignment, students will create a timeline of Anne Frank's life in hiding, highlighting key moments from the diary alongside provided significant historical events of WWII. This will allow students to visualize how Anne’s experiences were shaped by the larger context of the war.

➡️ Anne Frank Legacy WebQuest: Students will explore Anne Frank’s lasting legacy through a WebQuest. They will follow links to articles, videos, and images related to her diary's compilation, Otto Frank’s perspective, the impact of Anne’s story, the aftermath of WWII, and reflections on her time in the concentration camps. This activity will help students understand how Anne’s story became a symbol of hope, resilience, and the power of remembrance.

➡️ Essay Topics: Students will choose one of the pre-selected essay topics to write an analytical essay. This assignment encourages students to delve deeper into the themes, characters, or historical context of The Diary of a Young Girl, developing their critical thinking and writing skills.

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