Elie Wiesel's Night is a capturing read that I think everyone should read at least once in their lifetime, if not more than that. I'm not going to lie, it was hard for me to get through this book. It was dark and emotional, and I had to take multiple breaks. But in spite of it all, I really enjoyed the book, and I want my students to enjoy it as well.
This book is a coming of age novel, but not in your traditional way. This is a forced coming of age novel, in which the author had no say in their coming of age, but nevertheless, they had to be an adult. They weren't ready to be an adult, but here they are. I think this is an important idea to look at in a classroom when using this book. A lot of students come from a background where they are forced to grow up hard and fast like Wiesel was. You could definitely do multiple lessons on this idea, and it's an important topic to address.
I think another thing that could be taught on is the note from the author in the very beginning. I found this note to be very informative, and I think there is a lot that a teacher can do with it. Having students discuss this letter in groups, or analyze different parts of it before actually reading the novel would be a great intro to the book. I also think doing the part of the book with maybe a background on the Holocaust would be a good intro to the book.
Even a research project on the Holocaust before reading would be good. Students could research a person from the Holocaust or even a concentration camp. I think it would be fun giving students the chance to pick their own aspect to research before reading the book. Just to give students background knowledge to whats happening as they read.
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