Night Identity Lesson Plan Night: Identity Under Oppression
Lesson Plan
Comprehension & Analysis Checkpoint (Sections 1-4)
Time
30 Minutes
Audience
8th Grade Students
Goal
Analyze how oppression impacts identity.
Why This Matters
Understanding how profound suffering challenges and reshapes one's sense of self and faith is crucial for grasping the human experience during the Holocaust. This lesson helps students connect historical events to personal impact.
Learning Objective
Students will analyze textual evidence from Elie Wiesel's Night (sections 1-4) to understand how extreme oppression impacts an individual's identity and beliefs, articulating this analysis through written responses and multiple-choice selections.
Preparation
Review sections 1-4 of Night.
Prepare Identity Under Oppression Slide Deck.
Print Warm-Up Reflection and Checkpoint Quiz (one per student).
Materials
Slide Deck
Warm-Up Reflection
Checkpoint Quiz
Answer Key
Instructional Sequence
1
Warm-Up: Reflecting on Identity
5 Minutes
Begin by displaying the first slide of the Identity Under Oppression Slide Deck which introduces the warm-up.
Distribute the Warm-Up Reflection to each student. Instruct students to spend 5 minutes silently reflecting and writing their responses to the prompt about how significant events can affect identity, without specific reference to Night yet.
2
Introduction to Quiz
2 Minutes
Transition to the second slide of the Slide Deck . Explain that today's activity is a checkpoint quiz to assess understanding of sections 1-4.
Distribute the Checkpoint Quiz and explain the format: 2 open-ended questions and 4 multiple-choice questions. Emphasize the standards: RL.1 (textual evidence), W.1 (arguments), and L.2 (conventions).
3
Checkpoint Quiz Completion
20+ Minutes
Instruct students to complete the Checkpoint Quiz independently. Remind them to use specific textual evidence for open-ended questions and to write in complete sentences.
Circulate around the room to monitor progress and provide support as needed. Collect quizzes upon completion for formative or summative assessment.
Night Identity Slide Deck Night: Identity Under Oppression
Literature Checkpoint · Sections 1-4
Elie Wiesel
When Worlds Shift
Think about a time when a major event or challenge fundamentally changed someone's perspective or who they thought they were.
→
How can significant experiences alter a person's identity?
→
How can these experiences impact a person's beliefs (e.g., in humanity, justice, or faith)?
5-Minute Silent Reflection
Checkpoint Assessment
Sections 1-4
Today's quiz focuses on how oppression affects identity and belief.
Core Questions
The Loss of Self-Worth
The Death of Faith
Open-Ended
Focus on textual evidence (RL.1) and writing arguments (W.1).
Multiple Choice
Analyze author's point of view and purpose (RL.6).
Remember: Use specific evidence!
Night Warm Up Reflection Night: Warm-Up Reflection
Literature Studies / 8th Grade
Name ____________________________________________________
Date ________________________
Instructions: Reflect on the following questions and write your thoughts in the space provided. You do not need to reference Night specifically for this reflection. Focus on human experiences and perspectives in general.
Think about a time when a major event or challenge fundamentally changed someone's perspective or who they thought they were. How can significant experiences alter a person's identity?
How can these experiences impact a person's beliefs (e.g., in humanity, justice, or faith)?
Night Checkpoint Quiz Night Checkpoint Quiz
Sections 1–4: Identity & Belief
Assessment
NAME: __________________________ DATE: ___________
This quiz assesses your understanding of Eliezer's journey and how his identity is reshaped by his experiences. Pay close attention to the requirement for textual evidence in the open-response section.
PART I
Analysis & Argumentation (RL.1, W.1, L.2)
Based on sections 2-3, how do Eliezer's initial experiences in Auschwitz, such as the separation from his mother and sister, the 'selection' process, or being stripped of personal identity (clothes, hair, name), begin to challenge his understanding of himself or his sense of self-worth? Cite specific textual evidence to support your analysis, paying attention to conventions.
In section 4, Eliezer witnesses the hanging of a young boy, which he describes as the "death of God." How does this event specifically challenge his belief system or his perception of divine justice, and what impact might it have on his developing identity? Use textual evidence from section 4 to support your argument.
PART II
Multiple Choice (RL.6)
Eliezer's description of Madame Schächter's screams and the other prisoners' reactions (section 2) primarily serves to:
A Illustrate the immediate impact of extreme fear and uncertainty on human behavior.
B Emphasize Madame Schächter's mental instability before the journey.
C Show that the prisoners were already hardened to suffering.
D Highlight the lack of compassion among the Jewish prisoners.
When Eliezer and his father lie about their ages during the selection (section 3), what does this reveal about Eliezer's evolving perspective or the author's purpose in depicting this moment?
A It shows Eliezer's cunning and natural ability to deceive.
B It highlights the desperate measures people took to survive, shaping Eliezer's identity as a survivor.
C It proves that the Nazis were easily fooled by simple lies.
D It indicates Eliezer's youthful rebellion against authority.
Eliezer's internal questioning of God after witnessing the hanged boy (section 4) is significant because it:
A Demonstrates his complete rejection of all religious faith.
B Reveals the profound spiritual crisis caused by the Holocaust, a key theme of the author's message.
C Suggests that he never truly believed in God to begin with.
D Only affects his personal faith, not his overall identity.
Night Quiz Answer Key Quiz Answer Key
Teacher Resource · Night (Sections 1–4)
PART I
Open-Response Rubric & Sample Answers
Question 1: Impact of Initial Auschwitz Experiences
Success Criteria
Student identifies specific experiences (separation, selection, dehumanization) and explicitly connects them to the erosion of self-worth.
Sample High-Quality Response
Eliezer's initial experiences in Auschwitz profoundly challenge his identity by systematically stripping away his former life. Upon arrival at Birkenau, the immediate separation from his mother and sister ("Men to the left! Women to the right!") breaks the family unit that defined his role as a son and brother. Furthermore, being stripped, shaved, and tattooed with a number (A-7713) replaces his unique human identity with an objectified, anonymous status. Wiesel writes, "I became a body. Perhaps even less: a starved stomach." This shows that his sense of self-worth has been reduced to mere biological survival.
Question 2: The Hanging of the Pipel
Success Criteria
Student connects the "death of God" imagery to Eliezer's spiritual crisis and explains how this transforms his identity from devout to questioning/hopeless.
Sample High-Quality Response
The hanging of the young boy in section 4 serves as a critical turning point. Witnessing the prolonged agony of an innocent child, Eliezer hears a man ask, "Where is God now?" and feels a voice within him respond, "He is hanging here on this gallows..." This moment shatters his former devout faith, as he can no longer reconcile a benevolent God with such unimaginable cruelty. This event transforms his identity, marking a shift from a deeply religious boy to someone undergoing a profound spiritual crisis, leading to a deep cynicism regarding divine justice.
PART II
Multiple Choice Justifications
3
Correct Answer: A Standard RL.6
Justification: Madame Schächter's screams foreshadow the physical fire of the crematoria, but the author's primary purpose here is to show how terror and uncertainty drive the group to violence against one of their own. It illustrates the breakdown of social norms under pressure.
4
Correct Answer: B Standard RL.6
Justification: Lying about their ages is a pragmatic decision born of desperation. It signifies Eliezer's rapid shift from an innocent boy to someone acutely aware of the need to adapt and strategize to stay alive, directly impacting his identity as a survivor.
5
Correct Answer: B Standard RL.6
Justification: Eliezer's struggle with faith is a central theme. Wiesel uses this internal monologue to convey how the Holocaust devastated not just physical bodies, but the very belief systems that sustained human spirit and identity.
