During the 1930’s, Germany suffered economic hardship because of their lost in World War I (WWI). The Treaty of Versailles ended WWI, and ordered Germany to down size the number of military troops, transfer territory to its neighbors, and pay reparations. The huge amount in reparations paid, caused the economic hardship, and left many Germans unsure in their government. Then, along came Adolf Hitler, and his party, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or simply known as the Nazi party. Hitler and the Nazi party appealed to Germans by giving them hope in restoring the German government. The Nazi party was not a new political group, but became popular when Hitler promised a new life, and to create …show more content…
Whitwell Middle School decided to teach intolerance and prejudice, through studying the Holocaust. After learning about the horrors of the Holocaust, and the annihilation of 6 million Jewish people, the students wanted a visual of the number 6 million. The teacher suggested collecting something as simple as a paperclip to represent the 6 million Jews that lost their lives. Over a course of 4 years, groups of 8th graders, collected and sorted 11 million paperclips; 6 million for the Jews and 5 million for the homosexual and Gypsy people that were killed by Hitler. This project attracted attention from the media, and eventually led to the purchase of an old fashion German train car that was used to transfer Jews to concentration camps. Whitwell used the train car to create a memorial for the Holocaust, and the paperclips were placed inside to represent the people murdered. This project was a big deal for the town of Whitwell because it is a small rural town, and the majority of the residents are of Christian faith. Whitwell had no diversity, with about 5 African American families and 1 Hispanic family. The Holocaust Project caused a realization for many students, teachers and community members the horrible affects of prejudice and intolerance. Overall, this project educated more than just the students on the importance of …show more content…
PBL is a teaching method in which students study and investigate a topic, problem or challenge.It includes student centered teaching where the students guide their own learning. A PBL approach could be apart of a thematic unit as an end of study project. After the students find a topic or problem that really interest them from the unit, they can do further research on it and complete a project related to their topic. After the project is completed, students would understand the topic more deeply, and since the project is something they worked hard on developing, it would be more meaningful and they will retain the information longer. In general, the learning outcomes of PBL approach are for the students to understand and remember the information, through hands on activities that are facilitated for their natural curiosity. In Paperclips, the collection of paperclips started because a student was curious about what the number 6 million looks like. PBL is an opportunity for children to take charge of their learning ( “What is project based learning?” n.d & Fab & Berlin