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Teaching the Holocaust and other Genocides

Rohingya

Activity Overview
After reading the narrative about the Rohingya Genocide (escalating sharply in 2016 – 2017 and continuing at present), students will complete a series of activities, including the examination of primary source documents, maps of the country, photographs and videos, and how the “genocide” matches the 10 stages of genocide, academic tool and a policy model which was created by Gregory Stanton,
Grade Level
9-12
Learning Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies
RH1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the time and place of publication, origin, authorship, etc.
RH2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop within a text.
RH3: Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
RH4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, economic, or geographic aspects of history/social studies.
RH5: Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally, visually, and graphically).
RH6: Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
RH7: Integrate and evaluate visual and technical information (e.g., in research data, charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
RH8: Analyze the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
RH9: Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
WHST5: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question by the end of grade 8), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
WHST6: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source by applying discipline-specific criteria used in the social sciences or sciences; and quote or paraphrase the data/accounts and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
WHST7: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Social Studies Framework 
10.5 UNRESOLVED GLOBAL CONFLICT (1914–1945): World War I and World War II led to geopolitical changes, human and environmental devastation, and attempts to bring stability and peace.
10.5e Human atrocities and mass murders occurred in this time period.
10.10 HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS: Since the Holocaust, human rights violations have generated worldwide attention and concern. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights has provided a set of principles to guide efforts to protect threatened groups and has served as a lens through which historical occurrences of oppression can be evaluated.
10.10b Governments, groups, and individuals have responded in various ways to the human atrocities committed in the 20th and 21st centuries.
10.10c Historical and contemporary violations of human rights can be evaluated, using the principles and articles established within the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
SEL Benchmarks
2A. Recognize and build empathy for the feelings and perspectives of others.
2B. Recognize and affirm individual identities as well as individual and group similarities and differences, including those rooted in culture, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ability, etc.
3A: Consider individual and collective social, emotional, and physical safety and well-being, as well as social context in making decisions.
Objectives
Students will be able to summarize the key events, actors, and timeline of the Rohingya in Myanmar (escalating sharply in 2016 – 2017 and continuing at present) by analyzing documents and visual sources from the Rohingya Genocide Case Study.
Students will be able to apply the Ten Stages of Genocide model (Gregory Stanton) to the Rohingya Genocide by examining primary and secondary sources.
Students will be able to argue whether the Rohingya Genocide could have been prevented by reflecting on evidence from primary and secondary sources.

Essential Questions
  • Was the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Burma/Myanmar preventable? 
  • What were the causes of the Rohingya Genocide? 
  • How did Rohingya’s perceived status as foreigners lead to their persecution? 
  • How has the political turmoil of Burma/Myanmar contributed to the genocide of the Rohingya? 
  • Has the international community done enough to prevent genocide? 
Materials

Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04axDDRVy_o
Primary Source: Rohingya Refugees Arriving by Boat, 2017
Reading: The Ten Stages of Genocide
Reading: CNN: Why I Fled   
Reading: Human Rights Watch: Aung San Suu Kyi Denies Burmese Genocide of Rohingya at the Hague  
Reading: Physicians for Human Rights: The Rohingya: Survivors of Atrocity   
Reading: Canada’s Report of Special Envoy to Myanmar  
Reading: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Online Exhibit: Burma’s Path to Genocide
Reading: Anthony Blinken’s declaration of a genocide pertaining to the Rohingya in Myanmar

Activity

Warm-Up/Do Now: 

Students will be asked to watch an introductory video.
Show students a short clip that gives a brief overview of the Rohingya Genocide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04axDDRVy_o 

Transition:  

Show students an image of Rohingya Refugees arriving by boat in Bangladesh. Use guided scaffolding to analyze the photograph. 

Rohingya Refugees Arriving by Boat, 2017

Document Analysis:

  • Using the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Stanton’s 10 Stages of Genocide as a Reference, students will be asked to analyze the evidence in their digital case folders to determine if a genocide has taken place. 
  • The Ten Stages of Genocide 
  • Resources for Student Digital Folders: 

  1. CNN: Why I Fled   
  2. Human Rights Watch: Aung San Suu Kyi Denies Burmese Genocide of Rohingya at the Hague  
  3. Physicians for Human Rights: The Rohingya: Survivors of Atrocity   
  4. Canada’s Report of Special Envoy to Myanmar  
  5. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Online Exhibit: Burma’s Path to Genocide  
  • After students develop an argument determining how the discrimination, persecution, and violence against Rohingya Muslims in 2017 in Myanmar should be categorized (genocide or not?), students will utilize the evidence they have analyzed to determine a course of action that the United States should take in dealing with the crisis. 
  • After students complete the above activity, present students with Anthony Blinken’s declaration of a genocide pertaining to the Rohingya in Myanmar.  
  • Discuss the specific evidence he cited in his declaration.   
  • Compare and contrast Blinken’s use of evidence and determination with the students’ evaluation of the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. 

Closing Activity:  

Exit Ticket: Could the Rohingya Genocide have been prevented?