Teaching The Diary of a Young Girl, written by 13-year-old Anne Frank during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands, can be a powerful and moving experience for middle school ELA students. This classic nonfiction text provides students with an accessible, first-hand account of struggle, resilience, frailty, sacrifice, and the impact of global events on ordinary people.

If you’re thinking of teaching The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank in middle school ELA, I’m here to help. Here is a selection of creative activities to make the most of this moving and memorable text.

1. Annex Layout

In her diary entry on July 9, 1942, Anne describes the hiding place where her family will stay, located in the building of her father’s office. Although she provides detailed descriptions and a diagram, students may still find it challenging to picture the different parts of the Secret Annex while reading. This interactive lesson is designed to help students gain a greater understanding of the layout of the Secret Annex.

To focus the learning, each student can use a provided graphic organizer to track the various rooms of the Annex and record notes to describe the layout and function of each room. From here, each group of students can access an interactive slide presentation that allows them to read a description of each room in the Secret Annex. When they click “Explore this room,” the link transports students to a virtual tour of each room as it appears at the Anne Frank House, now a museum in Amsterdam.

2. Idioms

When teaching Anne Frank’s diary in middle school ELA, students may require a refresher on idioms. A creative matching game can help reinforce students’ understanding of idioms and their meanings. 

To set up this low-prep activity, first cut out the printed “cards” and sort them into two piles. One pile will contain pink “Anne’s Idiom” cards. The other will contain blue “Idiom Meaning” cards. Make sure to prepare as many sets of cards as you need for your class. I like to have students work in pairs or small groups (up to four students).

From here, students match the Anne’s Idiom card with its correct meaning. (In the printable file, the idiom cards appear next to the correct definition. This means you have a ready-made answer key when you print an extra copy for yourself!)

TIP: Laminating these cards allows you to reuse them with multiple classes!

3. Radio Broadcast

In her diary entry on November 9, 1942, Anne Frank alludes to Winston Churchill’s famous speech, which is often referred to as “The End of the Beginning.” In this speech, Churchill explores a pivotal turning point in World War II.

Once students have read this section of Anne Frank’s diary, I like to have them listen to a recording of Churchill’s speech. From here, students can complete a personal reflection on Churchill’s words. As they do so, they can make connections to the experiences of the Frank family in the broader context of World War II. Students may also wish to reflect on the experience of listening to this radio broadcast and compare and contrast it with how they consume other forms of media in the present day.

Optional Extension: Create a Radio Broadcast

To extend this activity when teaching the story of Anne Frank, middle school ELA students might find it interesting to create a radio broadcast of their own. First, students read a brief nonfiction article on the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the most significant and brutal conflicts of World War II. Once they have a solid understanding of the events leading up to the battle and the resulting Soviet victory, a graphic organizer can support students in planning their own broadcast. From here, they can draft a script, and – time permitting – record their own broadcast.

4. Caged Bird

Teaching Anne Frank’s diary creates meaningful opportunities for middle school students to make unique and perceptive text-to-text connections. I find that poetry is an unexpectedly useful literary form to pair with nonfiction texts. Poems often give voice to the complex feelings that people experience when grappling with adversity and injustice. To me, no poem better conveys these emotions than Maya Angelou’s classic “Caged Bird.”

In her diary, Anne compares herself to a “songbird whose wings have been ripped off.” Likewise, Angelou’s “Caged Bird” contrasts two birds – one flies freely, while another is confined to a cage. 

The caged bird sings   
with a fearful trill   
of things unknown   
but longed for still   

Once students have had the opportunity to read and reflect on the poem, they can use a provided graphic organizer to make their own connections about the two texts. Alternatively, you can assign a stanza of the poem to different groups of students. In this version, each group works to identify the parallels and contrasts between the birds in the poem and Anne’s diary entries. Once all groups have finished their work, they can share their insights with each other.

5. Anne’s Advice

I find teaching The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank provides an excellent opportunity for middle school ELA students to engage in thoughtful discussion.

Here’s how the activity works:

1. Before the lesson, print a set of “Anne’s Advice” cards for each pair or group, and cut them out (or have the students cut them out!)
2. Shuffle the cards, and review the ground rules (avoid interruptions, listen respectfully, and engage in the discussion) for the activity
3. One student selects a card and reads a quote of “advice” from Anne’s diary
4. The same student then goes on to share what the advice means to them, and whether or not they agree
5. From here, others in the group can discuss the quote further and provide their own thoughts and comments
6. After each person in the group has had a turn, the next person draws a card and repeats the process. The activity ends when all students in each group have had a chance to speak.
   

Optional Extension: Anne’s Advice One-Pager

To extend this activity, each student can design a creative one-pager to show their understanding of the quote they selected. One-pagers are a fantastic way for students to demonstrate their interpretation and analysis of a text in a visual way. 

6. The Helpers

Teaching Anne Frank in middle school isn’t just about reading a diary. It’s also an opportunity to connect names and faces with historical events and to help students build capacity for greater empathy and kindness in the present day.  I like to begin by providing some information about the people who helped the Frank family and others like them, often at tremendous personal risk. Each act of kindness and bravery – no matter how small – contributed to the fight for survival during this dark chapter in history.

As you share information about the people who supported the Frank family in a comprehensive slide show, students can keep track of essential details on a graphic organizer. Next, a jigsaw activity can reinforce their learning and support reading comprehension skills.  For this task, students can break off into groups to read nonfiction articles about real-life helpers from World War II. From here, each group can summarize their article and share their learning with their classmates.

7. Dear Anne

Teenage readers are often captivated by Anne’s bright, distinctive voice and her courage in the face of unthinkable adversity. When teaching about Anne Frank, it’s important to remind middle school students that she is a dynamic character. Using her diary as evidence, students can observe how she “grows up” as the book progresses.

I like to encourage students to notice and note Anne’s maturity through an interactive letter-writing activity. For this task, students will take on the role of Anne herself. Ask them to imagine a letter that Anne would write to her younger self. As they do so, they must highlight five specific ways she has changed since the beginning of the diary. For example, they can reflect on how Anne becomes less “childish” and more mature in her thoughts and actions. Students also must consider how Anne might address her past fears, dreams, and mistakes. This activity also provides an opportunity for them to experiment with language, evoking Anne’s vivid, witty, and honest writing style.

8. Peter’s Diary

The Franks didn’t live alone in the Secret Annex. In her diary, Anne Frank writes at length about her feelings for Peter van Daan, who was the son of one of her father’s coworkers. The van Daans lived alongside the Franks in the Secret Annex, and eventually, Anne and Peter began a relationship.

For this free-writing activity, invite students to consider life in the Secret Annex from Peter’s perspective. Here, they will need to imagine Peter’s experiences, with a special emphasis on his perspective of Anne. 

9. Timeline

When teaching The Diary of a Young Girl, I find that middle school students often need support putting Anne Frank’s writing into historical context. For this task, students create a timeline of Anne’s life in hiding, aligned with key historical events from World War II that are mentioned in her diary.

To begin, provide each student with a graphic organizer. In the right-hand column, they will find a provided chronological timeline of historical dates and events. On the left-hand side, they will select important plot moments from Anne’s diary to highlight her personal experiences over the same time period. This will help students draw parallels between what was happening outside the Annex and how it directly impacted Anne and her family.

10. WebQuest

It’s important to remind middle school students that Anne’s story did not end after her final diary entry. In this interactive activity, students access a number of multimedia resources to learn more about what happened to Anne Frank and the legacy of her diary.

As they complete the activity, students will also learn more about the impact the diary had when it was published in 1947, as well as its legacy in the present day. After interacting with each link, they can jot down their reflections in the spaces provided. 

If you’re teaching Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl in middle school ELA, I hope these activities help your students make the most of this moving and powerful book! Click the image below to grab the complete unit plan for teaching this powerful book.

Looking for more books to capture the attention of your middle school ELA students? Check out my post on 5 Awesome Books for Your Next Middle School Novel Study.

If your students are captivated by World War II, you might also want to consider my 12 Creative Activities for Teaching Refugee by Alan Gratz.