Prisoner B-3087 Unit Plan - Alan Gratz Novel Study Reading Unit - Digital
This comprehensive digital unit plan gives you a clear, organized framework to teach Prisoner B-3087 from start to finish. With over 300 interactive digital slides and classroom-ready materials, this resource supports students as they examine Yanek Gruener’s experiences and the realities he faces during his journey through ten concentration camps during the Holocaust. From background knowledge and vocabulary development to literary analysis, historical context, and writing tasks, each component is designed to deepen understanding while saving you hours of planning time.
This is a Google-compatible activity, and students complete all the work on the computer. This works well with distance learning, 1:1 classrooms, remote teaching, Google Classroom, or online education.
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Included in the Prisoner B-3087 Digital Unit Plan:
➡️ Prisoner B-3087 Introduction Presentation: This 17-slide Google Slides presentation is the perfect way to launch the novel. It builds essential background knowledge through interactive pre-reading discussion questions, an agree-or-disagree activity, book cover analysis, author biography, genre overview, historical context on World War II and the Holocaust, and an introduction to the key themes students will track throughout the novel.
➡️ Prisoner B-3087 Chapter Summary Cards: These 31 digital summary cards provide clear, student-friendly summaries for each chapter of the novel, including the afterword. Organized by chapter, they highlight major plot events, setting changes, and moments of character growth, making them ideal for reference, review, and supporting comprehension.
➡️ Prisoner B-3087 Self-Grading Quizzes: Assess comprehension throughout the novel with five section-based Google Forms quizzes. Each quiz includes six multiple-choice questions and two quote-based response questions. The multiple-choice questions are self-grading, and complete answer keys are included to support review and discussion.
➡️ Prisoner B-3087 Digital Video Clip Writing Prompts: Help students make meaningful text-to-self and text-to-world connections using curated video clips paired with reflective journal prompts. Organized by reading sections, these no-prep prompts encourage students to reflect on themes such as survival, identity, resilience, and hope.
➡️ Prisoner B-3087 Digital Vocabulary Booklet and Slides: Support vocabulary growth through context using an interactive Google Slides booklet organized by chapter section. Students infer the meaning of unfamiliar words from quotes in the novel and confirm their understanding during class discussions or review using the included slides.
➡️ Prisoner B-3087 Comprehension and Analysis Questions: Guide students through each section of the novel with a mix of comprehension and literary analysis questions. This digital resource includes student question slides, response pages, and a presentation featuring text-based sample answers for whole-class instruction or review.
➡️ Prisoner B-3087 Digital Figurative Language Assignments: Students identify and analyze figurative language directly from the text, including metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration, hyperbole, and onomatopoeia. Five fully digital assignments are organized by chapter section and include detailed answer keys for easy review.
➡️ Prisoner B-3087 Historical Context Notes: This 65-slide Google Slides presentation provides essential historical background for the events, places, and systems referenced in the novel. Organized by chapter sections, each slide pairs a quote from the text with a clear explanation and supporting images to deepen understanding of the Holocaust and Yanek’s experiences.
➡️ Prisoner B-3087 Analysis Notes Presentation: This 49-slide Google Slides presentation examines key literary elements section by section, including theme, symbolism, conflict, characterization, mood, imagery, irony, and more. Each section includes examples, discussion prompts, and guiding notes that support critical thinking and textual analysis.
The Prisoner B-3087 Digital Unit Plan also includes creative assignments and activities for each reading section. You can learn more about everything included below:
Chapters 1–8:
➡️ Kraków Historical Context Assignment & Digital Gallery Walk: Students build background knowledge about Jewish life in Kraków before and during early Nazi occupation through a nonfiction reading, comprehension questions, and a photo-based digital gallery walk that connects historical context to Yanek’s early experiences.
➡️ Digital Theme Tracking Cumulative Assignment: Students track major themes throughout the novel by collecting quotes and organizing text evidence as they read, preparing them for a final thematic essay at the end of the unit.
Chapters 9–13:
➡️ Concentration Camp Digital Graphic Organizer: As Yanek is transferred through multiple concentration camps, students track key details about each setting, including conditions, major events, and Yanek’s physical and emotional state, helping them connect setting to character development.
➡️ Uncle Moshe’s Survival Advice Digital Analysis: Students analyze Uncle Moshe’s rules for survival through quote-based digital discussion cards and a written response that explores ethical dilemmas, moral choices, and the impact of extreme circumstances.
Chapters 14–20:
➡️ Holocaust Tattoo & Identity Symbolism Digital Activity: Students learn about prisoner tattoos and analyze how Yanek’s tattoo represents dehumanization and loss of identity. They then complete a creative identity-based digital symbolism project.
➡️ Holocaust Digital WebQuest: Students explore real historical locations, survivor testimony, and nonfiction sources connected to Yanek’s journey. Guided prompts help students connect historical facts directly to events and themes in the novel.
Chapters 21–25:
➡️ Digital Conflict Presentation & Analysis Assignment: Using a guided Google Slides presentation and close-reading activity, students identify and analyze internal and external conflicts and examine how these conflicts shape Yanek’s decisions and survival.
Chapters 26–31:
➡️ Thematic Final Essay Topics: Students select from text-based essay prompts tied to the themes they tracked throughout the novel to write a well-supported final essay.
➡️ Symbolism Digital Assignment: Students analyze key symbols from the novel and explain their deeper meanings, connecting symbolism to major themes such as survival, identity, and dehumanization.
➡️ The Perils of Indifference Connection Digital Activity: Students connect Prisoner B-3087 to Elie Wiesel’s speech The Perils of Indifference through discussion and a digital written response activity examining how indifference and compassion affect individuals during times of crisis.
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