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Bright Lives English · Teacher sheet

Anne Frank: She Hid Behind a Bookcase for Two Years… Then Her Diary Reached the World

Level A2 (Elementary) · Video 4:05 · 45-minute lesson

brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/anne-frank-diary-of-hope/

45-minute lesson plan

TimeStageWhat to do
0–3′Warm-upAsk the class: “Do you write a diary, a journal or notes about your day? Why do people write about their lives?” Let a few students answer.
3–13′WordsPre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: diary, hide, secret, bookcase, hope. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example.
13–20′VideoPlay the video (4:05). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed.
20–28′ComprehensionWorksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?”
28–35′Grammarfor + a period of time: to say how long something happened. Show “They hid for two years.”, then do worksheet E together.
35–43′WorksheetStudents do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key.
43–45′SpeakingIn pairs: “Anne wrote: "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." Why do you think her diary still gives hope to so many people today?”

Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.

Words and grammar

  • diary (noun): a book where you write what happens every day and how you feel. “She got a diary for her birthday.”
  • hide (verb (hid, hidden)): to go to a place where nobody can find you. “The family had to hide.”
  • secret (adjective): that other people must not know about. “They lived in secret rooms.”
  • bookcase (noun): a piece of furniture with shelves for books. “The door was behind a bookcase.”
  • hope (noun): the feeling that good things can happen. “Her diary is full of hope.”

Grammar: for + a period of time — to say how long something happened. “They hid for two years.”

Discussion questions

  1. Anne wrote: "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." Why do you think her diary still gives hope to so many people today?
  2. What was the hardest moment in Anne Frank's story? What did Anne Frank do?
  3. Make two sentences about your own life with “for + a period of time”. (From the story: “They hid for two years.”)

Student worksheet

Name: Date:

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. diary (noun)
  2. hide (verb (hid, hidden))
  3. secret (adjective)
  4. bookcase (noun)
  5. hope (noun)
  6. publish (verb)
  7. birthday (noun)
  8. father (noun)
  1. the feeling that good things can happen
  2. a piece of furniture with shelves for books
  3. that other people must not know about
  4. to go to a place where nobody can find you
  5. a book where you write what happens every day and how you feel
  6. the day you were born, every year
  7. a man who has a child; your dad
  8. to make a book and sell it to many people (past: published)

B Complete the sentences from the story

published · bookcase · diary · hide · secret · father · hope · birthday

  1. The family had to .
  2. Her diary is full of .
  3. The door was behind a .
  4. On her thirteenth , Anne got a diary.
  5. Only Anne's , Otto, came back.
  6. In 1947, her father her diary.
  7. They lived in rooms.
  8. She got a for her birthday.

C Did you understand?

  1. Anne Frank was born in Amsterdam.True / False
  2. What did Anne get for her thirteenth birthday?
    1. A bicycle
    2. A radio
    3. A diary
    4. A cake shop
  3. Eight people lived in the secret rooms.True / False
  4. Who was Kitty?
    1. Her sister
    2. Her diary
    3. Her cat
    4. A helper
  5. Why did Anne write her diary again, as a book?
    1. Her teacher asked her
    2. She lost the first diary
    3. Her sister wanted to read it
    4. A man on the radio asked people to keep their diaries
  6. Anne's diary was lost after the police came.True / False

D Put the words in order

  1. Anne / every / day / diary / in / hours / her / for / wrote

E Grammar: for + a period of time

We use it for to say how long something happened. for + time: They hid for two years. · She wrote for hours every day. · For weeks, she wrote her diary again.

Example from the story: They hid for two years.

  1. They lived in the secret rooms more than two years. (for / in / at)
  2. Anne wrote in her diary for every day. (hours / an hour ago / yesterday)
  3. Anne went to school in Amsterdam seven years. (for / since / on)

F Your turn

Retell Anne Frank's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.

Answer key

A. 1e 2d 3c 4b 5a 6h 7f 8g

B. 1 hide · 2 hope · 3 bookcase · 4 birthday · 5 father · 6 published · 7 secret · 8 diary

C. 1 False · 2 c · 3 True · 4 b · 5 d · 6 False

D. 1 Anne wrote in her diary for hours every day.

E. 1 for · 2 hours · 3 for

Transcript

A girl hid behind a bookcase for two years.

She could not go outside.

She could only write.

Today, millions of people read her words.

How? This is the story of Anne Frank.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Diary. A diary is a book.

Every day, you write in it what happens and how you feel.

She got a diary for her birthday.

Hide. When you hide, you go to a place where nobody can find you.

The past is hid.

The family had to hide.

Secret. Something secret is something other people must not know about.

They lived in secret rooms.

Bookcase. A bookcase is a piece of furniture with shelves for books.

The door was behind a bookcase.

Hope. Hope is the feeling that good things can happen.

Her diary is full of hope.

Now, one pattern: for, plus a time.

It tells us how long something happened.

They hid. Two years. They hid for two years.

Ready? Let's begin.

Anne Frank was born in Germany in 1929.

Her family was Jewish.

In 1934, they moved to Amsterdam.

For a few years, Anne was a happy girl with many friends.

But in 1940, the German army came.

Life became dangerous for Jewish people.

On her thirteenth birthday, in 1942, Anne got a red and white diary.

She loved it.

Three weeks later, a letter came for her sister, Margot.

She had to go to a work camp.

The next morning, the family went to hide.

Where? In secret rooms behind her father's office.

The door to the secret rooms was behind a bookcase.

Eight people lived there.

In the day, they had to be very quiet.

For more than two years, they never went outside.

Anne wrote in her diary for hours every day.

She wrote to a friend called Kitty.

But Kitty was not real.

Kitty was her diary.

Through the attic window, she saw a big tree.

She did not lose hope.

In 1944, a man on the radio said: keep your diaries.

After the war, we want to read them.

Anne had a dream.

She wanted to be a writer.

For weeks, she wrote her diary again, as a book.

Then, in August 1944, the police came.

They found the bookcase.

They found the secret rooms.

Everyone was taken away.

In 1945, Anne died in a camp.

She was only fifteen.

A helper, Miep Gies, kept the diary safe.

Only Anne's father, Otto, came back.

In 1947, he published her diary.

Her dream came true.

Today, people read it in about seventy languages.

Let's review. She got a diary for her birthday.

The family had to hide.

They lived in secret rooms.

The door was behind a bookcase.

Her diary is full of hope.

And remember: they hid for two years.

Anne Frank's story teaches us: even in a small, hidden room, words can carry hope to the whole world.

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