Shadows of Resistance: French Resistance WWII Lesson Pack
The Gestapo is watching. Every code cracked, every move made, could mean the difference between survival and capture.
Step into occupied France with Shadows of Resistance, a two-day immersive lesson where students become part of the French Resistance. From cracking ciphers to playing an interactive digital game, students confront the danger, courage, and moral choices of resisting Nazi rule—building critical thinking and historical literacy along the way.
Try the Demo: https://shadowsofresistancedemo.netlify.app/
Audience Grades 8–12
What Students Will Do:
- Analyze the challenges of resisting Nazi occupation.
- Read and respond to a high-interest History Cat article on the French Resistance.
- Crack codes using Caesar and Book ciphers.
- Debate moral choices and resistance strategies in a guided group discussion.
What’s Included:
- Step-by-step Teacher Instructions
- History Cat Article: “The French Resistance in WW2”
- 8 Guided Reading Questions Code-Cracking Activity (Caesar + Book Cipher)
- Shadows of Resistance Digital Game
- Warm-Up Activity to activate background knowledge Wrap-Up Group Discussion prompts
- Answer Keys to all activities
Estimated Duration 2 class periods (50 minutes each)
Standards Alignment Aligned to the NCSS C3 Framework for Social Studies.
French Resistance Digital Simulation – Shadows of Resistance (WWII)
Lesson Format: PDF
Shadows of Resistance game is fully online.
Reviews
The lesson plan is decent enough but contains no information about accessing the online exercise and despite multiple emails to the advertised email, no response was ever received which is why I’ve given this a 1 star rating.