5 Maus Activities for Your World Literature Class

So you’ve decided to teach Maus by Art Spiegelman. Now what? In this post, I’ll share five Maus activities perfect for your high school unit!

Not sure yet if you want to teach Maus? Check out this post to find out why you absolutely should.

Already know you want to teach Maus but dread doing the prep work? Grab my done-for-you The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman Unit here.

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Maus Activities for World Literature #1: Holocaust Stations

Before your students read Maus, you’ll want to do some background building.

These Holocaust Stations include four tasks for your students to complete.

Hopefully, your students are somewhat familiar with the events of World War II and the Holocaust, but we really can’t take anything for granted these days.

Put together or use these done-for-you Holocaust Stations to let your students learn about this tragic part of history from several angles.

Doing stations allows you to include all kinds of sources and media. If you want some inspiration, my stations include a photo analysis activity, reading survivor stories, propaganda analysis, and creating a WWII timeline.

You could do anything you think is important though. There are tons of free sources for Holocaust knowledge all over the web if you don’t want to use my Holocaust Stations.

Another benefit of stations is that they get students up and moving (even if students would rather not). They’re much more engaging than sit-and-get lectures.

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Maus Activities for World Literature #2: Teach Allegories

As far as allegories go, Maus is a pretty easy one to interpret. That’s why your Maus unit is the perfect time to introduce students to this literary term.

This Allegory Lesson includes a slideshow presentation, student reference handout, graphic organizer, and more!

Teach students all about allegories–and don’t forget to review symbolism. (You can make this easy with my Allegory Lesson here.)

Then, have a blast reading some allegories with your students. Stories by Dr. Seuss, Aesop’s Fables, or short classics like “The Allegory of the Cave.”

This will allow you to discuss the cat and mouse allegory in Maus more deeply with your students once you start reading. This Maus Pre-reading and Post-reading Activity can help get the conversation started.

If you want more information about teaching allegories, check out this blog post.

Maus Activities for World Literature #3: Discuss the Text

Ok, I know. This one is lame because, of course, you’re going to discuss the text. But make sure you have a plan for doing so.

These *Maus* Teaching and Discussion Slides include summaries and at least three discussion questions (and possible answers) for each chapter of *The Complete Maus*.

These Maus Teaching and Discussion Slides can help you review each chapter and start discussions about important topics.

While you’ll no doubt discuss character development, important plot points, and student predictions, what I find most interesting myself is the medium of Maus itself.

Ask students if they feel a comic book was the best medium for writing about the Holocaust. How does Spiegelman make a bunch of mice look and feel so human? Does his metaphor hold up throughout The Complete Maus?

There are so many layers you can analyze when it comes to Maus. Don’t miss any!

Maus Activities for World Literature #4: World Genocide Project

A personal pet peeve of mine is that American syllabi quite frequently cover the Holocaust while never acknowledging other global genocides.

Grab everything you need for a World Genocide Project here!

Well, your Maus unit is the perfect time to rectify that.

Use Maus and the Holocaust to connect your unit to other global genocides of the past and today.

You can discuss or teach directly about other world genocides. Or, you can let students explore themselves through a World Genocide Project.

In this project, students choose a world genocide to learn about. They research their topic before presenting their findings to the class. (You can find out more about how to do this kind of project here.)

I think you’ll find many of your students shocked that so many catastrophic events have happened in history–and that many are still happening today!

Maus Activities for World Literature #5: Comic Book Memoir Project

In this Comic Book Memoir Project, students will create a short comic about a real moment in their lives.

If the World Genocide Project feels a little too depressing–or you simply don’t have the time to do it justice–then consider a Comic Book Memoir Project instead.

Maus is a memoir told in comic book form. Let students try their hand at writing the same genre.

I have a done-for-you Comic Book Memoir Project right here, but you could put your own together, too. There are comic book templates for free all around the internet that could help you get your students started.

Conclusion

The Complete Maus is a rich, layered text. You can steer your Maus unit in many directions.

Try some of these activities to enrich your unit OR save yourself a ton of time and grab my The Complete Maus Unit here.