Using the Anne Frank VR App in the Classroom: A Lesson Plan Guide

Anne Frank VR is an app that shows the hiding life of the Frank family and 4 others in the Annex, name given to their hidden area behind a bookcase in an office building in Amsterdam. It allows students to learn the history of hiding during the Second World War, but most importantly: create empathy. 

One of the best things about VR is that it gives students such a sense of reality, that they feel connected to the content. This allows them to absorb information better, also because they can interact with the content. 

This app can be set to English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and Hebrew. There are two modes: story mode and tour mode. Story mode has a short  introduction film and an ending and takes the student on a guided tour through the Annex. Tour mode skips the intro and ending and allows the student to roam freely through the Annex, while still being able to click points of interest and learn.

The story mode takes approximately 25 minutes. 

Students use their controllers to manipulate the 3D world. They can pick up objects, or open the bookcase entrance. They also need to find and click certain information points in story mode in order to progress to the next room.

Figure 1 Finding quotes and information

Pedagogical/didactic relevance for Anne Frank VR

This app and lesson plan is a great way to start the history chapters of the Second World War. During this introductory lesson for WWII, all students have their own role. Students with laptops in the group of 4 gather information online or in their textbooks (up to you!), while the VR student tries to find information obtainable by using this VR app. Combined, this information will be discussed at the end of class. This ensures that all students feel heard and valued. Everyone’s input matters in this activity!

My advice is to allow some students that used the VR app to share their findings. This creates a conversation that allows you as a teacher to fit in the relevant information. 

The questions in the lesson plan that are to be answered by the student that used the VR set are related to empathy, while the students that do research in their books or online answer more questions related to the relevant theory.

This allows students to connect their findings to the relevant theory. It all depends on how you as a teacher decide to end class. The strength of this lesson plan is in the end discussion. This is when all information and findings are discussed and combined.

Classroom setup

Make sure all VR devices are charged and ready to go! Divide the tables in groups of 4 and place one (1) VR headset per group. Also print out the question sheets, which are attached to the lesson plan, and place them among every group.

Make sure the (white-)board has two sections: answers to VR questions and answers to theoretical questions. Students can use the question sheets to answer these at first, and you could allow students at the end of the VR activity to use the board to gather information.

As you can see, setup is really easy! After the short introduction to the VR activity, students will use VR and their textbooks to gather information!

Practical considerations

Teachers often ask me if they need 32 VR headsets if they have 32 students in a classroom. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The key strength in using VR in education is picking the right lesson activities. The lesson plan, available for download, shows activities that require only 8 VR headsets. The same activities can also be adapted to a single VR headset if need be. One student could use the VR app in front of the classroom, while the other students watch on the projector or Smart Board. This is made possible thanks to screen casting. 

Because of this, you could also choose to have every headset cast its content to one of the students’ laptops. This way, the VR student can share the experience with the other students. This makes it easier to collect all the information and answer the questions within the given time period.

Figure 2 3D Model of the Anne Frank house in the pause menu

When a student clicks the ‘back’-button on their controller, they get the pause menu. In this menu, students can see a 3D model of the Anne-Frank house. They can rotate this 3D model and click on where they want to be teleported to. 

This is very useful when students have to answer specific questions related to the living conditions.

When a group finishes early, allow them to share the headset with each other, so they can all experience VR. “Tour mode” is a great way for the students to skip the introduction and get straight to exploring the Annex!

Try it yourself

My greatest piece of advice to my fellow teachers is to first of all try this app yourself. You will instantly feel transported to a different time and place and really feel connected. If you get excited about this technology, you can project this energy into the classroom.

Teacher testimonials

A few history teachers I spoke to that already use this app told me that there is a great benefit to using VR for this subject. One history teacher told me: “When students show sensitivity towards a certain subject, they understand the theory a lot faster and better”. Because the main focus of this VR app is to create empathy towards this sensitive subject, it allows students to engage in conversations. These conversations, combined with fitting lesson activities, are a recipe for learning success!

Want to know more? Read our article: How to Create Innovative a Lesson Plan Using VR