Anne Frank’s diary is undoubtedly a great read and an excellent topic for students, as she shone a light onto the suffering during World War 2. The developers at Penguin Books have taken the diary and adapted it for the iPad, adding videos, audio clips and more.
The app is split into three sections: the diary, story trails and the timeline.
The main diary is displayed like a book where you swipe through the pages from right to left. Occasionally you will come across words that have been underlined — this is to highlight extra information such as a photo, map of the location or a video clip.
The story trails are guided tours through the diary. This is similar to commentary on a movie, where the director talks you through specific scenes. It explains extracts from the diary in further detail and links to relevant events and people that help add to the story. You can choose from Anne as a Writer, Fear, Life in Hiding, and Resistance.
The timeline section has two timelines that you can switch between: Anne Frank and World War 2. Each one highlights important dates that you scroll through horizontally.
Overall, the Anne Frank app is a detailed look at what the young diarist’s life was like during World War 2. It’s informative, interesting and a super tool to use when teaching the Anne Frank topic.
