Number the Stars

War, friendship, fear, bravery—historical fiction at its best.

  • Course Length: 3 weeks
  • Course Type: Short Course
  • Category:
    • English
    • Literature
    • Middle School
    • Elementary School

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You've been scouring the interwebs for the utmost in engaging, character-driven, historical fiction that focuses on the Holocaust and World War II. Time to start rejoicing—your search has ended. Number the Stars by Newbery Medal-winning author Lois Lowry is the captivating story of ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen, who lives with her family in 1943 Denmark, a country caught in the throes of war. Annemarie is an everyday young woman, but in this book, she finds her courage tried in astonishing ways.

Compelling storyline aside, what else makes this book—and this Common Core standards-aligned fifth-grade ELA course—a complete package? Well…

  • You'll absorb loads of information about a critical period in world history.
  • This course offers a healthy combo of both fiction and nonfiction texts in order to help you analyze characters, use textual evidence to support your arguments, and examine themes of personal bravery, sacrifice, and family and friend relationships.
  • All activities and projects are rigorous, engaging, and standards-aligned and are presented in a variety of forms to keep you engaged throughout the entirety of the course. 
  • This course sharpens both reading and writing skills as activities and readings have you annotate, analyze, and summarize your way to the final project—a literary analysis essay.

Plus, Number the Stars contains shoes made out of fish, and cupcakes to boot. What more could a Shmooper desire?


Unit Breakdown

1 Number the Stars - Critical Reading and Writing with Number the Stars

Our engaging unit on Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, a renowned example of historical fiction, will focus on what the Holocaust and World War II at large were truly like for the everyday people of Europe. We'll hone close-reading skills in order to examine the characters of this book as if they were our own BFFs, and we'll draw connections throughout the text in regard to the overarching themes, which will be a big focus in this unit. We'll even throw some nonfiction and picture books into the mix.


Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.04: No Cupcakes, No Coffee

Meet Annemarie and her family. Like most families, they have fun together and joke around—like when Mama laughs remembering how Kirsti used to wet the bed. In fact, their silliness and teasing reminds us a bit of all these parents.

 
We're not sure if we would rather live in Nazi-occupied Denmark or Gotham. At least Gotham would have more law and order. (Source)

Although the Johansens all have a good sense of humor, their story is much more serious than silly. That's because they live in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the middle of World War II. Imagine having all the normal family problems, like fights between sisters and not getting what you want for dinner, but then add in the extra pressure of dealing with scary Nazi soldiers on nearly every corner—plus the worry that your beloved neighbors will be captured and taken away.

As you read, you'll focus closely on learning about Annemarie's family. Who are they? What do they care about? What do they fear? And what happened to Lise, the dark-haired oldest sister?

Denmark might not be the safest place in this story, but at least this family has each other. And since they're not a dysfunctional family like the Simpsons, that's a good thing.


Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.04: Number the Stars, Chapters 1–3

Read Chapters 1–3 in your Number the Stars book. As you do, take notes on the characters in your Character Note-Catcher.

Here are some suggestions on where to focus your note-taking:

  • Character traits (or words describing what characters are like)
    • For example: bossy, friendly, jealous. For even more examples, click here.
  • Character actions
    • stole a cookie and put it in her pocket
  • Character feelings
    • angry, joyful, frustrated
  • Character dialogue (what they say)
    • "Leave me alone! You're so annoying."

Remember, you only want to record important info. Rather than writing down every little thing a character does, says, or thinks, try to limit yourself to one note for each character every couple of pages or so. That way your notes will be more useful later.

After you read, make sure to check out Shmoop's summaries of Chapters 1–3:


Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.04a: Make a Prediction

Although you're only a few chapters in, you're already familiar with the most important characters in the book—Annemarie and her family. Remember how in the last lesson, we talked a lot about suspense and foreshadowing?

Well, from what you know about how authors structure stories, you've probably figured out that the characters will face a problem at some point. Guess what? Lowry has already dropped some hints about the problems that might be coming up next.

Skim back over the three chapters you just read and ask yourself about what hints of foreshadowing you see. Where is the author including clues about what might happen later in the story?

Hint—pay close attention to Chapter 3, especially toward the end.

  1. Write in one to two sentences where you noticed foreshadowing in the reading so far.

  2. Now, write a paragraph of six to seven sentences predicting what you think will happen next. This prediction shouldn't be the kind of prediction that you'd get by looking into a crystal ball. That's to say, it should be based on evidence from the text. Be sure to include:

    • at least two events you think will happen in the next two chapters.
    • at least two pieces of evidence from the text that support your thinking.

    Here's an example of what we're talking about:

    Within the next two chapters, Annemarie will act to protect Ellen from the Nazis. In the text Annemarie says, "Now I think all of Denmark must be bodyguard for the Jews as well." Annemarie is clever, since she's good at making up stories. This makes me think she will have to think of something to help Ellen.

    What we're looking for is something like this, but a little longer and with two predicted events.

    So put away your Magic 8 Ball and show us what you think.


Sample Lesson - Activity

  1. Who is Ellen?

  2. In what country does Number the Stars take place?

  3. How did Lise die?

  4. What is the king of Denmark's name?

  5. What does Annemarie's family usually eat for dinner?

  6. Why do the soldiers stop Annemarie, Kirsti, and Ellen?

  7. Who is Peter?

  8. Why did the Nazis close the button shop owned by the Hirsches?

  9. Why didn't the king of Denmark fight back against the Nazis when they came into his country?

  10. What do Annemarie's mother and Ellen's mother drink instead of coffee?

  11. What dessert does Kirsti miss most?