Number The Stars was written by Lois Lowry. It is a historical fiction novel centered around the occurances in Denmark during World War II. The story is about a young girl named Annmarie and her friend Ellen. Their peaceful town in Denmark is slowly being over run by the Nazis. When the Nazis began gathering up all the Jews and taking them to a unknown place, Annmarie's family take charge and insist on helping Ellen and other Jewish families escape to freedom.
This story was very compelling and was an eye opener to events that had huge effects on many individuals. I believe this story is a must read for all children as it will help them understand the difficulties that some children had to endure during World War II.
In the classroom I would have students make their own Star of David and write a small summary about what it is. I would also ask them questions like:
- Why was the Star of David important to Ellen?
- Why were the Nazi's gathering up the Jews?
- What is one thing you learned about World War II from this story?
Another classroom activity my students could do is research one Jewish custom, object, or person and then present it to the class by way of picture, drawing, or write up.
Lois Lowry is an American author who has written over thirty children's books. Some of her works include The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
Lowry, L. (1989). Number the stars. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company
One activity I would include would be a Wartime Newspaper where students would create their own newspaper for the time period in the book. Everything included in their newspapers must revolve around the time period, characters, and events of the novel. Another activity I would try is after reading the Afterword with the students, I would ask them to write how the letter excerpt from Kim Malthe-Bruun makes them feel. This would be a great writing idea that you can add or subtract content from.
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