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2. teaching and classroom resources
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Strengths: Conventions
Style
Content
Comprehension of
the Novel
Skills/Knowledge
Repeated errors
in mechanics
and usage
Some errors in
convention
Good variety in word
choice; language
precise and quite
descriptive
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All required
information complete;
key details contain
some description
weaknesses: next steps:
Errors seriously
interfere with the
writer’s purpose
Level 3
Demonstrates
a good understanding
of the novel
ple
Some variety in word
choice; language
somewhat vague and
imprecise
Little variety in word
choice; language vague
and imprecise
m
Some information
incomplete; details
missing
Sa
Demonstrates a basic
understanding of
the novel
Level 2
Information
incomplete; key
details missing
Demonstrates a limited
understanding of
the novel
Level 1
Few errors in
convention
Writer’s voice is
apparent throughout.
Excellent choice of
words; precise langauge
All required
information complete;
enough description
for clarity
Demonstrates
a thorough
understanding of
the novel
Level 4
Student’s Name: _______________________________ Assignment: _ _____________________ Level:____________ Assessment Rubric
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Number the Stars
Number the Stars CC2506
Before You Teach
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Teacher Guide
This resource has been created for ease of use by both
TEACHERS and STUDENTS alike.
Introduction
Six Writing Tasks and three Graphic Organizers are
included to further develop students’ critical thinking
and writing skills, and analysis of the text. (See page
6 for suggestions on using the Graphic Organizers.) The
Assessment Rubric (page 4) is a useful tool for evaluating
students’ responses to the Writing Tasks and Graphic
Organizers.
W
Picture Cues
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Our resource contains three main types of pages, each with
a different purpose and use. A Picture Cue at the top of
each page shows, at a glance, what the page is for.
Teacher Guide
• Information and tools for the teacher
Student Handout
• Reproducible worksheets and activities
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ith her novel, Number
the Stars, Lois Lowry
has created a very
realistic story that offers young
people a glimpse of the horrors
of war, and the reality
of losing loved ones in the
struggle for freedom. Important
lessons about loyalty, bravery, sacrifice and tolerance
permeate the novel, along with the themes of prejudice
toward the Jewish people, and stereotypes. Because of
the novel’s geographical and historical setting, other
themes are those of Denmark and the Danish people,
Hans Christian Anderson, World War II, the Holocaust,
and Jewish history, religion and culture.
Sa
How Is Our Literature Kit
Organized?
Easy Marking™ Answer Key
EZ
• Answers for student activities
™
EASY MARKING™ ANSWER KEY
Student Handouts
Chapter Activities (in the form of reproducible worksheets)
make up the majority of our resource. For each chapter or
group of chapters there are Before You Read activities
and After You Read activities.
NAME:
After You Read
...................
The Before You Read activities prepare students for reading by setting a purpose for reading. They
stimulate background knowledge and experience,
and guide students to make connections between what they know and what they will learn. Important concepts and vocabulary from the chapter(s) are
also presented.
#D=LPANO%HARAJ=J@4SAHRA
0=NP!
Complete the paragraph by filling in each black with the correct
Answers will vary
Answers will vary
word from the chapter.
Answers will vary
a) The coffin contained folded ____________________ and articles of clothing.
a) blankets
a) Johansen
b) ankle
b) Peter gave the baby some drops to make sure that she remained ____________________ .
c) Peter gave Mr. Rosen a package to give to ____________________ .
c) Henrik
d) Inge
e) Uncle Henrik was going to take them in his boat across the sea to ____________________ .
Peter’s attempt
at encouraging
Annemarie by reminding her of their
past relationship
e) Sweden
f) pride
a) She crawled to
the house
d) package
e) Henrik
f) Annemarie
b) She made up a
picnic basket for
Annemarie to take
g) apple
h) cheese
i) bread
j) story
Answer will vary
k) dangerous
f) Annemarie realized that the Rosens had not left everything behind them in
Copenhagen, for they still had their ____________________ .
c) 4:30
b) quiet
Answers will vary
d) Annemarie noticed that Peter was now calling her mother, “____________________”.
Answers will vary
l) blueberry
Answers will vary
m) business-like
n) Ingeborg
Use the words in the list to answer each question.
Ellen
Mama
sweater food
6K?=>QH=NU
sea
Papa
All sentences will
b) food
the word should
c) Ellen
sentence
c) Who promised Annemarie that she would come back
someday?
Number the Stars RH2506
• The After You Read activities check students’ comprehension and extend their learning. Students are asked to give thoughtful consideration of the text through creative and evaluative short-answer questions and journal prompts. d) Annemarie knew that Mrs. Rosen was very frightened of this.
f) The shape lying on the earth was?
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o) rustling
p) soldiers
Answers will vary
For comfort
q) dogs
6K?=>QH=NU
The way they conducted themselves
1. a
3. d
Answers will vary
a)
4#
b)
4!
c)
4#
d)
4!
2. c
d) sea
e) Papa
f) Mama
e) This person would probably be back home worrying.
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a) sweater
a) What did Mrs. Johansen give to the baby’s mother thatvary;
The meaning of
belonged to Kirsti?
be clear in the
b) Each person was given a small packet containing what?
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Marking students’ worksheets is fast and easy with our
Answer Key. Answers are listed in columns – just line up the column with its corresponding worksheet, as shown, and see how every question matches up with
its answer!
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Possible answer:
Mama’s presence
was unaccounted
for
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Answers will vary
4. b
5. d
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Number the Stars CC2506
Every question matches
up with its answer!
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Number the Stars CC2506
Before You Teach
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1,2,3
Graphic Organizers
The three Graphic Organizers included in our Literature Kit ™ are especially suited to a
study of Number the Stars. Below are suggestions for using each organizer in your classroom,
or they may be adapted to suit the individual needs of your students. The organizers can be used on a projection system or
interactive whiteboard in teacher-led activities, and/or photocopied for use as student worksheets.
To evaluate students’ responses to any of the organizers, you may wish to use the Assessment Rubric (on page 4).
Flow Chart
FLOW CHART
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ChOOSE OnE OF ThE FOLLOwIng TOPICS FrOm ThE nOvEL:
TOPIC
First Event
Second Event
Third Event
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Fourth Event
Last Event
53
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Number the Stars CC2506
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PERSON TO PERSON
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The Person to Person Organizer is an excellent tool for
interviewing major or minor characters in the novel.
Students can begin the activity as they are reading the
novel, when a new character is introduced, or after
the novel has been read. Have them choose a character
(i.e., Annemarie, Ellen, Uncle Henrik) and write down 6
questions they would like to ask him or her. If the activity
is begun when the character is first introduced in the novel,
have students complete it after finishing the novel. They
are to infer what the character’s response would be based
on the information in the novel. Then, they describe what
they learned about the character through the interview
process. Found on Page 54. Person to Person
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An InTErvIEw wITh:
Sa
____________________________________
(CHARACTER’S NAME)
Question 1
Character’s response
Question 2
Character’s response
Question 3
Character’s response
Question 4
Character’s response
Question 5
Character’s response
Question 6
Character’s response
What have you learned about this character?
________________________________________________
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KWS Chart
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KWS CHART
SELECT OnE OF ThE FOLLOwIng TOPICS:
• The holocaust • The nazis • The Danish resistance
• The Jewish People of Denmark • Copenhagen • world war II
• Denmark (history, economics, society, cities, products)
• hans Christian Anderson • Your Choice
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I wonder
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Number the Stars CC2506
The KWS Chart helps students to organize their thoughts
and establish goals for finding new information on a topic
presented in the novel. This activity is also ideal for small
group work as students can brainstorm information for all
three columns. Teachers may wish to begin this activity
before reading the novel. First, discuss the historical
context of the story. Fruitful topics for discussion include
Denmark, World War II, the Nazis, Resistance Fighters, etc.
Students can then be given the chart to complete in small
groups. At the conclusion of the literature study, students
can revisit the KWS Chart. Found on Page 55.
TOPIC
____________________________________
I Know
1
The Flow Chart is an excellent tool to help students
identify the flow of events that unfold in the story.
Number the Stars is an exciting historical fiction novel
that documents the attempts of Annemarie and her family
to help their friends, the Rosens, escape the clutches of the
Nazis. For this activity, students are to select a topic from
the novel – either Smuggling Ellen Rosen and her family
safely to Sweden or another topic of their choice.
In the Flow Chart, students are to record the series of
events related to the topic, in chronological order as they
occurred in the novel. Found on Page 53.
• Smuggling Ellen and her family safely to Sweden
• A topic of your choice
Possible Sources
Number the Stars CC2506
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Number the Stars CC2506
Before You Teach
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Bloom’s Taxonomy* for
Reading Comprehension
LEVEL 6
Evaluation
The activities in our resource engage and build the full
range of thinking skills that are essential for students’
reading comprehension. Based on the six levels of
thinking in Bloom’s Taxonomy, questions are given that
challenge students to not only recall what they have read,
but move beyond this to understand the text through
higher-order thinking. By using higher-order skills of
application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation, students
become active readers, drawing more meaning from the
text, and applying and extending their learning in more
sophisticated ways.
LEVEL 5
Synthesis
LEVEL 4
Analysis
LEVEL 3
Application
LEVEL 2
Comprehension
LEVEL 1
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY:
6 LEVELS OF THINKING
*Bloom’s Taxonomy is a widely used tool by educators for classifying
learning objectives, and is based on the work of Benjamin Bloom.
Teaching Strategies
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Knowledge
Our Literature Kit ™, therefore, is an effective tool for any
Language Arts program. Whether it is used in whole or
in part, or adapted to meet individual student needs, our
resource provides teachers with the important questions to
ask, inspiring students’ interest, creativity, and promoting
meaningful learning.
INDEPENDENT, SMALL GROUP OR WHOLE CLASS STUDY
This study guide contains the following activities:
Before Reading Activities: themes are
introduced and thought-provoking questions put
forward for the students to consider.
Vocabulary Activities: new and unfamiliar
words are introduced and reviewed.
After Reading Questions: the first part of this
section includes short answer questions dealing
with the content of the play. The second part
features questions that are more open-ended and
feature concepts from the higher order of Bloom’s
Taxonomy.
Writing Tasks: creative writing assignments
based on Bloom’s Taxonomy that relate to the
plot of the particular scenes
Graphic Organizers: three full-page
reproducible sheets. One has been designed as an
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alternative to the traditional book
report.
Bonus Sheets are also available online.
A comprehension quiz is also included
comprised of short-answer questions.
The study guide can be used in a variety of ways
in the classroom depending on the needs of the
students and teacher. The teacher may choose
to use an independent reading approach with
students capable of working independently. It
also works well with small groups, with most
of the lessons being quite easy to follow, and
fi nally in other situations, teachers will choose
to use it with their entire class.
Teachers may wish to have their students keep a
daily reading log so that they might record their
daily progress and refl ections.
Number the Stars CC2506
Before You Teach
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Summary of the Story
A STORY of a ten-year-old girl, her family, and their courageous
journey to save the lives of their Jewish friends.
N
The Johansen family realize that the risks are too great
for Ellen to remain with them in Copenhagen, so they
take her to the home of Uncle Henrik, who lives by the
seashore. A fisherman by trade, Uncle Henrik has been
using his fishing boat to smuggle Danish Jews to Sweden.
It is at Uncle Henrik’s that Annemarie is thrust into several
perilous adventures as she and her family do their utmost
to save the lives of the Rosens. Annemarie’s courage and
ingenuity are severely tested as she is forced to confront
German soldiers intent on using whatever means possible
to destroy her friend.
Eventually, the Rosens are safely transported to Sweden,
smuggled in a hollowed-out area in the bottom of Uncle
Henrik’s boat. Annemarie doesn’t know if she will ever
see her friend again. When the war is over a few years
later, Annemarie feels great pride knowing that she had
helped the Jewish people escape the clutches of the Nazis.
Remembering her dear friend Ellen, Annemarie asks her
father to repair Ellen’s Star of David necklace which she
had kept hidden during the war. She puts it on as a sign
of their friendship and decides to wear it until Ellen
returns home and she can wear it herself.
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Living in Copenhagen, ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen
is caught up in these unfolding historical events when
she learns that the life of her best friend, Ellen Rosen, and
Ellen’s family, are in grave danger. The Rosens must go into
hiding and Annemarie’s parents volunteer to take Ellen into
their home until a safe voyage to Sweden can be arranged
for the family. Pretending to be Annemarie’s sister, Ellen is
nearly found out by Nazi soldiers who enter the Johansen’s
apartment late one night; they are looking for the Rosens
and are suspicious of Ellen’s identity. Annemarie is terrified
when she notices that Ellen is wearing a Star of David
necklace. She rips it from Ellen’s neck and conceals it in
her hand until the soldiers leave.
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umber the Stars is set in Denmark during
the darkest days of World War II. In the
fall of 1943, the Danish people learn that
all Danish Jews are to be “relocated” – arrested by
the occupying German forces (the Nazis)
and sent to death camps. Almost immediately the
Danish people arrange to smuggle 7,000 of their
Jewish neighbors to neutral Sweden.
Suggestions for Further Reading
Books by lois lowry
• A Summer to Die © 1977 • Anastasia Krupnik © 1979
• Autumn Street © 1980
• All about Sam © 1988 • The Giver © 1993
• Looking Back, A Book of Memories © 1998
• Gathering Blue © 2000 • The Silent Boy © 2003
• Messenger © 2004 • Gossamer © 2006
Other Recommended Resources
• Marie McSwigan, Snow Treasure © 1942 • Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl © 1953
• Ian Serraillier, Escape from Warsaw ©1959 • Judith Kerr, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit ©1971
• Johanna Reiss, The Upstairs Room ©1972 • Johanna Reiss, The Journey Back ©1976
• Jane Yolen, The Devil’s Arithmetic © 1988 • Carol Matas, Daniel’s Story © 1993
• Sidney Sheldon, The Sky Is Falling © 2000 • Karen Levine, Hanna’s Suitcase © 2002
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Number the Stars CC2506
Before You Teach
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Vocabulary
Chapter 1
• sabotage • impassive • sulks • lanky • incident • obstinate • contempt • civilized • edgy • adjusted • Copenhagen
• hesitated • residential • extended • motionless • hoodlums • defiantly • scurried • landscape • Resistance
Chapters 2 and 3
• interrupt • solemn • errand • trousseau • intricate • linger • haughtily • hesitate • sarcastically • curfew • Amalienborg
• fabulous • Jubilee • crochet • enormous • recite • dawdle • rationed • distracted • imaginary Chapter 4
• dubious • occupation • dismay • disdainful • sophisticated • carousel • synagogue • talented • dramatics • improvement
• magnificent • Tivoli • explosions • punishing • belligerently • awed • chatterbox • tensions • congregation
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Chapters 5 and 6
Chapter 7 and 8
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• imperious • seldom • Henrik • suspicious • uniform • veil • Jewish • Lutheran • braids • abruptly • automatically
• electricity • imaginings • stalk • crumpled • winced • imprinted • tentatively • cigarettes • conversation
Chapters 9 and 10
Sa
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• specter • irritated • gnarled • gesturing • squinted • apparent • distracted • pleasure • hazy • Ingeborg • ruffles
• Scandinavian • extending • ruefully • pasture • timidly • grouch • fascinated • personalities
• reluctantly • urgent • condescending • extinguish • recurring • deftly • alertly • rhythmically • splintery • mourners
• staccato • accented • typhus • ancient • psalm • Jerusalem • Israel • wounds • pleasant
Chapters 11 and 12
• rummage • gesture • insert • protruding • confident • encased • refashion • assembled • mismatched • conversation
• protected • instructions • decent • unnecessarily • sure-footed • unfamiliar • despite • exhausted • horizon
Chapters 13 And 14
• approaching • populated • latticed • segment • brusque • invisible • sprawling • interrupt • tongues • scampering
• dangerous • prolong • tantalize • suspense • landscape • imagination • taut • churning • harborside • anchor
Chapters 15 and 16
• exasperated • contempt • strident • caustic • concealed • willed • frightened • alert • impatiently • whined • withering
• insolently • scornfully • tenser • intently • passageway • evident • quavering • hastily • scientists
Chapters 17 and afterword
• unoccupied • devastating • decency • prejudice • deprivation • sacrifice • integrity • existence • compassion • detection
• tactic • executed • military • engagement • balcony • destroyed • rabbi • documents • determination
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Number the Stars CC2506
SpotliGht On...
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Lois Lowry
Lowry claims that all of her novels deal with the same general
theme: the importance of human connections.
ois Lowry was born March 20, 1937
in Hawaii to a military family that
moved around a great deal.
After leaving Brown University to marry,
she moved to Maine where she raised
four children. Lois later returned to college
and graduated from the University of
Southern Maine. In the 1970’s, Lois fulfilled
a childhood dream by beginning an
extremely successful writing career.
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Lois Lowry has written over 30 books for young
readers and has won the prestigious Newbery
Medal on two occasions. Topics of her novels
are varied and fascinating, including the
holocaust, cancer, futuristic societies and
mental illness. Her writing is characterized by
realistic characters and exciting plots. Three of
her most successful and popular books are the
futuristic trilogy, The Giver, Gathering Blue,
and Messenger. Lowry claims that all of her
novels deal with the same general theme:
the importance of human connections.
crash. One of her daughters became disabled
as a result of a disease of the central nervous
system. It is partially these terribly difficult life
experiences that have enabled Lois to bring the
characters of her stories to life so sensitively
and realistically.
Today Lois lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts
and enjoys hobbies that include gardening,
photography and knitting.
Lowry’s life has seen its share of tragedy. She
lost a sister to cancer and a son in an airplane
Did You Know?
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Number the Stars was the winner of the coveted
Newbery Medal (1989)
Lowry’s novel, The Giver, also won the Newbery
Medal (1993)
Among other places, Lowry has lived in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York City and Japan
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Number the Stars CC2506